Interview with Gong Master Kosma Solarius
Kosma Solarius
Four of his gongs are from the very first series of planet gongs ever made. He calls them the Stradivarius of gongs. He plays them under the stars at Es Vedrà. This is where the science and the magic meet.
One new year I made a different kind of plan. A retreat in Ibiza with breathwork, yoga, long hikes and a sound therapy session with gong master Konstantin. That session was the beginning of my long-term practice in meditation.
Planet Gongs are tuned to the mathematical time a planet takes to travel around the sun. These are natural frequencies and this is why they resonate with us so deeply.
Kosma Solarius born Konstantin in 1972 in the Bavarian Forest, a mix of German and Greek roots grew up surrounded by music. At seven, a blues harmonica. At nine, a computer whose first purpose was making sound. In 1989, a Roland MC-303 Groovebox. And then: a party, a stage, and a man named Jens Zygar carrying a huge set of symphonic planet gongs. That night changed the direction of everything.
He joined the Star Sounds Orchestra. He moved to Hamburg, then to Koh Phangan in Thailand, where he held a residency at the Half Moon Festival for four years. He played the final concert in the St. Peter and Paul Cathedral in Moscow. In 2017 he moved to Ibiza, where he now holds regular sessions at Atzaró and Ibango, plays private villa sessions in summer, and performs under the stars at Es Vedrà with planet gongs tuned to the orbital frequencies of the solar system.
Four of his gongs are from the very first series of planet gongs ever made instruments he describes as the Stradivarius of gongs, and toward which he feels a great responsibility.
The orbital frequency of a planet, translated into sound
The Swiss mathematician Hans Cousto discovered the cosmic-octave calculations: the time a planet needs to travel around the sun gets translated into a sound frequency. Each planet has a very unique tuning, and these tunings seem to be, in some fundamental sense, the soul of music. Planet Gong vibrations go deep into the entire system, waking up hidden energies, opening blockages and stirring emotions. Some people experience euphoric feelings, others cry, others fall asleep. The experience is different for every person, every time.
How did you first encounter the planet gongs?
I booked an act called Star Sounds Orchestra, a legendary psychedelic trance live act. When the band turned up, Jens brought this huge set of symphonic planet gongs on stage and that was the first time I experienced these super powerful instruments. The interesting symbols on the gongs made me curious and after the party I started to do research. I found out they were tuned to the orbital frequency of the planets. Because I was already a producer, I instantly took my groovebox and started to tune to the Earth Year frequency. I probably listened to it the rest of the day. That was the starting point.
"4 of my gongs are from the very first series of planet gongs ever made. I like to see them as the Stradivarius of gongs and I feel a great responsibility towards my work as gong master."
Kosma Solarius
What makes a good gong master and what should people be aware of?
The technical and theoretical training is the most important part. People often believe more is better or stronger is better, so they play like they need to scare away ghosts. Jens Zygar is probably the most advanced gong artist on this planet and he developed the soft-manner style. It is all about the abilities of the performing person, not the instrument. Sound practitioners need an awakened sensitivity for people and a good portion of musicality. If the technique is not mastered, the gongs will never sound at their best. Whenever you join a sound meditation, please be aware of the danger of overdose-type playing and just leave.
Who inspires you musically?
Jean Michel Jarre. The clean and strong sound of Dire Straits. The singing guitar of Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, the Alan Parsons Project. I love classical music, experimental music, electronic avant-garde and basically anything with real soul and creativity in it. I cannot stand the copy-clone culture of the mainstream.
First, breathe out and empty your lungs. Now inhale for four seconds and when your lungs are full, put a smile on and exhale again for four seconds. When your lungs are empty, put on a more serious expression and repeat. When we breathe in, we fill our lungs with freshly charged air, and the little moment between inhaling and exhaling is the magic moment when we can program ourselves. We can give this incoming energy an information by a happy emotion, a smile. When we exhale, we release what is used up and no longer needed. It is essential to breathe with the gongs.
We have been a part of this change, using social media to expose the works of some of the most inspiring artists in the world and putting you, the reader, in touch with them directly. There is no need for only a few people in a flawed system to dictate what artists can and cannot be exposed to. Today it is more important than ever to preserve the artist's perspective. Because artists are. ✦
Stay curious,
Leila Antakly
Cover Photo by David Jambrina. Edit by Konstantin Time and Space Photo Tobias Wenning
