Why "planet z"?

So what's all this "Zzz" stuff? Why is Z the title of my music project? What is hypnagogic?

Hypnagogic Creativity
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The hypnagogic state (occasionally spelled hypnogogic) is the stage between being awake and being asleep. (Not to be confused with hypnopompic which is the stage between being asleep and waking up). A few years ago, one night while falling asleep I realized I could feel myself subtly shift from being awake to being about to fall asleep. It was the most curious feeling, as if some inner part of myself was falling. Then, after noticing the feeling, I fell asleep - surprise.

The next night, I tried to pay attention, and this time when I felt that shift into hypnagogic, it was interesting enough to keep me sort of awake. I found myself laying there, physically becoming numb, observing how completely bizarre my thoughts had turned. I could hear voices saying things, I could see images. Since I have never had any drug-induced hallucinations, I was pretty excited to find this natural hallucinatory state. (I've tried various natural hallucinatory substances before, but nothing seems to affect me - anyway, I'm a little scared of destroying my brain).

Ok, so the next night, I put a piece of paper and a pen next to me as I got into bed. I left a dim light on, and soon there I was hearing voices again. This time, I pulled myself briefly into consciousness to write down some of what I was hearing, then back to hypnagogic. The next day, I was somewhat discouraged by the big black ink spot on my sheets where I had dropped the pen, but I couldn't believe what I had written. It was an extremely strange disembodied feeling to have no recollection of having written this incredibly interesting and bizarre text.

I experimented with this a lot, and generated lots of nonsensical, but very interesting poetry. I'll call it poetry, because what else can I call it? This seems to be some very pure, fundamental creativity - my mind, free from constraints of consciousness, and free from external sensory input, begins to interpret the slow alpha brainwaves as language and image. Is it random? I think not, since often the voices I hear are those of people I know, and I can hear them distinctly speaking, saying the strangest things!

Music
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So I was inspired by this hypnagogic creativity, and wanted to see if I could somehow apply it to music. One way was to use the words from a hypnagogic episode as lyrics in a song. My pop tunes began to have a much more esoteric lyric bent! (listen to five). Another path was to try to create the feeling of hypnagogic in music, which I attempted in the rather epic Music For Dining, and (maybe more successfully) in Somnambulist.

So, a couple years ago, becoming known by my friends for my mellowness, and occasional spaciness, I registered the domain name planetz.com. Z as in "zzz", like the bubble you see in cartoons over someone's head while they're sleeping, or like the expression "catch some z's". Feeling pressured to have a title (other than the enormously common and uninteresting "john cooper") for my music projects, I ended up with a number of similar monikers: "Z", "Zee", "Zeee", "Z music"....

Auditory Visualization
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Another interesting phenomenon I've noticed while in the hynagogic state is that audio perception can become mixed with visual perception. While supremely relaxed, and approaching (or in) the hypnagogic state, I've found that a sudden noise (like a door slamming or the phone ringing) will be somehow translated into a visual phenomenon. Typically, I see a burst of white light against a black background, typically in a criss-crossed geometric pattern. Sometimes, it's more like the glow you see when your eyes are closed and someone shines a light in your eyes. It is always black and white, as far as I remember.

Needless to say, I became very excited about the possibilities when I first noticed this perceptual crossover. I began to imagine the possibilities of seeing music, or if the perceptual switch were to happen in reverse, being able to hear a painting. Unfortnately, I've never been able to progress beyond the simplicity of the single transient burst of noise being translated into an equally transient burst of visual light. The fact that the light often appears geometric patterns still intrigues me enormously.

My basic interpretation is that when in the hypnagogic state, the brain is deprived of its usual sensory input (similar to being in a deprivation tank), and begins to produce its own hallucinations. In this state, when some sensory input is suddenly provided (e.g. a sudden noise), the brain has to "switch contexts", and may get its signals crossed. Maybe, if a piece of ice touched my skin in this state, I would similary see the sensation, rather than feel it.