Crafting Music for Altered States and Psychedelic Spaces

Krishna-Trevor Oswalt (East Forest) (Multidisciplinary Artist, Producer, and Ceremony Guide)
  Xochitl Ashe (5th Generation Medicine Woman)
  Andrea Drury (Artist)
  Liz Hanna (MA, Contemplative Musician and Facilitator)

Wednesday 22 January, 8PM CET (7PM GMT, 2PM EST, 11AM PST)

Online via Zoom

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When you think about ceremony or psychedelic-assisted therapy, it may be hard to imagine these spaces without the presence of music. However, the rich substrate of theoretical, technical, aesthetic, and cultural frameworks involved in shaping that music remains unseen to many participants. Who are the practitioners who bring this music to life, and what inspires their work? What values, personal experiences, and traditions guide their creative process and decision-making? How might approaches to music in therapy, clinical research, performance, liturgical, and sacred music contexts intersect with music for psychedelic spaces and altered states?

Together, we’ll explore these questions, from the theoretical to the practical, building from the perspectives of our esteemed guest speakers who work with music in psychedelic spaces and traditional indigenous ceremonies: Krishna-Trevor Oswalt (East Forest), Xóchitl Ashe, and Andrea Drury (ANILAH).

We will conclude with a Q&A session, inviting participants to engage in the conversation by submitting questions for further discussion. This event offers a rare opportunity to gain insight into the artistry, ethics, and cultural richness behind music for altered states of consciousness.

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ABOUT THE SPEAKERs

Krishna-Trevor Oswalt (East Forest): East Forest is a multidisciplinary artist, producer, and ceremony guide. Since 2008, East Forest’s “lush” (Rolling Stone) and “blissful” (NPR) music has blended ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop to explore sound as a tool for inner journeys and consciousness expansion.

His latest endeavor is “Music for Mushrooms,” a feature-length narrative documentary showcasing the transformative power of psychedelics, music, and community. The accompanying “Official Documentary Soundtrack” is an immersive album featuring tracks recorded during live psilocybin ceremonies. East Forest’s extensive catalog includes over 30 albums and notable collaborations with artists such as Ram Dass, Jon Hopkins, Laraaji, Dead Prez, Nick Mulvey, Peter Broderick, Max Cooper, and DJ ANNA. He has performed at major festivals and venues internationally.

As a trailblazer in meditation and inner resilience, East Forest offers guided meditations, retreats, and a podcast (“Ten Laws w/East Forest”). His approach promotes non-religious, accessible spirituality. He’s a faculty member at the Esalen Institute and has collaborated with institutions across social justice, mental health, science, music, and creative fields, including Google, Johns Hopkins, UCSF, Stanford, and TED. His work has appeared on Bright Antenna, Domino, Mercury KX, Aquilo, Ghostly, as well as Tender Loving Empire & Universal/Decca.

Xochitl Ashe: Xochitl (pronounced “So-chil”) Kusikuy Ashe is an Afro-Quechua Aymara medicine woman, representing the fifth generation of her family’s healing lineage. For the past three decades, Xochitl has been sharing her wisdom as a respected teacher, guide, author, and community builder, offering retreats, workshops, mentorships, and ceremonies across the world. At just 16 Xochitl became the first woman in five generations to be initiated into her Peruvian ancestral healing traditions. For the past 30 years, she worked with her godfather, a Mazatec medicine man skilled in the ancient practice of healing with Teonanácatl (psilocybin mushrooms). Blending ancestral wisdom with Western trauma-informed therapies, such as internal family systems, Xochitl bridges ancient healing traditions with modern wellness practices. Beyond education, she is a passionate preserver of Indigenous teachings, an expert in plant spirit communication, and a devoted advocate for honoring sacred mushrooms. Through her unwavering commitment to these sacred practices, Xochitl not only helps individuals embark on joyful and empowered healing journeys but also ensures that these ancient traditions remain alive, relevant, and accessible for generations to come, so that we may remember that we live in a magical world.

Andrea Drury: Residing on the west coast of British Columbia, Anilah is the musical art project of composer and vocalist Andrea Drury. For the first 18 years of her life, she lived in a rural village in the mountains of interior BC. Her experience of growing up in the remote wilderness, as well as her love for untamed and wild places, have deeply influenced the way that she approaches songwriting.

From an early age, Andrea has been fascinated with the therapeutic aspects of sound and music. This led her to study psychoacoustic sound design, music therapy, and the healing potential of the voice with mentors such as Silvia Nakkach, Shweta Jhaveri, and the late Ali Akbar Khan. These teachers helped to develop a relationship to music that was less focused on theory, cultivating a more embodied sense of sound, voice, and form. Since the first days of creating the project of Anilah, Andrea has continued to experiment with an approach to writing music that revolves around the power of the voice and the use of minimalist composition. Anilah has been featured on season 6 of History Channel “Vikings”, and CBC’s “New Eden” series.

In 2020, Andrea collaborated with “Wavepaths” to record a series of ambient vocal sets to be used in their new app for psychedelic therapy clinicians. Wavepaths crafts customised and evidence-based music compositions for therapeutic use with psychedelic medicines.

Liz Hanna is a multimodal contemplative artist, musician, and facilitator based in the northeastern United States. She has a background in clinical music therapy and contemporary music performance from Berklee College of Music and a Master’s in Religion and Ecology from Yale Divinity School, where she also studied and performed with the Institute of Sacred Music. A professional singer, commissioned choral composer, and vocal instructor, Liz has performed regularly in New York and the greater New England area as a soloist and small ensemble musician for over ten years. As a facilitator, Liz specializes in developing music-based contemplative practices for individuals and groups, with an emphasis on exploring structured improvisation in client-directed healing work. She is fascinated by the role of the creative process in medicine work of all kinds, including within psychedelic experience, and has guided individual and group ceremony sessions over the past several years. Drawing upon her extensive experience in private practice and performance settings, Liz is currently preparing a collection of contemplative exercises for publication.

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