Basking in Gravity for November 2024
Basking in Gravity for November 2024
Our immersive audiovisual yoga experience returns to Berkeley and Indianapolis
[edit: A previous version of this newsletter included the incorrect day for our upcoming event. The correct date for Basking in Gravity at The Alembic is Friday, November 15. Cosmic Chambo regrets the error.]
The Alembic, a nonprofit event space and community center in Berkeley CA, was both the terminus and the high point of the 2023 Basking in Gravity summer tour. Like me, this ephemeral participatory audiovisual yoga and meditation art project is native to the Midwest, but it’s something that would never have come into being if I hadn’t spent 20 years living in built up areas of the Eastern Pacific Rim and remote settlements in Occupied Northern Mexico. And so it is with great pleasure that I announce Basking in Gravity’s return to California, with a session at The Alembic on Friday, November 15, 2024 from 7-9pm. Hopefully one day soon I’ll be bringing this project to Far West Texas as well . . .
Save yourself a spot ASAP: Our previous iteration at Berkeley’s self-described “transformational festival without the dust” was the largest Basking in Gravity event so far, with a room so packed with heavy mellow heads that I almost resorted to using a microphone. They also have an absolutely massive soundsystem: maximum volume = maximum results. Tickets are available now at Eventbrite.
White River, Slow Flow | 2024 (work-in-progress)
If all goes according to plan I should be DJing a fresh, significantly heavier soundtrack of blackened ambient and heady metal from my yoga mat, alongside new video work. The projection is a continuation of White River, Slow Flow, an ongoing series of videos using heavily manipulated footage of the White River, a tributary of the Wabash River that flows through our home base of Muncie, Indiana. Elements of White River, Slow Flow featured prominently in the video I made with top-ranking ambient unit PJs for the “Eco” composition from their sublime 2022 Environments album. Big gratitude to PJs’ Jordan Christoff for our ongoing correspondence, a years-long dialogue that continues to inspire my work and bolster my spirits.
Central Indiana Gravity Baskers will have the opportunity to preview the new soundtrack and video work at our monthly happening on November 10 at Healer. We’re posted up at Indianapolis’ number one all-ages immersive art and music venue the Second Sunday of each month from 1-3pm. As usual, it’s a sliding scale donation of $10-20, with the NOTAFLOF1 exemption: If you’re stressed over dropping ten bucks on this yoga art project, then you need Basking in Gravity more than I need your ten bucks. For more info on visiting Healer, stop by one of their many online outposts.
• Basking in Gravity is intended to be accessible to all bodies and skill levels: No experience required.
• The practice involves discussions of mortality, but is not intended as a "bad trip" experience.
• Masks are welcome, but not required.
• The sound gets loud for several sequences: Earplugs are also welcome, but not required.
If you have any other questions or concerns about accessibility or anything else, contact me directly and let’s figure something out.
For more information on attending Basking in Gravity, or if you’d like to talk about hosting a Basking in Gravity session in your area, visit the dedicated Basking in Gravity page here on Vøid Contemplation Tactics or at my portfolio site, danielchamberlin.com.
You can hear a abbreviated version of the October, 2024 session on this Saturday’s Inter-Dimensional Music broadcast on WQRT Indianapolis at 12p (ET), or tune to Marfa Public Radio in Far West Texas and Northern Chihuahua Sunday night at 11p (CT). There are also 200+ classic shows to stream in the Cosmic Chambo archive, with current episodes appearing on the ID Music FM page. You can also find plenty of listening material in back issues of this newsletter. For example, you can stream/DL the soundtrack to another recent yoga session here:
If you know anyone who might enjoy Vøid Contemplation Tactics or Basking in Gravity, please pass it along. It means a lot! All subscriptions are appreciated, and paid subs help me to make these projects accessible to everyone. Thank you.
Word of mouth is our primary form of promotion. Vøid Contemplation Tactics doesn’t do much on social media, which is good for our mental health. As Dōgen's teacher told him, “You don't have to collect many people like clouds. Sitting with many fake practitioners is inferior to sitting with a few genuine practitioners. Choose a small number of true persons of the way and become friends with them.”
Thank you for lurking anonymously, subscribing for free, or subscribing for money. If you’d like to support these projects with a one-time donation, you can also drop some change in the tip jar.
No One Turned Away For Lack of Funds