Released May 2010
2 Tracks - 31:38
01. Suddenly
02. Always
Beneath Another Sky features two ambient compositions. Titled Suddenly and Always, the two pieces explore different views of a single idea.
Imagine you find yourself in an unfamiliar place. It's night and you lay under an open sky. Free from preconceptions about your surroundings, your mind is open to seeing things as they actually are, not how you think they are or expect them to be. This is the premise represented by the lush, musical atmosphere both compositions in Beneath Another Sky are based upon.
Track 1, Suddenly, is a musical exploration of momentary awareness and aims to symbolically express the wonder and delight of unexpected beauty. A falling star, a drifting cloud, the shimmer of light from distant suns. It's the appearing and disappearing, coming and going, rising and falling of phenomenon that reminds us life is ephemeral, and our challenge is to be as open as possible to both the depth and span of where we find ourselves in this moment.
The second track, Always, is a representative view of the fathomless expanse of which our experience of passing moments is an integral part. Behind every shift and change is an eternal consistency so pervasive and absolute that our usual state of mind misses it completely. It isn't something that happens, but the unending context that things happen within. It's here one realizes that ultimate "value" isn't found in what things are, but that they are.
Beneath Another Sky features two ambient compositions. Titled Suddenly and Always, the two pieces explore different views of a single idea.
Imagine you find yourself in an unfamiliar place. It's night and you lay under an open sky. Free from preconceptions about your surroundings, your mind is open to seeing things as they actually are, not how you think they are or expect them to be. This is the premise represented by the lush, musical atmosphere both compositions in Beneath Another Sky are based upon.
Track 1, Suddenly, is a musical exploration of momentary awareness and aims to symbolically express the wonder and delight of unexpected beauty. A falling star, a drifting cloud, the shimmer of light from distant suns. It's the appearing and disappearing, coming and going, rising and falling of phenomenon that reminds us life is ephemeral, and our challenge is to be as open as possible to both the depth and span of where we find ourselves in this moment.
The second track, Always, is a representative view of the fathomless expanse of which our experience of passing moments is an integral part. Behind every shift and change is an eternal consistency so pervasive and absolute that our usual state of mind misses it completely. It isn't something that happens, but the unending context that things happen within. It's here one realizes that ultimate "value" isn't found in what things are, but that they are.
Purchase Beneath Another Sky as:
Download (256kbps lossless M4A with cover art included)
As human beings, our lives are full of beautiful paradoxes, and none are more striking than our capacity to experience linear, finite time in one breath, only to open to mystical timelessness in the next. Recognizing that these truths are not at odds with each other, but instead are the complimentary foreground and background of our being, is an important step toward realizing what we are. Beneath Another Sky is a musical nudge to help you remember that the sky you're under right now is truly one you've never seen before. Watch carefully.
-Matt |
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Released: June 2009
1 Track - 46:00
Beyond The Golden Light, Matthew's latest ambient instrumental composition, is a work of significant vision and sonic depth. Listeners can be prepared to discover a recording that delivers real substance on multiple levels; aesthetic, conceptual and practical.
Sonically haunting and spacious, the piece is anchored by acoustic guitar floating in a suspension of textures generated by additional acoustic and electric guitar treatments.
Conceptualized as a journey into and through one's own interior, Beyond The Golden Light is a carefully considered sonic analogy that captures the essence of things not easily spoken about. Musical and textural elements dance between foreground and background, appearing and disappearing like objects in our own awareness, gradually revealing the mysterious and limitless context in which we all exist.
This recording is suitable for a number of different uses from active listening, to meditation, to sleep enhancement. Try leaving it on all night and see how you feel in the morning.
Beyond The Golden Light will also be offered by The Monroe Institute as a Hemi-Sync® embedded MetaMusic title. Release is scheduled for the fall of 2009, don't miss it!
Beyond The Golden Light is an ambient work of vision and sonic depth. Listeners will discover a recording with much to offer on multiple levels; aesthetic, conceptual and practical.
The piece is anchored by haunting acoustic guitar floating in a spacious suspension of textures generated by additional acoustic and electric guitar treatments. Conceptualized as a journey into and through consciousness, Beyond The Golden Light is a carefully considered sonic analogy that captures the essence of things not easily spoken about. Musical and textural elements dance between foreground and background, appearing and disappearing like objects in our own awareness, gradually revealing the mysterious, limitless context in which it exists.
This recording is suitable for a number of different uses from active listening, to meditation, to sleep enhancement. Try leaving it on all night and see how you feel in the morning. Beyond The Golden Light will also be offered by Monroe Products as a Hemi-Sync® embedded Metamusic title. Release is scheduled for the fall of 2009, don't miss it!
Performed and recorded by Matthew Sigmon. Cover photography by Julie B. Anderson.
Purchase Beyond The Golden Light as 320kbps MP3:
High Quality Digital Download
When I set out to record the piece, I had the concept of weightlessness in mind, both the sort that occurs in the absence of gravity as well as the non-corporeal variety one can experience using inner senses. I tried to look at it from both physical and non-physical perspectives since ultimately both are unified in consciousness and represent important aspects of what we are. For instance, in a physically weightless environment one may experience ascent, descent, hovering, turning, tumbling, etc. The list of non-physical correlations are more broad and arbitrary - freedom, peace, equilibrium, wonder, as well as mystery, imbalance and uncertainty to name only a few.
I made a concerted effort not to allow the piece to become overly melodic, but rather to try and provide melodic components that could be followed and focused on or allowed to fade into the background. I also tried to represent the shadow aspects of experience, those things we feel when we encounter the unknown. Space, whether inner or outer, is limitless, and therefore ultimately undefinable. "Emptiness" can initially appear to be negative in the strictest sense, that is, an absence rather than a presence, but there's more to it than that.
The big game is that non-existence doesn't exist by virtue of its own definition, so ultimately one is immersed in unending presence. Recognizing endless, all-encompassing presence is a tremendously subtle, powerful affirmation. Without trying to be too literal about that conclusion, my goal was to allow it to make itself known over the course of the composition.
-Matt
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Released: June 2009
1 Track - 41:45
Recorded in 1989, Matuta is one of Matthew's first ambient composition experiments.
The piece began as a stereo loop of guitar harmonics with the right and left channels recorded at slightly different speeds. As a result, the subtle patterns in the stereo background are always moving, relative to each other. Splashes of melody that regenerate in different ways echo over the top to create a refreshing and uplifting feel. The blend of musicality and consistency in Matuta make it ideal for setting and maintaing a positive mood, meditation or relaxation. Playing the piece independently on different sound systems can generate interesting results, whether done in different rooms of a house or in different areas of commercial space such as a gallery.
Performed and recorded by Matthew Sigmon. Cover photography by Julie B. Anderson.
Purchase Matuta as 320kbps MP3:
High Quality Digital Download
I’ve always favored listening to this piece in the morning. Something in how the melodies appear, linger and fade reminds me of morning sun through summer leaves. In fact, the title is borrowed from “Mater Matuta”, the mythological Roman goddess of the dawn. I’ve listened to Matuta often over the years and given it to many friends who have also enjoyed it. Now I’m pleased to give it the public release it deserves.
-Matt
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Sleeping Through The Rain
Originally Released: 1990
Into The Deep
Originally Released: 1994
Sleeping Through The Rain and Into The Deep are 30 minute ambient instrumentals created by Matthew Sigmon and Julie Anderson for The Monroe Institute's Metamusic catalog. The recordings are embedded with TMI's patented Hemi-Sync audio signals, designed to facilitate synchronization between the two hemispheres of the brain.
While the marketing of the titles is handled exclusively by TMI, the recordings resulted from Matthew's experiments with looping guitar textures in the early 90's. The combination of these ambient compositions and the embedded Hemi-Sync signals has resulted in a wealth of anecdotal and empirical evidence that confirms their extraordinary effectiveness as an aid in relaxation, meditation, pain relief and recovery.
Purchase Sleeping Through The Rain as:
iTunes Download
CD
Purchase Into The Deep as:
CD
Reviews and comments:
I bought [Sleeping Through The Rain] for my mother after attending the Gateway Voyage Program... I wanted to share with her the incredible peace I 'float' into every time I meditate with the methods learned at the Institute. Skeptical as she is, I felt listening to 'regular' music (but with added Hemi-Sinc) would be a gentle introduction for her. She absolutely loves this CD and hears it every single night! She even swears it helps her de-stress, and during a recent Pre-Op had me run home for it to help her relax. She boasted to the doctor about the power of the music, and how she wished it were common procedure for all patients before operations!
- Lisanne S.
Melbourne, Fl
"I loved “Into The Deep” by you and Julie. That’s somewhat of an understatement, though I’d have a hard time describing the effect it had on me... Believe me when I say it’s the most moving and visually stimulating music I have ever heard. Very organic, wonderfully layered with a deep ambiance. Even after a few years of listening it doesn’t feel old."
- James
Email Feedback
Really Helped
I had a period of time where I could not seem to shut out the day and sleep. A physical therapist recommended this as a possible solution. It worked and now I pull out this CD whenever I cannot drift off.
- Steven W. Graff
Amazon.com Reviewer
Music To Relax
wonderful music to create a relaxed atmosphere (Hemi-Sync technology to balance and focus the brain)
- Ferry Frisian
Amazon.com Reviewer
One Of The Best...
This is one of the best CD from Hemi-Sync series. Great for relaxation and dreaming.
- Ed "E"
Amazon.com Reviewer
from Music and Metamusic - A Universal Bridge
Because of the strong connection between our auditory nerves, thymus glands and immune systems, certain types of music have proven to be a powerful aid in healing. I experienced this first hand when I later played some of the “special” music for one of my students, Aaron, who was in the hospital dying of AIDS-related complications.
I took three “special” CDs, Inner Journey, Sleeping Through the Rain, and Cloudscapes to the hospital. I left them with Aaron’s mother, instructing her to put on the music whenever Aaron needed sleep or relief from pain. Days later on my second visit, I was greeted by a nurse who asked where she could purchase the “miracle music” for the hospice wing. The nurse said that as long as the music was on Aaron needed no morphine.
I went into Aaron’s room and quickly learned that this “special” music is something more than ordinary music. As we talked, the music ended. Within five minutes, I noticed a ripple of pain several inches wide spreading from Aaron’s face all the way down to his toes.
“Is the music off?!” he screamed.
“Yes,” I said as I restarted the music.
“I told them not to turn it off. It doesn’t hurt when the music is on,” Aaron told me.
In less than 10 minutes Aaron’s pain eased.
Aaron’s favorite “special” music was Sleeping Through The Rain...
Should it be surprising that music could have such an impact on Aaron? Or on me? I don’t think so.
- Barbara Bullard and Matthew Joyce
From The Monroe Institute website:
The Monroe Institute, founded by Robert A. Monroe, is internationally known for its work with audio sound patterns that can have dramatic effects on states of consciousness. Monroe observed, during his early research, that certain sounds create a Frequency Following Response in the electrical activity of the brain.
Those observations led to some remarkable findings dealing with the very nature of human consciousness. Researchers learned specific sounds could be blended and sequenced to gently lead the brain to various states ranging from deep relaxation or sleep to expanded states of awareness and other “extraordinary” states. This compelling research became the foundation of a noninvasive and easy-to-use “audio-guidance” technology known as “Hemi-Sync.”
The audio-guidance process works quite simply by sending different sounds (tones) to each ear by stereo headphones. The two hemispheres of the brain then act in unison to “hear” a third signal-the difference between the two tones. This is not an actual sound, but an electrical signal that can only be perceived within the brain by both brain hemispheres working together. The result is a focused, whole-brain state known as hemispheric synchronization, or “Hemi-Sync”-an optimal condition for improving human performance.
Specific combinations of Hemi-Sync signals, for example, can help individuals achieve laserlike focus and concentration. Different Hemi-Sync signals are used to facilitate profound relaxation, expanded awareness or other desired states. Depending on the intended goals, music, verbal guidance or subtle sound effects are combined with Hemi-Sync to strengthen its effectiveness. Users remain in total control as these recordings do not contain subliminal messages.
Hemispheric synchronization does occur naturally in daily life but typically only for random, brief periods of time. Hemi-Sync can assist individuals in achieving and sustaining this highly productive, coherent, brain-wave state.
Robert Monroe’s work inspired an entire industry of mind/brain products. After decades of research, and thousands of lab sessions, the extraordinary Hemi-Sync process remains unparalleled in its ability to assist us in harnessing our human potential. There are now scores of tapes and CDs incorporating Hemi-Sync for a wide variety of applications. |
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Welcome to the website of independent recording artist Matthew Sigmon.
