Scientific research on creatives and creativity
Academic collaborators
02/2026 - ongoing
A HD-EEG study on the effects of high-ventilation breathwork on music perception
Photography by Stefan Hanegraaf
Team
Research
Oliver Durcan, Prof. Tristan Bekinschtein
Operational and Technical
Bianca Mayhew, Oliver Durcan, Shehryar Ahmad, Alejandra Rios, William Russell, Alessandra Denegri
Partners
University of Cambridge, Mastery, MONOM Studios, London Warehouse Events (LWE)
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Background
Does high-ventilation breathwork change how we perceive music? Most breathwork research concentrates on the breathwork period itself. In the project, we were interested in what comes after - how the residual altered state shapes the music experience that follows. Specifically, how dimensions such as flow and oceanic boundlessness shift during music listening in the wake of breathwork-induced, psychedelic-adjacent effects.
The work centres on Jon Hopkins' Embodied Breathing, a 21-minute breathwork practice and sound meditation with guidance from Fearne Cotton, released by Mastery on Houndstooth Records (vinyl only). The piece combines Breath of Fire and Conscious Connected Breathing, followed by a new ambient composition by Hopkins.
This study was conducted during a live Mastery event at Funkhaus, Berlin. The breathwork piece, produced by Jon Hopkins and guided by Fearne Cotton, was followed by a live performance featuring Jon Hopkins and a special guest ensemble. All audio elements were spatialised in 4DSOUND by MONOM.
Frustrated by the lightweight sound palette that dominates much breathwork music, Hopkins set out to create something heavier and more grounded — a slow, hypnotic techno piece that connects new-age practice and the club, two worlds that, in terms of consciousness expansion, share far more common ground than is recognised. Flowing from this is a deep meditation designed for decompression and integration after the breathwork, built from extended drones and frequencies.
When the audience emerges from the embodying breathwork practice, Jon Hopkins takes over with a longform piano improvisation, with Maddie Ashman on cello, live effects and vocals, and Leo Abrahams on guitar. With the breathwork having prepared both the performers and the listeners, the music will be experienced in a more open, unboundaried state.
Methods
High-density EEG data was collected across two settings. Live at Funkhaus Berlin, during the concert with roughly 1,600 attendees; and privately at MONOM Studios, comparing spatial and stereo mixes. Two advanced breathwork facilitators were recorded across active conditions (full participation) and passive conditions (instructions only, no engagement), yielding music-perception data both with and without preceding breathwork effects.
Alongside EEG, the project used Temporal Experience Tracing (TET), developed by Tristan Bekinschtein and Barbara Jachs at Human Experience Dynamics and the University of Cambridge. Rather than collapsing a temporal experience into a single Likert score, TET captures how experience unfolds dynamically, giving detailed context for identifying key events in the EEG time course.
Next steps
The acquired data is currently undergoing analysis.
Does high-ventilation breathwork change how we perceive music? Most breathwork research concentrates on the breathwork period itself. In the project, we were interested in what comes after - how the residual altered state shapes the music experience that follows. Specifically, how dimensions such as flow and oceanic boundlessness shift during music listening in the wake of breathwork-induced, psychedelic-adjacent effects.
The work centres on Jon Hopkins' Embodied Breathing, a 21-minute breathwork practice and sound meditation with guidance from Fearne Cotton, released by Mastery on Houndstooth Records (vinyl only). The piece combines Breath of Fire and Conscious Connected Breathing, followed by a new ambient composition by Hopkins.
This study was conducted during a live Mastery event at Funkhaus, Berlin. The breathwork piece, produced by Jon Hopkins and guided by Fearne Cotton, was followed by a live performance featuring Jon Hopkins and a special guest ensemble. All audio elements were spatialised in 4DSOUND by MONOM.
Frustrated by the lightweight sound palette that dominates much breathwork music, Hopkins set out to create something heavier and more grounded — a slow, hypnotic techno piece that connects new-age practice and the club, two worlds that, in terms of consciousness expansion, share far more common ground than is recognised. Flowing from this is a deep meditation designed for decompression and integration after the breathwork, built from extended drones and frequencies.
When the audience emerges from the embodying breathwork practice, Jon Hopkins takes over with a longform piano improvisation, with Maddie Ashman on cello, live effects and vocals, and Leo Abrahams on guitar. With the breathwork having prepared both the performers and the listeners, the music will be experienced in a more open, unboundaried state.
Methods
High-density EEG data was collected across two settings. Live at Funkhaus Berlin, during the concert with roughly 1,600 attendees; and privately at MONOM Studios, comparing spatial and stereo mixes. Two advanced breathwork facilitators were recorded across active conditions (full participation) and passive conditions (instructions only, no engagement), yielding music-perception data both with and without preceding breathwork effects.
Alongside EEG, the project used Temporal Experience Tracing (TET), developed by Tristan Bekinschtein and Barbara Jachs at Human Experience Dynamics and the University of Cambridge. Rather than collapsing a temporal experience into a single Likert score, TET captures how experience unfolds dynamically, giving detailed context for identifying key events in the EEG time course.
Next steps
The acquired data is currently undergoing analysis.