Ilka de Gast, PsyD, is a California based singer-songwriter, sound healer, Qigong and meditation teacher, researcher and psychologist, hailing originally from the Netherlands.
For the past 30 years, Ilka has worked with sacred sound healing modalities from around the world, including the ancient art of overtone singing (vocal harmonics). She teaches meditation, Qigong and sound healing classes online as well as in person in the San Francisco Bay Area, CA, and leads sacred sound retreats internationally. Ilka’s meditation music is featured in Dr. Joe Dispenza’s advanced meditation retreats.
After studying overtone singing in London, England, with Dr Jill Purce, who having learned this ancient technique from Tibetan and Mongolian chant masters in the Himalayas, was one of the first to bring overtone singing to the West, Ilka discovered that the use of overtone singing could bring a sense of calm and joy to people and animals alike. Ilka, then in her late 20s, first discovered this when she began using the technique in a variety of settings, including a communication research program with dolphins at the Epcot Center in Florida.
After the other research participants and trainers went home for the night, Ilka would sit by the side of the pool and overtone sing to two beautiful dolphins who had been kept in cement tanks for many years. The dolphins were aggressive with their trainers and often drifted listlessly in the chlorinated water. As soon as Ilka would begin to sing, they would leap up from the water, “dance” around the pool, and come to rest only feet away from her. As she continued to sing, the dolphins would lock their eyes on her while moving their heads from side to side. Ilka sang to the dolphins for the remainder of the program and also reported the situation and her discoveries to the founder of The Dolphin Project, a dolphin rights group.
The magical connection with the dolphins through sound remained with Ilka as part of her fabric. As well, an ethereal “shared death experience” Ilka had when her first husband passed away at the young age of 31, opened her to the realization that there was something more than this physical world and the five senses; a spiritual dimension that lies beyond the veil.
YOU CAN READ OUR REVIEW OF ILKA’S SINGLE, “SPIRIT EYES” HERE
Ilka became fascinated by the field of Cymatics – the effect of sound on matter. The term was coined by and originated from the work of Hans Jenny, a physician and natural scientist, who demonstrated how formless matter is organized into precise patterns through sound vibration, including the vibration of the human voice. His work also focused on the benefits of singing for both health and wellness.
In her 40s, Ilka went back to school and earned a doctorate degree in psychology, giving her a better understanding of the human mind and behavior. She specialized in body-centered psychology, mindfulness, meditation, and her other love, Qigong (in particular Wisdom Healing Qigong —a form of moving meditation, sound and energy healing practices from the medicineless, Qigong hospital in China). For the past 14 years, Ilka has worked as a psychologist, Qigong and meditation teacher at hospitals, medical clinics, and in her community at large.
Since 2021, Ilka has started creating and recording her own music, combining the other-worldly sound of overtone singing with her singing voice to create soothing, relaxing, meditation tracks. These songs are played at Dr Joe Dispenza’s advanced meditation retreats and at other venues around the world.
Ilka brings a variety of instruments into her music with the help of some amazing musicians. She learned to play the Native American flute for her second song, “Abalone Skies.” It was a wonderful synchronicity that her multi-talented Native American flute teacher, Tommy Graven, became one of two people she began working with to create music. It is the soulful sound of his Native American flute that can often be heard in her songs. Ilka has been very fortunate to collaborate musically with two very skilled, award-winning musicians and audio mixing / mastering engineers, Tommy Graven and Hank Kalleen.
Ilka’s inspiration comes from the powerful, expansive Pacific Ocean. She spends many hours on the cliffs of the Bodega Bay Headlands, connecting to Source and allowing melodies and ideas to flow through to her while enjoying the stunning vistas, the company of whales and seals, and pelicans flying overhead.
Ilka’s song, “Light, Sacred Connection,” came about very differently and unexpectedly while at home. After tuning into the beautiful spirit of a friend’s mother who had recently passed, Ilka sang and recorded a complete song—both melody and lyrics—in just one sitting. The song speaks to the ongoing and sacred connection between the family member and their loved one beyond the material world.
Ilka’s debut album, “Ocean of Light,” a collection of 11 songs, will be released February 18, 2025. Meanwhile, she has released 3 singles from the album, which are our Featured Singles: “Spirit Eyes,” “Light Chant,” and “Ocean Waves Overtones.”
Official artist website: https://globalsacredsounds.com/