A multi-sensory spectacle of a show “Part Daft Punk-inflected Dan Deacon, part DIY-driven Flaming Lips as filtered through Girl Talk” (Austin Chronicle). A band of keyboards/synths/guitar/bass/drums/horns playing in sync to everything from old films to Youtube videos. An interactive show which can be viewed like theatre or immersive; underneath a large parachute from kindergarten and a sea of confetti. Aucoin has been long-listed for the Polaris Music Prize twice. His music video for “Brian Wilson is A.L.I.V.E.” won the Prism Prize. Aucoin has built a reputation as one of the best live shows in Canada according to CBC Radio3. His albums sync to old movies like Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of The Moon with The Wizard of Oz. He has performed at dozens of festivals including Osheaga, Great Escape, Les Eurockéennes, Berlin Music Fest, Art Basel Miami, Luminato Art Fest, Iceland Airwaves, SXSW, and Pop Montreal. He has won 5 Nova Scotia Music Awards and 3 ECMAs and has been nominated 11 times. He won Best New Artist at the Canadian Indies. “How It Breaks” went #1 on the CBC Top 20 Countdown. His music videos and streams have garnered over 2 million views. He cycled across Canada and the US for music tours for charities.

Inward Eye, the new record from Spacemoth, is a journey through the inner and outer worlds, cosmic psychedelic pop made of pulsating rhythms and loops of sounds inspired by cycles of nature and the cycles of life. “It’s a metaphor for the mind’s eye, your imagination and memory, your ability to visualize experiences and emotions,” says Qudus.

The years following Spacemoth’s 2022 debut, No Past No Future, were busy ones for Qudus. Spacemoth hit the road as the support act for Tortoise, Spellling, Speedy Ortiz and others. In 2024, Qudus produced psych rock band La Luz’s (Sub Pop) News of the Universe, a collaboration that led to her joining the group on the road over the last few years. While criss-crossing the country on various tours, Qudus ensconced herself in the back of the van with a tiny synthesizer and started piecing together the songs that became Inward Eye.

Inward Eye establishes a bigger vision for Spacemoth’s sound, one charged with groove and motion. Opener “Do We Exist?” is a spacey pop banger that begins with a lone repeating bassline and slowly builds to a galactic cacophony. “Internet Fantasy” features a droning organ and modulated vocals overlaid on a bouncing bassline and crisp drum pattern that soothes in their repetition and predictability. “North Star” is an ode to connection over time and distance, while “Flower Memory” reflects the nostalgic glow of the family movies that played while she was making the record.

Sonically, Inward Eye is indebted to the interplay inherent to bands with multiple players: the intricacy of Can, the post-rock of Tortoise, the avant-pop of Stereolab. The self-command of Kraftwerk and Cluster were also huge influences. On Inward Eye, Qudus has crafted exquisitely patterned, cyclical music that still feels loose and imaginative, arranged to evoke positivity while allowing space for listeners to map out their own emotional journeys through their inner worlds.

Since 2008, East Forest has used music to guide listeners through modern journeys of deep introspection.  The electro-acoustic project has remained primarily a solo effort (of Krishna-Trevor Oswalt), straddling the worlds of ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop.

At the core of East Forest’s work is an exploration of sound as a tool to guide listeners on an inner journey.  The music is an emotionally resonant landscape that blends organic and electronic elements into cinematic compositions designed to evoke insight and connection.  As a sonic bridge between science and spirituality, it ushers listeners into a direct encounter with the mystical dimensions of their being, intending to democratize access to peak states of consciousness.

This ethos of bridging inner and outer worlds, lies at the heart of East Forest’s latest project, the feature-length documentary “Music for Mushrooms.”  More than just a chronicle of his creative journey, the film offers a compelling testament to the transformative power of psychedelics, music, and community amidst global crisis.  The movie highlights how music can be a transformative tool, facilitating deep healing in an increasingly disconnected world.  With captivating visuals, powerful interviews (including Ram Dass, Duncan Trussell, Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris, Xochitl Ashe, Dr. Leor Roseman), and an original score by East Forest, the film weaves together cutting-edge science, indigenous wisdom, and East Forest’s own story of psycho-spiritual awakening, to offer a hopeful vision for the future of mental health, social justice, and human thriving. 

East Forest’s latest release, the “Official Documentary Soundtrack,” is an immersive album that serves as the heartbeat of the film.  The album isn’t just a traditional soundtrack drop.  The music is a journey in itself, a portal into the psychedelic space where introspection and transformation occur.  The album, featuring tracks recorded and improvised live during East Forest’s guided psilocybin ceremonies, presents a therapeutic auditory experience that extends the film’s exploration of music as a catalyst for personal evolution.  Listeners will also be treated to a forthcoming 2025 sister release that further elaborates on the Official Soundtrack — a 6-hour album designed to guide a psilocybin journey from beginning to end — a third volume in his Soundtrack For A Psychedelic Practitioner series.

“The Official Documentary Soundtrack serves as more than background music for the documentary — it’s a central character, guiding listeners through their healing processes,” says East Forest. “The songs invite listeners into spaces of mindfulness and self-reflection, where the growth can begin.”

East Forest’s live concerts utilize a skilled, mostly instrumental repertoire to create a space for an emotive journey.  The live events have appeared at concert halls, and major festivals, as well as international performances in Europe, Australia, and Asia.  The catalog includes over 30 albums, including 2019’s album-length collaboration with spiritual pioneer Ram Dass and collaborations with artists ranging from Jon Hopkins, Laraaji, Dead Prez, Nick Mulvey, Peter Broderick, DJ ANNA and more.  

As a trailblazer in the global movement of meditation and inner resilience, he additionally offers guided meditations, retreats, a podcast (Ten Laws w/East Forest with almost 300 episodes), and talks that guide students through a brain-body approach aimed towards non-religious and approachable spirituality; he is a faculty member at the Esalen Institute and has worked with Google and Johns Hopkins neuroaesthetics project, UCSF psilocybin research studies, Wavepaths, Usona, Stanford d.school, SXSW, Yale, TED, Numinus, and more.   

His work has appeared on Bright Antenna, Domino, Mercury KX, 1631 Recordings, Aquilo, Ghostly, as well as Tender Loving Empire & Universal/Decca.

Press Highlights:

The Soul of Choice – East Forest Op-Ed in Doubleblind

“Life and death and what it all means.” – Billboard Interivew / Billboard 2

“Lush, sweeping, unpredictable.” – Albums to Hear – Rolling Stone

“It’s just stunning.” – Bob Boilen, Tiny Desk

New York Times Jon Hopkins/East Forest Article  – Greyson Currin – PDF

Feature + Interview – Sky News

“Surprisingly profound” – Forbes

“East Forest is as much a ceremonial leader and spiritual teacher as he is a musician.” – Psychedelic Times

#2 Billboard (Aug 2019), #1 iTunes “Ram Dass”

#1 iTunes (May 2019) (#7 Billboard) “Music For Mushrooms: A Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner”

#1 iTunes (Aug 2016) (#2 Billboard) “Ritual Mystical” (MC YOGI feat. East Forest)

#2 Song of the Year (2021) – MusicRadar

Top Songs of 2021 “Sit Around The Fire” – NPR