Today we’d like to introduce you to Michael (Buddy) Ouchakof.
Hi Michael, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
Thank you! The story of arriving to where I am today is truly a journey. For as long as I can recall, music was a big huge part of my existence. My mother is a flutist and was majoring in music while I was in utero. So, I consider my musical journey to begin at that point. Hearing all sorts of music through my mother’s ears, from marches to symphony pieces to the Beatles imbued music into my being. From the time I entered this world, an instrument, mainly piano, was not far from my reach.
As a youth I studied percussion and piano, moving along the traditional lesson-based route, albeit reluctantly. I’ve always had an ability to play by ear, and consider myself an explorer, so being confined to a method hasn’t really worked for me. When I was 17, I traded my drum kit for a used electric guitar, the typical suburban rockstar dream!
Interestingly, my path then diverted from music, in the sense I didn’t pursue it in education or through true dedication to an instrument. I found myself pursuing a career in (landscape) design. Still in the arts, but one that promised a little more financial security. My dedication to music at this point took the form of listening; deep diving into jazz, classical, and all sorts of experimental genres through LPS, CDs, and live music. I still tooled around on the guitar, albeit with intermittent levels of dedication to practice and exploration.
Fast forward a decade or two, my design career in New York was flourishing, yet my soul wasn’t. I was writing jazz reviews for a live music web blog, but the design career was taking over all aspects of my existence. I knew a change was needed to save my life, and my partner was able to secure a job here in San Diego. When we arrived, I was very much lost but very willing to embark on the next part of my journey.
When we first came to San Diego, I was in the process of writing a novel. As I was exploring more experimental music through looping and electronics, I began creating a soundtrack for the book. This often led to vast, meandering pieces (of up to 3 hours!) that featured lots of effects and otherworldly sounds. The writing continued, fueled by the musical pieces and vice versa.
We moved from downtown out to Mission Trails at some point. It was here that things started to shift more and more towards music as my primary means of expression. I started covering some of my favorite rock songs as one person band, recording them in a makeshift studio I set up in an extra bedroom in the place where we were staying. I sent a version of a song to a singer-songwriter friend back east. He replied with, “That’s great, but why not try writing your own songs?”
Being one to rise to a challenge, I set out writing a group of songs, which eventually became my first album. This was a collection of mostly post-punk songs, heavily influenced by The Stone Roses, The Cure, and The Talking Heads, with some Grateful Dead thrown in. This exploration pushed the writing aside a bit, but reinforced the idea I could create a soundtrack to the novel.
It was around this time that I came across ecstatic dance. I had yet to attend a dance, but it was definitely on my radar. After a year, we moved to Hillcrest, getting us closer to the ecstatic dance venues. I wasn’t sure what ecstatic dance was, but I felt a strong call to push past my social anxiety and find out.
Finally, I attended a dance. What a transformative experience and practice it’s become for me. At the end of the night, a didgeridoo player helped us transition from the dance realm back to the earthly realm. I was vaguely familiar with the didgeridoo, but mostly from a trip to Australia in high school, the film Crocodile Dundee, and musician Xavier Rudd. My grandfather even brought touristy didgeridoos back from a trip to Australia in 1994, but I didn’t really connect with it then as it turns out that I had more karma to work through before I was ready.
I continued to write during the days while still creating some music, expanding my instrumentations with software. Being San Diego, I came across a posting for an introductory didgeridoo class in Encinitas with a magnificent player called Sam David. For whatever reason, I knew I needed to be there.
It was a two-hour class with about 15 people. After Sam talked about the instrument, its history, and his journey with it, it came time for all of us to make some sounds. All I can say is that the moment I put the instrument to my lips and sputtered out the first drone, everything changed. Something inside of me was broken open, unlocking a deep connection with this ancient instrument from far off in the past.
I went home that night and ordered an inexpensive didgeridoo from the internet. I would continue to write all day, taking a break around noon to practice didgeridoo. Our Shih Tzu, who was a puppy at the time, immediately took great pleasure in our lunchtime didge practice. Following a method I found on the internet, I was able to circle breathe in about a week. To say that the didgeridoo changed my world would be a bit of an understatement.
As is my nature, I soon began acquiring other “healing” instruments like crystal singing bowls, shakers, kalimbas, and a frame drum. I was also exploring sound baths and ambient music created using some of these instruments. At some point, I came across an instrument called a monochord. It’s essentially a kind of harp, but all the strings are equal in length but tuned in order to sound one chord. The tuning often contains a chord triad (three notes) of differing octaves (pitches). The ones I found online were a bit out of an unpublished writer’s budget, so having been a lifelong woodworker, I decided to craft one of my own design. This then blossomed into crafting chimes, both handheld and traditional windchimes, all from our little Hillcrest apartment.
During this time, I became more involved with ecstatic dance from the production side, as a means to satisfy my stagecraft passions and also to expand my social circle with a group of people I feel so deeply connected with. One of the main producers, who is now a very dear friend, discovered I’d been exploring channeling sounds using healing instruments. Immediately, they said, “Well, you’re going to provide the sound healing after our next dance.”
At the end of the next dance, I provided a sound healing to about 40 people. Quite the initiation! As people came up to me afterward, I discovered I didn’t recall many moments of the sounds they were asking me about. I chalked it up to nerves or excitement and returned to my daily routine of writing and sound.
Following that first offering, I started a practice of connecting deeply with the instruments. Every evening, I set up the ever-expanding array of instruments and provided a sound journey for my partner and our puppy. I discovered that as my body was playing these instruments, my soul was connected to a higher source, utilizing me as the conduit for the sounds and frequencies.
A few weeks later, my first public sound journey took place at reUnify Yoga in Ocean Beach. During covid, I offered weekly sound healings and sound journeys online through a free streaming service to help people remain connected through sound. Through grace, we now live on a beautiful piece of protected land in Alpine, surrounded by Oak trees and all sorts of wildlife. One of the great benefits of living here is I now have a large space for sound journeys, a home studio for composing music, and a workshop for instrument craft.
We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
I wouldn’t say it’s been a smooth road. Like many people, I’ve struggled with depression and anxiety for a very long time. Music was a means for coping and, most of the time, escape (or aversion). I think for many artists or creatives, we try to face our fears or feelings through our chosen medium. That’s simply because we need to, or we don’t know how to survive in this world. We struggle with how to, or if, we share these gifts with society. A society in which we often feel either doesn’t understand us or even want to try to understand us for who we truly are.
The true gift is the journey itself. Coming to these instruments to these sounds helps me face the neuroses and judgments, and feelings that sometimes mask my true self. That, too, has been a struggle, the struggle of attaching to a definition of the self, trying to fit into a box or someone else’s idea of who or what I am or should be.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
As part of my purpose in life, I provide offerings through Sögu Music Meditation & Instruments. I specialize in music compositions, guided sound journeys for groups and individuals, and crafting instruments for healing practices and deeper connections to sound. Sögu is an Icelandic word for “story,” or “saga,” reflecting my understanding that these sounds are the story of this existence for me.
I am most known for guiding sound journeys for groups and individuals. These journeys allow people to explore the inner and outer depths of the unconscious mind through sound. It’s a collaborative process in the sense that I act as the conduit to what I refer to as the Frequencies of Creation. During the journey, I listen for cues from the aethers, which lead me to each instrument. During a session, I never have a “plan” as to what instrument will be played when, or what sounds will come out if it. This is up to the person journeying. They call in what sounds, vibrations, and frequencies their soul knows they need. For many people, the sound journey experience has provided insight, answers and has been life-altering.
My instrument craft is something I am very proud to be exploring. I craft didgeridoos, monochords, and chimes for individuals. Each instrument is specific to the person to whom it will join. Again, this process is energetically collaborative. I take pride in getting to know each person a bit before we embark on the instrument journey. Through this connection, I imbue each instrument with my love and energy, helping to provide a deep connection to the sounds each instrument produces for them. My favorite part of the process is uniting people with the instrument, providing them with some guidance on making it a practice, and knowing they will be spreading good vibes and healing with these sounds.
I am becoming a bit more recognized for my compositions, which I offer on Insight Timer, as well as the traditional music streaming services. I also compose pieces for meditation teachers, yoga teachers or anyone else who is seeking personalized sounds.
My relationship with sound and my offerings is my dharma, my purpose in this life. Sharing it with others is the greatest gift I could ever receive. It was a long road to understand or rediscover that, and I am grateful for all the experiences which led me here.
Can you share something surprising about yourself?
Probably that I’ve lived many lives within this one life already. When I was in high school, I wanted to become a cinematographer and attend UCLA, primarily becuase that is where Jim Morrison and Ray Manzarek of The Doors went to film school. Also, I worked in landscape architecture for the better part of two decades before opening up to my true purpose, after writing and self-publishing a novel. Again, these experiences are all part of the journey, for which I am so grateful.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sogumusic.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sogumusic
- Youtube: https://youtube.com/@sogumusic
- SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/sogumusic
- Other: https://insig.ht/x96zb3HMVIb?utm_source=copy_link&utm_medium=live_stream_share
Image Credits
Burning Love Media
