interview

1. For someone discovering Mr. Raven for the first time, who is the man behind the name?

A man who’s birth name is Waynesky, Wayne for short. Satya is one of my aka, meaning Truth, in sanskrit. Unofficially, I’m a philosopher, a poet, a mystic, a spiritual & religious man. I'm a child at heart, I'm marveled by the experience of life, and seek to live and understand it the best I can. Often caught reading a book on physics, bhakti, and art.

2. Where did the name “Mr. Raven” come from, and what does the Raven symbolize for you?

Back in 2013, I was reading about the three stages of the Magnum Opus aka The Great Work, where one seeks the philosopher’s stone. And the first stage, Nigredo, is represented by a Raven, which is like facing the dark side we tend not to look at, but is the root that eventually brings the fruits. Also amongst other qualities, the raven is sophisticated in communication, a messenger. I felt a connection with the bird, and before I knew it, it became my moniker.

3. What first pulled you toward music and DJing? Was there a particular moment when you knew this was something you wanted to dedicate yourself to?

Music is my first love, (after my parents and siblings), I grew up in a household where music was played almost all the time. My parents listened to konpa, zouk, reggae, and whatever contemporary artist that was popular at the time. My big brother and sister came up with hip-hop, r&b, and dancehall. I absorbed all of that. We were making mixtapes of our favorite songs. At around age 13-14, I downloaded a dj software, started doing mash-ups. I didn’t stick to it, but it did ignite something in me. There’s this one time where I took care of playing music for a surprise bday party for my brother, they kept calling me ‘’DJ Wayne’’. I also blew up the sound system that night ha! ha!

4. Your sets move through many worlds: disco, funk, house, Afro House, soulful sounds, deep and spiritual music. What connects all these different sounds for you?

I just love it. It gets me going! The sound palette is nice, I'm sharing what moves me.

5. What are you looking for when you're choosing a record or a track for a Dove Raven Xxperience?

We let people know that when they attend our sets, that you gotta be free, let loose, and like a leaf in the wind, let yourself be guided by the music and our vocals. So as soon as I press play, people start moving. I don’t have to win them, they’re here to live an experience and be guided. So I pick records that make them feel and move in diverse ways, with unpredictability, high energy, and also soothing sounds at times = leading to ecstasy. The records I choose are full of unfamiliar sonics, rooted in afro & house rhythms. You are in a different realm here! Bring another shirt for your way back home, you’ll leave sweaty af.

6. You often describe your musical experiences as something that goes beyond simply dancing. What do you want people to feel when they enter one of your sets?

I want them to feel safe, and for me to offer the right container through the music and energy of the room.

7. How would you describe the relationship between music, movement, and consciousness in your work?

As someone who is researching mind-body healing, something I have discovered is that the mind follows the body and vice versa. Take a deep and long breath, keep going and your mind calms down. Be stressed and your heart beats faster. It's a mind-body connection. Many illnesses are psychosomatic, so are healing processes. Therefore, letting loose and dancing, depending on the journey the DJ takes you on, you come out like you have released tensions you probably forgot you had. Healing on the dancefloor baby!

8. You have a strong connection to spiritual and ancestral sounds. How do spirituality and music influence each other in your creative world?

Music is always spiritual. It’s the direction it takes you to that is diverse. One of the ways spirituality impacts our sets, is when for example, Lady Dove do the intro with a yoga nidra, spoken on a smooth frequency. Tuning people into the right mindset to be receptive and present throughout the journey, being able to feel the emotions, the catharsis, taking the most out of the experience.

  Complete this sentence: “Dove Raven is…” 

Two blissful love birds who spread the timeless messages of enlightenment. And who flies back to the tree of Life, where their nests is located. ha! ha!