Over the weekend, Jhené Aiko released her third album Chilombo, an atmospheric, sensual record documenting the dissolution of a relationship. 

For the album, Aiko embraced the practice of sound healing, incorporating the vibrational hum of crystal alchemy sound bowls, also known as singing bowls, into every track.

Sound bowls are commonly used in healing and meditation to promote chakra balancing and stress reduction. When struck, the bowl will release a vibrational hum that resonates throughout the body and opens up different chakras which correspond to different notes. 

“This album is an introduction to sound bowls for people who don’t really know about them,” Aiko told Billboard. “This is me introducing my newfound love.” According to Aiko, the crystal alchemy sound bowls she used were made from gemstones such as rubies and diamonds and infused with materials including platinum. “All of these different elements and properties contribute to their healing factors,” she explains. 

The album’s sixth track “P*$Y Fairy (OTW)”, for example, is in the D key so Aiko played a bowl in the note of D. “D corresponds with your second chakra (sacral chakra), which governs your sexual organs below your navel and your hips,” she says. “Even though the song is fun and sexy, there’s an actual healing instrument in there to help balance you out in those areas.”

This is not the first time Aiko has explored the use of sound bowls in her music. Last year, she released a six-minute meditation track called “Trigger Protection Mantra” in which she played singing bowls in the key of A (third eye), E (solar plexus) and C (root chakra).