Welcome to the Museum of Consciousness

Calling all curious minds, music nerds, science enthusiasts, neurohackers, magicians, consciousness experimenters, and transcenders.

The Museum of Consciousness originates from Balliol College, Oxford University, a hub of world class innovation. 

https://www.themoc.org  

The Museum challenges artists to produce a reliable and measurable Altered State of Consciousness in a live audience, using only sound. Around 100 artists are members of the Museum of Consciousness community, including Orbital, Jon Hopkins, Lisa Lashes, Alexandre Tannous and Tom Middleton.

Expanding on this high-quality precedent, visitors can expect to be transported to a world of sound and imagination.

After seven sold out shows across the world, and multiple festival cameos, the Museum of Consciousness makes its second Berlin performance. This intimate and cutting-edge exhibition will be hosted by Atai Life Sciences in central Berlin on Sunday 12th May. 

The Museum of Consciousness will feature five unique sound experiments spanning five hours. The aim: to alter the audience’s state of consciousness through the power of sound alone.

*** This event will sell out and there will be no tickets on the door (online tickets only) ***

This is a sister event to ‘Embodied leadership and Hyperhumanism’ which will take place the day before, on Saturday 11th May: 
https://www.eventbrite.de/e/embodied-leadership-and-hyperhumanism-registration-881849003107

The Museum of Consciousness is not only a place to experience art, but also to engage in a creative process. 

Our museum's regenerative structure is designed to empower both artists and audiences through a circular process of Transmission, Integration, and Feedback:

1. Transmission - Sound Transmission from the Artist  - The artist TRANSMITS their sound to the audience.
2. Feedback - Audience feeback - Where the audience directly COMMUNICATES their thoughts and feelings back to the artist to help them learn and potentially iterate on their piece.
3. Integration -  Mini-lecture from the Artist about their work - The artists then help INTEGRATE their transmission with a mini lecture which explains the piece in depth, and their passion for sound as a whole.

Website: https://www.themoc.org  
Video explainer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yrDa5qCodJc 
Paper: https://www.scienceopen.com/hosted-document?doi=10.14236/ewic/EVA2021.55
 

The featured artists playing at Atai, Berlin: 

1.) Ground Tactics (Colin Tobelem)

2.) Harman Holiday

3.) Mitotili (Cristina Bucardo)

4.) Nico Black Elk and Kā (Storm Willow) 

5.) Anneli

1.) Ground Tactics (Colin Tobelem)  
Transmission: Waveform Transmission (Human Tuning)

Description: 
Multisensorial hyperstimulations of the nervous system induce altered states of consciousness. The nervous system enters into coherence with its environment, our natural self-regulation system adapts and can be conditioned to enter in accordance with universal harmony, the regular use of specific frequencies encourages the integration and embodiment of cosmic knowledge, empowering presence and self-awareness.

Biography: 
Colin Tobelem ( aka Ground Tactics ) is a multi-disciplinary artist who revives an inter-dimensional art form to enlighten one’s relationship with themselves and with our vibrational universe. By inducing altered states of consciousness with multisensorial stimulations, he offers the experience of self-reflection through sound. Colin conducts a sociological exploration of how to facilitate transcendence and self-transformation.

More information:
Web: Https://999hz.co  
IG : https://www.instagram.com/_groundtactics_ 
BC : http://groundtactics.bandcamp.com 

2.) Harman Holiday
Transmission: Mind-Body Actualisation
 

Description: 
This presentation explores the compelling concept of frequency in cultivating a balanced nervous system and its profound impact on personal and communal self-actualisation. Through a deep dive into the inner world of each participants receptivity awareness, the sound waves will influence neurological activity and promote equilibrium within the nervous system.

Biography: 
As a trained frequency therapist and musician, Harman’s passions in the realm of frequency reside in the principles of resonance and how external frequencies can synchronize with the body’s natural frequencies to enhance well-being.  Miss Holiday’s primary instrument is her voice. By using its dynamic range to captivate the neuro-hypnotic realm, and effectively alter brain function or present psychological state into a neutral observational peace-full embodiment.

3.) Mitotili (Cristina Bucardo)
Transmission: The Red Coatlicue 
 

Description: 
Inspired by Coatlicue, the Aztec goddess of life, death, and rebirth, “The Red Coatlicue”it's a sound journey that channels the essence of ancient rituals. Haunting melodies of pre-Hispanic instruments resonate alongside contemporary rhythms, inviting exploration of soundscapes that traverse earthly landscapes.

Biography: 
Mitotili, rooted in the Mexican Nahuatl Huichol term for "sacred ritual and ceremony," is Cristina Bucardo's transformative project. It blends ancient Mexican wisdom with modern sound healing practices. Cristina's journey weaves spiritual exploration and creativity, as seen in her holistic studies like curanderismo and multi-instrument sound healing, along with pursuits in 3D animation, motion graphics, and sound design. This fusion reflects her diverse talents, where spirituality and creativity seamlessly merge.
 

More information:
https://m.soundcloud.com/mitotili
https://www.mitotili.de 

4.) Nico Black Elk and Kā (Storm Willow) 
Transmission: Artefacts of Cosmology 
 

Description:  
This waveform transmission embodies the sonification of ritualised cosmologies through interrogating energy & frequency as direct, honest, and precise mediums of physics, mysticism, and quantum potential. We create a dynamic ritual to engage with the auditory cortex and activate higher functions in hearing through magnetizing the potential of vibration as an autonomous medicine—woven from tapestries of our earth domain, inspired by entering communion with indigenous roots, enriched with wisdom embodiment codes from the source, to re-source and channel the energy back to the belly of the mother. 

Biography: 
Nico and Storm share a path in medicine. Black Elk is inspired by shamanism, the ephemeral nature of life and the unknown nature of death. Storm works ritualistically with frequency, humans, and nature, serving in virtue of using these modalities as gateway openers into somatic listening & self-inquiry. In a restless search for meaning, Nico followed the pulse to the jungles of his country, where he shared time with the indigenous. Through learning and experiencing rituals, he understood the power of the beating drums. Both artists fuse their cosmologies in a unique ritual, thriving off the energy of co-creation to re-source information from the vibratory field in a living dialogue with humans and nature—of course, intentionally amplified through the clairvoyance of machines.

More information:
https://on.soundcloud.com/CdNBSzjFLU45T5wn9
https://www.nicolasblackelk.com/
 

5.) Anneli
Transmission: Remember
 

Description:
Remember is a light-and-sound bath composition harnessing the power of synchronized light pulses and music. It is an audio-visual brainwave entrainment, stimulating through musical elements such as isochronic tones, certain frequencies, and harmonic structures, alongside the flickering lights of a full spectrum lamp. The synchronized symphony of light & sound guides you into a state of deep relaxation, allowing you to access the subconscious. The piece aims to help you remember your essence, and recall who you were before societal influences took hold. REMEMBER utilizes soundscapes inspired by the sound of memories, the sound of the planets, and the elemental forces of water, air, earth, and fire. These soundscapes are designedo create a profound sense of connection to nature, the universe, and one's inner self.

Biography: 
Anneli Bentler is a multifaceted music producer, composer, solo artist, and sound healing practitioner. She holds a BA in singer songwriting &music production and an MA in composing for moving images. Her musical style traverses classical melodies, electronic soundscapes, and atmospheric sound design. Under her electronic dream-pop project, Queen Alaska, she has released an album and embarked on tours across Europe. Anneli's collaborations include projects such as an immersive sound installation for EXPO2020 in Dubai and working with Deutsche Oper Berlin on reimagining Richard Wagner's operas. Additionally, she has contributed as a keyboardist for various mainstream artists. Recently, Anneli has devoted her attention to exploring the healing potential of music. Drawing from her background as a kinesiologist, Reiki practitioner, and musician, she offers sound and light baths. These experiences incorporate audio-visual brainwave entrainment techniques, crystal singing bowls, her vocal talents, and both analogue and modular synthesizers. Through her creations, she aims to cultivate moments of peace, relaxation, clarity, and inspiration.
 

More information:
https://www.annelibentler.com/
https://www.instagram.com/____anneli/

The evening will begin with an Introduction by the founder of the Museum of Consciousness (Carl Hayden Smith)
 

The first session will be an introduction to the aims and objectives of the Museum - its history and trajectory. 
A couple of the best examples from the Museum will be played as samples in order to open the event:

Tom Middleton - “Identifying fundamental frequency and resonance using ceremonial choral toning to explore harmony, synchronicity and human connection in the King's Chamber, Great Pyramid of Khufu, Giza, Egypt”
An interpretation of a unique and fascinating audio recording of improvised voice toning for a ceremonial performance by a small ensemble of male and female voices. Based around an experiment to determine the resonant fundamental frequency generated within the ‘initiation chamber’ that stands inside the King's Chamber deep within the great Pyramid of Giza. The purpose of the rose granite King’s Chamber and the human sized chest largely remains a mystery. Was it for ceremonial initiations? Or an ancient resonance technology for generating energy? Sound is vibrational energy in motion which we not only perceive and decode as noise, information, or music, but also can experience and feel as sensations of vibration. This chamber seems to amplify these vibrations when resonant standing waves activate the quartz crystal in the granite, delivering perceivably potent sensations and resulting higher states of being.

Jose Macabra - “Drilling the Unconscious”
The aim of “Drilling the Unconscious” is to liberate the body and the mind through atonality, improvised vocals, field recordings, drones and noise. The voice is a symbol of the universal body, in search of sensations. Different voice registers are transformed using various techniques: contact mics, filters, granulation and saturation. The intention is to transcend the conscious realm by partly abolishing tonal norms. Some parts of this experience might lead to a void, while other sections might connect the audience with an overload of unconscious matter. The intention is to take you on a journey to explore memories, emotions, and beliefs, which may contain unprocessed or repressed feelings. This existential sonic performance is designed to puncture your chest and wrap its grasp around your beating heart, demanding your total attention as you are bathed in its relentless sonic flux.

Biography: 
Carl Hayden Smith is Associate Professor of Media at the University of East London. He is also the Founder of the Museum of Consciousness at Oxford University and co-founder of the Cyberdelics Society. His research concentrates on the relationship between technology and the human condition. Raising over £10 million in research funding, Carl has worked on numerous large-scale Leonardo LifeLong Learning, Erasmus+, FP7, Horizon 2020 projects and the XPRIZE. He has given over 300 invited public lectures, conference presentations and keynotes in 40 countries and published more than 50 academic papers. His research interests also include Contextology (Context Engineering), Embodied Cognition, Spatial Literacy, Umwelt Hacking and Sensory Augmentation.
 

More information: 
https://www.themoc.org  
https://www.cyberdelicsociety.com