Underground River by Marya Stark and Daniel Berkman

‘Underground River’ is a multi-media expression in reverence and connection with the world waters.

Co-composed with Daniel Berkman, the album is inspired by lucid dreams and ancestral spirits of the water. The album features non-linguistic vocal choral arrangements, kora, ondomo, cello, minimal sound design, and sonically explores aspects of the global water cycle. ‘Underground River’ is a representation of the subterranean emotional body of the individual, the collective emotional body of humanity, and our relationship to the worlds of water..


This impressionistic soundscape conveys a conversation between water spirits. It is being released alongside a greater body of multi-media artwork, including an original commissioned acrylic and oil painting by Danielle Caners, film photography, and 10 minute ceremonial film piece in collaboration with Earthbased Media, featuring a multicultural cast of 18 women in various choreographies demonstrating the ancestral feminine relationship to the waters of life.

This dance film uses clips from 4 different songs to seamlessly weave a river of modern dance. It conveys women converging to honor the elders, build bridges between generations, walking together as a symbol of the rivers of the lands returning to the sea. The dancers embody different vignettes of animate water spirits, forming cymatic geometries with the sound and movement. It is an origin story for aquatic life, and harkens to the great Greek myths of the nymphs, the naiads and the oceanids. It also has roots in african folklore and the water spirits called the Kuntumble, and world wide water mythologies that connect within the stream.

There have been a series of events preceding the release of this album to premier the short film alongside Marya in concert teaming with communities to create unique choreography, water ceremonies, and an ongoing adding to the tapestry featured in the film, each community contributing to the story of the healing of the waters of the world.

Marya is a carrier of myth, magic, and medicine songs. She takes her audience on an imaginative journey through the caverns of the soul. Her songs combine magical realism with orchestral arrangements and a classically trained voice, crafting healing stories for the modern times.

marya-stark.com
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