A chance meeting during October 2013 was the catalyst for an ever-deeper relationship with sound. Satya was attending the Ink Talks Conference in Kochi, India, when she was introduced to the frequency 136.10 Hertz by neuroscientist and researcher Rohan Dixit. He inspired Satya to investigate, highlighting the frequency’s potential to integrate mind and body by opening the heart.

Satya returned to her home in Manhattan, and, on September 7th 2014, began composing over a 2.5 minute sine wave drone tuned to 136.10 Hz. The impact was immediate, astounding, and revelatory. Satya became fully immersed in the frequency and lost all sense of space and time - the next three hours passed as if they were a single moment! When Satya returned to the here and now, she had unlocked a precise way to reconnect to her ancient Vedic roots where sound and music are approached as pathways leading to the attainment of meditative and higher states of consciousness.

During 2016 Essence began to appear in public with performances at Berklee India Exchange ( Mumbai, India ), Global Congress of Spiritual Scientists ( India ), Chopra Foundation’s Sages and Scientists ( Los Angeles ) and  Subtle Shift ( NYC ). At this point Essence was a sensory integration of scent, lights and electronic soundscapes merging with earth instruments (e.g. storm drum, ocean drum, harmonic rattle). The genesis of spatial audio within Essence began at this point – with voice and instruments, Satya would move through the space interacting creatively with the microphone array and directly with the audience.

In 2017 Satya was invited to present and share Essence at VIT TedX ( Chennai, India ) at a gathering of Science, Engineering, and Technology students and professors. Through "Essence," this audience was introduced to the transformative power of deep listening and its profound influence on our perception of time. This prompted a stimulating dialogue surrounding enhanced perception and its potential to foster positive change within individuals.

In 2018, Essence continued to grow in both the US and India with three public offerings: Asia Contemporary Art Week ( NYC ), The International Yoga Festival ( Rishikesh, India ) and a project to raise awareness through art-driven funding for anti-human trafficking, Rise of the Butterfly ( NYC )

The following year was pivotal - new channels for Essence to impact consciousness were opened through the use of unique earth instruments and emerging audio technologies. Satya worked closely with a new instrument, the ‘Samalan’ developed by Alan Tower, and spent time in Research and Development at the Spatial Sound Institute ( SSI ) in Budapest, Hungary. Here SSI Founder Paul Oomen and Satya focussed on the investigating the powerful intersection of acoustic instruments and spatial audio within deep listening environments designed for large public spaces.

Building on the truth that we perceive sound through the body as much as through the ears, vibroacoustic technology was fully integrated into the Essence experience in 2019. This was achieved either through vibroacoustic flooring or through the more portable vibrating backpack manufactured by SubPac, a frequent ASE partner.

This same year Essence featured at The Sundance Film Festival (Utah, USA), Dubai Future Foundation’s The World Government Summit (Dubai, UAE) and University of Oxford’s EMPRESS The Art of Noises (Modern Art Oxford, UK). With the integration of spatial audio and vibroacoustics the relevance of this work to psychoacoustics and cognitive neuroscience was becoming ever clearer.

The technological dimension of the Essence experience is carefully designed to amplify our perception of the intricate web of connections that underpin the natural world. Consequently, it was only fitting that Essence found a profound resonance within the serene surroundings of the Matagiri Sri Aurobindo Centre in Mount Tremper, NY. This unique iteration delved into the profound significance of ritual, self-reflection, community-building, and spiritual exploration, all nested within an environment rooted in the principles of integral yoga.

Conductor David Murphy attended Essence experiences at Oxford University and Matagiri Sri Aurobindo Centre, having been pursuing a path of deep listening for many years. Shortly afterwards, David and Satya began exploring the use of orchestral instruments and voices to articulate the harmonic series of 136.10 Hz, thus sonically embedding the listener within layers of ratios and proportions found in nature.

Shortly As the COVID-19 Pandemic emerged, live experiences of Essence were halted. Becoming aware of the increased need to share the healing properties of the experience Satya  responded by exploring the potential of Essence to transcend physical barriers through various online formats. Simultaneously, the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra ( RPO ) initiated a dialogue with David Murphy to explore new ways of connecting with audiences. This serendipitous alignment resulted in Satya and David hosting a series of online workshops for RPO musicians in March 2021. These workshops explored two key pillars of Alchemic Sonic Environment: deep listening and creating improvised music based on environmental frequencies and ratios: music which is literally in tune with nature.

The resounding success of these workshops unveiled the vast potential for orchestral exploration within this framework. To further examine this potentia David made an application to Arts Council England to develop Harmony of the Worlds in partnership with the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.

The RPO workshop process and subsequent in-depth analysis became the springboard for the formalisation of the ASE Method, inspired by integral yoga and developed by Satya, David and mental health researcher Socrates Mitsios.

As the world began to open after the Pandemic, another synchronistic meeting took place. Satya was invited to give an experience at a private gathering in New Jersey and as a result collaborated with two fellow performers, the sitar players Hidayat Hussain Khan and Abhik Mukherjee. The superlative musicianship of these two masters was gradually woven into Essence thus enabling the composition to embrace the roots of Satya’s artistry within the Indian music tradition.

It was now time to begin the recording process.

During 2022, several elements came together to make the landmark recording of Essence possible.

Funding applications for Harmony of the Worlds were successful, which meant that Royal Philharmonic Orchestra Musicians and Synergy Vocals Choir would be able to spend enough time rehearsing and performing Essence to become comfortable with its exceptional demands in the areas of tuning and spatial awareness.

The growing ASE Method was applied to three recording retreats. Dialogues with industry luminaries, such as Antoine Petroff, shed light on new avenues for innovation. Petroff’s expertise in spatial audio, electronic and acoustic music seamlessly integrated with the evolving aspirations of the ASE Method, paving the way for an ambitious goal – enabling recording artists to experience their creations in the same spatial context as the listener during the recording process was ground breaking.

These aspirations were further crystallised in conversations with esteemed engineers such as Tony Joy, whose contributions included the development of the ProTools template that would underpin the unfolding of the vast and intricate Essence project

The first two retreats took place in California, and culminated with sessions recorded by BAFTA/Oscar winner engineer John Kurlander at the Village Studios in Los Angeles. ( Village Studios were chosen as they are a unique venue where you can simultaneously record and monitor in spatial audio ).

The first two retreats took place in California, and culminated with sessions recorded by BAFTA/Oscar winner engineer John Kurlander at the Village Studios in Los Angeles. ( Village Studios were chosen as they are a unique venue where you can simultaneously record and monitor in spatial audio ).

As in the earlier ASE Method sessions with the RPO, the psychological components of music-making ( i.e. aural perception and somatic awareness ) were explored, the latter powerfully facilitated by ASE’s Associate Artist  Nissa Nishakawa.

In December 2022 the Harmony of the Worlds project brought all these elements together. It began with an intensive rehearsal / research and development retreat in Kingston Upon Thames, UK.

In collaboration with conductor and composer David Murphy, 74 musicians ( Royal Philharmonic Orchestra and Synergy Vocals) and an expert team of researchers and technologists from Southby Productions, d&b Audiotechnik, Vibroacoustic Pioneers Subpac, engineer Mark Rogers and producer Eben D’amico, Harmony of the Worlds propelled Essence’s growth into the orchestral arena.

January 2023 saw the orchestral premiere of Essence during Harmony of the Worlds at Saint Mary’s Church, Luton, UK. The audience experienced an immersive deep listening environment featuring spatial audio and vibroacoustic technology with live orchestra, chorus and ancient instruments from around the world. With this, a new perspective of listening was revealed to a sold-out audience.

The same team then recorded Essence at Abbey Road Studios. This was a landmark moment in the history of recorded sound as master engineers Mark Rogers and John Kurlander realised Satya’s vision of recording spatial audio with a new circular layout. This configuration deeply engaged the spatial awareness of all, each player and singer becoming acutely aware of how the listener would receive their sounds. This revolutionary approach placed the spatial nature of Essence at the creative heart of the recording process.

Essence is fluid and ever-expanding, integrating people and projects in the fields of Education, Spirituality, Government and Arts & Culture.

Essence is the fourth composition within the concept album, Athenaeum of Sound and the first to be released.

In March 2023, an invitation to present Essence at A&R Worldwide’s Music Industry Conference, MUSEXPO, in Los Angeles served to extend the influence and resonance of ASE’s work within the broader music industry. This opportunity was followed by a groundbreaking presentation at the Museum of Consciousness in New York City, affiliated with Oxford University in the United Kingdom. The event challenged conventional notions of musical and sonic perception, fostering a deeper appreciation for the transformative potential of sound. These events further underscored the capacity of Essence to reshape our understanding of the intimate connection between sound, consciousness, and personal transformation.