Lucerne based Hallow Ground is a platform and label for music focussed on the notion of deep listening. Since it's inception in 2013, it has released the work of composers such as Kali Malone, Siavash Amini, Martina Lussi, Colin Potter and many others.

On 25 March 2022 the platform released its first compilation. Epiphanies brings together newly commissioned tracks by artists on the platform's roster, who were all asked to respond to the idea of sonic epiphanies. “The responding compositions”, says Leah Kardos in her review of the album in The Wire 458, “each in their own different ways, explore the textural limits and plural natures of their materials, blurring the lines between physicality and abstraction.”

Here, the label's founder Remo Seeland answers some questions about Hallow Ground and Epiphanies, and shares a brand new mix featuring tracks from the label's catalogue.

The Wire: What is the underlying ethos of Hallow Ground?

Remo Seeland: The core concept of Hallow Ground is simple: we release “music and art that leads to visions.” While the meaning of this statement is somewhat subjective, we aim for every release to grow beyond itself, that the music inspires something new in each listener, and not just exist as the sum of its tones. The effects can be an altered mental and/or physical state, refocusing the mind, slowing the heart rate, steadying the breath. By inspiring deep listening, our goal is to allow our audience to realise the evolution of their creative potential, to experience an enhanced perception in their daily lives.

In addition to an analytical approach to composition, we’re also interested in non-rational methods of music-making, which can demand a deeper engagement and imagination of both the composer and listener.

Can you say more about what you mean by “visions” and why they are important?

We characterise the meaning of “visions” as both open and concrete, metaphorical and physical. While having an academic background in Religious Studies, I’ve also pursued various ritualistic, trance and meditation techniques in practice. On an extended stay in India, I discovered nada yoga, a precursor to the contemporary concept of deep listening. These years of training were formative in my understanding of and approach to producing music; I’ve always preferred music with this “visionary” emphasis over commercial music created merely for its entertainment value.

How, if at all, has the music Hallow Ground has released shaped or shifted the label's objectives or identity since its inception nine years ago?

Actually, the objectives have remained the same, but we’ve become a lot more aware of them over the years. The growing catalogue, which now boasts over 50 releases, seemed to evolve organically and easily, while naturally embodying a coherent Hallow Ground identity. I think it's been a fruitful and mutual creative exchange between the many talented artists we work with and us as label hosts.

What happens when you compile music from various Hallow Ground releases into one – why is the compilation titled Epiphanies?

The Epiphanies release perfectly illustrates the varied interpretations of our philosophy. The concept-compilation features new and unpublished tracks especially written for the album. Each artist was invited to pursue a non-rational creative process—employing a physical or emotional rather than analytic approach, converging as a collective celebration of epiphany through sound. When we first conceived of the compilation two years ago, we were curious if this non rational composition process would carry through to the listening experience. We recently hosted a pre-release deep listening session and definitively saw it to be true.

Tracklist

Remo Seeland with Laya Ensemble “Baldachin”
Maria W Horn “Oinones Death Pt I”
FUJI​|​|​|​|​|​|​|​|​|​|​TA “osoi”
Kali Malone “Bondage To Formula”
Lawrence English “A Binding”
Siavash Amini “Moonless Garden”
David Granström “Transience”
Colin Potter “And”
Dedekind Cut “Das Expanded, Untitled Riff”
Valentina Magaletti “The Narrower Frame”

Read Leah Kardos's review of Epiphanies in full in The Wire 458. Wire subscribers can also read the article via the digital magazine archive.