Steven Halpern realizes his Cannabis Dreams

Steven Halpern, the GRAMMY®-nominated founder of New Age music, has released his groundbreaking album CANNABIS DREAMS (4/23/21).  This “tuning fork for the brain”(TM) creates an Auditory Contact High (ADH) that nurtures and uplifts body, mind and spirit.  The 11-track CANNABIS DREAMS features Halpern’s signature sound, a Rhodes Mark 7 electric piano. Lush hi-psi soundscapes shimmer with luminous keyboards, hypnotic ambiences, and ethereal vocals.

The music supports relaxation, healing, meditation and spiritual well-being; one does not need to ingest cannabis to experience the relaxation effect. The seed concept for this album was planted in 1982 when an anthropologist handed Halpern an extraordinary strain used by an indigenous Alaskan shamanic healer.

“One toke, and I heard music in a very different way,” says Halpern, also founder of the “Quiet Revolution” in New Age music. “It inspired an improvised grand piano jam that was different from anything I had recorded previously. I wondered if certain other strains might inspire a new composition if used exclusively. The answer turned out to be Yes.”

In 2021, with legalization in many states and with the medical benefits of cannabis more widely accepted, Halpern felt comfortable releasing this ‘co-composed’ cannabis-inspired masterpiece.  The album begins with the wordless vocals of the ethereal Renaissance songstress Kristin Hoffmann, of the internationally-renowned BELLA GAIA ensemble, which can be heard on two of the tracks, “Cannabis Dreams” Part 2 and Part 3. “OG Sonic Chronic” is a collaboration featuring Paul McCandless on bass clarinet and Michael Manring on Zon® fretless electric bass.  

The spirit of each strain speaks through the music. Deep alpha brainwave entrainment tones are subtly mixed into the music, which entrain your brain to higher coherence to further support your immune system functioning. Grab a set of headphones for the full psycho-acoustic effect.

CANNABIS DREAMS is Halpern’s heartfelt “thank you” to the master growers who keep improving on the spiritually uplifting and creativity-enhancing strains.