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Jon Hopkins

Jon Hopkins Unveils Psychedelic Art Installation Called “Dreamachine”

Grammy and Mercury-nominated composer Jon Hopkins has soundtracked a touring art installation called “Dreamachine” that induces hallucinations and tripping in the minds of its viewers.

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An extraordinary but little-known 1959 invention by artist and inventor Brion Gysin inspired Dreamachine. His experimental homemade device used flickering light to create vivid illusions, kaleidoscopic patterns and explosions of color within the mind.

Gysin envisioned that his invention would replace televisions. Instead of passive consumers of mass-produced media, viewers of his Dreamachine would create their own cinematic experiences.

Jon Hopkins and his team of neuroscientists, architects and philosophers have breathed new life into Gysin’s invention. Similar to Hopkins’s latest work, Music For Psychedelic Therapy, this new project uses ambient music from the artist as a soundtrack to the experience, which researchers called “stroboscopically induced visual hallucinations.”

Dreamachine will be touring the UK beginning this spring with more info here.

Originally reported by Mixmag.

Ketamine

Ketamine as Potential Treatment for Depression, Anxiety & Chronic Pain

The taboo party drug ketamine is being hailed as a potential treatment for depression, anxiety, and chronic pain. Since the 1970s ketamine has been legally prescribed in the United States as an anesthetic. Due to the drug’s dissociative and hallucinogenic effects, it’s become a popular rave culture drug. Other psychedelics such as LSD or MDMA cannot be legally prescribed because there are no medically recognized health benefits.

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An easing of prescription rules during COVID-19 has allowed more Americans to access the drug through their doctors for at-home mental health treatments. Some have hailed the drug as a breakthrough therapy for depression and other mental health conditions. Others remain skeptical because there is little evidence to support how effective ketamine is for depression. There are limited large-scale studies of ketamine’s medical impact, leaving some to also conclude that an unregulated boom of the drug could result in tragedies and a regulatory crackdown.

Originally reported by NDTV.