Jenny Gillespie Mason, who records as Sis and the Lower Wisdom, started writing songs when she was still a teenager. She said attending the Young Writers Workshop at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville was a turning point. She enrolled in UVA, fell into the local folk scene and began performing.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cGrowing up [in Springfield, Illinois,] I took classical piano lessons for seven years, then naturally drifted to guitar,\u201d Mason said. \u201cAfter college I moved around the country a bit and started making albums.\u201d<\/p>\n
She moved to Berkeley with her family a few years back and began making albums as Sis and the Lower Wisdom. \u201cI was moving away from folk and going for something in the realm of experimental R&B,\u201d Mason said.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Lower Wisdom comes from the Gnostic concept of Sophia, the embodiment of divine feminine wisdom, falling from the higher realms to the earthly plane,\u201d she continued. \u201cIt speaks to the heart of this project because the music, and the subject matter, is very earthy\u2014even messy at times. But it\u2019s reaching for higher states of bliss, joy and truth in the lyrics and melodies.\u201d<\/p>\n
The first incarnation of the band put out two albums, Gas Station Roses and Euphorbia. Just before the pandemic shutdown, most of the musicians relocated to Los Angeles.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat forced me to work by myself,\u201d Mason said. \u201cI gained confidence as a producer and became braver, more playful and experimental, working at home in my own studio. Dougie Stu, who played bass and keys in Sis, kept in touch and we\u2019ve kept working together. We co-produced the new album, Saints and Aliens. Through him I had access to amazing musicians.\u201d<\/p>\n
Saints and Aliens continues down the spiritual path Mason began to explore while recording her last effort, Vibhuti.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs I was making Vibhuti, I discovered Sri Aurobindo and The Mother,\u201d Mason said. Sri Aurobindo is an Indian mystic and philosopher, one of the primary figures in the creation of Integral Yoga. \u201cTheir work influenced my spiritual outlook, as life being a field for us to grow in as souls and to evolve into more divine beings.\u201d<\/p>\n
That mindset also informs the music on Saints and Aliens. \u201cThe title, which is also the name of one of the songs, comes from the idea that some of us on Earth desire or hope for some intergalactic or divine intervention at this time, when things seem so dark,\u201d Mason said. \u201cThe twist in the song is that even if these beings came to Earth, they most likely would tell us we have free will. The key to set ourselves free is within our own hearts.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mason created the basic tracks in her home studio, then sent them to Stu, who fleshed them out with the players he knew in L.A. They collaborated on the arrangements.<\/p>\n
\u201cDougie has a natural ability to create musical beauty, coherence, playfulness and soulfulness,\u201d Mason said. \u201cHis jazz training shines through the impeccability of his choices and the arrangements.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the help of Stu\u2019s musician friends, Mason created cinematic soundtracks for the songs. \u201cWolf Child,\u201d a tender ballad, describes her son\u2019s coming-of-age struggles. Mason sings softly as quiet piano chords and a sprinkling of chimes introduce a lyric describing her love for him. The band comes in for a funky, uplifting chorus that urges her son to keep himself open to all possibilities, even when no one seems to understand him.<\/p>\n
\u201cBig Bend (Jai Ma),\u201d a mantra-like chant, describes the joys and apprehensions of giving birth. Mason\u2019s vocals are supported by ambient keys and a muted bassline that slowly gives way to an up tempo, celebratory coda.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince I\u2019m in my 40s, and a mother, I don\u2019t have the inclination to write love songs like I once did. Not that I have anything against that,\u201d Mason said. \u201cI\u2019ve become more interested in how God and the soul are working to shape our lives.<\/p>\n
\u201cI like to write songs about human relationships, longtime love, friendships and family, but in the light of a spiritual, soul-based perspective,\u201d she continued. \u201cI still want to use intimate details of everyday life, while reaching for something higher that speaks to the inner being of the listener.\u201d<\/p>\n
Listen to Mason\u2019s work as Sis and the Lower Wisdom at: sisandthelowerwisdom.bandcamp.com\/music<\/a>. Mason also writes essays and poems which can be found at: jennygillespiemason.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jenny Gillespie Mason, who records as Sis and the Lower Wisdom, started writing songs when she was still…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":246164,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[34],"tags":[110063,48611,143,145,144],"class_list":{"0":"post-246163","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oakland","8":"tag-berkeley-musician","9":"tag-local-music","10":"tag-oakland","11":"tag-oakland-headlines","12":"tag-oakland-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246163","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=246163"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/246163\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/246164"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=246163"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=246163"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=246163"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}