Night, Silence, and the Responsibility of Finitude
Night carries a special quality. It condenses what is scattered during the day. A single breath, barely audible, becomes an event. A foreign scent, impossible to place, turns into a…
Read moreAuthor: Thomas Alexander Kolbe
Music-Based Interventions for Anxiety, Obsessive-Compulsive, and Related Disorders: Effects, Applications, and Evidence
Music is more than entertainment. In clinical and non-clinical work with anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, trauma- and stressor-related, and somatic symptom disorders, it serves as a useful, well-controlled adjunct to psychotherapy and,…
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Before Japan’s Court Music: Korean and Chinese Currents up to 794 CE
The musical landscape of the Japanese archipelago before the Heian period did not appear in isolation. Across a span from Yayoi ritual cultures through Kofun aristocratic consolidation and into the…
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Musical Practice as Listening in Uncertainty
In the morning, I stand before my piano, my gaze still half-lost in the twilight, and I recall those lines that honor the unknown: I do not know how this…
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Slow-Wave Sleep (Delta State): An Academic Review of its Neurobiology and Significance
The Delta state of the brain refers to a deep, restful phase of slow-wave sleep that typically occurs during the earliest and most profound cycles of the night. It is…
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Delta State: The Rhythm of Sleep and the Symphony of Recovery
I've always been fascinated by how our brain works during sleep, especially the Delta state. Pretty sure the most of you too. Imagine slipping into a deep, restful sleep during…
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Music, Blood Pressure, and Profound States – How Sound Affects Your Body
Measuring blood pressure has become part of my daily routine for self-monitoring, not out of acute concern, but to keep an eye on my body. A few months ago, I…
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“I don’t work with soundscapes. I work with memory.”
An interview with Thomas Alexander Kolbe on sound as trace, concentration as method—and why silence isn’t its opposite. Thomas Alexander Kolbe lives in Nagoya, Japan, with a second home in…
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Silence as Resonance: A Musician’s Meditation on Sound
I sit in the studio under the steady glow of soft lamps. Cables lie coiled at my feet, knobs glinting with quiet promise. My hands hover above keys and pads.…
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New: Stream and Download Thomas Alexander Kolbe’s Music for Free
We're happy to share some great news for you, music lovers. Thomas Alexander Kolbe's music is now available to stream and download for free through his dedicated service. This service…
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Everyday racism: the insidious poison.
I’m writing this from Japan, where I live as a German expat. Recently, a 20-year-old woman (Kimi, btw a pretty rare japanese given name nowadays) confided in me—her eyes filled…
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Honesty Sets You Free: A Musicological Perspective
There is a simple phrase that many of us have heard from parents, teachers, or friends: honesty sets you free. The idea behind these words is that truth can remove…
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