Soul Land Records has announced a new compilation called Love Serve Remember: Reimagined, a collection of new Ram Dass songs and musical renderings in collaboration with musicians The Human Experience, Liquid Bloom, and John Pattern. It’s set for release on December 7th.
The tracks on the EP celebrate the 50th anniversary of an expansive collection of Ram Dass radio conversations, readings, and music that first took form as a six-LP box set called Love Serve Remember in 1973.
For those of you who don’t know, Ram Dass (born Richard Alpert) was an American spiritual teacher, yoga guru, psychologist, and writer who passed away in 2019. His best-selling book 1971 Be Here Now has been described by many reviewers as “seminal” and helped popularize Eastern spirituality and yoga in the West. In the early Sixties, Ram Dass was personally and professionally associated with Timothy Leary at Harvard University. Then known as Richard Alpert, he conducted research with Leary on the therapeutic effects of psychedelic drugs. The research wasn’t illegal then, but it was controversial, leading to Leary’s and Alpert’s dismissal from Harvard in 1963.
Soul Land Record was created as a repository for the new music being created in dedication and inspired by Ram Dass, who was an avid music listener with tastes spanning across multiple genres. Soul Land Records was launched by Ram Dass’ Love Serve Remember Foundation to serve the mission of spreading Ram Dass’ teachings through music.
The songs on the Love Serve Remember: Reimagined EP vary in mood and instrumentation but are all interconnected threads of the same cloth. The three artists who collaborated on the projects weave the archival fifty-year-old Ram Dass recordings with fresh, modern musical landscapes and diverse instrumentation.
Two singles will be released from the EP soon. “My Heart Song” from Ram Dass and John Pattern will be released on November 22nd, and “The Great Way” from Ram’s original reading of the 3rd Chinese Patriarch of Zen will be released on November 29th. Here’s the complete track listing:
Ram Dass, John Pattern – My Heart Song
Ram Dass, John Pattern – Equanimity and Peace
Ram Dass, Liquid Bloom – Opening Reimagined (feat. Moondrop)
Ram Dass, John Pattern – We All Come From God Remix
Ram Dass, The Human Experience – The Great Way
On “My Heart Song,” musician John Pattern takes an archival 1986 recording of Ram Dass singing and transforms it into a “musical love letter to the spiritual heart.” The synths rise and fall, while the instrumentation remains lush and elating. “Ram Dass and John Pattern bring you to the essence of love and into the path of the heart,” the press release tells us.
Watch the video for the single “My Heart Song” below:
John Pattern is a psychotherapist in Utah specializing in a holistic approach to treating trauma, addiction, and mental health. He uses music as a therapeutic medium to convey spiritual messages that uplift and inspire. “Ram Dass has a special place in my heart and is someone I strive to pattern my life after,” John says.
“The Great Way” is the second single and is a seventeen-minute meditative journey from The Human Experience, featuring Ram Dass reading The Third Chinese Patriarch of Zen, originally shared on the original Love Serve Remember LP set released in 1973.
The track opens with reverb-laden synths and natural ambient soundscapes, as Ram’s voice echoes as part of the rich harmonics, speaking as if in a cavern from some liminal space. “Stop talking and thinking,” he says. “And there is nothing you will not be able to know.”
Textures and moods shift as the track evolves, and The Human Experience traverses challenging sonic territory with Ram Dass and the listener. “To return to the root is to find meaning, but to pursue appearances is to miss the source,” is another nugget of wisdom from Ram Dass on the track. It’s a call for quiet and stillness, and the track is a vehicle for deep, healing listening.
The Human Experience is David Block’s principal project as a live electronic composer, multi-instrumentalist, and producer. David has collaborated with artists worldwide, including Rising Appalachia and Random Rab, Igrancio Perez (Buena Vista Social Club), William Close (The Earth Harp), Elephant Revival, and many others. “We don’t play music,” Block says, “music plays us.”
Love Serve Remember: Reimagined is not the first time Ram Dass’ recordings have been used in a musical project. A quick glance through Spotify shows several other projects that have used Ram Dass’ recordings, including a track on Jon Hopkins’ Music for Psychedelic Therapy and a 2019 album called Ram Dass by the musician, producer, and ceremony guide East Forest. All these releases make for great, relaxing, and meditative spiritual music that – as in the case of Hopkins’ – can also be good for psychedelic therapy. It’s the type of music to meditate to or fall asleep to or, if you’re feeling bold, maybe get high to, as well. Enjoy!
Support John Patterson by checking out his official website or finding him on Spotify, Apple Music, or social media (Instagram).
Support The Human Experience by finding him on Bandcamp, his official website, or social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube).
Support Ram Dass and Soul Land Records by checking out their official website or finding them on social media (Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, TikTok).
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