Even when I raise my head, close my eyes, and fully recline in my zero-gravity chair, I can still feel the play of light on my eyelids as the 15-ton sound system suspended above “immerses” my entire body in a bass-heavy sea of ​​electronic chords and natural sounds.
The sounds of the whales’ songs and the raindrops cascaded over me, vibrating through me, and I sank deeper into my chair, completely relaxed. For a moment, I no longer felt that there was a chair underneath me, I just felt supported. When I finally open my eyes 20 minutes after starting the 15 ton sound bath, I’m not ready to leave yet.
Apparently, that was true for all of us who attended a media preview earlier this week for The Fluffy Cloud Experience, a spectacular installation of “art, wellness, music, and mayhem” that will be in DC’s expansive BEHRTA for two weeks.
The installation is anchored by the Fluffy Cloud, a giant sphere that pulsates with light. Fluffy Cloud is a 15-ton, three-story structure that houses over 200,000 watts of sound and lighting.
The brainchild of engineer and entrepreneur Jorge Perdomo, Fluffy Cloud was born out of his experiences at Burning Man and clearly reflects the trippy, mind-body immersion of festivals and raves.
Super bass, 360-degree blaring sound, dancing lights and lasers fill the venue’s vast open space. It’s the same place where I saw Ralph Fiennes and Indira Varma take no prisoners at STC a few years ago. macbeth.
At Fluffy Cloud Experience, the space takes on a groovy Garden of Eden look, with Ursatz trees hanging from swings and light sculptures spread throughout the room. This is just as much a place to share adventures in art, wellness, and music.
“People aren’t just looking for another night out,” Perdomo says. “They’re looking for connection and something they’ve never felt before.” Fluffy Cloud offers a menu of four ways to seek that connection, so you can choose your own adventure.
The selection was decided at the preview. We experienced a scientifically designed wellness session in a 15-ton sound bath and an immersive art, music and light show known as Enter Cloudfall. For a significantly different price of $100 for a sound bath compared to $20 for Enter Cloudfall, you can enjoy a significantly different night in the same space.
The Fluffy Cloud Experience will also include Fluffy Cloud Concert nights, featuring secret international and local artists performing live on its amazing system, and the Psychotic Jukebox Lounge, a party where patrons have to play games of skill and daring for a chance to connect to its amazing sound system and blast their favorite tracks.
While that definitely sounds like our kind of party, even though the preview only lasted 20 minutes and the paying customer session was 45 minutes, the sound bath was a special event in its own right.
Perdomo and his collaborator Tom Middleton, a musician, engineer, and sleep scientist who orchestrates many of the project’s multisensory effects, both enthusiastically led us through a sound bath session.
Keenly aware of the construction of the site and the finishing touches taking place around us, Perdomo started us from the ground up. “If you think about it, it makes sense. Music can make you happy and it can make you sad,” he said. “If it makes me depressed or happy, why can’t I relieve stress?”
I followed him into the red-lit lounge and our stress relief began with a tray of appetizers. A glass of kava, a root drink known for its hypnotic and muscle-relaxing effects. 1 capsule of ultra-micronized L-Theanine, a tea-derived amino acid supplement thought to be beneficial in reducing stress and anxiety and enhancing mental function. eye mask and earplugs.
“Why did you choose this?” Perdomo asked rhetorically. “We’ve done an incredible amount of research into what’s currently at the cutting edge in terms of helping people get into a more relaxed state, whether it’s Xanax or alcohol or whatever we’ve been poisoning ourselves with for so long.”
So maybe it was kava. That said, the 15-ton sound bath certainly did wonders for relaxing deep and deep in the zero-gravity chair.
“We’re just gently, socially and responsibly down-regulating you for 45 minutes,” Middleton said, explaining the therapeutic sound and light immersion. “You can get lost in the sound, especially if it’s a frequency you’ve never experienced before. How many times in your life do you hear the sound of a blue whale?”
It won’t be long until other fluffy clouds appear in the sky.
fluffy clouds runs through April 12 at BEHRTA, 1237 W St. NE. Tickets range from $15 to $100. visit fuwafuwacloudexperience.com.
Source: Metro Weekly – www.metroweekly.com
