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The Liquid Mind series of albums, from the very first Ambience Minimus in 1994 through to the most recent, Liquid Mind XIV: Simplicity in 2022, each have something special to offer listeners seeking to detach from stress and tension in their lives. If winding down with the intention of sleep is essential, then Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep may very well help you reach the arms of Morpheus easier and, perhaps equally as important, without relying on chemicals, herbs, or potions. Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep begins with a heavenly sounding synth arrangement called “Night Light” that suggests a perfect invitation for you to turn off your mind and relax as you find your comfort zone. For some listeners this can be a challenge after the pressures and vigor’s of the day, but “Night Light” is a warm welcome to this Liquid Mind album classic. An 11-minute epic synth track here, “Moment of Grace” provides a heavenly breather between the night and entering the realm of nocturnal pleasures, while the longest track here “Journey To Peace” guides you deeper into the zone of deep rest. The track is a tad melancholy but since we know that sleep is no laughing matter, it’s a journey worth taking. The important moments of sleep required for the body to heal itself, whether recovering from physical illness or psychological distress, involves the gentle art of breathing. That sense of restoration during sleep is realized on “Breathe In Me”, one of the track highlights on Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep, making it an inspired and a key moment on the album overall.
Track 6, “Touching Calm” offers another moment of nocturnal bliss on Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep and it’s a fitting conclusion to an album that is has remained a standout of the Liquid Mind catalog since its initial release in 2006. “Touching Calm” evokes the finest ethereal ambient synth masters, including Brian Eno, who came to mind while listening to this track. Listeners will respond differently to the various tracks on Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep. So, while some people will be forever compelled to dull the senses through the use of certain detrimental substances, wouldn’t it be lovely if listeners would make Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep an alternate method to help enhance their overall sleep experience.
mwe3.com presents a new interview with Liquid Mind
Chuck Wild: 2006 was a challenging year for me, as I was traveling every few weeks to help care for my father who was 96 at the time. Frequent flying and living in motels present certain challenges to sleeping, as you can imagine. With that backdrop, I was also traveling from Los Angeles to Sausalito, California, to meet with Terence Yallop, his wife Karen Kael, and the staff at Real Music. The titles of the Liquid Mind series have always been reflective of my own life journey, and I was definitely sleep-challenged at the time and looking to improve my own health in that respect. So it seemed a logical and healing title. mwe3: Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep must have been an interesting album to make as it’s proven to be a kind of therapeutic way to approach the idea of improving sleep. How did you approach the topic musically and do you find the album has a continuous flow in that the themes and titles are connected? Chuck Wild: Since Liquid Mind has always been slow sedative music, I was determined to make subtle changes to deepen the experience of relaxing into sleep, to make it even more gentle sonically. Part of my process was researching about sleep, time to sleep, etc. I discovered that most folks take 15-20 minutes to fall asleep, so that influenced the length of the compositions. As well, with Liquid Mind, I've always aspired not to attract attention with the texture or musical aspects. mwe3: Was the idea of Sleep a topic the Liquid Mind listeners requested that you visit? Was the topic of sleep, both dealing with deprivation and sleep enhancement, an area you wanted to further explore in order to help your fans? Chuck Wild: From the very first album I've had a lot of feedback about Liquid Mind, literally thousands of messages, emails, and letters over the years. Many years ago, a well-respected music therapist friend, Barbara Else, suggested we do a content analysis of 700 emails to see how people were using the music. That analysis is at this link if you're curious. In that analysis, we noticed that 20% of the listeners were using Liquid Mind for sleep inducement. I was a bit surprised, as I can't personally sleep to music since I'd always be analyzing it lol. But I definitely understand using slow relaxing music to set the tone of my environment, especially to reduce stress at times, and it makes sense to do that as part of a pre-sleep routine. Chuck Wild: While I was composing the album, I didn't know too much about the detail of Dr. Dement's life, however Jamie Pederson at the label Real Music knew of him from being Director of the nearby Stanford Sleep Disorders and Research Center, so she sent him some of the music and he immediately responded, saying “Mr. Wild successfully creates a soothing and calming atmosphere which could be an excellent addition to one’s nightly sleep regimen." As he was at the time the leading authority on sleep, having been part of the team that discovered REM sleep, Jamie asked if we could quote him, and he kindly responded "yes, of course". In the meantime, I read his excellent book The Promise of Sleep, and recommend it to anyone wanting to do a deep dive into sleep. mwe3: Do you think musicians have a harder time than others when it comes to being able to get a good night’s sleep? Chuck Wild: Yes, I absolutely think that's the case for a number of reasons. For nearly 15 years I was mostly on the road, playing in bands in nearly all of the 50 states. It was fun and exciting at the time, but the hours are challenging, and your "energy focus" is usually very late at night - gigs were often from 9 pm to 2 am. We would drive from town to town, never staying in one place for long, and motels/hotels can be quite noisy, especially if you're only going to sleep at 3 am, after playing a gig, and the hotel maids are coming along at 7 am doing their jobs. Add to that the nature of live performance... it's very 'mind-centric', playing music from memory, sometimes playing/hearing repetitive pop melodies, and often accompanied by energetic dance music... All this adds up to the perfect recipe for poor sleep. In 1984, when I left Missing Persons, I made the decision to stop playing live gigs, as a part of improving my health and well-being. Chuck Wild: Terence and Karen were long time meditators who had used Liquid Mind for many years prior to our business collaboration, so they were very supportive of my music and this album in particular, since it shined a light on a subject many folks struggle with. The intention of Liquid Mind IX: Lullaby, which I also wanted to be extremely gentle, was that parents might consider using the music for their kids, and indeed, I've had a lot of feedback from adults who were actually raised listening to Liquid Mind every night prior to bed. It's sort of a way to "let go" of the hyperactivity of a child's day. mwe3: Like all the colorful, depictive covers of the Liquid Mind albums, the artwork of Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep is quite wonderful. Can you say something about the cover art for the album after all these years? Chuck Wild: I've worked with the wonderful photographer and creative director Glen Wexler, since the second Liquid Mind album in 1996. We both lived in Hollywood at the time, and the collaboration has endured nearly 30 years. Glen's vision and creativity have been a great gift for me and for the series. He has a talent for engaging the viewer's imagination with his cover images and package design. As CDs are for the most part discontinued in these digital days, Glen has created "digital booklets" as PDF's, which often contain additional images related to the topic of the album. The booklet for Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep is at this link.
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Since we spend a third of our lives engaged in some form of sleeping and resting, the all-inclusive idea of slumber deserves to be deemed an important part of human existence. Of course, the shops are filled with innumerable substances, herbs, and potions to enable people to help get a good night’s sleep. In quite a novel approach, New Age music pioneer Chuck Wild considered the subject on Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep, the 2006 musical release under his musical moniker Liquid Mind®.
Even experienced electronic music listeners sometimes return to the agelessness of classical music from centuries past to enhance their rejuvenation. Being fan of the many classical masters from the ages, Chuck Wild knows this well and he explores the art of the symphonic on the track “Adagio For Sleep”. The meaning of the term “Adagio” in classical music means something played slow and soft and this track fits that idea superbly making it another certain highlight.
mwe3: Going way back to 2006, another year of great transition, Liquid Mind released Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep. Can you reflect back on your key memories of making that album? It’s surely one of the best Liquid Mind albums. What stands out in your mind about Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep and its release on Real Music?
mwe3: How did you discover the work of William Dement, the noted MD on sleep research? What about that doctor’s work in that area impressed you the most and what about it furthered the music on Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep? I see he Dr. Dement is referred to as the American father of sleep medicine and that he was also a jazz musician that knew Quincy Jones, Stan Getz, and Ray Charles. So I guess musicians sought him out for help with stress and anxiety?
mwe3: What was the reaction by Real Music to Liquid Mind VIII: Sleep at the time and how do you feel it fits into your music repertoire today? Did the label bring it up or did you have the idea in your mind already? I see you followed it in 2009 with Liquid Mind IX: Lullaby and was that album also related to sleep in a way?