A desert dome that inspires rock stars and star-gazers
In August 1953, the Integratron’s creator, George Van Tassel, claimed to have received a message. The California test pilot and engineer said extra-terrestrials gave him plans for creating a “high-voltage electrostatic generator that would supply a broad range of frequencies to recharge the cell structure” – in other words, a structure that could heal through sound. Over the next 18 years, the masterpiece was built at a geomagnetic vortex near Landers, California, purportedly drawing from the powers of Giant Rock: an enormous, freestanding boulder thought by Van Tassel to be a centre of UFO activities. Think Sedona meets Stonehenge, about 20 miles north of Joshua Tree National Park. The generator was meant to be a machine of the mind, inspired by Nikola Tesla’s writings, Van Tassel’s telepathic communications and the design of Moses’ Tabernacle.
These days, the Integratron’s visitors are an eclectic mix of musicians, families, corporate think tanks, acrobats and artists who are all drawn to the structure’s otherworldly acoustics. But according to Joanne Karl, one of three sisters who purchased the space in 2000, 22 years after Van Tassel’s death, asking who visits the Integratron “is like saying who is the most average person at the Star Wars bar. … Erykah Badu was here the other day, and we usually have a VIP a week – they’re among our biggest visitors.”
- The exterior of the Integratron. (Ashley Winchester)
Other A-list visitors include Josh Homme of Queens of the Stone Age fame, the Arctic Monkeys and Jason Mraz, all of whom have played inside and revelled in the structure’s ability to naturally transfer and amplify sound, much as a cathedral does. Arcade Fire came to the dome to recharge and jam following this year’s Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, about 66 miles southeast of the Integratron.
“We’re not really a recording studio – you can hear it’s not a foam-padded room,” Karl said. “But musicians have recorded acoustic sets in here and got coyotes in the middle of the night and thought it was the raddest.”
- The lower level of the Integratron. (Ashley Winchester)
Beyond having exceptional acoustics, the Integratron resides in a place that’s ideal for stargazing. And while many will likely flock to Joshua Tree National Park – known for its absence of light pollution – to catch a glimpse of the upcoming Perseid meteor shower, the Integratron will provide a lesser-known viewing party about a half an hour north.
The annual shower is among the brightest and most reliable in the Northern Hemisphere, with up to 100 meteors visible per hour, according to NASA. The natural light show, caused by Earth passing through space debris from the Swift-Tuttle comet, is characterised by its blazing shooting stars.
The 8th annual “Star Party”, scheduled this year on 9 August around the meteor shower’s peak viewing time, includes live music; a screening of The Wizard of Oz, set to a soundtrack of Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon; fire dancers; and overnight camping. Astronomers will offer lectures and telescope demonstrations outside the dome, where partygoers will be able to see the shower.
Inside the dome, the event will also include the Integratron’s signaturesound bath, in which participants – heads positioned toward the structure’s centre – lie on the floor and relax to the tune of quartz crystal “singing” bowls, the tones of which are said to affect specific energy points in the body. Because of the Integratron’s acoustics, the quietest whisper – or softest snore – reverberates throughout the dome. But as the Karl sisters slowly run a mallet around the bowls, the sounds produced travel in circles around listeners’ heads, inducing – if all goes according to plan – a meditative state.
© ACADEMIA ARALAR. Estella, Navarra.
What a strange building! I understand people qho want to go there because if the acoustic is utterly good, to play is more motivating. Also, I would like to see the stars there because I have never seen the stars from a place where there is not much pollution.
ReplyDeleteThis is a really iteresting building. I reckon the engeniers have done a lot of work to make it real. Reaching that acoustic effect cannot be easy.
ReplyDeleteI personally love the idea of going to a concert in that building. I think I would appreciate that quality sound and enjoy it more than ever.