The Museum of Consciousness at Balliol College, Oxford University

Welcome to the Museum of Consciousness

Calling all curious minds, music nerds, science enthusiasts, neurohackers, magicians, and consciousness experimenters and transcenders. After six sold out shows across the world, and multiple festival cameos, the Museum of Consciousness returns to its home at Oxford University. This intimate and cutting-edge exhibition will include five live sound transmissions performed by. 7 audio wizards, spanning five hours.  The aim: to alter the audience’s state of consciousness through the power of sound alone.

*** This event will sell out and there will be no tickets on the door (online tickets only) ***

The Museum of Consciousness is based at Balliol College, Oxford University, a hub of world class innovation. 

The Museum challenges artists to produce a reliable and measurable Altered State of Consciousness in a live audience, using only sound. Around 100 artists are members of the Museum of Consciousness community, including Tom Middleton, Jon Hopkins, Lisa Lashes and Alexandre Tannous.

Expanding on this high-quality precedent, visitors can expect to be transported to a world of sound and imagination.
 

The Museum of Consciousness is not only a place to experience art, but also to engage in a creative process. 

Our museum's regenerative structure is designed to empower both artists and audience, through a circular process of Transmission, Integration, and Feedback:

1. Transmission - Sound Transmission from the Artist  - The artists TRANSMIT their sound to the audience.
2. Feedback - Audience feeback - Where the audience directly COMMUNICATES their thoughts and feelings back to the artist to help them learn and potentially iterate on their piece.
3. Integration -  Mini-lecture from the Artist about their work - The artists then help INTEGRATE their transmission with a mini lecture which explains the piece in depth, and their passion for sound as a whole.

Website: https://www.themoc.org  
Video explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrDa5qCodJc 
Paper: https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2021.55
 

The featured artists playing at Balliol College, Oxford University: 

1.) Paul Hartnoll (Orbital)

2.) Caz Coronel (Conscious Explorers)

3.) Gavin Lawson (Audysseyave)

4.) Paul & Mark Cummings (Mystery School of Sound)

5.) Joe Crossley (Astral Projekt)

1.) Paul Hartnoll (Orbital)  
Transmission: ‘Out There Somewhere (Parts 1 and 2)’
 

Out There Somewhere is a musical journey from paranoia and anxiety through exploration ending in a attempt to feel infinity and the universe as one. No answers, just a big feeling of this is it, this is everything, it doesn’t mean anything it just is. It’s happy awe-inspiring place of relief.  It reminds me of that feeling you sometimes get with psychedelics where you feel you’ve nearly hit the meaning of everything but can’t hold onto it.

Biography: 
British soundtracks artist Paul Hartnoll – creator of scores for feature films, Peaky Blinders, BBC science documentaries and commercials for clients from Rolex to Volkswagen – brings a wealth of experience from wider, no less vital worlds to the screen. Born in 1968 and raised in suburban Sevenoaks in Kent, just south-east of London, Hartnoll grew up in exactly the right place and time to experience a run of priceless pop culture moments from London punk through early hip hop to the rave and electronic dance music revolution of the 90s. 

With Orbital, his world-renowned electronic duo with brother Phil, Paul Hartnoll took the DIY world of bedroom synth music first to the global dancefloor (famously Orbital’s debut hit, the classic ‘Chime’, was made at home on cassette) and then to festivals worldwide in the 90s. Along the way, Orbital’s epic live shows created a new unmissable moment for events from Glastonbury to Coachella: the purely electronic headliner, with the energies of house, techno, electro and audience all driving one another ever higher. But it was the more deeply felt and thoughtful side to Hartnoll’s work that really set his music apart, and which has enabled him to create uncommonly rich movie and TV soundtracks which both echo and create a scene’s emotional truth. Orbital tracks like the blissful early morning epiphany ‘Belfast’ or ‘The Box’, a sinister “soundtrack for an imaginary 60s spy movie”, have become sync staples over the years. But Hartnoll also draws together compelling themes from a lifetime spent at the intersection of alternative music, film culture and avant garde composition.

You can hear it in his earliest soundtrack work on the Paul Anderson sci-fi horror picture Event Horizon, where Hartnoll pitted abrasive electronics and post-industrial metallic noise against Michael Kamen’s orchestrations to create a uniquely tense vision of terror in space. It’s there in his latest release, a soundtrack for the 2021 movie Concrete Plans, where queasy synths and incongruous pastoral guitars frame a tale of murder and home improvement. 

It was there in the second series of Peaky Blinders, where Hartnoll collaborated with producer Flood (Depeche Mode, U2, The Killers) to build a new sonic world, at the same time vintage and contemporary, on top of deconstructed tracks by the rock artist PJ Harvey. Hartnoll is interested in everything. His work is a true synthesis, on synthesisers – plus whatever else Paul can lay his hands on. 

“Peaky Blinders was what really gave me my taste for longform TV,” Hartnoll explains. “And now I think I enjoy that sort of work more than film. There’s so much more depth of character, more intricate plot lines, so much more to work with. There’s freedom to expand and surprise the viewer.” The work went so well that Cillian Murphy, star of Peaky Blinders, subsequently appeared on Hartnoll’s solo album ‘8:58’. 

Now there is talk of a full score for a major yet-to-be-announced Netflix TV series. The producers originally wanted to use ‘The Box’, Orbital’s sinister Lalo Schifrin-style hit from 1996. Now they’ve commissioned Paul for a full score with music both incidental and diegetic. “It’s a dream job for me,” he says. “‘The Box’ was our attempt to make the theme tune to a fictitious 60s TV show. Little did I know that 25 years later…”

“I feel very fortunate to be able to do all the things I ever wanted,” he says, “be it scoring films and TV to doing Orbital when the time is right, or just exploring music, and doing it all from my shed! I’ve got the headspace now that I can have as many strings to my bow as I want.

More information: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Hartnoll 

2.) Caz Coronel (Conscious Explorers) 
Transmission: 

i)‘Blue Ridge Mountains’
ii) ‘Paracusia for Robert’ 
iii) ‘Ganga ma’

"Blue Ridge Flight" is a track that was started during Caz’s second visit to the Monroe Institute, during the Gateway program. The music came into Caz's consciousness in various parts through different meditations over the course of a week and was inspired by the majestic Blue Ridge Mountains. The track uses groundbreaking 3D layered harmonic audio technology, which has not been publicly released. This incorporates TMI's advanced proprietary 3D binaural technology and spiralling amplitude modulation to create brain synchronization in all brainwaves, but particularly in delta and gamma waves. The piece has been crafted to evoke feelings of gentle bliss, balance, and overall well-being. The tones have been mixed in Dolby Atmos to provide an immersive brainwave entrainment experience.


"Paracusia for Robert" is a track that arose out of a meditation session after Caz was asked by a gentleman named Robert to write a piece to help him reach an enlightened state (no easy task!). Caz was composing at the Monroe Institute at the time and was regularly doing meditations there. The piece came to her during one of these meditation sessions while she was asleep. The institute is located in Virginia, USA, in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and is known for its natural beauty and geological diversity. The ground is rich in crystals, and the energy there is powerful. Caz is certain this contributed to the creation of the piece. All the parts were recorded at the Monroe Institute, and the singing was recorded in the forest surrounding the institute. Sound technology from Monroe was added to create gamma synchrony; a union and coherence of all brainwaves that helps with a sense of well-being. The singing was intended to be a demo recording, but after a lady who heard it said it gave her synesthesia, Caz left it untouched.

"Ganga ma" is a piece written in Rishikesh, India, at the foothills of the Himalayas, about the magnificent Ganga river. It is inspired by the busyness and chaos of the river and the surrounding area, but more importantly, the serenity and calmness that the river brings. This track contains Monroe Sound Science, modulated tones that create gamma synchrony. This encourages the listener into a sense of energized calm. We need both energy and calm to navigate this life, and the vibrant Ganga river with all its hustle and bustle so clearly represented this to Caz. The reality of life is that it is often hectic, but the trick is to embrace it and find our peace within it.

Biography: 
Biography: Caz Coronel is a composer, multimedia artist, music producer, soundscape designer, and international DJ. Caz produces music and creates mixes for immersive spaces, shows, film, and consciousness-shifting experiences. Caz is passionate about understanding the nature of reality, the human experience, and what truly moves people. When it comes to her own music, the process of creation is deeply intuitive, unbound by genres or trends, made with love to inspire and elevate consciousness. Caz is the Founder of Conscious Explorers, a thriving community dedicated to exploring consciousness, living consciously, and self-actualization through the joy of adventure. Caz has been exploring consciousness for a lifetime, with extensive experience in out-of-body experiences, astral projection, lucid dreaming, and psychedelic exploration. Caz teaches on a range of topics related to consciousness. She holds a BA in Philosophy in Cognitive and Computing Science and is actively involved in discussing the ethical and philosophical implications of emerging technologies. Caz collaborates with the Monroe Institute, a pioneer in brainwave entrainment for over 50 years, placing her at the forefront of cutting-edge sound technology.

More information: http://cazcoronel.com 

3.) Gavin Lawson (Audysseyave)  

Transmission: ‘Double Helix’
 

From the mind for the mind. The composition Double Helix supports the concept of using creative sonified data and new technologies in music production and brain entrainment to support relaxation and meditation states. “In the world of electronic music and visual entrainment, there exists a unique fusion of art and science, where the technical aspects of sound and image are brought to life in a symphony of sensory experiences”.

Biography: 
Gavin M Lawson is founder of Audysseyave, working in development with Roxiva Innovations to create a unique methodology combining brain entrainment using the RX1 and electronic music compositions with Ableton Live 11, maxforlive effects and binaural audio with the Audeze LCD-X headphones. 

“I subscribe to the eloquence of Plato’s moral law ‘wings to the mind, flight to the imagination’ a gestalt if you may when one feels complete in the frequencies and tones of musical composition and creativity as a whole”. 

Gavin’s background is deeply rooted in electronic music, and for many years as a creative practitioner, I have been navigating its numerous sub-genres, from Bristol's space dub suburban symphonies to Detroit’s techno. Gavin has been supported by Ableton Live since the company's inception more than 20 years ago, and thanks to their dedication to developing new tools to encourage learning and artistic expression, Gavin was able to embark on a 7-year journey through Europe before settling in Ibiza to explore the concept of creativity. Hosting music production retreats and writing a book on health and wellbeing in the creative industry with a motivational introduction from Milton Mermikides have both given Gavin access to a landscape of auditory stimulation thanks to electronic music. 

More information: 

4.) Paul & Mark Cummings (Mystery School of Sound)  Transmission: Kybalion

This musical composition is titled "The Kybalion," drawing its inspiration from a hermetic text of the same name, famously published in 1908 and attributed to the legendary Hermes Trismegistus. The composition intricately weaves together the essence of this text by encapsulating its seven universal principles of nature. These principles are portrayed as seven distinct movements within the score, each lasting precisely seven minutes. In this composition, anticipate a tapestry of drones, resonant harmonies, and intriguing dissonances seamlessly merging to create profound rumbles and rhythmic patterns. Periods of emptiness are punctuated by abrupt, haunting wails that pierce through the sonic landscape. The work itself embodies a cosmic and timeless essence, inviting deep contemplation and introspection.

Biography: 

Paul & Mark are twin brothers and have been performing with the gongs for over eight years and have a healing program to complement their practice. This practice is strongly aligned with the healing arts and esoteric teachings from Eastern and Western traditions. The primary influences are European mysticism as well as shamanic practices from around the world. As a duet, the performers skilfully wield several symphonic and tuned gongs. This unique pairing of two gong players creates a binaural experience, expanding one's consciousness even further. Together, they craft a multi-layered soundscape, inviting you to immerse yourself in deep relaxation and meditation. In addition to the gongs, their ensemble features complementary instruments like singing bowls and the flute, adding further dimensions to the captivating sonic journey they offer.

More information: 

5.) Joe Crossley (Astral Projekt) 

Transmission: Sound Resonance and its effects on Biophysics

In a period of technical advancement in understanding the subtle influences of the human bio-physical field using sound resonance, we take the guests on a journey to the Kings Chamber in the pyramid of Giza. Participants will engage in a practical collective listening experience currently being used to induce bio-physical effects. 

Biography: 
Joe Crossley is a visionary artist and innovator in the field of immersive technology, his company Astral Projekt has been responsible for some notable immersive experiences from the walls of the Sydney Opera House to Glastonbury and Burning Man. His studies over the past 8 years have included discovering the hidden frequencies embedded within sacred sites across Egypt has led to a collection of published works as well as technical developments for vocal entrainment inducing changes in the biophysical field of man. 

More information: http://astralprojekt.com 

The evening will begin with an Introduction to the Museum of Consciousness by Carl Hayden Smith

The first session will be an introduction to the aims and objectives of the Museum - its history and trajectory. 
One of the best examples from the Museum will be played as samples in order to open the event:

Jose Macabra - “Drilling the Unconscious”
The aim of “Drilling the Unconscious” is to liberate the body and the mind through atonality, improvised vocals, field recordings, drones and noise. The voice is a symbol of the universal body, in search of sensations. Different voice registers are transformed using various techniques: contact mics, filters, granulation and saturation. The intention is to transcend the conscious realm by partly abolishing tonal norms. Some parts of this experience might lead to a void, while other sections might connect the audience with an overload of unconscious matter. The intention is to take you on a journey to explore memories, emotions, and beliefs, which may contain unprocessed or repressed feelings. This existential sonic performance is designed to puncture your chest and wrap its grasp around your beating heart, demanding your total attention as you are bathed in its relentless sonic flux.

Biography: 
Carl Hayden Smith is Associate Professor of Media at the University of East London. He is also the Founder of the Museum of Consciousness at Oxford University and co-founder of the Cyberdelics Society. His research concentrates on the relationship between technology and the human condition. Raising over £10 million in research funding, Carl has worked on numerous large-scale Leonardo LifeLong Learning, Erasmus+, FP7, Horizon 2020 projects and the XPRIZE. He has given over 300 invited public lectures, conference presentations and keynotes in 40 countries and published more than 50 academic papers. His research interests also include Contextology (Context Engineering), Embodied Cognition, Spatial Literacy, Umwelt Hacking and Sensory Augmentation.

More information: 
https://www.themoc.org  
https://www.cyberdelicsociety.com