New Visions from Old Patterns

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On December 2nd, I released my debut solo album for free at alanscheurman.com.  The artwork for Old Patterns and even the title itself hint at synchromysticism but this was only recently brought to my attention.  In fact, I chose the title as a reflection of my own evolution while writing the songs for this record, which happened over the course of a few years.

Old Patterns reflects the healing that occurred through various stages of my own self-realization, much of which I attribute to several significant psychedelic experiences.  The art too is influenced by some of my most recent visionary cascades while working with peyote, ayahuasca, and psilocybin, both in ceremony and during recreational adventures.

When playing live I try to invoke some of the sensory enhancements that come along with the psychedelic experience.  Warren Defever, who produced and engineered the record, took notice of this when he first saw me perform.  He made a point to make sure that those vibrational expanses and delays translated onto the album itself.  He pushed my vocals up to the front to guarantee that the listener could also hear what I was saying underneath the audio-tracers and echoes.

Lyrically, Old Patterns is as much a tool for political motivation and awareness as it is a picture of personal spiritual awakening.  There are songs alluding to the last breaths of the capitalist system, or the white-listing of revolutionaries, to in-studio stream of consciousness pieces borrowing codes from the ether. The entire recording was done in just a few days with slightly different line-ups each night at the UFO Factory in Detroit's historic Eastern Market.  The amazing musicians I shared the room with had only loose interpretations of the song structures making it so that the creative energy is actually audible. 

To me, there was no better way to share my experiential truth than to give it away for free.  This is indicative of the larger shift I see occurring, as some of us begin to move into a free society.  Perhaps, too, it provides some evidence for McKenna’s “archaic revival” as music is once again shared by the community.  I don’t believe that we own anything.  So, please take a listen and if you like what you hear, share it with others.