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Slow journeys shaped by place and rhythm
There was no single moment where this began. Not a plan or a clear decision, more a gradual shift that only makes sense to me now. Through living here in the mountain nature of Pelion, something changed. The way music began to feel. The way I relate to community. The way I move through the world around me.
Held By Earthgrew from this.
It is a space for deep listening, shaped by sound, presence, and place. A project rooted in texture, connection, and embodied experience, free of pretense or ego. Something that carries you inward, or gently into movement. Something that invites you to pause, to soften, and to drop a little deeper into where you are.
Notes and thoughts by Nicholas Murray, core member of Pelion Homes.
Rooted in Pelion
For the past years, my work has been closely connected to the development of Pelion Homes Retreat Centre, alongside a dedicated team of like-minded people.
It is a place nestled between mountain and sea, where people come to rest, reset, and reconnect through practices like meditation, breathwork, yoga, and shared meals made with care. Over time, through retreats and gatherings, a particular atmosphere began to form, something simple but quietly profound.
Held By Earth is not separate from this.
It is an extension of it, carried through sound.
A personal path
Before moving to Greece in 2017, I was living between London and Yorkshire, working in account management within an advertising and digital design agency. It was stable, structured, and, on paper, a clear path.
But something was missing.
Both my wife and I felt drawn toward a different way of living, closer to nature, with more space and a slower rhythm. A visit to Pelion eventually turned into a decision. With a little help from friends already living locally, we stepped into something unknown and began building a new life here.
I didn’t know Stathis at that point. That came a little later, and became an important part of what followed. He has created something quietly special here, a space that holds people naturally and draws in those who continue to shape it with him.
PELION BECAME HOME
Life here, with my wife and two children, close friends, and the people around the retreat, has gradually reshaped my pace, my priorities, and my sense of what matters. I didn’t come into this world through yoga, but more recently through practices like breathwork and meditation, which have had a steady, grounding influence on how I live.
Working alongside Stathis over the past seven years has also been a meaningful part of this journey. Through different phases, including the uncertainty of Covid, we have continued to build and hold the retreat, helping it become what it is today. I feel proud to be part of that story. You can read his inspiring story here.
A moment that stayed
About two years ago, a small group of us went into the mountain forest.
We spent the day walking, eventually settling beside a waterfall. At some point, we sat together, looking up through the trees, listening to the water, simply being there.
Light filtered through the canopy, shimmering as it moved with the breeze. The sound of the water felt both peaceful and alive. It wasn’t dramatic, but there was a clarity in it, in the simplicity of being with friends in nature, without distraction.
It stayed with me.
And in some quiet way, it changed how I began to understand how music could be shaped and received, as part of something that was not yet named but had already begun to form.
Music, redefined
For the past 25 years, music has been a constant in my life, across different spaces, scenes, and phases.
But here in Pelion, something began to shift.
Through intimate gatherings at the retreat, with friends and family, music started to take on a different role. Not something to perform, or to control a moment, but something to hold it. Something that could sit quietly in the background, or gently guide the energy of a space.
Those gatherings, simple and unstructured, became some of the most meaningful moments.
Why now?
In a world that often feels full of noise, uncertainty, and disconnection, I felt a growing need to focus on something creative, grounded, and sincere.
Music has always been that channel for me.
Held By Earth brings together much of what has been forming over time: the place, the people, the experiences, and a changing relationship with sound. It also creates space to connect with artists who feel aligned with this approach.
The first journeys
The project unfolds through a series of curated listening journeys.
The opening journey begins with HBE001 Saphileaum, an immersive exploration of ambient, textured, and percussive sound. His work carries a depth and spaciousness that feels deeply aligned with the spirit of the project, and it has long been my hope to one day bring that sound into the natural landscape of Pelion through a live set.
The second journey HBE002 welcomesAzu Tiwaline, whose journey was shaped around energies, frequencies, and elements that echo the language of sound healing, interpreted through her own sensibility. The journey weaves together gongs, voices and chants from different traditions, alongside textures drawn from nature, forests, rivers, and atmospheric, drifting landscapes.
“The idea was not to follow a linear narrative, but to create a space that can be entered and experienced in different ways. Something immersive, meditative, and slightly cinematic at times. A piece that moves between inner and outer landscapes, and invites a form of deep, attentive listening.”
Each journey is an interpretation.
A reflection of the same intention, through a different lens.
Listen to Saphileaum & Azu’s sound journeys via Held By Earth Channels below:
→ Listen On YouTube
→ Listen On SoundCloud
Looking ahead
As Held By Earth continues to grow, more artists will be invited to contribute to this evolving archive.
Beyond that, the intention is to bring these journeys into physical space and to slowly introduce a live element through intimate gatherings, listening sessions, and small-scale events held in nature, where sound, place, and community meet more directly.
If this project resonates with musicians, sound artists, or selectors working with a similar spirit, I’m always open to listening. And if something feels genuinely aligned, perhaps there may be space for future conversation, collaboration, or invitation.
In time, this may expand into a series of carefully curated experiences, always rooted in the same feeling that began here.
If there is anything this place has taught me, it is the value of slowing down. Of paying attention. Of being present with what is already here.
Held By Earth is an invitation into that space, to listen, and perhaps to find your way back.
Follow along: Held By Earth Instagram , Nicholas / Franqy Into The Wild Instagram
I hope your life is full of music, inspiration and meaningful moments.
Love,
Nicholas
The post Held By Earth: Rooted Sound for Embodied Listening appeared first on Pelion Villas | Pelion Homes Greece.