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The concept of the 3-track, 61-minute CD was quite innovative too as it featured 3 sequential tracks, entitled “Dream Ten”, “Dream Twenty” and “Dream Thirty” that clock in respectively at ten, twenty and thirty minute time intervals. Chuck explains that the Dream album was created with a precise purpose in mind: “The Dream album was specifically in response to requests from healthcare professionals, massage therapists, music therapists and others, who liked the idea that my music consisted of long pieces and were asking me to create some precisely "timed" pieces for 10, 20 and 30 minutes. Terence Yallop and Karen Kael at Real Music were always talking about "functional" music, and trying to address the fact that more and more folks in wellness communities were looking at music as a tool.” Released on compact disc by the well-regarded Real Music label, Dream: A Liquid Mind Experience is significant in that it blends several Liquid Mind motifs within a track that stands on its own yet also serves as functional music allowing listeners and healthcare professionals to time their activities, whether it be for resting and meditating, or in the case of healthcare professionals, the timing of therapies such as reflexology and massage. Musically, if not a best-of Liquid Mind per se, Dream: A Liquid Mind Experience does contain a unique fusion of certain tracks. First off, “Dream Ten”, clocking in at just over ten minutes, is actually a previously unreleased Liquid Mind track perfect for meditating or for timing a ten-minute break. Track 2, “Dream Twenty”, at just over 20-minutes, combines a track from 2009’s Liquid Mind IX: Lullaby with a track from 2007's Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience. Likewise, Track 3, “Dream Thirty” combines music from the aforementioned Liquid Mind IX: Lullaby album as well as Liquid Mind VII: Reflection (2004) and Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep (2006) albums.
mwe3.com presents a new interview with Liquid Mind
Chuck Wild: In the very early days of Liquid Mind, I would hear from a lot of music therapists and massage therapists who were doing timed sessions. They all commented that they loved the longer pieces, but wish they were precisely timed to end at 50 or 60 minutes. I didn't want to release 50 or 60 minute tracks, feeling there needed to be a little "breathing room" between tracks. So I thought of composing 10+20+30 minute tracks. That would allow therapists who wanted 50 minutes to start on track 2, and those wanting a full hour could play the whole CD. Some music therapists and others liked the idea of the shorter 10-minute track for meditation sessions. Karen and Terence wanted the album to be a collection, so I worked for some time to find a way to blend, for lack of a better word, existing tracks into a collection album with a dual purpose; timed and highlighting tracks I liked from previous albums. mwe3: What was the process like combining the different pieces on “Dream Twenty” and “Dream Thirty” as "Dream Twenty" combines music from both Liquid Mind IX: Lullaby and Relax: A Liquid Mind Experience while “Dream Thirty” combines themes from the Liquid Mind IX: Lullaby and Liquid Mind VII: Reflection and Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep albums. How did you combine these tracks from the different albums? I couldn’t hear a break and there were no fadeouts, so it was done quite skillfully. Chuck Wild: I recall it was a bit challenging to maintain the "Liquid Mind style", and at the same time to use a number of sometimes unmatched individual tracks. If I had to describe the process, it was trial and error. I've always felt we learn from our mistakes, so at the beginning of the process, progress was quite slow as I tried a lot of things that didn't work. I lined up tracks from the previous 10 albums in my DAW (digital audio workstation) and slid them around. I wish I could say it was precise and organized (lol), but at the start it was a bit haphazard. Once I got close to the precise time of each 10/20/30 track, I then remixed the ending piece to make it shorter or bit longer. mwe3: Dream: A Liquid Mind Experience features a cover by Richard Laeton-Balaram, who at the time was the staff artist for Real Music at their headquarters in Sausalito, California. Tell us about the cover art as it’s very iconic in its own right with the two animals. Seems like the dog got most of the couch. (lol) Chuck Wild: At the time, I had done a mailing of Liquid Mind CD’s, mailings were an important means of promotion back then, to hundreds of veterinary clinics and had received some feedback that my music was relaxing animals, sometimes to sleep. Pet owners had also given me a lot of feedback in the early days. I thought it might be fun to have some animals on the cover, and Richard designed the cover with that in mind. I loved the idea of dog and a cat, who may not always get along, (lol) were co-existing peacefully in relaxation. And you are right, we fussed a lot over the location of the dog and the kitty, but we felt, as many pet owners do, that the cat is always the boss (lol). One side note: A couple of months ago I released a 12 hour Musical Petcare® video on YouTube, created by Melissa Messer in response to many pet owners asking for a super-long video they could play for their animals while they were gone at work. It seems to be well-received so far. mwe3: Dream: A Liquid Mind Experience begins with a piece of music that was previously unreleased. Did you create that track for the album or was it waiting to be released at some point? What was the reaction among healthcare people and Liquid Mind listeners too? Chuck Wild: Yes, I created "Dream Ten" specifically for this album. Terence and Karen at Real Music had learned over the years that fans liked collections especially when they included one or two new tracks, so I've always tried to do that. I did hear from a lot of folks, especially massage therapists who liked the 50 minute combination. mwe3: The Dream: A Liquid Mind Experience booklet is quite extensive listing a number of therapies you support, from resting to meditation. Was that something you wrote? Also you list other ways to benefit from the Dream album, including relaxation training to anger management. So I guess the list of benefits from listening to Liquid Mind is limitless. Chuck Wild: Many years ago, I was chatting at a convention with music therapist Barbara Else, MPA, LCAT, MT-BC, who at the time was "Senior Advisor Policy & Research" for the American Music Therapy Association. I told Barb back then that I'd received over 1,000 emails and letters from folks using Liquid Mind in the early days. She suggested we do a "content analysis", which is the way a researcher examines and draws conclusions from a large pool of feedback. So, we looked at 700 emails and this page on my website shows how people were using Liquid Mind at that point in time. That led me to study some published long time music and music therapy research and confirmed that music definitely has effects on humans, and animals. That study also led me to further refine the style of Liquid Mind. mwe3: Some might call Dream a kind of Liquid Mind mash-up of sorts. Would you consider this kind of compilation again, combining like-minded themes from different albums? Chuck Wild: Today's digital music marketplace is not really as "album-friendly" as in past years. Streams of single releases to digital streaming providers (DSP's) are more the release protocol, so it's unlikely, though not impossible, I'll do more collections/compilations. I do miss the older paradigm of album release, and feel it is still better for artists, but the marketplace has spoken otherwise, with its steady stream of singles, sometimes followed up by an album a few weeks later that includes the singles. Thanks Robert for this opportunity to chat about Dream: A Liquid Mind Experience.
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Following the 2009 album release of 