![Dean Evenson flute](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/10/Dean_Evenson_flute.jpg)
Dean Evenson is a
new-age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars conside ...
musician, composer, producer and videographer. His hometown is
Staten Island
Staten Island ( ) is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Richmond County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located in the city's southwest portion, the borough is separated from New Jersey by the Arthur Kill and the Kill Van Kull an ...
,
New York. He has a master's degree in Molecular Biology. He worked in Manhattan as a recording engineer for Regent Sound with many Atlantic recording artists including Eric Clapton, Mose Allison, Roberta Flack. Dean plays several instruments including the
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a family of transverse (side-blown) woodwind instruments made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist (in British English), flutist (in Ameri ...
, Native American flute,
synthesizer
A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...
, and
keyboards
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
. In the New Age genre, his music is generally sounds of nature combined with flute melodies and other instruments for
ambient
Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to:
Music and sound
* Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds
* Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere
* ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby
* ...
and
meditative
Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...
purposes. His music is often used for massage, meditation, yoga and relaxation.
In 1970, he and his wife Dudley Evenson became involved in the portable-video movement. They worked under grants from the New York State Council on the Arts with
Raindance Foundation
Raindance Foundation (RainDance Corporation) was founded in October 1969 by Frank Gillette, Paul Ryan, Michael Shamberg, Louis Jaffe, and Marco Vassi. Raindance was a self-described "alternate culture think-tank" that embraced video as an altern ...
and helped publish a magazine called
Radical Software
''Radical Software'' was an early journal on the use of video as an artistic and political medium, started in 1970 in New York City. At the time, the term ''radical software'' referred to the content of information rather than to a computer progra ...
. During the '70s, the Evensons traveled the country in a half-sized converted school bus documenting the emerging new age consciousness. They produced hundreds of hours of half-inch black and white video. They continue to produce videos and are in the process of archiving their extensive collection of early videos and high resolution videos, many of which can be viewed on their Soundings of the Planet YouTube Channel.
In 1979, Dean and Dudley Evenson founded the independent record company Soundings of the Planet in
Tucson, Arizona
, "(at the) base of the black ill
, nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town"
, image_map =
, mapsize = 260px
, map_caption = Interactive map ...
. Over the years he has collaborated with many world class artists as a producer and musician, including
Li Xiangting
Li, li, or LI may refer to:
Businesses and organizations
* Landscape Institute, a British professional body for landscape architects
* Leadership Institute, a non-profit organization located in Arlington, Virginia, US, that teaches "political tec ...
, master of the
guqin
The ''guqin'' (; ) is a plucked seven-string Chinese musical instrument. It has been played since ancient times, and has traditionally been favoured by scholars and literati as an instrument of great subtlety and refinement, as highlighted b ...
(Chinese 7-string zither),
Sergey Kuryokhin
Sergey Anatolyevich Kuryokhin (russian: Серге́й Анато́льевич Курёхин, also transliterated as Sergei Kuriokhin, Sergei Kurekhin, Sergueï Kouriokhine, Sergey Kuriokhin, etc.; nicknamed "The Captain"; 16 June 1954 – 9 Ju ...
, Russian avant-garde composer and Native American elder Cha-das-ska-dum. The Dalai Lama even appears on one of his albums. He has also collaborated with Hungarian pianist
Tom Barabas, trance guitarist Scott Huckabay, harpist d'Rachael, and
Tim Alexander
Timothy W. Alexander (born April 10, 1965), also credited as "Herb" Alexander, is an American musician best known as the drummer for the rock band Primus. Alexander has played on the majority of Primus's discography, including some of the band ...
, innovative drummer from the rock group
Primus (band)
Primus is an American rock music, rock band formed in El Sobrante, Contra Costa County, California, El Sobrante, California in 1984. The band is currently composed of bassist/vocalist Les Claypool, guitarist Larry LaLonde, Larry "Ler" LaLonde, a ...
. He lives with his wife, Dudley, in the Pacific Northwest by a wild river in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains. They have three children and one granddaughter.
Soundings of the Planet has two YouTube channels. Soundings of the Planet YouTube that focuses on music and nature videos and Soundings Mindful Media YouTube that focuses on archival videos dating back to 1970 and more recent documentaries and spoken-word videos. They also produce the award-winning Soundings Podcast with interviews of thought leaders that can be heard on iTunes and Spotify or on their website soundings.com.
Partial discography, DVDs, Book
* ''Soundings Tapestry – 1986'' ''(Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Joy To The World – 1986 (with d'Rachael)''
* ''Peaceful Pond – 1986 (with d'Rachael)''
* ''Soaring – 1987 (with Tom Barabas)''
* ''Echoes of the Night – 1987 (with Tsonakwa)''
* ''Music Makes the Snow Melt Down – 1988 (with Soviet musicians)''
* ''What Child Is This – 1988 (with Singh Kaur, d'Rachael)''
* ''Ocean Dreams – 1989''
* ''Instruments Of Peace – 1989 (with Singh Kaur, Tom Barabas, Don Reeve)''
* ''Desert Moon Song – 1991 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Wind Dancer – 1992 (with Tom Barabas)''
* ''Forest Rain – 1994''
* ''Ascension – 1995 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Dreamstreams – 1996''
* ''Arctic Refuge: A Gathering of Tribes – 1996 (with Native American musicians)''
* ''Reflections: Gentle Music for Loving – 1996 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Prayer: A Multi-cultural Journey of Spirit – 1998 (Various artists compilation)''
* ''Sound Healing – 1998 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Healing Waters – 1999''
* ''Peace Through Music 20th Anniversary Sampler – 1999 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Tao of Healing – 2000 (with Li Xiangting)''
* ''Sonic Tribe – 2000 (with Scott Huckabay, Gina Sala)''
* ''Native Healing – 2001 (with Cha-das-ska-dum)''
* ''Music for the Healing Arts – 2001 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Healing Dreams – 2001 (with Scott Huckabay)''
* ''Ascension to Tibet – 2001 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Healing Sanctuary – 2002''
* ''Sound Massage – 2002 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Tao of Peace – 2002 (with LI Xiangting)''
* ''Spirit Rising ''(Sonic Tribe) – 2002 (with Scott Huckabay, Gina Sala, Beth Quist)''
* ''Sound Yoga – 2003 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Mountain Meadow Meditation – 2003 (with Scott Huckabay)''
* ''A Gift For Mother – 2003 (with Tom Barabas)''
* ''Raga Cycle – 2004 (with 'Pandit Shivnath Mishra, Deobrat Mishra)''
* ''Sacred World Chants – 2004 (Various artists compilation)''
* ''Eagle River – 2005''
* ''Eagle River (DVD) 2006 ''
* ''Spa Rhythms – 2006 (with SoulFood)''
* ''Golden Spa Tones -2006 (with Walter Makichen)''
* ''Spa Dreams – 2007 (with d'Rachael)''
* ''Wood Over Water − 2007''
* ''Healing The Holy Land – 2007 (Various artists compilation)''
* ''Soundings Global Rhythms Collection – 2008 (Soundings Ensemble compilation)''
* ''Chakra Healing – 2008 (with Soundings Ensemble)''
* ''Meditation Moment: 52 Weekly Affirmations – 2008 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Healing Suite – 2009 (with Tom Barabas)''
* ''Meditation Moods – 2010 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Meditation Moods DVD – 2010 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Sacred Earth – 2010''
* ''Reiki Om – 2011 (with Henry Han)''
* ''A Sound Sleep: Guided Meditations With Relaxing Music & Nature Sounds – 2011 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''A Year of Guided Meditations (DVD) – 2012 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''2 U.N. Earth Summits (1972 & 1992) (DVD) – 2012 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Relaxation Zone – 2012''
* ''4 Earth: Natural Sounds of Ocean, Stream, River, Pond – 2013''
* ''4 Earth: Scenic Vistas of Ocean, Stream, River, Pond (DVD) – 2013''
* ''Dream Space – 2013''
* ''Chakra Meditations & Tones – 2014 (with Dudley Evenson, Beth Quist)''
* ''Harmonic Way – 2014 (with Scott Huckabay)''
* ''Sonic Healing Meet the Masters Video Course (DVD) – 2015 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Desert Dawn Song – 2015 (original 1979 cassette) (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Golden Spiral – 2016 (with Scott Huckabay)''
* ''Stillness – 2016''
* ''Amber Sky – 2017 (with Phil Heaven & Jeff Willson)''
* ''Quieting the Monkey Mind: How to Meditate with Music (BOOK) – 2018 (with Dudley Evenson)''
* ''Prayers on the Wind: Native American & Silver Flutes – 2018 (with Peter Ali)''
* ''Net of Indra – 2018 (with Tim Alexander)''
* ''Peace Through Music 40th Anniversary Collection – 2019 (with Soundings Ensemble)''
* ''Tropical Relaxation – 2019 (with d'Rachael)''
* ''Healing Resonance – 2020 (with Scott Huckabay, Phil Heaven)''
In 1969, Evenson played flute for the psychedelic rock group The
Blues Magoos
The Blues Magoos are an American rock group from The Bronx, a borough of New York City, United States. They were at the forefront of the psychedelic music trend, beginning in 1966. They are best known for the hit song " (We Ain't Got) Nothin' Ye ...
on their ''Never Goin' Back to Georgia'' album.
See also
*
List of ambient music artists
This is a list of ambient music artists. This includes artists who have either been very important to the genre or have had a considerable amount of exposure (such as those who have been on a major label). This list does not include little-known ...
External links
Soundings of the Planet Web SiteSoundings of the Planet FacebookSoundings of the Planet YouTubeSoundings Mindful Media YouTubeDean Evenson InstagramSeattle Weekly article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Evenson, Dean
Evenson, Dean
Ambient musicians
Electronic musicians
1944 births
Living people