We’re looking forward to introducing you to Steve Wilson. Check out our conversation below.
Steve, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What makes you lose track of time—and find yourself again?
I find creating music in my studio and sharing it with others to be highly absorbing. My search for “the right sounds” supports and compliments my meditation practice so that there seems to no longer be a conflict between work and play. The essence of this process is being willing and able to forget about rules, norms and past conventions and create what sounds good to me. It always amazes me that when I stop worrying about what other people will think of my creations, I usually come up with something most people appreciate.
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
I am an independent electronic music producer/creater/performer. For most of my life and played drums in jazz/funk/electronia bands to supplement and complement my main job as a social psychology professor. Since retiring, I now find myself spending most of my time creating music videos and events with music and video performances. My aim is to create music that reflects my love of improvisation and meditation (two things not usually mentioned in the same breath). I attempt to use sounds and rhythms that can simulataneously induce stillness and dance while promoting positivity. Since I am currently 85 years old, I find that most people are taken aback when they see and hear what I’m up to. I am convinced that music/sound is a powerful path to healing and personal growth. My main research interest as a professor was “Altered States of Consciousness”. I now spend time in my studio exploring the connections between sound and consciousness for myself and others.
Thanks for sharing that. Would love to go back in time and hear about how your past might have impacted who you are today. Who were you before the world told you who you had to be?
Most meditation traditions refer to returning to a “real”, “true” or “original” self; one unincumbered by social conditioning. My mother told me that I had an imaginary playmate named “Jim” and that when my brother was born they decided to call him James. I recall many instances of being shocked out of imaginary reveries by my parents and teachers as I was growing up. Who I was in these imaginary worlds feels like my real self and I can revist this “me” when I immerse myself in making music. I am currently working on deconstructing a song by Sly Stone called “Thank You For Letting Me Be Myself Again”. I am thankful that I can revist that version of me that feels real by absorbing myself in sound.
What fear has held you back the most in your life?
Growing up in the Mid-West, I remember always being concerned about “what the neighbors would think”. It’s been a long journey of letting go of that concern. I think that whatever level of creativity I’ve been able to attain in my studio and in performances, reflects this “letting go” . If I allow myself to become totally absorbed in the sounds, things happen that can not be predicted or planned rationally. This improvisational nature of my work is what keeps me going.
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. Whose ideas do you rely on most that aren’t your own?
My friend Jake Gage (founder of the Vista Zen Center) turned me onto a book called “The Search For Musical Ecstasy” by
Harvey “Gizmo” Rosenberg. The author asserts that music has the power to carry us beyond ordinary consciousness into ecstatic states, if we prepare our bodies, communities, and practice focused listening. He presents music not as entertainment, but as a sacred tool for inner transformation, capable of dissolving ego boundaries and opening deeper modes of awareness. Rosenberg further suggests that for many men, the pursuit of perfect audio gear is not mere hobbyism but a symbolic quest—an external embodiment of their yearning for transcendence.
His work has inspired much of what I am currently doing in my studio and in performance situations.
Okay, we’ve made it essentially to the end. One last question before you go. How do you know when you’re out of your depth?
I am out of my depth most of the time. The only time I feel fully absorbed is when I am moving into new territory. I’m now 85 and working on a rap song called “The World’s Oldest Rapper”: “I’m the world’s oldest rapper, I”m in the Book of Guiness, Don’t ask how old, It’s none of your business”. Who knew? Aging takes you naturally out of your depth and much of my work is directed toward seniors.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/chillologyband/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ChillologyBand
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@artandzentoday2931
- Other: https://chillology.bandcamp.com/
Image Credits
Steve Wilson
