"Maejor Frequency" dissects the healing power of good vibes | Audible.com
"Maejor Frequency" dissects the healing power of good vibes
In his Audible Original podcast, music producer Maejor consults with the experts to decode our deep connection to rhythm and the healing benefits of sound.
Note: Text has been edited and does not match audio exactly.
Rachael Xerri: Hello. I'm Audible Editor Rachael Xerri, and today I'm so excited to speak with renowned music producer and performer Maejor about his Audible Original podcast, , and the healing power of sound. Maejor, welcome. Thank you so much for being here today.
Maejor: Thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to talk about this.
RX: Awesome. Let's get started. In Maejor Frequency, you talk about how you've been creating music since you were a kid, and obviously music is a huge part of your life, and you also talk about your personal health journey as well. So without giving away too much of the podcast to folks listening in right now, what would you say were some of the experiences that most compelled you to begin your journey of exploring the link between sound and healing?
Maejor: It's awesome that life is like a yin and yang. With every challenge comes opportunity to grow, and for me one of those situations was the challenge of something like cancer [which] gave me insights of looking into many ways of healing and how our body, mind, and spirit work and are connected. So, I definitely think that it, the cancer I went through, was one of my greatest teachers as well as one of my greatest challenges.
RX: And something that really struck me about your story is just how much it resonates with so many people. I think a lot of people are going through healing now or have loved ones who are going through the healing process. So I'd love to talk to you a little bit about what made you want to create Maejor Frequency during this moment in time and how do you think sound can help people heal today?
Maejor: My exploration with frequency and sound started with an intention to bring sound healing to the mainstream and intentional frequencies to the mainstream. Through my work and the yoga and spiritual communities and science communities, I started learning about how they use different frequencies and tones in their work for positive benefits. I had never heard of that in my career as a professional music producer. I had never heard of the possibility that different frequencies of tones or sounds can have different effects.
My initial vision was to bridge those two worlds, and that's still the intention. So as I started producing some mainstream artists using frequency, I got a gold plaque from one of the songs. I think it advanced our perspectives towards alternative ways of treatment, or healing or wellness I should say. It's definitely promoted wellness and could just align perfectly with what was going on now from the yoga and science communities, and all bringing that together in one is where you get .
RX: In addition to going on the very real spiritual and mental and healing journey, you also literally visited some really amazing destinations to speak with sound and music experts from pretty much every field. Just to name a few of the places you've been to in the podcast, you mentioned Peru, Malaysia, Jamaica, different parts of the US. What role does travel play for you in your connection to sound?
Maejor: Oh, travel plays a huge role in my connection to sound. I believe that each place on the Earth has its own unique energetic frequency. I believe travel is a very, very important part of the series and what makes it what it is. We know that music is a universal language. Everyone on Earth can speak that language, but we are limited by our languages such as English, Spanish, and those kind of divide us in a sense. But music and sound as a connector allows me to travel to all of those different places and still connect with all of the people, because we all speak that same language. And I believe that each place on Earth has its own unique energy imprint and grid that can be experienced when you create at different places, you know? For me as a creator, I get different experiences depending where on Earth I'm creating.
We went to Egypt and looked at how precise the ancient Egyptians were with where they placed things in regard to dates and times. So there's definitely some connection and harmony between location and what's going on there in that place. There's also what some people call the Earth's chakras, which is many of the energetic points on the Earth that they liken to a human's chakra, which is really cool as well.
"I believe travel is a very, very important part of the series and what makes it what it is. We know that music is a universal language."
In travel, for me, I was able to learn so much. Each culture offers a unique perspective and opportunity to see the world through their lens. So for me, that was huge.
RX: Speaking of energies, one of my favorite moments from Maejor Frequency is when you refer to songs and sounds as being packets of energy that you can put out into the world. What type of energy are you hoping to put out with this podcast?
Maejor: That's an easy one. For me, the main energy I'm looking to put out is love. If we infuse love into everything we're doing—can't go wrong. So whenever it’s a choice of fear or love, let's choose love. If Maejor Frequency can give someone a little love, mission accomplished.
RX: That's awesome. I definitely felt the love while listening to this. And I learned so many amazing things in this podcast. You spoke to so many experts, and after speaking to them, I have to ask you which fact about how sound affects us really surprised you the most?
Maejor: What surprised me the most was when I was talking to my friend who's a monk and he told me that each mantra that they use is a unique frequency designed to change their state of consciousness. I would hear the mantras and I kind of thought it was just random sounds, or I hadn't quite thought about what are the sounds. And then I learned that each mantra was a unique frequency designed to change your state of consciousness. That was kind of when it clicked that, "Wait a minute. The sound is having an effect on the person in their mind and their consciousness?" And that was where it shifted and started to look at what is that effect and how can we use it for good.
RX: I think that pretty much hits the nail on the head as far as things that were surprising and what was captivating about all of the facts in this podcast.
Something that stood out to me about the listening experience were the many moments where the sound and frequencies gave me that very real, tingly feeling. Sonic resonance is a topic that you and the experts you speak with revisit many times on Maejor Frequency. Can you explain to our listeners how sonic resonance works and how it connects to healing and well-being?
Maejor: Resonance is, to put it simply, if you put two guitars in a room or close by each other and you play a certain note when you sit it next to the other one, the other guitar that you didn't play will start to vibrate at that tone. That happens with people too. We can see you get around someone and say, "Oh, they had a great vibe and I liked their energy, you know? We felt a harmony." As we continue to work on ourselves, our resonance changes. Our vibration changes.
"We have this miracle that we're living and walking around in, and so the intention of music is just to help make this experience a little bit better."
We can start to affect the world around us and people around us and lift them up. So the music is basically the intention, and some people call it healing music, but really, I believe that our bodies have an infinite healing potential and the music is just one key. Just like drinking the right water and having the right foods, like how that helps unlock different parts of our body that can heal itself, you know? It's really magic. We have this miracle that we're living and walking around in, and so the intention of music is just to help make this experience a little bit better.
RX: We have to talk about the sound design of Maejor Frequency. It's phenomenal. This podcast is as much music and sound as it is your narration and your performance and interviews. I'm thinking about some really great moments, like that part in Episode 7 where if you're listening with headphones, which I think everyone should listen to this with their headphones on, the sound is literally moving from one side of your head to the other.
And of course you have the incredible instrumentals in each episode. I'm super curious. Bring us behind the scenes for a moment. What was a recording and production process like for you?
Maejor: Well, it was cool that you spoke about, we spoke about location and travel. We were able to go to different locations and record nature from that place. We got this really HD field recorder, and we were able to take sounds from different places around the world and weave them into the podcast and into the tracks that we supply that come with it. So it was really cool, because with sound, you can kind of take someone to that place. When you hear the raindrops in a certain way, it almost takes you to a place or to a memory of somewhere you've had something like that.
So it was very important for us with the sound design to be able to take you on a journey, let you just experience every different part of the world from your living room, you know? From your headphones you can just put this on to take you on a sonic journey.
RX: I definitely feel like I was going on the journey with you. I'm so excited for our listeners to get to go on that journey too.
So, Maejor, you mentioned going down some rabbit holes in your research. Was there anything you discovered that you didn't get to include in Maejor Frequency that you'd like to tell us about now?
Maejor: We will continue from where we left on Maejor Frequency, but discovering the connection between some of these ways of treatment and psychedelics, I think that there's a lot to explore there. That's where my rabbit hole is leading me now.
I'm excited for people to really dive in and see the ways that sound can be used by other people and maybe there's something in there that can actually help your life.
RX: Definitely. Now, you mentioned that you're going to expand on this, so what are you looking forward to discovering or working on next?
Maejor: I'm excited to keep expanding the reach of sound healing and intentional frequency into mainstream culture. We're working with scientists on discovering exact frequencies for every ailment. We want to have a detailed list of what to listen to and what to avoid, how to navigate this world of frequency that we all encounter, as well as which frequencies that we don't see what's the effect on us. So I feel like we're just scratching the surface with this, and our intention is to inspire a whole new way with sound therapy—and wellness.
RX: That's so amazing. Maejor, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. If you're listening in, you can find and follow Maejor Frequency on Audible right now. And for more well-beings, please check out audible.com/wellbeing.
Maejor: I love to talk about this stuff. Thank you so much.
