The Power of SOund: a Chat with divasonic

DIVASONIC, aka Lynda Arnold, is a Sound meditation facilitator, vocalist & multi- instrumentalist who actively builds community locally in Long Beach, California and internationally through Divasonic Music Academy where she teaches and heals communities by channeling the power of Sound. DIVASONIC has appeared and collaborated at Earthdance, Chopra Foundation, Melissa Etheridge Island, Bhakti Fest, Donna Karen/UrbanZen, Alex Grey’s Chapel of Sacred Mirrors, Mindvalley LA Live, The Shift Network, SXSW, Lightning in a Bottle Festival, UNICEF Events, Burning Man and Lucidity Festival among others. We had the opportunity to chat with Lynda about her musical journey.
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Tell us about your evolution as an artist? How did Divasonic come to be?

After over 25 years of pursuing my independent music career, I can truly say the main theme has been evolution and reinvention.  Sometimes I moved with the musical trends, sometimes I moved with whatever I was inspired by, and sometimes I moved with whatever emotions needed to be released through the sounds I was making. Divasonic started out with me, improvising on Flute with house and electronic music DJs and then evolved into composing and performing my own music from 2000 onwards.  There have been so many evolutions over the years and also side projects. Duos, bands, and solo expressions of my electronic music performance, as well as my ethereal Sound journey offerings. I have always loved learning lots of different instruments, becoming a better singer and musician, engineer and producer. My primary voice has always been my flute and the thread of playing and connecting to that instrument has always been at the forefront of my expression.

Can you share a transformative moment when you knew something magical was happening with your music?

When I arrived in Los Angeles and started to connect with other people pursuing Sound healing and meditation music as an offering, I knew there was something magical in the air in terms of what was possible with my music. And after a few years of collaborations and building relationships, I launched sonic devas in 2017 which is an all female collective of Sound meditation artists and musicians performing, exploring and facilitating deep, transformative Sound journeys, and medicine music. This felt like a combination of everything I had learned up to this point and I was able to synthesize and present ideas in a way that felt like it was my master work. The talented women that have come through Sonic Devas, whether one time as a guest or through multiple performances, has been such an enriching container to hold all these years. In an area of Los Angeles and in music in general, where individualism is so pervasive, the continued development and promotion of the collective and group collaborative experience seem like a radical act worth doing. 

What's it like being an artist, business woman, mother, teacher, etc.? What has propelled you forward despite the challenges? 

It’s definitely challenging to balance and sustain an artist career. And all the way through being an independent artist, the past 25 + years I’ve had to be organized and patient to ride the waves of success and challenges.

Being a mom actually leveled up my game in terms of time management and really leaning into what lights me up in terms of my expression as an artist while having the grounded job of being a mom to my girl who is the important person in my life.  The music business is certainly tricky. You see people come and go throughout your career. I’ve been thankful to have collaborated with so many incredible artists who are geniuses in their own right and also I’ve been blessed to experiment with so many different sounds and styles through my independent music career. I always leaned into my coaching and nurturing music artists and sound healers along my journey with what I’ve learned.

 How do you like living in Long Beach? Has the community affected you or your music in any way?

I moved to Long Beach 10 years ago after living in the Bay Area, specifically Oakland, for 16 years. I love the community here. The people are down to earth and it was a great place to reestablish myself and begin my Sound healing practice. It’s a great place to raise my daughter and has everything you need without having to go up to Los Angeles all the time.  The community feel helps me feel at home has an East Coast transplant.

Tell us about your new work! How does it differ from previous projects? 

My newest works are incorporating more Sounds from India and I am starting to develop a spiritual world fusion jazz type of Sound. I love the mantras and the traditional instruments and have been going deep into studying Raga music, which is the Indian classical music. I’ve been finding so much inspiration in playing more harmonium and learning Bansuri Flute, as well as meeting more musicians who are specializing in this type of music to we’ve new sounds and styles together. 

DIVASONIC offers sound healing workshops, private sound baths, singing for wellness sessions at some of the top meditation and yoga studios in Los Angeles and beyond. Learn more about her music academy here.

Listen to her new single "Arms Open" here.

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Experience divasonic's sound live at que sera sunday, january 12th!

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