The Alchemy of Living

The Alchemy of Living

Pianist and composer Keenan Meyer spent years attempting to reconcile a musical education largely centered on Western composers with an upbringing rooted in African traditions. As a scholar, he focused his research on the role of music in two moments in South African history—the fight against apartheid and the 2015 #FeesMustFall movement—and how it helped to drive societal change. On his debut album, The Alchemy of Living, he combines the tonal painting techniques of Impressionistic composers with the galvanizing influence of African musical activists to grapple with issues of identity, mental health, and spirituality—all while paying tribute to his heritage. “It’s an ode to remembering my roots and my divinity,” Meyer tells Apple Music. “Alchemy here refers to changing the frequency of thought to create a desired result—and I wanted to give sonic representation to the transformation and liberation process of the soul. I think all artists are alchemists in their own right; my task is to contribute to a new dawn and transmute archaic ways of being and thinking into a higher consciousness.” Here, he takes us through selected tracks from the album. “Santa Theresa” “This is a dedication to a chapter of my life that ended, with a new path being forged in its place. Spending time in Brazil was profoundly spiritual. I saw the Christ the Redeemer statue while I was in Rio de Janeiro, which also included a stop in the Bohemian neighborhood of Santa Teresa. Shortly after I got there, the clouds burst and very quickly everyone was drenched. It was a blessing to me—a cleansing. To stand there, after having gone through so many familial problems, social problems, problems with identity. Experiencing the psychological violence of [being] a Black body in a conservative, white [academic] space, where I questioned my entire worth, was a nasty thing. I had to honor it and say, ‘I'm so sorry that you had to exist in survival mode. Now is the time to be free. Now is the time to acknowledge what you have done.’ The intro of the song is very interesting, because we’re drawing on Impressionistic elements. In Impressionistic music, on the piano, the sustain pedal enlarges sound and changes harmonies. But if you press this pedal, the harmonies blur, and that was a key element of Impressionistic music. It mirrors Impressionistic art. You can only view a van Gogh from far away. If you come close, it's too blurred. It’s exactly the same in music.” “Komani” (feat. Tshepo Tsotetsi) “A part of my maternal roots are found in Komani, formerly known as Queenstown, in the Eastern Cape. I spent my school holidays in Nuwerus and later in Victoria Park. We often had to go ‘home’ and pay our respects to those who'd passed away. Hearing these hymns growing up, hearing them at funerals—it moved me. My great-grandmother passed in 2012; she was a prominent elder in Queenstown. Her coffin was carried throughout the streets, and to me, that was the highest form of human dignity. It was just so beautiful. And so this opening, especially when the rumble starts, I dedicate it to that moment. Here I use a compositional technique called tonal painting. Also, when someone is passing, sometimes it's not immediate. We call it the ‘death rattle.’ And this to me was that—a tremolo was that moment, and also just the majesty of carrying her body.” “Sederburg Avenue” “This prayer piece is dedicated to the family home where I spent my formative childhood years, in Bosmont, Johannesburg. It was here where I started playing around on the family piano. In this house I have come to know the true meaning of maternal love; it’s a love that has taught me deep faith, respect, discipline, and how to be gentle even in circumstances that tested my humanity. One of the main intentions of not including voices in ‘Sederburg Avenue’ was to put yourself there. Whoever's listening, put yourself there, because it's a choral theme, and you can easily pick up on the four-part harmony. It stands as a tonal reminder that we are not done in this realm, and there's still some stuff that we need to continue. Music is just my entry. That song speaks of redemption, of justice.” “Healing” “This piece represents the great healing project that I undertook post-varsity back in 2019. A lot about who I thought I was, or who I thought I needed to be, was forgotten, and in that rebirth I gained a new confidence because I was led and affirmed by spirit. I looked at the historical context of everything that I've studied, and having had the opportunity to travel to Europe, and be in the birthplace of Mozart, and be at the grave of Beethoven. These are people I’d studied for years. And now, I had the opportunity to come and be and immerse yourself in what they created. That was very important for me and my artistry. The train from Graz to Salzburg was unbelievable because I then was able to pair [the view with] what I was hearing musically. Beethoven wrote his 6th Symphony there; he ascribed titles with tonal painting—but to hear the ‘Pastoral’ and then see the pastoral lands of Salzburg—oh, man. That just gave me a completely different ability to interpret on my instrument. And then again, with that type of interpretation, you mix your technique and you mix the understanding again of the philosophy of sound. And then you're able to just really create a story.” “Ikigai” “Ikigai is a Japanese philosophy which is centered around one’s purpose for existing. ‘Ikigai’ came about specifically because of engaging and following a lot of the philosophies of the great Abdullah Ibrahim. Hearing him speak about ikigai, and then translating that to being present, especially in the creation of your own music. And I see that in my own music, the impermanence of my own music and how it's always changing in meaning and feeling, depending on who's listening. Coming into the understanding of the spirituality of Abdullah Ibrahim, and how I can, as someone who [considers himself in] the activist space, [be effective] as a musician, as he was with ‘Mannenberg.’ That was the unofficial tune of the anti-apartheid regime, and specifically in the [South African multiracial ethnic group known as ‘coloured’] context, in Cape Town. From there, it was just understanding the bigger calling. I am here to destroy whatever systems are in place. I'm operating from a place that prizes external over internal. Constantly breaking away from the Western notions of believing that what I need exists outside of me. And that can lead to a paradigm shift, but it shatters the veneer completely. And when you operate from that place, you can't ever close your eyes again. It's my job and my duty as a servant of spirit to communicate these messages.” “Peace of Mind” (feat. Keorapetse Kolwane) “I wrote this during the zenith of my depression during my honors year in 2018, and it captures the emotional and spiritual turmoil I went through. It speaks to the darkness of depression. And then I think what changed it for me was getting the Mandela Rhodes scholarship. I had anticipated meeting these bright, academically astute, amazing individuals. And then when I arrived there, the sincerity with which I was met shocked me, because it was like, 'Oh, there are others like you.' And to be in that space and have people be so sincere, so kind towards me—I didn't know I needed that going into honors. And it was so important for my self-development, my self-actualization. I got there and understood the magnitude of what that scholarship meant, and then to go and sit in the lounge of our former president, to exist in those spaces, was so humbling. And that spurred on a reawakening, and that's where I decided, 'Okay, these people believe so much in me; this is my potential. I best rise to the occasion.' That was really where I think part of the healing took place. At the end of this piece, you hear I'm floating. It's just like, ‘Ah. It's gone, let it be gone.’ I hope that whoever listens can gain a lesson from that ending. Go to this place, and release it, for your own good.”

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada