Kenji Williams is a world-renowned, award-winning musician, filmmaker, music producer, and classically trained violinist who combines visual media with music to tell a story of planetary consciousness and spiritual evolution. He is a prolific, and some say genius musician. In addition to his music, he is also the composer and producer of six albums, director of fifteen films and music videos, three feature length projects, and several multimedia theatrical live shows.
Kenji Williams continues to push the boundaries of audio-visual art and performance. We caught up with Kenji online to ask a few (well quite a few…) questions about his magical form of philosophical and life-changing musical performances.
Please tell us a bit about how you started on the music path.
I began studying classical violin when I was six years old. This was the beginning of my music path, and I pursued classical violin quite seriously, competing in international competitions and soloing for orchestras, until leaving for university to study film production. My interest in music production and composition began in high school, but I really started developing these skills in film school, where I started writing the soundtracks for the films I made, as well as my classmates’ films.
I then started my own label, and released vinyl EPs under an alias called ABA Structure, and during university dabbled in various Reggae & Dub/Hip Hop bands. After graduating university, I joined an electronic music group called Medicine Drum. I toured around the world with Medicine Drum for four years, and it was with Medicine Drum that I picked up my violin again, but this time not to play classical, but to create my own improvisational style that was rooted in much of the middle eastern and Arabic scales that made up Medicine Drum's sound.
After leaving this group, I decided to continue touring globally and releasing music as a solo artist under Kenji Williams, playing violin together with my own self-composed/produced music running from a laptop - that is what I still do today.
How would you describe your music/work?
My artistic work covers both music and film/visual media, and perhaps the sum of these two forms represent my work most completely. However, if one were to break it down to just the music for example, many people say the music is 'very visual & Journey-like' - perhaps it is evocative, and is more like an experience, taking you on a journey.
This may come from my compositional roots in film soundtrack production, as well as the underground rave scene of the 90s that had a huge impact on my musical roots. My music translates both extremes; feelings of lament, ominous and dark expressions, to joyful, ecstatic bliss.
As for my film & video work, the story and content seems to be consistent throughout - topics that deal with planetary consciousness, spiritual evolution, caring for our planet. From my earliest Moment Utopia documentary, to the Worldspirit DVD project collaboration with artist Alex Grey, to the current Bella Gaia project - I seem to gravitate towards intention based, transformative communication and content.
I think what is consistent with both my music and visual arts, is that I create a transformative experience. I like to take people to a different world - show what's possible, and communicate it in an emotionally deep experience that touches the heart. This does entail a bit more of a challenge for the audience, as my music doesn't really work that well as background music, and my films deal with perhaps difficult content for some people. Although I love light-hearted comedy films, I can't seem to make them!
Please tell us a bit about the Bella Gaia project.
What I am working on almost fulltime right now is the Bella Gaia project. This project has an interesting story behind it. At the end of 2005, a very generous fan sponsored me to go to Kazakhstan, to view the Russian Soyuz Rocket launch from 200 meters away. The Soyuz rocket is Russia's access to the International Space Station (ISS), but also transports American NASA astronauts and space tourists to space as well.
It was on this trip that I met NASA astronaut Mike Fincke, who had already lived on the ISS for six months. Excited to meet a real astronaut for the first time, I asked him what changed when he went into space. He replied that as a planetary scientist, his favorite planets were Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn before going to Space, but after going up and looking out the window of the Space Station, he completely fell in love with planet Earth. Earth had become his favorite planet. This very simple story inspired me, and thus began my quest to find a way to bring Mike's transformative experience of viewing the Earth from space to everyone who can't go to space - which is pretty much all of us.
There is quite a lot of documentation about astronaut's having this very powerful experience when seeing the Earth from space - there is even a term used for it coined by Frank White: 'The Overview Effect'.
Apollo astronaut Edgar Mitchell's quote, “We went to the moon as technicians, we returned as humanitarians, sort of encapsulates this transformation.
Thus, Bella Gaia is an audiovisual experience that has proven to most closely simulate an astronaut's experience in space. The current Bella Gaia Live show, can be described as the following:
Bella Gaia (Beautiful Earth) is a Living Atlas journey of our world, expressing the deeply moving beauty of planet Earth as seen through the eyes of astronauts. Created by award-winning director and classically trained violinist Kenji Williams, Bella Gaia features a 45-minute live performance by Kenji against a large-screen backdrop of orbiting visualizations of Earth from space.
From fires in the Amazon basin to time-lapse images of arctic ice melt, the stunning orbital imagery – rendered by SCISS' Uniview under the direction of Dr. Carter Emmart, with data from MODIS sensors on NASA's TERRA and AQUA satellites, plus JPL's OnEarth and NEO datasets – provides an exquisite simulation of the astronaut's view from space.
Bella Gaia also includes earthbound visitations of unique places on Earth, from exotic Japanese temples to Egyptian pyramids, to the streets of New York City. Large-scale projections fuse with live musicians and dancers on stage, celebrating all cultures that planet Earth sustains as one.
How can helping people 'feel' something encourage them to respond?
I think that, as humans, we are wired to act when we feel something. This deeper emotion overpowers intellect and cerebral thought. If we don't feel personally connected to something, or don't feel any emotion, then there is little chance we will do something, or have that action be sustained. Imagine, if you will, a close friend that you love, or a family member or child that you care for - you obviously have an emotional connection to them, a personal connection, - and chances are you are much more likely to care for this person if they need your help, than someone you don't know too well.
Well, if you take a similar approach to this planet we live on - it is a bit of a challenge to 'create a personal relationship' with our planet - but what if we could? I firmly believe the need to develop a deeper, emotional connection with the planet is not only to get people to act more responsibly for solely the environment, but is necessary as a species living on this planet in understanding ourselves and our identity
I think the beginning of this process began with the famous Earthrise'photo from the Apollo missions in the 60s. For the first time, the world saw the Earth without borders, as a complete unified whole. Bella Gaia, in its simplest mission, is the next level project after the Earthrise, moving beyond just photos, Bella Gaia is a dynamic, multimedia, immersive, and emotional experience of the Earth and all life that it sustains.
Can the artist help inspire people to action?
Yes, I do believe art, and artists, help people understand things in a way that other forms fail to explain. Art communicates beyond language, provides the right brain understanding that the left-brain intellect leaves out. Integrating these two parts of the brain is essential in fully understanding a concept or idea. Bringing people to action is certainly the biggest challenge, but I do feel that for real, sustained action to happen, it must become a habit within society, not a forced or a policy based form of action. I personally don't feel responsible for how people interpret my art, or whether it directly translates into action or not, as I have no control over them. What I do feel responsible for is to do the best that I can. All I can hope for is to inspire people, and provide the opportunity, open the door for them to experience something new, and maybe they can have a transformative experience if they open up to it.
I believe music carries consciousness, and an artist who is aware of this can have a profound impact on the world, for better or for worse.
Do you believe music opens the heart and mind?
Yes, it can - it obviously depends on what kind of music it is! I also know music that is stressful and has an effect of closing the heart and mind. But, music that is created by a person who is relaxed, and intentionally making music for relaxing, will most probably create a relaxing effect on the listener, providing the musical tastes match. I believe music carries consciousness, and an artist who is aware of this can have a profound impact on the world, for better or for worse.
How has your work been affected by the current environmental crisis?
I am very influenced by the world around me. The day after the Sept 11 attacks in 2001, all I could do was be in my studio and record my violin and compose. Similar to this crisis - the environmental crisis is ever more potentially catastrophic - just happening in super slow motion. I have no option but to translate my feelings into media, music, and art. I do want to make sure that people don't think of my art and music as dark, it is actually ecstatic, hopeful, joyful, and inspiring, but keeping note of the yin & yang, the dark and light. I like to emphasize the extremes.
Resources
Kenji Williams: www.KenjiWilliams.com
Bella Gaia: www.BellaGaia.com
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