Cory Stillman
Some of the most fascinating categories at the Grammys never even make it to the television broadcast, but take some time to comb through the entirety of what The Recording Academy votes on each year, and you are sure to make a musical discovery or two. Even better, allow your latest discovery to be the work of Michael & Jahna Perricone, whose groundbreaking album The Journey: From Formlessness to Form is now eligible for Best New Age, Ambient or Chant Album.
Michael describes The Journey as “an immersive visual album that follows a soul’s journey from formlessness into form.” Indeed, the project is more than just sound. It is accompanied by a gorgeous immersive film that is now touring planetariums and domes around the world.
“We were interested in inviting the viewer into a uniquely holistic opportunity where they can be fully embodied in the experience,” says Jahna. “This was doable because of the inherent immersive properties of a full-dome film.”
The Journey follows a pair of souls across a variety of distinct landscapes. Through motion-capture, we come to recognize these individuals as humans, dancing through stunning caves, oceans, deserts, and beyond. Their movement is set to the careful melding of Michael’s Himalayan singing bowls with Jahna’s soothing vocals, a combination that has captivated audiences at the Los Angeles Contemporary Museum of Art and around the world as part of the couple’s ongoing commitment to mindfulness and interconnectivity. Rounding out the soundscape is a variety of instruments: percussion, violin, cello, guitar, bass, and harp.
“Every track offers science-based access to peaceful brain states that are proven to enhance creative thinking, deep relaxation, and enhanced wellbeing,” says Jahna.
Michael, an accomplished Hollywood sound designer, mixed the entire album in Dolby Atmos, pulling from his work across such iconic properties as Arrested Development, Cops, Tulsa King, and Purple Hearts. An audiophile since he was 19 years old, Michael is quick to remind me of a simple truth: “the world is sound.”
Few projects capture the essence of our sonic reality like The Journey, a moving meditation on what it means to love, to grow, to suffer, to live. These self-described “partners in life and sound” have, as a recent spectator in Boulder, CO pointed out, created the “perfect antidote to these trying times.”
Check out our full conversation with Michael & Jahna below as they dive deeper into their personal and creative journeys!
Hey Michael & Jahna! Tell us more about your new album The Journey. What inspired the album and how would you define its overall sound?
Jahna: The whole project dropped in as the result of a meditation that I happened to be doing that was to the sounds of ancient Himalayan singing bowls played by Michael. It was an experience that was completely unexpected and life-changing for me. After that, I began fairly obsessively looking for the best way to “tell this immersive feeling”…it was its own kind of journey!
Michael: When the pandemic hit we began talking with our “pod” about the idea and realized that a group of us were aligned in the challenge of making an immersive visual album that follows a soul’s journey from formlessness into form, so the music and visuals grew organically together from there.
Did you always envision the album with a visual component? What makes the accompanying film so essential?
Michael: With our team ensconced in the full-dome world (think Las Vegas Sphere/COSM) coupled with my years of immersive sound mixing, it seemed a natural progression to create an impactful music and art offering that invites the listener/viewer to a deep exploration into their own life’s journey.
Jahna: We were interested in inviting the viewer into a uniquely holistic opportunity where they can be fully embodied in the experience and this was doable because of the inherent immersive properties of a full-dome film. We’d love to give a shout-out to our amazing team: Executive producers Ed Lantz and Kate McCallum and animator and co-director Brianna Amore. Please see the full credits for The Journey: From Formlessness to Form.
The album is subtitled “From Formlessness to Form.” What does that phrase mean to you?
Michael: It’s about life, isn’t it?
Jahna: Yes! We start from ‘nothing’ (as far as we know) and then become beings here on this planet to, perhaps, offer our gifts in form. It’s the experience of being in constant flow. We are always in some form of formlessness to form and then back again, whether it be in creative ideas coming in and forming, or the physical experience of actually growing through our lives as humans. This is a bit of what we’re playing with in the film.
Michael: I think it’s a great way to celebrate how great it is that we get to live a life, get a chance to walk in this reality.
I understand you have toured the film domestically, and even have two international distribution deals. What has it been like to share the project with the world, and what can you tell us about its future?
Michael: Humbly, the response has been phenomenal. One of my favorite responses after the film was in Boulder when someone said “this is the perfect antidote to these trying times.” When I heard this it made me feel like the music and imagery was touching people like it touches me.
Jahna: The making of this album and film has been its own journey, one with its own hills and valleys so to speak! And we went through a few iterations before landing into the version now available world-wide. The interest from beyond our borders has just solidified and brought us great comfort to the understanding of our interconnectivity with all humans no matter what continent we live on or which culture we’ve been brought up in.
You describe yourselves as “partners in life and sound.” How has your marriage informed your creative work?
Michael: What a fun question! Because we know each other so well, and have gone through so much together, it’s easy for us to pivot and make changes without even talking about it when we’re creating or performing.
Jahna: I think it really has to do with this deep level of trust that we have built together over the years, through staying open and willing to be present and committed to stay together, to be present with whatever obstacles come our way. This really. opens us into flow we didn’t even know existed.
Michael and Jahna: And we love each other – wink!
What are the key instruments and sounds we are hearing in The Journey?
Michael: The music all centers around the antique singing bowls, and grows from there. The bowls I’ve been collecting are all between 300 and 600 years old. The music builds from there with Jahna’s beautiful vocals, percussion, violin and cello, guitars, bass, and even harp.
Jahna: Because the Soundtrack album is imbued with the singing bowls’ tones, every track offers science-based access to peaceful brain states that are proven to enhance creative thinking, deep relaxation, and enhanced wellbeing. This has been a really interesting part of the music creation for us! And as for me, when it comes to the voice, I’m grateful for the years of lessons, hours of practicing, performances, and just working on the craft of voice so that I was able to access vocal colors that hopefully enhance the intention of the film’s arc.
The album also seems to be an extension from your work as mindfulness practitioners. What can you tell us about that work, and how can readers experience a Himalayan sound bath for themselves?
Jahna: Here’s how I think of it…the practice of mindfulness is all about being open and kindly curious, as well as willing to be with whatever is present. It’s a simple concept, not always easy. I became certified through a long and wonderful program at the Mindful Awareness Research Center at UCLA! It so positively changed not only my creative life, but my life as a whole! What I discovered is that even though the practice can be challenging at times, things ease up and then it really enhances clear thinking and a supportive, centered, and grounded sense of self. I’ve noticed that when I’m in this state, things flow easily. I’m happier. And then people around me seem to be happier as well! And it’s funny, because the birth of this project is kind of a metaphor of what we can access through the practices of mindfulness and sound healing .
Michael: My work in mindfulness has been an extension of my work in sound. After all, the world is sound and I’ve been working in sound since I was 19 as a sound mixer and recording engineer. Extending this music into an immersive surround really helps to give the listener a deeper experience. I mixed all the music and sound design in Atmos and it’s also available in binaural immersive audio.
Is there anything else you would like to add about The Journey or your own personal journeys in music and sound?
Jahna: That no matter what people experience, we invite everyone to allow it to be very personal…their own journey, if you will. One that speaks and vibrates within their own being, offering them whatever needs to be resourced, noticed, celebrated! It’s all very unique to each individual and yet it has this way of reminding us that we are all, each and everyone of us, interconnected. Our individuality is imperative and so is our connection together. We also know that this one film and music experience is only a taste of what resourcefulness lives deep inside, so we offer resources at the end of the film for people to explore if they wish: meditations, music, courses…. In fact, we’re launching a course we’re excited about called ‘Ignite Your Creativity’ in January 2027. Based in the science of sound and mindfulness’ healing properties, we’ve carefully curated this course that helps interested participants access and enhance their own creative desires!
Michael: Yeah, exactly what she said!
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