Why Loud Music Can Quiet Your Mind

Sep 1

Written By BNKR

LOUD ROOM. QUIET MIND.

It sounds contradictory.

That's precisely why we like it.

Silence is usually what we associate with clearing the mind.

Meditation happens in quiet rooms. Wellness retreats whisper. Yoga studios ask you to silence your phone and lower your voice.

And that works for a lot of people.

For others, silence leaves plenty of room for the brain to keep talking.

What do I need to do tomorrow?

Did I answer that email?

Why did I say that?

What time is it?

How long have I been lying here?

Sometimes getting quiet doesn't require less stimulation.

Sometimes it requires giving your attention somewhere else to go.

Put yourself in a dark room.

Turn up the music.

Start moving.

Eventually, your breathing changes. Your heart beats faster. You get warm. Sweat starts forming.

The body becomes difficult to ignore.

That's part of what movement can do so well: it moves attention away from abstract thought and toward immediate sensation.

Feet hitting the floor.

Breath.

Heat.

Bass.

Muscle.

Rhythm.

For a while, the unanswered email has some competition.

THEN THERE'S REPETITION

Techno adds another layer.

Its repetitive rhythmic structures can make it easier to settle into sustained movement because you don't need to constantly process a new musical idea.

You know where the pulse is.

Your body finds it.

Then it stays there.

This doesn't mean techno magically switches off the brain. And we're not interested in pretending a loud room is a medical treatment.

The effect is much simpler and more familiar than that.

Think about the last time you became completely absorbed in something physical.

Running.

Dancing.

Swimming.

Sex.

Climbing.

Anything where there was eventually no room left for the running commentary in your head.

For a little while, you were simply doing.

That's the territory we're interested in.

VOLUME CHANGES THE ROOM

There is another reason we like music loud.

It creates separation.

The outside world becomes harder to access.

Conversation becomes unnecessary.

You don't need to make small talk with the person next to you. You don't need to explain yourself.

The room develops its own logic.

You can move alone without actually being alone.

That's a surprisingly rare thing.

AND THEN WE TURN IT BACK DOWN

The loudness only works because it ends.

BNKR isn't 60 minutes at maximum intensity.

The session builds.

The music rises.

The room gets warmer.

You reach the peak.

Then we start taking things away.

The BPM comes down.

The lights settle.

Your movement gets smaller.

Eventually, the room reaches silence.

And silence feels very different after you've earned it.

Maybe that's the paradox.

Sometimes the easiest way to find quiet isn't to sit still and search for it.

Sometimes you have to move through the noise first.

MEDITATE LOUDER.