What do you believe is the spiritual significance of music? A new book edited by a New Zealand-born writer explores this thought-provoking question with personal contributions from many of the world’s leading musicians and writers.

Justin St. Vincent, Director and Founder of Xtreme Music, has interviewed more than 1000 people to explore the deeper meanings of music, choosing over 100 responses to produce a cutting-edge and ground-breaking project for our music-minded generation.

“The Spiritual Significance of Music” includes exclusive interviews with members of 1 Giant Leap, Devo, DragonForce, Faith No More, Gorgoroth, Guns N’ Roses, and features rare insights from Daniel Bedingfield, Michael Franti, Bob Sinclar, and Ravi Shankar, among many others.

His new book embraces the beauty and diversity in music, providing readers with an intricate tapestry of new thoughts on music and spirituality. In a recent interview, Justin St. Vincent shared that “each response has illuminated a unique voice sharing an intimate view on what they believe, and what they create. Their wonderful words are extremely personal, and I deeply cherish, honour, and respect each of the musicians and writers that have contributed to this epic anthology… My hope is that every reader will learn something new from every interview.”

Justin is also the Managing Editor and pioneer of the highly acclaimed website – www.musicandspirituality.com – which has achieved over 100,000 monthly web hits since its launch in January 2009. When asked about the worldwide response already received, he admitted that “the feedback from this project has been positively overwhelming. Many people seem to resonate with the reoccurring themes that surface throughout the interviews in this book”.

He believes that “Like music, the book does not discriminate against spiritual background or religious beliefs, it’s just happy to have your attention… Music and spirituality are universal languages with global appeal. Both have a direct influence and impact on the human spirit”.

The book launch for “The Spiritual Significance of Music” will be on Tuesday 1st December, from 7:30pm to 10:30pm, at the Ivory Lounge, 421 Parnell Road, Parnell, Auckland. Free entry and everyone welcome.

“The Spiritual Significance of Music”, Edited by Justin St. Vincent, Published by Xtreme Music, ISBN 978-0-473-15690-9, RRP NZ$29.95. Book orders are available online at: www.musicandspirituality.com