Healing Arts
"My journey in the healing arts began when working as a DJ and witnessing how music moved the bodies and spirit of the people. This further lead me to many serendipitous moments in time where I received lessons, teachings and tools to further my studies and practices relating to sound. My wish is to continue to promote the healing benefits that lie within the harmonious and dissonant nature of sound and music".
You can learn more about sound healing works here.
Ifádáhùnsi Bamgbàlà-Arẹ̀sà is an ordained and trained Traditional West Afrikan Ifá Priest, where spirituality is at the center and core of his work. He is also a certified Thai Yoga practitioner (CTP) and is co-owner of homesteading businesses, Healing Exchange AL, and Raising Our Roots Homestead, both family owned and operated in Alabama.
About
Ifádáhùnsi Tommy "Junior Star" Fluker Bamgbàlà-Arẹ̀sà is a Cleveland, Ohio native and returning resident of the beautiful state of Alabama. A sound artist, multimedia producer, DJ/vinylist, writer, and lifelong percussionist, Fluker credits his parents for nurturing his interests in music and the arts at an early age. During his beginnings in percussion training, the early 80′s sound of hip hop swiftly shifted his life into a never-ending quest for beats and rhythms, sounds and vibrations. He is a life-long lover and student of music, art, nature, and the many aspects of living a whole and full life.
During his multimedia production education, Fluker's work earned him and his department both an AXIEM (Absolute Excellence in Electronic Media) and Crystal Award for audio editing and production. He also served terms in working at the legendary Suma Recording Studios (Lenny Kravitz, Black Keys, Robert Lockwood Jr.) in Painesville, OH, and Telarc International, now Concord Music Group (Zap Mama, Monte Alexander, Marcus Miller, Ray Brown, Ahmad Jamal), where he received world-class training in sound engineering, editing, and quality control (QC) in analog and cutting edge digital environments.
Fluker-Bamgbàlà-Arẹ̀sà is the recipient of numerous artist grants and scholarships, including his most recent international works in Nigeria, West Africa, sharing his presentation on the history of Hip Hop to the community's youth in Ibadan. His work as sound artist has taken him to curate sounds for The Birmingham Museum of Art (The Kite Runner book release), Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (Human Rights Exhibit), and more recently for Newcomb Art Museum of Tulane and the upcoming Contemporary Arts Center altar installation, both in New Orleans, Louisiana, in collaboration with multidisciplinary artist Ifátùmínínú Bamgbàlà-Arẹ̀sà.
Other present and past works include short film production, original music score production and supervision, internet radio station design and content programming, local cable television show production, and podcast/radio show hosting to name a few. He is currently further developing a curriculum to assist his previous work in music and media education and production for the youth.
As a DJ, his inspiration to play professionally dates back to the Run-DMC, early hip hop era and Jam Master Jay, which led to the mid-1990s with mentor DJ Mazi Jahi's classic Afro-Latin funk parties at the Brillo Pad in Cleveland, Ohio. The discovery of hip hop jazz samples, Afrobeat from Fela Kuti and Tony Allen, and the plethora of sounds from the African diaspora expanded his record digging tastes for the dancefloors and experimentation in the recording studio. Fluker's goal is to continue spreading good vibes through the wonders of music and sounds, birthed from Our Mother Continent.
Blogging/Writing
Ifádáhùnsi has music articles published in the Alabama Music Makers series with Alabama News Center and was a founding contributor of the music blog Bamalovesoul.com. His current writings can be found on his music, visual and culture writing platform, 3xFresh.com