Back in the ’90s, Alanis Morissette may have been described as “angry,” but these days, she’s pretty chill. So chill, in fact, that she’s recorded her first-ever meditation album.
Called the storm before the calm, the album arrives on June 17. On it, the Grammy-winning star will offer listeners 11 different songs to listen to while meditating. You can listen to the first track, which is called “safety — empath in paradise,” now.
On her website, Alanis writes, “During the the last while within the pandemic i felt very inspired to write and remain connected (didn’t always work. and when it didn’t, it felt like a unique torture). all i knew was that i wanted to write a record that would offer something. and throughout the process of creating it…it became its own multi-layered life raft during a time where i felt like i might disappear and float away.”
She adds, “This album is filled with what i hope might be a safe invitation to and compatriot in your/our dropping in…i offer this first song and the entire record to match and be available for any junctures on your personal journey.”
Alanis suggests that the album can be used for “relaxation or resting or releasing or emboldening or sweaty wildness or embodying or empowering or clarifying,” and hopes that it will “serve as a catalyst, a soothing, a glimpse of awakening. an honoring. an objectivity. a wordless partner in healing. a place to land. inquire. breathe. notice.”
“May this music serve as a friend in the thawing. a permission to feel and explore while feeling connected. and supported,” she adds.
The album is also being released on the mental health app Calm.
Here’s the track listing for the storm before the calm:
“light—the lightworker’s lament”
“heart—power of a soft heart”
“explore—the other side of stillness”
“space—pause on violence”
“purification—the alchemical crunch”
“restore—calling Generation X”
“awakening—in between thoughts”
“ground—I want to live”
“safety—empath in paradise”
“mania—resting in the fire”
“vapor—amplified in stillness”
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