This story starts 40 years ago, but fast forward to today and my new Apple Music sub bundled into my phone plan. It works with Google Assistant, as it is my first evah music service sub, I've been having fun exploring the boundaries of its delivery capability (for the record, I haven't found any yet).
Lying in bed the other night, I thought to myself, I'd really like to play some meditation music - what
was the name of that percussionist I once knew? A several of days later, at an entirely unrelated time, the name popped up: "Frank Perry"! And yes, Apple Music
does have his music although I note there is another, newer, artist by the same name. If you are looking for the one I'm talking about, I recommend avoiding the one that says "Beats for da Soul" and instead choosing things like "New Atlantis" and "Deep peace of the son of peace to you". Look, this isn't hip hop. Those titles should leave you in no doubt what sort of music I'm talking about, you may not like it, you may not want to listen to it, move on.
Anyhow, scroll back 40 years. I cannot remember how I met him, he is the single most extraordinary percussionist I have ever come across. A mixture of Evelyn Glennie and New Age. One one occasion I and a friend were at his house and were privileged to have our own performance, even then he had a collection of Tibetan singing bowls many hundreds of years old. You may never have heard any played, the quality of sound is extraordinary. Anyhow, the thing I remember and the reason for devoting a thread to him, is that at one stage, the music he made resonated. Resonated physically with my body in with a sensation that was not ever replicated until visiting an earthquake zone.
Anyhow, reproducing the music will never be the same as a live performance, by the time it has been recorded and compressed, and played back through computer speakers any of the more esoteric qualities will have been lost. But still, you might enjoy his playing. This
YouTube video might be an interesting place to start, the first five minutes or more are on a single gong. It's the sort of music you need to close your eyes and relax to. Another suggestion would be his album,
"deep Peace". While we're on the subject of listening recommendations,
Evelyn Glennies's TED talk, How To Truly Listen is one such.
