In December, we had a pretty wild night in Los Angeles — a weird, bright ball of light appeared in the sky over the San Fernando Valley. Turned out it was a test run of the SpaceX rocket launch, and it was — in a word — marvelous.
Today, the real thing will head off on its skyward mission. Semi-coincidentally, Karen Atkins’ latest track “High on Love (Can’t Get Too)” finds the songstress aboard the Tesla Roadster (which is included in the historic SpaceX launch. Though she conceived of the track and video before the rocket launch’s announcement, it’s a timely, fun way to celebrate this astronomical (heh) feat.
Check out Karen Atkins’ music video for “High on Love (Can’t Get Too)” below, and an exclusive chat with this serendipitous visionary about how the track came about, her life as a wellness expert, and beyond.
So, you conceived this track before the announcement of the SpaceX launch. How surprised were you when you found out it was actually going to happen?
I was pretty blown away when I found out that Elon Musk and SpaceX were launching a rocket to Mars with a Tesla Roadster as payload. My producer Xeno and I came up with the idea last spring and started filming at the end of May, and we did not know at the time that we shot the video that Elon Musk was going to have this SpaceX launch with the roadster in the rocket ship, so that was just a complete surprise.
Our roadster is not quite the advanced model that’s on the Falcon Heavy, but it’s kind of fun to be able to be flying through space right around the same time that the SpaceX rocket launch is hitting off, so I’m pretty excited to see what happens.
Tell me a bit about why you’re riding the Tesla Roadster into space. What’s your goal?
I envisioned the video with us flying around through space to spread a message of love and search for a suitable place for a ”Backup planet” which we could fill with all of the elements of the Earth that are essential: Abundant Nature, Connection, Friendship, and Love.
In the video, we take a plant from the earth, which represents unconditional love and protective, feminine energy. We plant it on the backup planet to bring that special Earth energy to the backup planet and the ability to terraform the martian atmosphere. And then the idea is that the plant spreads so much love into the Universe that it ends up having the power to heal whatever is broken on the Earth.
You’re also a wellness expert. What’s your one, sage tip for those looking to better their lives?
Pay attention to how you use your energy and learn to identify things that tend to drain you and things that energize you. This stems from my personal journey to wellness as well as helping hundreds of others find that for themselves. More than 20 years ago, I walked away from a blossoming music career for two main reasons:
1. My spirit was crying out for me to pay more attention to it and at that time and at that age I was not able to fulfill my spirit’s wishes while still pursuing a career as a professional musician.
2. The musician’s lifestyle of travel, late night gigs, poor nutrition, and (at the time) smoky bars was becoming unmanageable for my body and my energy was tanked.
I spent the next 20 years discovering how to re-build my inner and outer strength, so I could not only re-ignite my music career, but also create abundance in all areas of my life. Long story short, I (finally) succeeded.
And the great thing is that when you become abundant, you just want to share. I don’t want to be the only one who feels this good! It’s much more fun to live in a world of happy, healthy people! If you feel in any way that you are not fully vital or abundant, then you may find what I’m sharing useful. We’re starting up an inner circle and if you’d like more information about that, visit HiOnLove.com.
As a musician, who are your all-time biggest influences?
Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Chicago, Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, The Bee Gees, Simon and Garfunkel, Billy Joel, Elton John, John Lennon, Fleetwood Mac, Joni Mitchell
How do you balance your music with your lifestyle work? Do the two work together?
Most people think that being a musician and being healthy are inherently incompatible. Normally, I would think so too, but in my case music and health have long been my two biggest passions.
For the last 20 years, in addition to being a musician I’ve also been a passionate health educator! Back in the 90’s, I felt alone living in these contrasting social spheres, but lately a new conscious music scene has been emerging that blends these two communities.
More and more musicians are realizing that they can’t continue to have a successful career (especially longterm) unless they pay attention to their overall health and for me, learning to regain my health and vitality is the main thing that fueled my return to music.
Having more life force brought back my creative energy and helped me connect to my deepest passions, and my need to express them creatively (particularly through music).
Where will you be when SpaceX launches today?
I am going to be at home watching the event on whatever online news source has the best live feed, since I don’t have a TV.
What’s next for you?
That’s not a short answer because I’m a pretty active woman!
Musically, ”High on Love” is my first single for my new album that I plan to release this summer and I’m working on my next music video for a Paul Simon Cover, Slip Slidin’ Away. We’re adding a little optimistic twist to the video.
In the wellness space, I’m launching a monthly ”Inner Circle” program where I will share very simple tools, practices and resources for succeeding at living a healthy, balanced, creative and fulfilling life.
I will also be putting together a podcast featuring kids and their passions.
And, of course, I plan to continue teaching the lifestyle practices that I’ve been living and sharing for the last 20 years.
For more on Karen Atkins and her music, find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
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