【コラム】 Shpongle：音の輪廻と意識の旅

Column en Psy-Trance Psychedelic Trance

05 Oct 2025

Raja Ram × Simon Posford: Encounter and chemical reaction

Text: mmr｜Theme: Philosophy of the acoustic universe drawn by Raja Ram and Simon Posford

Shpongle is a monumental psychedelic electronica/psychedelic project centered around Simon Posford and Raja Ram.Formed in 1996, inspired by the total solar eclipse in India, they have presented an “audio-journey” that fuses ethnic sampling, acoustic instrumentation, and masterful studio production.Their sound image is distinct from club-oriented trance, and invites listeners to a story that transcends time and space.

Prologue: Sound is the door to enlightenment

Shpongle is more than just an electronic music unit. It is the spiritual pinnacle of modern electronic music, embodying Sound Enlightenment.

The members are psychedelic sage Raja Ram (formerly of Quintessence) and sound magician Simon Posford (Hallucinogen). The band was born in 1996 from a chance session at Twisted Records studios outside London. Their sound is a unique “mandala of sound” that combines consciousness, meditation, vision, philosophy, and technology.

“Shpongle is the experience of enlightenment through hearing.” — Simon Posford

Chapter 1: Birth of Shpongle and historical background of Twisted Records

In the 1990s, British psychedelic culture was at a crossroads in its evolution. A time when the Goa Trance craze swept Europe and LSD culture merged with technology. At the center of this trend was Twisted Records (1996-).

Twisted releases spiritual and intellectual trance music centered on Posford, including Hallucinogen, Younger Brother, Prometheus, and Celtic Cross. Shpongle was born with the theme of “journey into the inner universe” at its core.

flowchart TD A["1994: TIP Records
Raja Ram & Graham Wood"] --> B["1996: Established Twisted Records
Centered on Simon Posford"] B --> C["1998: Shpongle formed"] C --> D["Younger Brother / Hallucinogen / Celtic Cross
Related project development"] D --> E["2000s: UK psych culture revival"] E --> F["2010s~: Fusion with world festival culture"]

Twisted served as the ‘intellectual mecca’ of UK psychedelic culture. This is not a drug fantasy, but a scientific exploration of sound and consciousness. Shpongle was its philosophical symbol.

Chapter 2: Shpongle’s sonic evolution through albums

Year	Album name	Concept	Link
1998	Are You Shpongled?	The starting point of your sonic journey	Amazon
2001	Tales of the Inexpressible	Ethnic fusion of mind expansion	Amazon
2005	Nothing Lasts… But Nothing Is Lost	Impermanence and Regeneration of Sound	Amazon
2009	Ineffable Mysteries from Shpongleland	Soundization of mystical experiences	Amazon
2013	Museum of Consciousness	Museum of Consciousness	Amazon
2017	Codex VI	Book of Consciousness = Completion of Reincarnation	Amazon

Each album is part of the cycle of life - illusion - enlightenment - rebirth. Musical evolution directly corresponds to spiritual evolution.

Chapter 3: Structural analysis of each song - Reincarnation of sound

Stage	Song title	Highlights	Philosophical meaning
Generation	“Divine Moments of Truth”	DMT Sample, Spiral Rhythm	Brahman (Creation)
Expansion	“A New Way to Say Hooray!”	Multilayered Percussion	Lila (Game of the Gods)
Illusion	“Nothing Is Something Worth Doing”	Regeneration from rhythm collapse	Maya (Illusion)
Liberation	“Ineffable Mysteries”	Disappearance of Sound	Moksha (Liberation)
Playback	“The Magumba State”	Return of the Flute	Saṃsāra

flowchart TD A["Generation
(Brahman)"] --> B["Extension
(Lila)"] B --> C["Illusion
(Maya)"] C --> D["Liberation
(Moksha)"] D --> A["Play
(Saṃsāra)"]

Shpongle’s songs create, destroy, and regenerate universes in one song. Listening itself is a philosophical act.

Chapter 4: Live and festival chronology

flowchart TD L2001["2001: First live "Twisted Launch Party""] --> L2005["2005: Fuji Rock Festival (first performance in Japan)"] L2005 --> L2009["2009: Red Rocks Amphitheater, USA"] L2009 --> L2014["2014: Shpongletron 3.0 Tour"] L2014 --> L2017["2017: Boom Festival (Portugal)"] L2017 --> L2020["2020: Shpongle Live at Ozora (video archive)"]

Shpongletron: Mandala of sound and light

During the live performance, a huge video device called Shpongletron is used. Android Jones’ visuals are synchronized with the sound. Raja Ram will be on stage as a ceremonial guru'' and Posford will be asound alchemist.’’ The live performance itself becomes an extension of the meditative experience.

Chapter 5: History of Thought and Hindu Philosophy of Raja Ram

From hippie culture to sonic yoga

In the late 1960s, Raja Ram led Quintessence, introducing Hindu philosophy to rock music. He musically put into practice the ideas that sound = enlightenment'' andsound = god (Nāda Brahma).’’

flowchart TD A1965["1965: Stay in India and study classical music"] --> A1969["1969: Formation of Quintessence (Oriental Thought Rock)"] A1969 --> A1980["1980: Meditation period/exploration of consciousness"] A1980 --> A1994["1994: TIP Records established"] A1994 --> A1996["1996: Shpongle formed"] A1996 --> A2020["2020s: Continuing to perform at world festivals"] classDef node fill:#fdf6e3,stroke:#555,stroke-width:1px,color:#111,font-size:14px; class A1965,A1969,A1980,A1994,A1996,A2020 node;

Hindu Philosophy	Musical Correspondence
Brahman	Creative energy of sound
Maya (Phantom)	Sound changes and multilayering
Atman (I)	Inner consciousness of the listener
Lila (play)	Humor and transformation in the song
Nāda (sound)	Vibration of the universe = sound itself

For Raja Ram, sound is prayer and Shpongle is his mantra.

Chapter 6: Simon Posford - The Sound Magician’s Production Philosophy

Posford combines classic synths (Virus, Nord Lead, Roland SH-101) with modern DAWs (Logic Pro, Ableton). Dozens of layers of sound are layered to intentionally design “resonance with brain waves.” His works have a consistent three-layered structure: low range = body, overtones = consciousness, and reverberation = spirituality.

Production workflow example

Sampling of natural and ethnic sounds
Microtonal processing (Detuning) on synths
Phase inversion and reverse reverb
Synced to brainwave rhythm (Theta/Alpha)
Reconstruction in 3D space (Ambisonics)

“Rather than creating sounds, I feel like guiding the sounds that appear.” — Simon Posford

Chapter 7: Comparative analysis with Young Brother / Hallucinogen

Project	Direction	Spirituality	Sound Characteristics
Hallucinogen	External Hallucination	Chemical Trance	BPM Fast/Sharp
Younger Brother	Inner spiritual exploration	Emotions/Lyrics	Organic/Pop-oriented
Shpongle	Fusion of consciousness and space	Philosophy/Spirituality	Super-constructive/multilayered acoustics

Hallucinogen (Simon Posford) @ Ozora Festival 2015

Younger Brother “Spinning Into Place”

Chapter 8: Nāda Brahma and Sound Meditation Practices

What is Nāda Brahma?

“The universe is sound, and sound is God.”

This ancient Indian philosophy is the basis of Shpongle. Sound is born, changes, disappears, and regenerates again. That is reincarnation itself.

Shpongle-style acoustic meditation method

Breathe in the dark room
Play Divine Moments of Truth
Focus on the moment when the sound is “born”
The layers of sound expand and boundaries disappear.
Listen to your inner voice when you reach silence

Scientifically, alpha and theta waves become dominant, leading to a deep meditative state. The sound of Shpongle is like a temple bell in the brain.

Chapter 9: Resonance with psychedelic visuals

Shpongle is completed not only by sound but also by resonance with visual art. He is especially famous for his collaborations with Android Jones (digital vision painter) and Alex Gray (spiritual painter).

Artist	Works/Relationship	Features
Android Jones	Shpongletron Visual	Visual Mandala Generation
Alex Grey	Sharing the theme of “sound = light = consciousness”	Fusion expression of the human body and the universe

SHPONGLEDROID

Alex Gray & Shpongle

Chapter 10: Shpongle’s Psychoacoustics - Interaction of the Brain and Consciousness

Posford constructs sound as a neurological ritual. The undulating bass resonates with heart rate variability, and the overtones of the flute stimulate the pineal gland in the brain. This structure causes a psychological phenomenon called an “acoustic trip.”

Acoustic elements	Physiological effects	Psychological experiences
Low frequency base	Synchronization of breathing and heartbeat	Grounding feeling
High-frequency overtones	Pineal gland activity	Visual hallucinations/time dilation
Reverb reverberation	Expansion of spatial localization	Dissolution of ego
Polyrhythm	Cognitive delay	Dreamy floating feeling

Scientifically, Shpongle is a project to ``restructure the brain with sound.’’

Final Chapter: Enlightenment as Sound - Significance of Shpongle’s existence

says Raja Ram.

“I am a sound traveler. Instead of searching for God, I wake up in sound.”

Shpongle is a 21st century scripture born at the intersection of technology and spirituality. Electronic sounds become mantras, beats become meditation, and listening becomes prayer.

Sound is born, changes, returns to silence, and is revived again. This endless cycle is the ``Saṃsāra of Sound,’’ and it is the very world that Shpongle depicts.

“Nothing Lasts… But Nothing Is Lost.”

Everything disappears, but nothing is lost.

Conclusion

Shpongle is the 21st century embodiment of “enlightenment through sound.” The sound transcends science, philosophy, religion, and technology. He is reconstructing human consciousness itself as sound.

It’s not just music. It is an evolution of the act of “listening” itself, It is the mandala of consciousness left to humanity by Raja Ram and Simon Posford.