'Light Codes' Casts Frequencies for Healing: In Conversation with Jeena

Palestinian-Canadian artist Jeena is seeking solace at the intersection of neuroacoustic science, self, and ritual. A musician, sound therapist, and visual artist from Montreal, Jeena is currently living and practicing in Berlin.

Released under the Netherlands-based label Intercept, her five-track EP Light Codes, is designed with the listener’s nervous system in mind. At the intersection of meditation and techno, pulsating basslines merge with affirmations to invite audiences to go inward, let loose, and “trust the process.”

“Light Codes” emerges from a place of necessity for Jeena. Connecting her worlds as a club DJ and a practicing sound therapist is vital to her lifestyle as a musician coping with a hormonal imbalance condition. Drawing on both science and spirituality, she harnesses the healing properties of sound to regulate herself and transform the dance floor.

We connect to discuss the making of Light Codes amidst global tragedy, including her career in sound therapy and the personal healing journey that landed her in the booth, and “forever sonically protesting.”

Tia Julien: What was your process for producing Light Codes? Where did it start?

Jeena: The process for producing Light Codes started when I began to merge both worlds of being a club DJ and also a sound therapist. I moved to Copenhagen for a couple [of] years, where my career as a sound therapist began to flourish, and so I wanted to create a project where both worlds intertwined with one another.

The project took three years in total to be completed, sounding entirely different than the original draft. It made me also see how the changes in life experiences have shaped the project into what it is today. There were a lot of things happening in my life at the time where I needed to keep my body regulated and allow myself to feel safe; I constantly wish I had that same feeling on the dance floor or behind the decks and not just in wellness spaces.

As physical beings, the environment plays a large part in overall health and wellbeing. What kind of environment are you trying to facilitate through your music? Is there an ideal self you’re striving to embody?

My music is always evolving, but my main intention is to help regulate the listener’s nervous system. I also have this quiet joy in creating music that helps people rest, even fall asleep. 

[Jeena recently performed at Funkhaus in Berlin, offering people a moment of deep listening to sleep to.]

If there’s an ideal self I’m striving toward, it’s someone who stays grounded and regulated too. The sounds I’ve been creating have started to shape the kind of lifestyle I want as a musician. I’m really drawn to this softer way of being, and I’d love to be part of a new wave where artists feel safe to exist in their soft-star era.

[Read The Sleep Prescription: Why a Night Routine Is So Important in Jeena’s Aurras journal.]

You very effectively gather and disperse energy, notably from the build in “Star Seed” to “Digital Meditation,” which feels a lot like letting loose on a sweaty dance floor. What are some of your go-to instruments, plug-ins, or techniques for achieving soundscapes that are both trance-like and danceable?

I love putting people in a dream-like state on and off the dance floor, so when creating these tracks that have different purposes, I like to keep the spine of the music very spatial and airy. I love incorporating textures, pads, and voice to really make the sonic experience more intimate and transportive. One plug-in I really enjoy using is Trance Gate to really carry that atmospheric energy throughout my music.

Can you speak on the effects of certain frequency ranges and why you chose 141Hz for “Star Seed,” a track also featuring repetitions of the phrase “I trust the process.”

Yes! This is my favourite part. Being a sound therapist has allowed me to focus on neuroacoustic soundscapes and specialize in how different frequencies have different effects on the body and the brain – as well as how it activates different states of your mind. These states include focus, meditative/creative and sleep states. I’ve been using neuroacoustics in my music to reshape how we listen to music. 

For “Star Seed,” I chose 141Hz because that’s the frequency of the planet Mercury and Mercury is the planet of communication. I am a Virgo, and Virgo is ruled by Mercury. There were some major changes happening in my life at the time, so making this track became a ritual for me to remind myself to “trust the process.” 

I wanted the track to not only become an affirmation for me, but an active one. The repetitive affirmation combined with the sound frequency allows your brain to create new neural pathways to activate the affirmation, bringing it to life. 

Regarding neuroplasticity [the brain’s ability to form new neural pathways through experiential learning], can you recall a time where you experienced or realized a shift in perspective through sound?

Besides my training and studies, I believe it was during a program I was doing that consisted of self-hypnosis sessions called Deep Imaginings. This was a pivotal experience for me because it combined sonic frequencies and a psychological guide that allows you to access your neural pathways and create real changes in the brain or rewire your patterns. It shifted my perspective in how powerful sound can be – not just as a listening experience but also in how intentional words can be.

In your Aurras journal, you write that sound therapy played a large role in your own healing from hormone imbalance and stress. Can you share a bit more about how music has impacted your personal and social wellbeing?

Yes, absolutely. Living with a hormonal imbalance condition has been a silent limitation for me. When your set time is at 4AM and you’re on the go for gigs and making music, all while being sleep-deprived, your body will naturally enter fight-or-flight mode. That was my body constantly, for years. I would feel super fatigued, anxious and tense. Redirecting my sound to incorporate sound therapy into my life has been a game changer for me. My social & wellbeing battery feels more nourished now than drained.

What would you say to someone who is new to sound therapy and perhaps skeptical of its transformational power?

For those who are new to sound therapy, I would say allow yourself to stay curious. A lot of my knowledge on it comes from reading research from different scientists and books, from classical music and exploring nuanced experiences rather than just my training. I also think it’s important to have both the scientific understanding and the spiritual.

In this time of global crises, from climate change to international war crimes, what is motivating you to make music? What role can sound play in navigating economic pressure, grief, and existential dread?

Given the very difficult time our world is experiencing right now, my motivation to carry on making music is exactly the grief, pressure and existential dread, to be honest. It’s pure solace for me. 

We have to give ourselves and others more of what we need. For me, continuously making music is a way of rebelling against what the patriarchy wants us to be. Forever sonically protesting.

Is there a moment in Light Codes, or a quality about this EP as a whole, that you are most proud of?

With Light Codes, I think the most beautiful time for me is watching how the whole project began to be pieced together. Not only sonically, but visually too. I had such a beautiful opportunity to work with my incredibly talented friends to bring the vision to life. I feel lucky that these friends are also some of my favourite musicians. I also enjoyed watching how the project evolved my own taste in music.

What’s next for you? Do you have anything coming up that you’re excited about?

Yes! A couple exciting things are happening. I’m currently building a sound installation for HORST Festival which I’m really excited about. I’m also working on my first ambient project, which I’ll be very excited to share more of soon.