Welcome to the Ship...

Instrumental by David Michael Tardy / DMT / Sees The Day

Starship Zero

Zen Tempest live @ PlayThink 2021

-

Tracklist:

1. Insight (Beat by Curtis Andreas)
2. Starship Zero (Beat by David Michael Tardy)
3. Options (Beat by CHiEF)
4. The Magician (Beat by MP Beats)
5. Free Flow w/ Kiyoshi to CloZee beat
6. Pandora (Beat by Nyrus)
7. Thrive (Beat by Kaliedofox)
8. Get Free (Beat by CHiEF)
9. Miracle (Beat by MP Beats)
10. Osmosis (Beat by MP Beats)
11. Apotheosis (Beat by MP Beats)
12. Bless It (Beat by Tom Misch)

-

This is the live recording of an intimate and epic performance I gave at PlayThink festival in Kentucky this past weekend, June 18th. It was my first time in Kentucky, and they showed me such a proper welcome.

The body of work in this recording represents several years and thousands of hours of writing, recording, rehearsing, freestyling, and emceeing. And I'm super grateful to be able to share it with you all today.

It was a really special performance, and I got to share it with my partner Ronja Sebastian and my new friend Kiyoshi Shelton who came up and spit some freestyles with me. Shout out to Nyrus, Kaleidofox, CHiEF, David Miacheal Tardy, MP Beats, CloZee, and Tom Misch, who all provided instrumentals for the set.

And lastly, a huge shout out to Paige Hankla and the whole PlayThink family for creating such a potent and precious vortex in Kentucky. I am grateful and forever changed to experience the magic of your community.

Hope you connect fam.

Much love,
Zen

Zen Tempest live @ PlayThink 2021

Emcees Zen Tempest and Devin Mikel rap on the legendary track 'Lionheart' by @Emancipator.

Check out more of his work here: http://emancipatormusic.com

Lionhearted (Emancipator flip ft. Devin Mikel)

Greetings traveler….  

Zen Tempest & Nyrus here...

🔮 Together, we are Indigo Owl 🦉

And we are your guides on this journey through the Zodiac.

We begin our story of cosmos and psyche with the astrological sign of Aquarius.

The Aquarian archetype is that of the sacred rebel. 

Those who defy convention and operate from a place of true autonomy and personal agency.  

Those who allow their own unique blueprint to express naturally.  They are eccentric, idiosyncratic, and, well… a little weird. 

They are authentic to the extent that they tend to disrupt social norms, and thus inspire innovation and revolutions in thought. 

They are the great pattern interrupters, those who, by no means other than marching to the beat of their own drummer, make the discoveries that drive forward the human civilization and spirit. 

Aquarian energy doesn’t only involve individual expression, however, but the way in which that unique energy is then brought into one’s community.  

The community that Aquarian energy encourages is one founded in authenticity, one that encourages the unique and empowered self expression of each individual in order so that they may serve the whole at the highest level.  

Aquarian energy relates to that totally ‘you’ puzzle piece that only you have in the way that you do, that aspect of who you are that is somehow a perfect contribution to the culture around you. 

This is the sign and signature that we are moving into right now, not only in our yearly cycle through the zodiac, but it in our grander astrological cycle referred to as the procession of the equinox.

We will remain in Aquarius for the next 2,000 years or so according to most Astrologers.

Pluto also just moved into Aquarius, and will remain there for the next 20 years.

This is a lot of Aquarian energy moving through the collective right now.  

By relaxing into our innate individual blueprint for greatness, we inherently express that unique blueprint in our communities. 

This is the age of integrated individualism, and this song is an ode to that energy. 

We hope you enjoy it.

🔮🦉🪐♒️

Indigo Owl - Aquarius

Pisces

~

The Piscean archetype is associated with the energy of Unconditional Love.

Represented by two fish forming a celestial yin-yang, there is a felt sense of balance and grace that emanates from this archetype. 

Fish, being water dwelling creatures, are at home within both the emotional and spiritual body. 

~

The great healer and feeler of the Zodiac, this sign is historically associated with the mythical figure of Christ, who serves as a symbol and example of the willingness to bestow grace and forgiveness in the most severe of circumstances. 

To be clear, this does not necessarily refer to the actual life of the man known as Jesus, but rather to the mythopoetic and allegorical truth for which the story of Christ stands, a parable that lives firmly in the collective psyche of our world.

~

This symbol embodies the spiritual capacity to restrain from the impulse of hatred, and to remain centered in awareness of an individual’s higher nature regardless of their actions.

Fish, like Christ, are willing to sacrifice their own body for the sustenance of others, content to fully surrender themselves to a higher purpose.

~

This willingness to die, so to speak, is an act of radical trust in the transformative process of death, a trust that nothing is truly lost in this process, and that, in fact, this sacrificial act is a form of our soul’s completion of its purpose. 

Therefore, there is a sense of mercy, relief, release, and the completion of karmic cycles through authentic spiritual surrender.

~

The highest expression of this archetype is a state of deep ease within the intensity and darkness of the primordial ocean, that place which could also be described poetically as the vast unknown of the collective unconscious.

A willingness and affinity to travel into the state of dreams, imagination, and altered states of consciousness are all hallmarks of the Piscean archetype. In fact, altered states of consciousness that might be described as spiritually transcendent or enlightened are most certainly the territory of this sign as well.

~

Pisces is aware that energy is never created nor destroyed, but merely circulated throughout the Gaian superorganism in its myriad forms.

Therefore, Pisces speaks to the eternal victory of spirit throughout the constant transfiguration of the physical form. 

Its energy is able to allow the natural rhythms of construction and destruction, and feel a sense of trust within those cycles.

While in its shadow expression, Pisces can be the ungrounded idealist or unhinged addict.

However, in its highest state, it expresses the energy of an individual that is simply unafraid of the dark as it knows the deepest parts of itself remains essentially untouched despite chaos.

~

This song is an ode to this courageous, intuitive, insightful, and spiritually aware energy. 

We pray it serves you in your journey of letting go and finding peace within this wild world.

~

♓️🦉🔮

Indigo Owl - Pisces

Aries is the third single off the forthcoming astrology themed rap anthology: 'Zodiac' by Indigo Owl. 

Indigo Owl = Zen Tempest (vocals) + Nyrus (production)

Indigo Owl - Aries

Taurus by Indigo Owl (Zen Tempest + Nyrus)

Indigo Owl - Taurus

We all have roots...

Mine happen to be from a rural village in Colombia. 

I didn't grow up speaking Spanish, and my mom was adopted, so I had to go on a journey to get in deeper touch with this side of me. 

I finally felt the pull to begin to incorporate my Colombian identity into my artistry a little bit, and I think it turned out pretty dope. 

This song is a contemplation of ancestry and lineage. 

I hope you enjoy it familia.

Abrazos, 

Zen

~

Produced by Watashi

Siempre Loco

Indigo Owl - Sagittarius

Indigo Owl - Capricorn

⁣
Ark Angel is a joyous pop / rap anthem for the light workers out there in human flesh.⁣
⁣
It’s a reminder, a celebration, and an affirmation of creating heaven on Earth here and now.⁣
⁣
🕊
⁣
I’m incredibly grateful to have collaborated with some world class musicians - The Great Medicine Show & B. Louis - in order to bring this incantation to life.⁣
⁣
I’m also super grateful for Erika Merz  - @riseupwithhart on IG - for the gorgeous album art.⁣
⁣
🙏🏼
⁣
Thank you all for listening, and supporting the movement.⁣
⁣

Ark Angel

Cloud Walker is a boundary breaking musical maelstrom born from the brotherhood of Bloomurian and Zen Tempest.

A bold fusion of hip hop, poetry, and bass that moves the body and stirs the spirit.

The title track features the cinematic grit of David Satori (of Beats Antique/Dirtwire) whose bowed banjo cuts through the mix like warm wind through weathered canyon walls.

The journey crescendos with a visceral remix by rising producer Light Language, whose rework flips the track into a full-spectrum sonic storm.

This is ritual meets rap. Bass music with a backbone. A pulse you can pray to.


Call to the Cave

Cloud Walker - Instrumental

Cloud Walker is a boundary breaking musical maelstrom born from the brotherhood of Bloomurian and Zen Tempest. A bold fusion of hip hop and bass music that moves the body and stirs the spirit.

The title track features the cinematic grit of David Satori (of Beats Antique/Dirtwire) whose bowed banjo cuts through the mix like warm wind through weathered canyon walls.

The journey crescendos with a visceral remix by rising producer Light Language, whose rework flips the track into a full-spectrum sonic storm.

This is ritual meets rap. Bass with a backbone. A pulse you can pray to.

Cloud Walker

Cloud Walker (Light Language Recode)

Fusion

Here is my latest attempt at DIY self-expression via rhythmic poetics. Lyrics wirtten and recorded by yours truly. The Instrumental I used is called "The Journey" by Tom Misch. Many blessings!

Bless It

Close Your Eyes... Can You Feel It?

Lyrics written and recorded by Zen Tempest
Recorded and Mixed by James Lutz
Instrumental by Curtis Andreas

In Sight

The Mother speaks to those who Listen...

Instrumental by Katalina Filthy
Lyrics written and recorded by Zen Tempest
Samples from Ayahuasca: Vine of the Soul

LANDR

Ayahuaska

The latest collaboration between lyricist Zen Tempest and producer CHiEF, featuring guitar by Jordan Latini, this track is a window into the mind of a man during his personal journey of transformation. 

This track draws heavily from the wisdom of indigenous peoples and plant medicines from Central, South, and North America. It speaks to the ways these cultures and their knowledge impact, guide, and transform seekers of health and healing today.

The song asks us to consider what legacies we come from and what legacies we seek to perpetuate through our actions, lifestyles, and mentalities. 

Hope you enjoy family. 

Much love,
Zen

<3

Zen Chief Hennessey

Time Capsules (Prod. by CHiEF)

Yo!

What's up family.

I don’t know about all of you… 
But I am feeling inspired right now! 

🔥 🔥 🔥 

It feels like I’ve been sitting on a near infinite wellspring of artistic and creative energy.  So much so that I just gotta do something with it. So, I am.

I’m going to make music.

More specifically, I’m going to record an album, one track at a time, and release it in real time.    This track is the first track in that series of releases. {Credit to MP Beats on the track.}

For the next 16 days, I’m going to record, mix, and release a new song every other day, such that by the end of this month I will have a brand new album of music.

~~~

Why am I doing this?

Because music is awesome. And I am a musician. A rapper to be more specific.

Or at least, I say I am, haha.   But the truth is, that even though I feel like I am constantly creating new music, I’ve been in a bit of an artistic rut.

Too much of my my time, money, and artistic energy is going into the processes of coordinating with mixing and mastering engineers, listening to mixes again and again, working with graphic designers, making beats, etc.

Now, don’t get me wrong, these things are important! But the truth is, I’m impatient. While I have A LOT of good things on the way, there is a part of me that just wants to give you all something to hear right NOW.

I’m ready, willing, and present to do the damn thing I’m here to do, which is not only to create music, but to share what I have created with the world, so that it can be received and cherished.

I want to inspire and move you with music. In order to do that though, I have to put it out there.

I want you to hear what I make. I want you to hear what I make as if I am a small child who just wants to show you the painting I made at school today, yes. A part of me wants to be seen and appreciated for the beauty I create.

But I also want you to hear the music I am making FOR YOU.   

Because I believe the music I make has VALUE to offer the world. Because I believe music can actually help you, heal you, uplift you, inspire you, rekindle something inside of you, or stoke that flame which is already burning brightly.

~~~

So, it goes like this.   I responded to a call from the universe. I bought a mixtape of beats from a producer online (at an incredibly reasonable price, I might add) and I am about to let loose on it. I’m about to paint my heart out.

I am going to do my best to bring you a polished product, yes, but I will also be allowing myself to fully disregard the over analytical inner critic that so often sabotages my creative nature. I am going to allow myself to express myself in an inhabited fashion, and share it with you all in its rawest most pure form.

~~~

So, if you love me, if you love music, if you love the unfolding of the artistic process, then come on this journey with me. Listen to what I put out there in the coming two weeks.

Like it. Engage with it. Share it with somebody you love. And, if you don’t like it, that’s cool too.

I can’t expect to hit a home run every time. I accept that what I make may not be medicine for everyone out there.

Thanks for your time, attention and energy.  Wishing you love and alignment on your life journey.

Peace,  ZT

Source Codes

I promised to release a song every other day for the next two weeks.

This is song number 2 in that series: Common Wealth.

An ode to the possibility of a higher vibing environment.

Shoutout to MP Beats on the track.

🙏

Common Wealth

And the saga continues…  

This is the 3rd installment in my challenge to record, mix, and release a new song every other day for a two week period. 

And I gotta say, this is the first song so far that has actually felt like it was a 'challenge' for me.   

This song was definitely a journey for me to create, but I feel really stoked about what ultimately emerged.

This song isn’t perfect… But fuck it. 

  My goal in this life is participation, not perfectionism. 

That’s the whole point of this challenge in the first place -

To simply create.

~~~

Without further ado, may I present to you:  

The Magician

~~~

{Shoutout to MP Beats on the track.}  

~~~

  Much love y’all.

🙏 ❣ 🔥

The Magician

This track is the truth, the medicine, the cure.

Track #4 in my challenge to record, mix, and release a new song every 48 hours for a period of two weeks.

Shoutout to MP Beats on the track.

The Cure

This is track #5 in my challenge to record and release a new track every 48 hours for a two week period.

{Shoutout to MP Beats on the track}

Osmosis is a term describing a tendency in the molecules of a solvent, such as water, to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one, thus equalizing the concentrations on each side of the membrane.

It is a chemical process that occurs in order to achieve balance, stability, equalization, and harmony.

Since we are mostly water, this term applies to us. As living beings, we are constantly inhaling and exhaling hydrogen and oxygen, losing and gaining appropriate molecules in order to find equanimity within our constantly shifting human organism.

The term is often applied in regard to our capacity as human beings to absorb knowledge and information from our surrounding environment.

In a metaphoric sense, it speaks to our longing and desire for proper alignment with the universal force that has been described as the Tao, or the ever evolving flux of the present moment. To exist in harmony with the natural order of the Tao is to be constantly engaged in this dance of harmonious equilibrium.

We receive, and so we shall give. We live, and so we shall die.

This is an inherent and natural process that occurs in an essentially perfect and coherent manner, one that the logical mind can scarcely comprehend... but it is constantly happening none the less.

🙏

Osmosis

Each track I create allows me to discover something new about myself. 

Every beat invites me into a whole new constellation of archetypes within me.

Some beats invite me into a more playful part of myself, whereas others bring out more of my depth and intensity.

Some tracks expose a more humorous or sensual side of myself, while others evoke a more serious or somber texture within my psyche.

I’m actually getting to know and love myself in deeper ways through each track, which is super cool.  

In some tracks, I get to play the sexy saucy pirate rapper.
 In others, I get to play the mystic guru poet. 
In others still, I get to be the radical revolutionary orator.  

Sometimes, I get to play all 3 in 1 track!!!  

All of them are me, just different sides of me.
 And I like playing all of these parts of me.
  It’s fun. It’s liberating. It’s empowering.  

It’s also the least boring form of therapy I could imagine, haha.

It’s like I’m getting to see what reoccurring themes wind through my mind in real time. 

And then, I get to share that process with the world, and see how people react.  Quite fascinating really.

  ~~~  

Today’s song has a bit of an ancient future feel to it. One foot in the past, one in the present, and one in the yet to be.  

(Yes, my multi-dimensional body has 3 legs… at least.) 🐙   

There are elements of inspiration, peace, playfulness, empowerment, and hope. 

There are also elements of realism, sadness, longing, and frustration.

  But overall, like much of my recent work, the track is rather celebratory, a buoyant ode to our connection with timelessness, and that which transcends all of the pressing issues and intricacies of this mad world.

  ~~~

  If you feel inspired to listen, I think you might just enjoy it.

  I know I enjoyed making it for you.  

~~~

  This is track #6 in my challenge to record and a release a new song every 48 hours for a period of two weeks…  

Without further ado, I proudly present to you:  

Drumroll please…

  ~~~

  Ancestral Vessel

~~~

  {Oooooh, fancy name!!!}  

{No, but in all seriousness, it’s pretty dope}  

{Instrumental by MP Beats}  

~~~  

I pray that it serves you well my friends.
  Much love.

  🙏

P.S. 

Image credit to Autumn Skye:

'Wisdom of Ages'

What a brilliant artist!!!

Ancestral Vessel

The word Apotheosis refers to the highest point in the development of something; the pinnacle, apex, culmination or climax. 

It often refers particularly to a human being having a direct experience of their divinity or God/Goddess Nature.

Visual Art:
'Apotheosis of Hope'  by Michael Divine

Apotheosis

You are the one infinite intelligence masquerading as a singular separate self.

May you dream vividly, powerfully, and beautifully.

May you remember.

🦋

Instrumental ~ Like Water by Colbert

A New Dream

A spontaneous collaboration after a chance meeting at Ecstatic Dance Festival  in Corfu Greece, Producer/Beat-Maker DJ Trotsky and Conscious Hip-Hop artist Zen Tempest created this sonically rich & deep meditation on the beauty and pain of life, death, and transformation.

Dutch improv vocalist Birkit Rietveld's voice weaves and floats throughout the track like incense through air as hearts and minds align, bodies and souls dance, and Cobras and Roses coalesce as one.

Cobras And Roses

~Music written and produced by Random Rab
~Lace, from the album aRose
~www.randomrab.com

~Lyrics written and performed by Zen Tempest...

Resonatin’ the Frequency
Circulation’ the vibe.

Never late, and I’m leaving
Precisely when I arrive.

Hesitated repeatedly,
Now I’m ready to ride.

Levitation is easy,
You need to open your eyes.

Respiration is key,
When you breathe it keeps you alive.

Reiki is a movement of energy,
It’s a vibe.

Reiki is a movement of energy,
It’s a vibe.

Reiki is a movement of energy,
It’s a vibe.

Playful as the fluid
In your body when it slides.

Penetrating, deep in
The arteries as it guides.

Regulating each of
The senses, they never lie.

But they certainly distort
A perfect portion of the pie.

Bored within the
Portal of the mind.

Warping metamorphosis,
Immortal and sublime.

Hopelessly enormous,
Getting gorgeous all the time.

Reiki a movement of energy,
It’s a vibe.

Money is a vessel,
The nectar that gets you high.

Is nestled with the flesh,
Of the melon, lemon, or lime.

If ecstasy is a crime,
I’m done, I don’t wanna try.

Aint gonna play the game that
They tell us should be our lives.

I’m chillin really, I’m fine.
I’m kinda kinky, I lied...

I’m really kinky, I’m kind,
I’m feeling deeply aligned.

I’m peeling back all the layers,
I’m pulling up all the blinds.

I’m feeling deeply aware,
I’m feelin deeply divine.

I feel the breeze in my hair,
I’m feeling heat in my spine,

I’m healing people with care,
With energy, it’s a vibe.

It’s a vibe...

It’s a vibe...

Reiki is a movement of energy,
It’s a vibe.

Temporary entry,
But eternities denied.

Been here every century
As the turning of the tides.

But I’m currently immersed within
In a separate sense of I.

Shepherds led the weak,
And while the predators survived.

Something that was living
Inside of them seemed to die.

Come and test your luck,
Against the 20 sided die.

Have to roll a 7 or
Higher or you resign.

Have to roll 11 or higher for
you to thrive.

Heaven is a 17 or higher,
Don’t be shy.

You seem I’m only
This character for the time...

I don’t really understand why...

All I really get is
That everything is energy...

Everything’s a mother fucking vibe...

Reiki (Beat by Random Rab)

A genre bending and mind altering exploration of the human condition, this collab between producer Nyrus and emcee Zen Tempest fuses elements of rap and electronic music into something... different.

Lyrics by Zen Tempest (soundcloud.com/zen-tempest)
Produced by Nyrus (soundcloud.com/nyrusbeats)

Mastered by ATYYA (https://soundcloud.com/atyya)

Pandora (Prod. by Nyrus)

Somewhere in the space between Alan Watts and Aesop Rock, Atmosphere and Allen Ginsberg, Kahlil Ghibran and Kendrick Lamar...

There is a special place.

A place where the majestic backdrop of boom bap is populated by notions of prosperity and peace, where cityscapes and celestial horizons meet in a glorious display of poetic union.

This is where you’ll find Zen Tempest.

Zen Tempest

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