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The late Lou Reed never really intended for anyone to hear his final solo album, Hudson River Wind Meditations. Known for his signature deadpan voice and transgressive songwriting, the famed rock ‘n’ roll star, who passed away in 2013, spent much of his life iconizing the avant-garde style.
Along with other frontrunners in the genre, Reed successfully pushed the boundaries of traditional musical conventions, often experimenting with unconventional sounds, structures, and techniques to create innovative and challenging compositions. As an artist, he always sought to break away from established norms, embracing a spirit of exploration and nonconformity in his artistic expression.
This last work, however, is nothing like his fuzzed-out romps from the ‘60s and ‘70s. Instead, it’s an ambient meditation album made for yoga and spiritual practices. When it was initially released in 2007, the album received mixed reviews. Some critics appreciated the departure from Reed’s typical style and recognized the meditative qualities of the music. Those closest to him knew how self-reflective the album truly was, but it was seen by many fans as a puzzling conclusion to an illustrious career. Overall, it landed under the radar.
Now, nearly two decades after its release, Hudson River Wind Meditations is being properly reissued on January 12 as a testament to Lou Reed’s versatility as an artist, showcasing his willingness to explore the unexpected and unconventional.
A Retrospective of Reed
With a career that spanned five decades, Reed successfully incited a generation of young songwriters and glam rockers. In his later years, after decades of battling drug and alcohol addiction, Reed took an interest in tai chi, yoga, and meditation, reportedly introduced to it by his wife, Laurie Anderson. As is somewhat inevitable, these extracurricular passions mingled with his music and Reed became inspired to create a soundtrack for his quiet, meditative practices. He composed four compelling works that would eventually become his 20th solo album, Hudson River Wind Meditations.
As someone who guided Reed’s spiritual practice for years, New York City-based yoga teacher Eddie Stern witnessed firsthand the impact this music had on the rock star. “Lou was an immensely emotional and expressive person,” explains Stern. “He felt things very, very deeply and conveyed that deep sensitivity through his music.”
Intended for Reed’s personal use, the ambient compositions were designed to accompany spoken-word meditations recorded by his acupuncturist. The album’s original release included a brief introduction by Reed, in which he wrote, “I first composed this music…to play in the background of life—to replace the everyday cacophony with new and ordered sounds of an unpredictable nature.”
Stern recalls the artistic creativity that Reed drew on to create the album. “On one of the tracks, he literally held a microphone out of his window, facing the Hudson, and recorded the wind blowing off of the river. Then he used that as a base for developing a repetitive drone.
“Non-replicable art is spontaneous and therefore precious in a special way. Hudson River Wind Meditations arose from all modalities of feeling, sensing, and moving. I think Lou channeled all of this, and eventually, it flowed out from him,” explains Stern.
The album became a soundtrack to Reed and Stern’s yoga classes together. “I think it helped him merge his mind into flow. He had an active mind and immense amounts of creativity. He thought and questioned incessantly,” says Stern. “Perhaps the Hudson River Wind Meditations helped him to slow down his thinking and be settled in his physical and energetic body.”
Collaborating with Hal Willner, a notable producer, Reed eventually packaged the album for fan distribution, intending to create a contemplative experience that allowed listeners to explore relaxation and spiritual awareness through sound.
Anderson and Stern, in collaboration with Light in the Attic Records, are releasing a definitive reissue of Reed’s Hudson River Wind Meditations. The album, available for the first time on vinyl, has been masterfully restored into a double LP record and includes interviews on Reed’s exploration into ambient music plus new liner notes, or the writings found on the sleeves of records, by Stern.
“I think we can listen to this record under any conditions, and it will be there and do something to our state of consciousness,” says Stern. “However, I highly recommend going old school and just putting the record on, lying down, listening to it, and doing nothing.”
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