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Jon Hopkins found his beatless new album, 'Music for Psychedelic Therapy,' deep down

English electronica musician and producer Jon Hopkins. His new album, <em>Music For Psychedelic Therapy</em>, is out now.
Kevin Lake
/
Future Music Magazine
English electronica musician and producer Jon Hopkins. His new album, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, is out now.

Electronic musician Jon Hopkins became best known for his expansive, utterly danceable early electronic music. But his latest release, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, is (clearly) something different.

At the heart of the album is an immersive, beatless soundscape, built upon field recordings Hopkins made by spelunking 60 meters underground in Ecuador. As per the title, the record is spirtually connected to Hopkins' work crafting music experiences for a psilocybin (that's the psychoactive ingredient in "magic" mushrooms) trial held at Imperial College London. The result is a totally new space for Hopkins' sound.

"I've never had this experience before," Hopkins tells All Things Considered. "It's as if it already existed and I just had to translate it."

Copyright 2022 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Mary Louise Kelly is a co-host of All Things Considered, NPR's award-winning afternoon newsmagazine.