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The Wiccan/Pagan Beat

Elemental:
TWPT Talks with....Kellianna
©2010 TWPT

TWPT:  When was it that you first realized that music and singing were going to be important parts of your life?   

K: From my earliest childhood

TWPT:  Tell me about some of the first times that you sang in public, how they came about and how you felt about them afterwards.

K:  I started singing in public in the 2nd grade with my school chorus.  I always found it really exciting and something to look forward to a couple of times a year at school. I also played flute in the Westminster Elementary School band.  I enjoyed rehearsing and practicing then. (Not so much now, to be honest!) 

TWPT:  Were you writing your own music and songs back then? Do you find it easier to interpret songs written by others or do you prefer to sing songs that you have created yourself? Why?  

K:  I started writing music at probably 12 or 13 years old, when I joined my first rock band called Medusa.  We did covers of Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young, and other classic rock bands. 

I am very much inspired by songs and chants of all kinds, and when I find one that speaks  to me, I'll approach the writer for permission to record a version on my own CD's.  I feel  very strongly about the songs I write myself, but also like to sing songs from other amazing    writers.  It's the story or subject that attract me a lot of the time.

TWPT:  Tell me about the spiritual path that you are on now and how you came to find this path among the many choices that call out to seekers these days.

I have Mic Mac blood in my ancestry,  so I also have a strong connection to the land of the North Eastern United States, where my Norman ancestors came to from France in 1640, and my Mic Mac ancestors much earlier than that. I still live in the North East, and plan on staying, just as my ancestors did.  I guess I unintentionally followed my bloodlines into the past and found my path.

TWPT:  What is it about your spiritual path that makes you happy and brings you joy?    

K:  Having so many wonderful oppurtunities to get people singing.

TWPT:  When was it that you started to combine your spiritual path and your singing? Was it a natural extension of your beliefs to share them in the form of songs and chants?

K:  2003.  I had no idea at the time that sacred music would be my future.

TWPT:  Tell me about meeting Shawna Carol, your first trip to England and how that energized you in regards to putting out your first pagan album Lady Moon.  

TWPT:  How do you use this technique in circles and gatherings to facilitate spiritual growth? In other words how does it work? 

K:  By creating a safe and sacred circle where people can go deep in discovering their sacred voice.

TWPT:  You are quite the traveling woman with all the festivals that you perform at each year. When you do these shows all over the states and around the world what is it that you want people to walk away from your performances with?

K:  I hope that people will walk away with music that can be a bridge between the everyday world and the divine.

TWPT:  And the other side of the previous question is what do you take away from all of these performances and all the people that you meet? 

K:  I take away wonderful stories.  Stories of how this song or that song spoke to this person, and how the next song was sung at a community ritual here, and this one at a Red Tent Temple, and the pagan choirs that are performing my music out there in the world.  That's what I like.  I like to hear the stories of how the music is being brought out into the world and people are singing them together.  

TWPT:  On a more intimate level tell me about the chant circles that you facilitate for smaller groups of people closer to home. Why do you do chant circles and what is the ultimate benefit for those who fully enter into the spirit of the chant?

K:  I have created a Wheel of the Year ritual chant circle, where my groups gather for each of the 8 Celtic festivals of the year. We don't always get 8 in, but usually 6 or 7.  These are intentional circles where we raise energy and manifest intention. It's a fantastic way to gather the community and plug into the cycle of the changing seasons.

TWPT:  Have you ever felt like people didn't quite understand chants simply because they didn't see them in a the right perspective. Isn't it true that you can free up a person's deeper spiritual instincts and feelings with chants because they allow the conscious mind to step back a little? Why is this important to spiritual growth? 

TWPT:  Compared to playing cover songs in a bar do you feel like you have found your best destiny with what you do now in terms of your music and songs? 

K:  Absolutely.  I've always taken pleasure in singing and performing, but singing sacred music has brought that to amazing levels! 

TWPT:  Your latest album is called Elemental. How would you classify the songs that you included on this album and is there a theme that ties them together?

K:  Elemental is my first CD that is all drum and chant.  There really isn't a theme, but I chose the title Elemental due to one of the tracks on the CD.

TWPT:  What has been the largest benefit on your life from the music that you now perform? When you started on this path of singer, songwriter and chantress did you have any idea where it was taking you? 

K:  The largest benefit would be the traveling.  Because of the music and the demand for it within my genre, I travel far and wide and see many beautiful places and meet groups of amazing people. I've always known what I was capable of professionally, but didn't realize that sacred music would be my vehicle.

TWPT:  What would you like to do in the coming years that you haven't already done with your music and your travels?

K:  I would like to be a distributor of great pagan music.  I have so many amazing friends and colleagues that do great music, and would like to provide access to these artists through a distribution company.  A place where the retail shops can go to order great music for resale.

TWPT:  Thanks for taking the time out to answer these questions. Good luck in the future with your music.