|Section2= |Section3= }} Tryptamine is a monoamine alkaloid found in plants, fungi, and animals. It is based around the indole ring structure, and is chemically related to the amino acid tryptophan, from which its name is derived. Tryptamine is found in trace amounts in the brains of mammals and is believed to play a role as a neuromodulator or neurotransmitter.

Tryptamine is also the backbone for a group of compounds known collectively as tryptamines. This group includes many biologically active compounds, including neurotransmitters and psychedelic drugs.

The concentration of tryptamine in rat brains is about 3.5 pmol/g.

Plants containing tryptamine

Many if not all plants contain small amounts of tryptamine which is an intermediate in one biosynthetic pathway to the plant hormone indole-3-acetic acid (heteroauxin). Higher concentrations can be found in many Acacia species.

Tryptamine acts as a natural pesticide in plants.

Tryptamine derivatives

The best-known tryptamines are serotonin, an important neurotransmitter, and melatonin, a hormone involved in regulating the sleep-wake cycle. Tryptamine alkaloids found in fungi, plants and animals are commonly used by humans for their psychotropic effects. Prominent examples include psilocybin (from "magic mushrooms") and DMT (from numerous plant sources, e.g. chacruna, often used in ayahuasca brews). Many synthetic tryptamines have also been made, including the migraine drug sumatriptan and its relatives. The tables below list some commonly encountered substituted tryptamines.

The tryptamine backbone can also be identified as part of the structure of some more complex compounds, for example: LSD, ibogaine and yohimbine. A thorough investigation of dozens of tryptamine compounds was published by Ann and Alexander Shulgin under the title TiHKAL.

H Natural Natural Natural Natural Natural Natural Natural Natural Natural

+ Selected Tryptamines	+ (''see also'' Table of naturally occurring tryptamines)
Short Name	! Origin	! Rα	! R4	! R5	! RN1	! RN2	! Full Name
Bufotenin	Natural	|	H	OH	CH3	CH3	5-hydroxy-''N,N''-dimethyltryptamine
Dimethyltryptamine	DMT	|	H	H	H	Methyl>CH3	CH3	''N,N''-dimethyltryptamine
Melatonin	|	H	H	Methoxy>OCH3	acetyl>O=C-CH3	H	5-methoxy-''N''-acetyltryptamine
5-MeO-DMT	|	H	H	OCH3	CH3	CH3	5-methoxy-''N,N''-dimethyltryptamine
N-methyltryptamine	NMT	|	H	H	H	H	CH3	''N''-methyltryptamine
Psilocybin	|	H	Phosphate>PO4	H	CH3	CH3	4-phosphoryloxy-''N,N''-dimethyltryptamine
Psilocin	|	H	Hydroxyl>OH	H	CH3	CH3	4-hydroxy-''N,N''-dimethyltryptamine
Serotonin	|	H	H	OH	H	H	5-hydroxytryptamine
N-methylserotonin	''N''-methylserotonin	|	H	H	OH	CH3	H	5-hydroxy-''N''-methyltryptamine
Tryptophan	|	Carboxyl>COOH	H	H	H	H	α-carboxyltryptamine
	artificial		H	H	H	H	α-ethyltryptamine
	artificial		H	H	H	H	α-methyltryptamine
	artificial	H	H	H		H2C=CH-CH2	''N,N''-diallyltryptamine
	artificial	H	H	H	CH2CH3	CH2CH3	''N,N''-diethyltryptamine
	artificial	H	H	H		CH(CH3)2	''N,N''-diisopropyltryptamine
	artificial	H	H	H		CH2CH2CH3	''N,N''-dipropyltryptamine
5-MeO-AMT	artificial	CH3	H		H	H	5-methoxy-α-methyltryptamine
5-MeO-DALT	artificial	H	H			H2C=CH-CH2	5-methoxy-''N,N''-diallyltryptamine
4-HO-DET	artificial	H	OH	H	CH2CH3	CH2CH3	4-hydroxy-''N,N''-diethyltryptamine
4-HO-DIPT	artificial	H	OH	H	CH(CH3)2	CH(CH3)2	4-hydroxy-''N,N''-diisopropyltryptamine
5-MeO-DIPT	artificial	H	H	OCH3	CH(CH3)2	CH(CH3)2	5-methoxy-''N,N''-diisopropyltryptamine
4-HO-MiPT	artificial	H	OH	H	CH(CH3)2	CH3	4-hydroxy-''N''-isopropyl-''N''-methyltryptamine
Sumatriptan	artificial	H	H	SO2NHCH3	CH3	CH3	5-methylaminosulfonyl-''N,N''-dimethyltryptamine
! Short Name	! Origin	! Rα	! R4	! R5	! RN1	! RN2	! Full Name

Synthesis

The Abramovitch–Shapiro tryptamine synthesis is an organic reaction for the synthesis of tryptamines starting from a beta-Carboline

See also

Trace amine

beta-Carboline

Ergoline

TiHKAL

PiHKAL

References

External links

Tryptamine FAQ

Tryptamine Hallucinogens and Consciousness

Tryptamind Psychoactives, reference site on tryptamine and other psychoactives.

Tryptamine (T) entry in TiHKAL • info

*

cs:Tryptamin de:Tryptamine es:Triptamina fr:Tryptamine hr:Triptamin it:Triptamina lt:Triptaminas hu:Triptamin nl:Tryptamine (stofklasse) ja:トリプタミン pl:Tryptamina pt:Triptamina ru:Триптамин sr:Triptamin fi:Tryptamiini sv:Tryptamin zh:色胺

region	Western Philosophy
Era	20th century philosophy
Color	#B0C4DE
image	Mckenna1.jpg
name	Terence Kemp McKenna
Birth date	November 16, 1946
Birth place	Paonia, Colorado, United States
Death date	April 03, 2000
Death place	San Rafael, California, United States
School tradition	Metaphysics, phenomenology|
Main interests	shamanism, ethnobotany, metaphysics, psychedelic drugs, futurism, primitivism, environmentalism, consciousness, phenomenology, historical revisionism, evolution, ontology, Mind at Large, virtual reality, dominator culture, criticizing science, the Logos
Influences	psychedelic drugs, Marshall McLuhan, Alfred North Whitehead, Teilhard de Chardin, Aldous Huxley, I Ching, William Blake, Riane Eisler, James Joyce, Vladimir Nabokov, Heraclitus
Influenced	Rupert Sheldrake, Robert Anton Wilson, Ralph Abraham, RU Sirius, Cliff Pickover, Timothy Leary
Notable ideas	Novelty Theory, The "Stoned Ape" Theory of Human Evolution, Machine elves }}

Terence Kemp McKenna (November 16, 1946 – April 3, 2000) was an American philosopher, psychonaut, researcher, teacher, lecturer and writer on many subjects, such as human consciousness, language, psychedelic drugs, the evolution of civilizations, the origin and end of the universe, alchemy, and extraterrestrial beings.

Biography

Early life

Terence McKenna grew up in Paonia, Colorado. He was introduced to geology through his uncle and developed a hobby of solitary fossil hunting in the arroyos near his home. From this he developed a deep artistic and scientific appreciation of nature.

At age 16, McKenna moved to Los Altos, California to live with family friends for a year. He finished high school in Lancaster, CA. In 1963, McKenna was introduced to the literary world of psychedelics through ''The Doors of Perception'' and ''Heaven and Hell'' by Aldous Huxley and certain issues of ''The Village Voice'' that talked about psychedelics.

McKenna claimed that one of his early psychedelic experiences with morning glory seeds showed him "that there was something there worth pursuing." In an audio interview Terence Mckenna claims to have started smoking cannabis regularly during the summer following his 17th birthday.

Studying and traveling

In 1965, McKenna enrolled in the University of California, Berkeley to study art history. In 1967, while in college, he discovered and begun studying shamanism through the study of Tibetan folk religion. That year, which he called his "opium and kabbala phase" he also traveled to Jerusalem, where he met Kathleen Harrison, who would later become his wife.

In 1969, McKenna traveled to Nepal led by his "interest in Tibetan painting and hallucinogenic shamanism." During his time there, he studied the Tibetan language and worked as a hashish smuggler, until "one of his Bombay-to-Aspen shipments fell into the hands of U. S. Customs." He was forced to move to avoid capture by Interpol. He wandered through Southeast Asia viewing ruins, collected butterflies in Indonesia, and worked as an English teacher in Tokyo. He then went back to Berkeley to continue studying biology, which he called "his first love".

After the partial completion of his studies, and his mother's death from cancer in 1971, McKenna, his brother Dennis, and three friends traveled to the Colombian Amazon in search of ''oo-koo-hé'', a plant preparation containing dimethyltryptamine (DMT). Instead of oo-koo-hé they found various forms of ''ayahuasca'', or ''yagé'', and gigantic ''Psilocybe cubensis'' which became the new focus of the expedition. In La Chorrera, at the urging of his brother, he was the subject of a psychedelic experiment which he claimed put him in contact with "Logos": an informative, divine voice he believed was universal to visionary religious experience. The voice's reputed revelations and his brother's simultaneous peculiar experience prompted him to explore the structure of an early form of the I Ching, which led to his "Novelty Theory". During their stay in the Amazon, McKenna also became romantically involved with his translator, Ev.

In 1972, McKenna returned to Berkeley to finish his studies. There he decided to switch majors to a Bachelor of Science in ecology and conservation, in a then new experimental section of the same university called the Tussman Experimental College. During his studies, he would also develop techniques for cultivating psilocybin mushrooms with Dennis.

In 1975, he parted with his girlfriend, Ev, when she left him for one of his friends from Berkeley. Their parting left him "tormented with migraines and living alone". He graduated in 1975. That same year, he began a relationship with Kathleen Harrison, whom he had met in Jerusalem.

Soon after graduating, McKenna and Dennis published a book inspired by their Amazon experiences, ''The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens and the I Ching''. He also began lecturing. The brothers' experiences in the Amazon would later play a major role in McKenna's book ''True Hallucinations'', published in 1993. In 1976, the brothers published what they had learned about the cultivation of mushrooms in a book entitled ''Psilocybin - Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide'' under the pseudonyms "OT Oss" and "ON Oeric".

Later life

In the early 1980s, McKenna began to speak publicly on the topic of psychedelic drugs, lecturing extensively and conducting weekend workshops. Though associated with the New Age and human potential movements, McKenna himself had little patience for New Age sensibilities. He repeatedly stressed the importance and primacy of felt experience, as opposed to dogma. Timothy Leary once introduced him as "one of the five or six most important people on the planet." }}He soon became a fixture of popular counterculture. His growing popularity culminated in the early-to-mid-1990s with the publication of several books: ''True Hallucinations'', relating the tale of his 1971 La Chorrera experience; ''Food of the Gods''; and ''The Archaic Revival''. He became a popular personality in the psychedelic rave/dance scene of the early 1990s, with frequent spoken word performances at raves and contributions to psychedelic and goa trance albums by The Shamen, Spacetime Continuum, Alien Project, Capsula, Entheogenic, Zuvuya, Shpongle, and Shakti Twins. His speeches were, and are, sampled by many. In 1994 he appeared as a speaker at the Starwood Festival, documented in the book ''Tripping'' by Charles Hayes. His lectures were produced on both cassette tape and CD.

McKenna was a colleague of chaos mathematician Ralph Abraham, and biologist Rupert Sheldrake, creator of the theory of "morphogenetic fields", not to be confused with the mainstream usage of the same term. He conducted several public debates known as ''trialogues'' with them from the late 1980s until his death. Books containing transcriptions of some of these events were published. He was also a friend and associate of Ralph Metzner, Nicole Maxwell, and Riane Eisler, participating in joint workshops and symposia with them. He was a personal friend of Tom Robbins, and influenced the thought of many scientists, writers, artists, and entertainers. His influences include comedian Bill Hicks, whose routines about psychedelic drugs drew heavily from McKenna's works. He is also the inspiration for the Twin Peaks character Dr. Jacoby.

In addition to psychedelic drugs, McKenna spoke on the subjects of virtual reality, which he saw as a way to artistically communicate the experience of psychedelics; techno-paganism; artificial intelligence; evolution; extraterrestrials; and aesthetic theory, specifically about art/visual experience as ''information'' representing the significance of hallucinatory visions experienced under the influence of psychedelics.

In 1985, McKenna co-founded Botanical Dimensions with his then-wife Kathleen, a nonprofit ethnobotanical preserve in Hawaii, where he lived for many years before he died. In 1997 he and Kathleen divorced. Before moving to Hawaii permanently, McKenna split his time between Hawaii and Occidental, located in the redwood-studded hills of Sonoma County, California.

Death

A longtime sufferer of migraines, in mid-1999 McKenna returned to his home on the big island of Hawaii after a long lecturing tour. He began to suffer from increasingly painful headaches. This culminated in three brain seizures in one night, which he claimed were the most powerful psychedelic experiences he had ever known. Upon his emergency trip to the hospital on Oahu, Terence was diagnosed with glioblastoma multiforme, a highly aggressive form of brain cancer. For the next several months he underwent various treatments, including experimental gamma knife radiation treatment. According to Wired magazine, McKenna was worried that his tumour was caused by his 35-years of smoking cannabis; though his doctors assured him there was no causal relation.

In late 1999, Erik Davis conducted what would be the last interview of McKenna. During the interview McKenna also talked about the announcement of his death:

McKenna died on April 3, 2000, at the age of 53, with his loved ones at his bedside. He is survived by his brother Dennis, his son Finn, and his daughter Klea.

Library fire

On February 7, 2007, McKenna's library of rare books and personal notes was destroyed in a fire which burned offices belonging to Big Sur's Esalen Institute which was storing the collection. An index maintained by his brother Dennis survives, though little else.

Ideas

Terence McKenna advocated the exploration of altered states of mind via the ingestion of naturally occurring psychedelic substances. For example, and in particular, as facilitated by the ingestion of high doses of psychedelic mushrooms, and DMT, which he believed was the apotheosis of the psychedelic experience. He spoke of the "jeweled, self-dribbling basketballs" or "self-transforming machine elves" that one encounters in that state.

Although he avoided giving his allegiance to any one interpretation (part of his rejection of monotheism), he was open to the idea of psychedelics as being "trans-dimensional travel"; literally, enabling an individual to encounter what could be ancestors, or spirits of earth. He remained opposed to most forms of organized religion or guru-based forms of spiritual awakening.

Either philosophically or religiously, he expressed admiration for Marshall McLuhan, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Gnostic Christianity, Alfred North Whitehead and Alchemy. McKenna always regarded the Greek philosopher Heraclitus as his favorite philosopher.

He also expressed admiration for the works of James Joyce (calling ''Finnegans Wake'' "the quintessential work of art, or at least work of literature of the 20th century") and Vladimir Nabokov: McKenna once said that he would have become a Nabokov lecturer if he had never encountered psychedelics.

==="Stoned Ape" theory of human evolution=== In his book ''Food of the Gods'', McKenna proposed that the transformation from humans' early ancestors ''Homo erectus'' to the species ''Homo sapiens'' mainly had to do with the addition of the mushroom ''Psilocybe cubensis'' in its diet - an event which according to his theory took place in about 100,000 BC (this is when he believed that the species diverged from the Homo genus). He based his theory on the main effects, or alleged effects, produced by the mushroom. One of the effects that comes about from the ingestion of low doses, which agrees with one of scientist Roland Fischer's findings from the late 1960s-early 1970s, is it significantly improves the visual acuity of humans - so theoretically, of other human-like mammals too. According to McKenna, this effect would have definitely proven to be of evolutionary advantage to humans' omnivorous hunter-gatherer ancestors that would have stumbled upon it "accidentally"; as it would make it easier for them to hunt.

In higher doses, McKenna claims, the mushroom acts as a sexual stimulator, which would make it even more beneficial evolutionarily, as it would result in more offspring. At even higher doses, the mushroom would have acted to "dissolve boundaries", which would have promoted community-bonding and group sexual activities-that would result in a mixing of genes and therefore greater genetic diversity. Generally McKenna believed that the periodic ingestion of the mushroom would have acted to dissolve the ego in humans before it ever got the chance to grow in destructive proportions. In this context, he likened the ego to a cancerous tumor that can grow uncontrollable and become destructive to its host. In his own words:

The mushroom, according to McKenna, had also given humans their first truly religious experiences (which, as he believed, were the basis for the foundation of all subsequent religions to date). Another factor that McKenna talked about was the mushroom's potency to promote linguistic thinking. This would have promoted vocalisation, which in turn would have acted in cleansing the brain (based on a scientific theory that vibrations from speaking cause the precipitation of impurities from the brain to the cerebrospinal fluid), which would further mutate the brain. All these factors according to McKenna were the most important factors that promoted evolution towards the ''Homo sapiens'' species. After this transformation took place, the species would have begun moving out of Africa to populate the rest of the planet Later on, this theory by McKenna was given the name "The 'Stoned Ape' Theory of Human Evolution".

Novelty theory

McKenna's ''Timewave zero'' is a numerological formula that purports to calculate the ebb and flow of "novelty", defined as increase over time in the universe's interconnectedness, or organized complexity. According to McKenna, the universe has a teleological attractor at the end of time that increases interconnectedness, eventually reaching a singularity of infinite complexity in 2012, at which point anything and everything imaginable will occur simultaneously. He conceived this idea over several years in the early to mid-1970s while using psilocybin and DMT.

McKenna expressed "novelty" in a computer program which purportedly produces a waveform known as "timewave zero" or the "timewave". Based on McKenna's interpretation of the King Wen sequence of the ''I Ching'', the graph appears to show great periods of novelty corresponding with major shifts in humanity'sbiological and sociocultural evolution. He believed that the events of any given time are recursively related to the events of other times, and chose the atomic bombing of Hiroshima as the basis for calculating his end date of November 2012. When he later discovered this date's proximity to the end of the 13th b'ak'tun of the Maya calendar, he revised his hypothesis so that the two dates matched.

The 1975 first edition of ''The Invisible Landscape'' refers to 2012 (but no specific day during the year) only twice. In the 1993 second edition, McKenna employed Sharer's date of 21 December 2012 throughout.

Bibliography

1975 - ''The Invisible Landscape: Mind, Hallucinogens, and the I Ching'' (with Dennis McKenna) (Seabury; 1st Ed) ISBN 0-8164-9249-2.

1976 - ''The Invisible Landscape'' (with Dennis McKenna, and Quinn Taylor) (Scribner) ISBN 0-8264-0122-8

1976 - ''Psilocybin - Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide'' (with Dennis McKenna: credited under the pseudonyms OT Oss and ON Oeric) (2nd edition 1986) (And/Or Press) ISBN 0-915904-13-6

1992 - ''Psilocybin - Magic Mushroom Grower's Guide'' (with Dennis McKenna: (credited under the pseudonyms OT Oss and ON Oeric) (Quick American Publishing Company; Revised edition) ISBN 0-932551-06-8

1992 - ''The Archaic Revival'' (HarperSanFrancisco; 1st edition) ISBN 0-06-250613-7

1992 - ''Food of the Gods: The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge - A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution'' (Bantam) ISBN 0-553-37130-4

1992 - ''Synesthesia'' (with Timothy C. Ely) (Granary Books 1st Ed) ISBN 1-887123-04-0

1992 - ''Trialogues at the Edge of the West: Chaos, Creativity, and the Resacralization of the World'' (with Ralph H. Abraham, Rupert Sheldrake and Jean Houston) (Bear & Company Publishing 1st Ed) ISBN 0-939680-97-1

1993 - ''True Hallucinations: Being an Account of the Author’s Extraordinary Adventures in the Devil’s Paradise'' (HarperSanFrancisco 1st Ed) ISBN 0-06-250545-9

1994 - ''The Invisible Landscape'' (HarperSanFrancisco; Reprint edition) ISBN 0-06-250635-8

1998 - ''True Hallucinations & the Archaic Revival: Tales and Speculations About the Mysteries of the Psychedelic Experience'' (Fine Communications/MJF Books) (Hardbound) ISBN 1-56731-289-6

1998 - ''The Evolutionary Mind : Trialogues at the Edge of the Unthinkable'' (with Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph H. Abraham) (Trialogue Press; 1st Ed) ISBN 0-942344-13-8

1999 - ''Food of the Gods: A Radical History of Plants, Drugs, and Human Evolution'' (Rider & Co; New edition) ISBN 0-7126-7038-6

1999 - ''Robert Venosa: Illuminatus'' (with Robert Venosa, Ernst Fuchs, H. R. Giger, and Mati Klarwein) (Craftsman House) ISBN 90-5703-272-4

2001 - ''Chaos, Creativity, and Cosmic Consciousness'' (with Rupert Sheldrake and Ralph H. Abraham) (Park Street Press; revised ed) ISBN 0-89281-977-4 (Revised edition of Trialogues at the Edge of the West)

2005 - ''The Evolutionary Mind: Trialogues on Science, Spirit & Psychedelics'' (Monkfish Book Publishing; Revised Ed) ISBN 0-9749359-7-2

Spoken word

''History Ends In Green: Gaia, Psychedelics and the Archaic Revival'', 6 audiocassette set, Mystic Fire audio, 1993, ISBN 1-56176-907-X (recorded at the Esalen Institute, 1989)

''TechnoPagans at the End of History'' (transcription of rap with Mark Pesce from 1998)

''Psychedelics in the Age of Intelligent Machines'' (1999) 90 minutes video

''Alien Dreamtime'' with Spacetime Continuum & Stephen Kent (Magic Carpet Media) (CD) video

''Conversations on the Edge of Magic'' (1994) (CD & Cassette) ACE

''Rap-Dancing Into the Third Millennium'' (1994) (Cassette) (Re-issued on CD as ''The Quintessential Hallucinogen'') ACE

''Packing For the Long Strange Trip'' (1994) (Cassette) ACE

Coast to Coast AM with Art Bell, broadcast on May 22, 1997, Five hour interview covering various topics

''Global Perspectives and Psychedelic Poetics'' (1994) (Cassette) Sound Horizons Audio-Video, Inc.

''The Search for the Original Tree of Knowledge'' (1992) (Cassette) Sounds True

Discography

''Re : Evolution'' with The Shamen (1992)

Terence McKenna & Zuvuya - Dream Matrix Telemetry (1993)

''Alien Dreamtime'' with Spacetime Continuum & Stephen Kent (Magic Carpet Media) (DVD)

2009 - ''Cognition Factor'' (2009)

Notes

Coe's initial date was "24 December 2011." He revised it to "11 January AD 2013" in the 1980 2nd edition of his book, not settling on 23 December 2012 until the 1984 3rd edition. The correlation of b'ak'tun 13 as 21 December 2012 first appeared in Table B.2 of Robert J. Sharer's 1983 revision of the 4th edition of Sylvanus Morley's book ''The Ancient Maya''.

References

External links

Terence McKenna Land at Deoxy.org

Terence McKenna at Levity.com

Erowid's Terence McKenna Vault

Botanical Dimensions

Rotten.com bio

FloatingWorldWeb's McKenna Pages

Terence McKenna's Last Trip 2000 Wired Magazine article by Erik Davis

"Mind contagions" (2001) at disinfo.com

Psychedelics, Evolution & Fun 2008 essay by Patrick Lundborg

Machine Elves 101, or Why Terence McKenna Matters - Reallity Sandwish by Daniel Moler

Transcription from 1991 interview regarding cannabis

Audio and video resources

Terence McKenna's interview Conducted by John Hazard in October 1998

Audio and video archive at Deoxy.org

Terence McKenna media archive at EROCx1.com

FutureHi.net MP3 Downloads - Terence McKenna, Albert Hoffman, Robert Anton Wilson, and more

McKenna at the 1999 Entheobotany Seminar - Audio Podcast

Psychedelics in the Age of Intelligent Machines - Video samples from the 1999 DVD

McKenna Video on FloatingWorldWeb - McKenna Video Portal

Over 100 podcasts of Terence McKenna talks - Audio Podcast

Transcripts

MindofMcKenna - McKenna audio excerpts, transcriptions and quotes

Category:2012 phenomenon theorists Category:Deaths from brain cancer Category:Cancer deaths in Hawaii Category:Psychedelic drug advocates Category:Psychedelic researchers Category:American cannabis activists Category:American book and manuscript collectors Category:American people of Irish descent Category:Contemporary philosophers Category:Counterculture festivals activists Category:1946 births Category:2000 deaths Category:American anarchists Category:Philosophers of science Category:Mystics Category:Ethnobotanists Category:Religious skeptics

bs:Terrence McKenna cs:Terence McKenna de:Terence McKenna es:Terence McKenna fr:Terence McKenna (écrivain) hr:Terrence McKenna it:Terence McKenna nl:Terence McKenna ja:テレンス・マッケナ pl:Terence McKenna pt:Terence McKenna ru:Маккенна, Теренс Кемп sk:Terence McKenna fi:Terence McKenna sv:Terence McKenna tr:Terence McKenna

Dennis Jon McKenna (born December 17, 1950) is an American ethnopharmacologist, author and brother to well-known psychedelics proponent Terence McKenna.

Profile

McKenna's research led to the development of natural products for Aveda Corporation as well as greater awareness of natural products and medicines. He has authored numerous scientific articles and books. He co-authored ''The Invisible Landscape'' with his brother Terence. McKenna spent a number of years as a senior lecturer for the Center for Spirituality and Healing, part of the Academic Health Center at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities. He is now a senior research scientist for the Natural Health Products Research Group at the British Columbia Institute of Technology in the Vancouver area.

McKenna received his Master's degree in botany at the University of Hawaii in 1979. He received his Doctorate in Botanical Sciences in 1984 from the University of British Columbia, where he wrote a dissertation entitled ''Monoamine oxidase inhibitors in Amazonian hallucinogenic plants: ethnobotanical, phytochemical, and pharmacological investigations''. His research has included the pharmacology, botany, and chemistry of ayahuasca and oo-koo-hé, the subjects of his master's thesis. He has also conducted extensive fieldwork in the Peruvian, Colombian, and Brazilian Amazon.

He is currently working on a memoir entitled ''The Brotherhood of the Screaming Abyss'' about his and his brother Terence's journeys together.

See also

Christian Rätsch

Christophe Wiart

External links

Heffter Research Institute, biography and publications

She Who Remembers Audio Archives of Terrence and Dennis McKenna interviews (MP3s).

Biography page for the Center for Spirituality and Healing

2009 - ''Cognition Factor'' (2009)

References

Category:1950 births Category:Living people Category:Psychedelic researchers Category:Psychedelic drug advocates

Johannes Heil is a German electronic music producer from Ober-Mörlen near Frankfurt. At the beginning of his career he collaborated with Heiko Laux creating "''Item One''". He began releasing his work on Kanzleramt label, which up until 2003 was still the label on which he preferred to release his albums. He worked many times with Sven Vath producing many tracks together and lately he worked with Anthony Rother, releasing some of his work on Anthony Rother's label, Datapunk.

Discography

''Albums released on CD''

1998 Reality to MIDI (''Kanzleramt'')

1998 Per Disciplinum Mea Lux Videbis (''Uturn'')

1999 Illuminate the Planet (''Kanzleramt'')

2001 Future Primitive (''Kanzleramt'')

2002 Heilstyle (''Kanzleramt'')

2003 20,000 Leagues Under the Skin (''Kanzleramt'')

2004 The World (''Datapunk Recordings'')

2004 Paranoid Dancer Remixed (''Kanzleramt'')

2006 Freaks R Us Part 1 (''Klang Electronik'')

2007 Freaks R Us Part 2 (''Klang Electronik'')

2007 The Comeing EP (''Metatron'')

2008 Faith (''Metatron'')

2008 Aum (''Metatron House Division'')

2009 Sungod (''Shit Happens'')

2010 Loving (''Cocoon'')

External links

Johannes Heil at Discogs

Category:Year of birth missing (living people) Category:Living people Category:German record producers

de:Johannes Heil (Produzent) el:Γιοχάνες Χάιλ fr:Johannes Heil

name	Aphex Twin
landscape	yes
background	non_vocal_instrumentalist
birth name	Richard David James
born	August 18, 1971 Limerick, Ireland
origin	Lanner, Cornwall, United Kingdom
genre	Electronic
instrument	Synthesizer, piano, electronics, laptop, softsynth, turntables, drum machine, computer, sampler
occupation	Musician, composer, remixer
years active	1985-present
associated acts	Universal Indicator, Mike & Rich
website	}}

Richard David James (born 18 August 1971), best known under the pseudonym Aphex Twin, is an electronic musician and composer described as "the most inventive and influential figure in contemporary electronic music". He founded the record label Rephlex Records in 1991 with Grant Wilson-Claridge.

Aphex Twin has also recorded music under the aliases AFX, Blue Calx, Bradley Strider, Caustic Window, DJ Smojphace, GAK, Martin Tressider, Polygon Window, Power-Pill, Prichard D. Jams, Q-Chastic, Tahnaiya Russell, The Dice Man, Soit-P.P., and speculatively The Tuss.

Aphex Twin has released albums on Rephlex, Warp, R&S;, Sire, Mighty Force, Rabbit City, and Men Records.

History

Early years

Richard David James was born to Welsh parents Lorna and Derek James in St. Munchin's Limerick Regional Maternity Hospital, Ireland. He grew up in Lanner, Cornwall, England enjoying, along with two older sisters, a "very happy" childhood during which they, according to James, "were pretty much left to do what [they] wanted." He "liked growing up there, being cut off from the city and the rest of the world". James attended Redruth School, located in Redruth, Cornwall.

According to musician Benjamin Middleton, James started producing music at the age of 12. As a teenager he was a disc jockey at the Shire Horse Inn in St Ives, with Tom Middleton at the Bowgie Inn in Crantock, and also along the numerous beaches around Cornwall. James studied for a National Diploma in Engineering from 1988 to 1990 (aged 16 to 18) at Cornwall College. Talking about his studies, James has said that "music and electronics went hand in hand." James graduated from college; according to an engineering lecturer, however, he often had his headphones on during practical lessons, "no doubt thinking through the mixes he'd be working on later".

Early career: early 1990s

In 1989 James met and befriended Grant Wilson-Claridge when working as a DJ on alternate weeks at the Bowgie pub, near Newquay in Cornwall. Wilson-Claridge was intrigued by James's sets and was surprised to discover that James was playing tapes of his own music.

James' first release was the 12-inch EP ''Analogue Bubblebath'' on Mighty Force Records in 1991. It was first released under the moniker Aphex Twin, later changed to AFX. The track "En Trance to Exit" was made in collaboration with Tom Middleton, also known as Schizophrenia. The EP got on the playlist of Kiss FM, an influential London radio station, which helped the release to become a success.

In 1991, James and Wilson-Claridge founded Rephlex Records to promote "innovation in the dynamics of Acid — a much-loved and -misunderstood genre of house music forgotten by some and indeed new to others, especially in Britain."

Between 1991 and 1993, James released two ''Analogue Bubblebath'' EPs as AFX, and an EP under Bradley Strider, ''Bradley's Beat''. James moved to London to take an electronics course at Kingston Polytechnic, but at the time admitted to David Toop that his "electronics studies were already slipping away as a career in the techno business took precedence." After quitting his course, James remained in London and released a number of albums and EPs on Warp Records and other labels under many aliases including AFX, Polygon Window, and Power-Pill. A number of James' tracks (released under the aliases Blue Calx, The Dice Man, and others) appeared on various compilations. Local legend has it that James lived on the roundabout in Elephant and Castle, South London during his early years in the capital - in fact he lived in a nearby disused bank.

Gaining success: 1992–1995

The first full-length Aphex Twin album, ''Selected Ambient Works 85–92'', was released in 1992 on R&S; Records. It received high ratings and praise from critics. John Bush of Allmusic described it as a "watershed of ambient music". In 2002, ''Rolling Stone'' wrote of the album: "Aphex Twin expanded way beyond the ambient music of Brian Eno by fusing lush soundscapes with oceanic beats and bass lines." Pitchfork Media's review called it, "among the most interesting music ever created with a keyboard and a computer." Critics also noted that the songs were recorded on cassette and that the sound quality was "relatively poor".

In 1992, he also released the EPs ''Xylem Tube EP'' and ''Digeridoo'' (first played by DJ Colin Faver on London's Kiss FM) as Aphex Twin, as Power-Pill the ''Pac-Man EP'' based on the arcade game ''Pac-Man'', and two of his four Caustic Window EPs. "Digeridoo" reached #55 in the UK Singles Chart, and was later described as foreshadowing drum and bass by ''Rolling Stone''. "Digeridoo" was recorded initially for the benefit of FIZZ-BOMB (at the Shire Horse, St Ives, Cornwall). These early releases came out on Rephlex Records, Mighty Force of Exeter, and R&S; Records of Belgium.

In 1993, James released ''Analogue Bubblebath 3''. He also released a single titled "On"; his second Bradley Strider EP, ''Bradley's Robot''; two more Caustic Window EPs; and his first releases on Warp Records, ''Surfing on Sine Waves'' and "Quoth" under the alias Polygon Window.

Warp Records pressed and released a follow-up to ''Selected Ambient Works 85-92'', ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' in 1994. The sound was much less beat and melody-driven than the previous volume. All of the track names were described with pie chart symbols, each of which was meant to be paired with a corresponding image in the album jacket, with exception for one song, which was named "Blue Calx". To decipher song titles, listeners had to compare the length of each track with the size of each pie chart symbol. For example, the first title, which is often labelled ''cliffs'', is realised by pairing the first symbol with the first image, which is that of a rocky cliffside. James claimed in ''The Wire'' magazine and other media that these songs were inspired by lucid dreams and synaesthesia. Other releases are a fourth ''Analogue Bubblebath''; ''GAK'', derived from early demos sent to Warp Records; and ''Classics'', a compilation album that includes "Digeridoo" and the ''Xylem Tube EP''.

For his 1995 release, ''...I Care Because You Do'', James used an image of his face for the album cover, a motif that would continue on many of his later records. The album was a compilation of songs composed between 1990 and 1994 and represented a mish-mash of Aphex Twin's various music styles. This was James's last record of the 1990s to use mostly analogue synthesizers. He commissioned Western classical-music composer Philip Glass to create an orchestral version of one of the songs from this album, "Icct Hedral", which appeared on the ''Donkey Rhubarb'' EP.

Jungle, DSP, and laptops: 1995–1999

In 1995 (primarily with ''Hangable Auto Bulb'', a near anagram of ''Analogue Bubblebath''), James began releasing more material composed on computers, combining a jungle sound with nostalgic childhood themes and computer-generated acid lines.

James's early adoption of software synthesizers predated the later popularity of using computers to make music. In the mid-to-late 1990s, his music became more popular and mainstream, as he released ''Richard D. James Album'' and ''Expert Knob Twiddlers'' (a collaboration with fellow dance producer µ-ziq) in 1996, "Come to Daddy" in 1997 (#36 on UK charts) and "Windowlicker" in 1999 (#16 on UK charts). Two pop songs that heavily use Digital Signal Processing (DSP) techniques, "Come to Daddy" and "Windowlicker" were shown on MTV and became cover features for music magazines such as ''NME''. The videos for both singles were directed by British artist Chris Cunningham and caused controversy on release because of their disturbing images and themes.

In 1998, Aphex Twin's track "[rhubarb]" (from ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'') appeared as part of the BBC's digital widescreen test transmission, which was on loop for many months as the service was introduced across the UK.

Prepared piano, laptops, and more DSP: 2000–2003

In 2001 Aphex Twin released ''drukqs'', a two-CD album that featured computer controlled piano songs influenced by Erik Satie and John Cage. Many of the tracks' names are written in the Cornish language (e.g., 'jynweythek' translatable as 'machinemusic'). Also included were abrasive, fast, and meticulously programmed computer-made songs. ''Rolling Stone'' described the piano songs as "aimlessly pretty". Some reviewers concluded that ''drukqs'' was released as a contract breaker with Warp Records—a credible guess, as James's next big release was released on his own Rephlex label. James claimed to interviewers he had accidentally left an MP3 player labelled "Aphex Twin—unreleased tracks" on a plane, containing a large set of new songs, and rushed the album release to preempt an Internet leak. He also released a short EP titled ''2 Remixes By AFX'' the same year as ''Drukqs''. It featured two remixes, the originals being from 808 State and DJ Pierre. In addition, there is one untitled third track that consists of an SSTV image, which consists of mostly of high-pitched sounds, which can be decoded to a viewable image by proper software such as MultiMode (for Macintosh) or MMSSTV (for Windows).

Synthesizers and drum machines: 2004–2011

In late 2004, rumours of James's return to an acid techno-based sound were realised with the ''Analord'' series, an 11-part series of EPs with 42 total tracks, averaging 2–4 tracks per EP. The series was created by playing and sequencing analogue and digital electronic music equipment such as synthesizers and drum machines. The series was recorded on magnetic tape and then later pressed on vinyl.

James was meticulous about the whole process of recording, mastering, and pressing. James has said Rephlex Records was strict on quality control, trying out various pressing-plant companies until they felt it sounded perfect. To James's ears, vinyl or tape is better than digital, as no two copies are the same. However, label co-owner Grant Wilson-Claridge convinced James to release a CD compilation, ''Chosen Lords'', which included 10 selected tracks from the ''Analord'' series. For the ''Analord'' series James used his collection of vintage synthesizer and drum machines, some of which were quite rare by that time. Some of the record inserts have pictures of rare synthesizers like the Synton Fenix, and the notoriously difficult-to-program Roland MC-4 sequencer, as well as the legendary Roland TB-303.

Media reports indicate Aphex Twin is now recording under The Tuss. Rephlex Records has denied that Aphex Twin is The Tuss, but Aphex Twin fans and the media have ignored Rephlex's denial and The Tuss is treated as yet another Aphex Twin project; further evidence being provided by the fact that all Tuss tracks are published in the BMI Repertoire under the name JAMES RICHARD DAVID.

In March 2009 Steve Beckett of Warp Records announced a new album for a possible release. As of May 2011, no new album was released, however, 20 more tracks were added to the ''Analord'' series in December 2009, only available through download from the Rephlex Records website.

In an October 2010 interview with British magazine Another Man, James stated that he had completed 6 albums, one of which was a remake of the unreleased ''Melodies from Mars'', originally produced around the time of ''Richard D. James Album''.

Background details

The Aphex Twin name

The name Aphex is derived from Aphex Systems Limited, a brand of audio signal processing equipment (itself derived from "analogue effects"). It is used with permission, as acknowledged on the back sleeves of ''Richard D. James Album'' and ''drukqs''. He has explained in interviews that the Twin portion of his moniker is used in memory of his older brother, also named Richard James, who died at birth.

Artwork

James's own face, grinning or distorted in some way, is a common theme in his album covers, his music videos, and the songs themselves. The cover of ''I Care Because You Do'' features a painting of James, while the cover of ''Richard D. James Album'' presents a close-up photograph. His face is transplanted onto other peoples' bodies in the music videos of "Come to Daddy" and "Windowlicker". Near the end of the second track of the "Windowlicker" single (commonly referred to as "Equation"), a photo of James's face is embedded as a steganogram which is revealed when run through spectral analysis. Another embedded image of James, along with collaborator Tom Jenkinson, appears in the third track of ''2 Remixes by AFX'', "Bonus High Frequency Sounds", encoded in SSTV format, with text relating to the release.

James has used his own photography for some of his releases, such as the elaborate album sleeve for ''Selected Ambient Works Volume II''.

Braindance

Richard's own Rephlex Records label, which he co-owns with Grant Wilson-Claridge, coined the term Braindance in 1991 to describe Aphex Twin's music. Rephlex Records' official definition of Aphex Twin and his followers' music is quoted as follows: "Braindance is the genre that encompasses the best elements of all genres, e.g traditional, classical, electronic music, popular, modern, industrial, ambient, hip-hop, electro, house, techno, breakbeat, hardcore, ragga, garage, drum and bass, etc."

Braindance applies to forward-thinking electronic music that can appeal to the mind as well as the desire to dance and party. Examples including Ed-DMX's Breakin' records label, µ-ziq's Planet-mu label, the Aphex Twin EP ''Come to Daddy'' and ''Astrobotnia Parts 1, 2 & 3''.

Influences

At age 17, Richard D. James mentioned these influences: "Phonic Boy, ''Computer World'', Mental Telepathy, Industrial Inc., Tomita, Tangerine Dream". Mixmaster Morris mentions on the "I Luv AFX" BBC Radio 1 ''Breezeblock'' session that James' preferred moniker while working as a DJ in Cornwall was Phonic Boy on Dope. More recently, he has said that he gets inspiration from "everyday sounds that can be emulated/reconstructed electronically, quality techno, especially from Europe, which overshadows the current hardcore pop crap." When asked about what is next for electronic music, he said "acid-techno, ambient-techno." Avant-garde music has been an influence on James, including artists such as Kraftwerk, Can, Tangerine Dream, Tod Dockstader, Xenakis, Piero Umiliani, Bernard Parmegiani, Karlheinz Stockhausen, John Cage, and the French composer Erik Satie for his piano works and his ideas for furniture music.

In acknowledgment of another influence, James released ''Music from the BBC Radiophonic Workshop'', a compilation of music recorded by the pioneers of BBC Radiophonic Workshop, which included artists such as Delia Derbyshire, on his own label, Rephlex Records.

Many songs include sounds from and references to the ZX Spectrum. For instance, "Carn Marth" from ''Richard D. James Album'' includes the tape-loading noise of the game ''Sabre Wulf''.

Influence on others

The London Sinfonietta has performed arrangements of Aphex Twin tracks. In 2005, the orchestra Alarm Will Sound released ''Acoustica: Alarm Will Sound Performs Aphex Twin''. The album consists of acoustic arrangements of some of James's electronic tracks. Aphex Twin has said, "I don't really like rock & roll." Despite this, he has had an influence on rock bands like Radiohead. However, he has dismissed the notion of going on tour with them: "I wouldn't play with them since I don't like them." The animator David Firth has much of his work influenced and soundtracked by Aphex Twin.

Intelligent Dance Music

The term 'intelligent dance music', or IDM, was coined in August 1993 by the (now defunct) IDM mailing list based at hyperreal.org, as a term to describe the sound pioneered by the Warp Records Artificial Intelligence Series. The series featured Aphex Twin tracks (under a different pseudonym), as well as early productions from labelmates such as Autechre and LFO. The usage of this term spread in the USA and on internet messageboards, but the term is still a source of controversy and derision amongst the artists and fans, including Aphex Twin.

Aphex Twin refers to his own breakbeat tracks as breakbeat, jungle, or drum and bass interchangeably. Other genres that he indulges in include acid, ambient, ambient techno, noise, and many more.

Equipment

! Synth	! Synth	! Drum Machine	! Sampler	! Sequencer	! Software	! Effects
Roland SH-101	Yamaha DX 1	Roland TR-606	Casio SK-1	Roland MC-4 Microcomposer	Reaktor	Alesis Quadraverb
Roland TB-303	EMS synthi 100	Roland TR-808	Atari ST	ReCycle
Yamaha GX1	Elka Synthex	Roland TR-909	Casio FZ 10	Cubase	Metasynth
Synton Fenix	Roland Paraphonic 505	Roland TR-707	Roland SP-808	Apple Mac
Roland MKS-80	3 Korg MS-20's	Roland TR-727
Roland 100m	Yamaha CS 5	SuperCollider

During an interview with Future Music, Richard said he likes using Ableton Live but prefers Liveslice for beat editing/stretching. Asked what equipment did use, he responded "Raveolution 309, the Raven Max, MC-909 limited edition, Quasimidi Van Helden, MAM Freebass 383, Roland DJ-70, E-15, SP-808, Akai S3200, Behringer MX602A and all the Behringer effects that copy other things."

Aphex Twin's press

James described himself in ''The Guardian'' as follows: "I'm just some irritating, lying, ginger kid from Cornwall who should have been locked up in some youth detention centre. I just managed to escape and blag it into music."

James said he composed ambient techno music at the age of 13; he claims to have "over 100 hours" of unreleased music, and to have made his own software to compose with, including algorithmic processes that automatically generate beats and melodies; in addition he claims to experience synaesthesia, and that he is able to incorporate lucid dreaming into the process of making music.

He lives in southeast London in a converted bank, which was formerly the Bank of Cyprus and then HSBC. Contrary to popular opinion, however, he does not own the silver structure in the centre of the roundabout at Elephant and Castle. This is, in fact, the Michael Faraday Memorial, containing a power transformer for the Northern Line, which James jokingly claimed to be buying in an interview with ''The Face'' magazine in 2001. Some of these rumours are hard to confirm as he has been known to spread mistruths in the prankster tradition, making such claims as only sleeping two to three hours a night.

Stockhausen vs. The Technocrats

In November 1995, ''The Wire'' published an article titled "Advice to Clever Children". In the process of producing the interview, a package of tapes containing music from several artists, including Aphex Twin, was sent to Karlheinz Stockhausen.

Stockhausen commented:

Aphex Twin, a fan of Stockhausen, responded: }}

ZX81 competition

Richard claims to have produced sound on a Sinclair ZX81 (a machine with no sound hardware) at the age of 11:

When I was 11, I won 50 pounds in a competition for writing this program that made sound on a ZX81. You couldn't make sound on a ZX81, but I played around with machine code and found some codes that retuned the TV signal so that it made this really weird noise when you turned the volume up.

Discography

Studio albums (as Aphex Twin)

''Selected Ambient Works 85–92'' (1992)

''Selected Ambient Works Volume II'' (1994)

''...I Care Because You Do'' (1995)

''Richard D. James Album'' (1996)

''Drukqs'' (2001)

References

External links

Aphex Twin discography at Discogs.

Category:1971 births Category:Ambient musicians Category:Braindance musicians Category:British electronic musicians Category:British experimental musicians Category:British techno musicians Category:English people of Welsh descent Category:Intelligent dance music musicians Category:Living people Category:People from Cornwall Category:People from County Limerick Category:Sire Records artists Category:Remixers Category:Warp Records artists Category:TVT Records artists Category:People with synesthesia

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