Asanas Ritual, Vol 2

Stratospherian

Until We Meet Again

Created by 200-hour RYT-certified instructor, Kimee Massie, BLACK YO)))GA is vinyasa style yoga set to drone, noise, stoner metal, ambient, industrial, space doom, and other traditional meditation music. It incorporates basic poses in a relaxed environment, while focusing on safe body mechanics. It’s a traditional class in practice, though darker than what you may typically associate with yoga. 

Since 2012, the music for these classes has been a series of mix-tapes. This particular recording, however, was performed and created by the BLACK YO)))GA Meditation Ensemble, an eclectic group of metallic hippies and doomlords, headed up by Kimee’s husband, Scott Massie. This ensemble has produced a soundscape tailored to create a heavy meditative space in order to spread the benefits of yoga to people within their own art and music communities: people who may battle depression, anxiety, alcoholism, drug addiction, trauma/PTSD, phobias, dark passengers, etc.; those who may not feel they fit into the typical yoga classes; the people who, in all rights, may most need the balance and release of yoga to return to and lead rich, fulfilling lives. 

“You can’t fully appreciate the light until you understand the darkness.” 

- 

BLACK YO)))GA - "Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1" 

Produced and Orchestrated by Scott & Kimee Massie 

Directed by Joseph Stammerjohn, Eyes to the Sky Films 
Assisted by Nick Prezioso, Jason Bender, and Chris Nicholson 
Edited and Arranged by Joseph Stammerjohn 

Cover Art by Chris Smith, Grey Aria Design Studios 
Layout & Design by Kimee Massie, Fresh Coffee Creative, LLC 

Filmed at the Outer Skin for the Inner You, May 31, 2015 

Kimee Massie 
Instructor / “Cult Leader” 

BLACK YO)))GIS on Film: 
Scott Massie, Chad Hammitt, Jennifer Johnson, Maggie Jones, Doyle Daigle II, Allie Nickel, Nick DeMaio, Rachel Johnson-Dissel, Forrest Vinson, Rob Hawk, Nick Noir, Paige Swiderski, Laura Thavenius, Liz Morrissey, Mark Bogacki, Danielle Commisso, Toni Morrison, Kiley Brady, and Simon Tobin (invisible) 

All Music Written and Performed by 
the BLACK YO)))GA Meditation Ensemble 

Chad Hammitt – Guitar, Keyboard, Programming, Vocals 
Nick DeMaio – Guitar, Drums, Vocals 
Adam Weston – Guitar 
Gene Fikhman – Guitar 
Nick Noir – Bass, Vocals 
Mark Bogacki – Bass, Drums, Vocals 
Justin Bach – Bass 
Kelly Gabany – Drums 
Tom D’Andrea – Drums, Percussion 
Mark Palmieri – Cello, Vocals 
Danielle Commisso – Keyboard, Piano, Violin 
Dirac Delta – Synthesizer, Samples 
Mike Tamburo – Gongs 
Scott Massie - Singing Bowls, Vocals 
Erika May – Vocals, Piano 
Allie Nickel – Vocals 

Tracks 2, 3, 5, 6 and 7 Recorded at Treelady Studios, March 20-22 2015 
Engineered by Dave Cerminara 
Assistant Engineers: Liz Klehm and Josh Hirshar 

Tracks 1, 4, and 8 Recorded in Mark’s Basement 
Engineered, Edited, and Mixed by Mark Palmieri 

Additional Recording on Track 1 by Dirac Delta of Secant Prime 
Additional Recording Throughout at Mark Palmieri, Chad Hammitt, Mike Tamburo, and Adam Weston’s Home Studios 

All Tracks Mixed and Edited by Mark Palmieri with Scott Massie 
Arranged by Scott Massie with Chad Hammitt and Mark Palmieri 

Mastered by Zach Moore at HDdB Mastering 

Released by 
Screaming Crow Records 
204 E. 8th Ave., Homestead, PA 15120 USA 

Issued under license from Innervenus. All rights reserved 
BLACK YO)))GA® is a U.S. Federal Trademark Registration 

black-yoga.com | screamingcrow.com | eyestotheskyfilms.com | innervenus.org 

Thank you.

07. Nest Of Thorns

02. The Dark Places In Our Lives

Chad Hammitt, Nick DeMaio, Danielle Commisso, and myself (Scott Massie) had been working on a couple of Chad's tracks, as well as some new ones that were not on the original yo)))ga demo. Here's where it started, from what I can remember...

All of these tracks were recorded on Jan 21, 2015, in the relaxed environment of Chad's attic studio, using Garageband with a single mic in the middle of the room and no discernible direction as far as songwriting goes (all improv). I was at the controls for most of it, a 5 hour session that we captured over 3 hours of audio from, and it was the first jam of it's kind for us. Nick (guitar) had never even met Danielle (keyboard/violin) before that day, and had only met Chad (keyboard/sampler/drums/computer) and I at BLACK YO)))GA classes. On Feb 11, 2015, we took that audio and whittled it down to this, the "Loopholes in the Universe (Super Dragon Mix)". It's raw and rough around the edges, it's just the seeds for what would follow.

Unfortunately, they're not broken into individual tracks here, so it just plays as one 30 minute song, but it's actually 5 songs blended together:

(titles are temporary, times are approximate)

1. Unwanted Effects 00:00 - 08:00
2. Carmentis 08:00 - 14:20
3. Check Engine 14:20 - 20:25
4. Herds of Creatures 20:25 - 26:49
5. Lilith 26:49 - 29:33

The “Super Dragon” demo would go on to become one of the primary building blocks for “Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1”, along with Mark Palmieri’s “Samsara” recordings and Adam Weston’s demos for “Negative Confession” and “Lament”.

The finished album and DVD can be found here:

BLACK YO)))GA "Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1"
Amazon - http://amzn.to/1PqulQh
Bandcamp - http://blackyoga.bandcamp.com/
iTunes (album only) - https://goo.gl/v5LpVx
Screaming Crow Records - http://goo.gl/LtjWmo
Storenvy - http://blackyoga.storenvy.com/

Thank you.

Super Dragon (original demo)

We’d been making mixtapes for a few years, we still do, but in Fall 2014-Summer 2015, we set out to create an all original soundtrack for Kimee’s BLACK YO)))GA class that we were going to film and release as a home video called “Asanas Ritual, Vol. 1” (goo.gl/3R6iFS). Trial by fire, letting go of expectations, and faith in the cult we had gathered -- the experience was transcendental. 

After months of variations, the final cut was complete, but there were still some great tracks from the sessions that didn’t make the final playlist. Maybe they weren't finished yet, or they just weren't right for the flow we were going for on ARv1. Whatever the reason was, as artists and musicians, we felt maybe they deserved their own treatment. After the smoke had cleared, we revisited these with a new mindset. Consider it the ARv1 companion disc. Yoga optional, though encouraged. 

Cycle of Suffering

Cycle Of Suffering

the BLACK YO)))GA Meditation Ensemble
"Asteya"

Written & Performed by:
Scott Massie - Drums, Singing Bowls, Keyboard, Voices
Chad Hammitt - Drums, Keyboard, Guitar, Samples
Jim Wylde - Tapes, Samples, Loops, Glitches

Contains elements of the "Black Mask" album, by sp3ct3rs

Recorded by Chad Hammitt @ Knox Studio, February, 2017
Mixed by Chad Hammitt & Scott Massie
Mastered by Mark Palmieri

www.black-yoga.com

Asteya

From the forthcoming BYO)))ME album, Earth Portals. Release Date: 9/15/17

"Escaping Shadows" first premiered on the Dark Holler Arts compilation, Water, Water, a benefit for www.charitywater.org, which can be found here: handeye.bandcamp.com/album/water-water.

Earth Portals

Escaping Shadows

Dark ambient and atmospheric doom music made for yoga, ritual, meditation, etc.

Watch Video: https://youtu.be/cmyQglkpOcI