I was eight years old when I channeled the first song. I remember sitting in front of the piano and my hands would move as if someone else was moving them. Although I knew it was physically me playing the notes, the chords and patterns seemed more advanced than what a child could produce. I knew that someone or some thing was guiding me, and I was the instrument rather than the composer. 

This continued sporadically until I was a teenager. Around the age of 15, songs started pouring out of me by the dozens. Back then, there were limited opportunities to record music, so I can recall setting up an old cassette recorder in my bedroom, trying to capture all of the songs before they faded away. 

At seventeen, my family faced a tragedy as my older sister passed away. At the exact moment of her death, something brought me to the piano, and a complete song of grief poured out of me. It was this song and later others that helped me get through that difficult time. 

After that, almost daily I would feel a demanding sensation, urging me to go to the keyboard, create, and record. Although I could not see where it was heading, I now know that the music I was channeling was necessary for universal healing. Its medicinal properties were incomprehensible and at the same time necessary for me, my loved ones, and beyond. 

The songs in the early days were what would now be considered “new age” instrumentals, even though I had no exposure to that genre of music. I was recording things that often sounded Egyptian or Asian, although I had had no conscious connection to those cultures. I felt that these songs were sent to me from another time or place as gifts for healing, because people who heard them seemed transformed. I was transformed. 

Later, I felt compelled to add lyrics to the songs, although I had no vocal training, and as an awkward young adult did not appreciate my speaking voice, let alone my singing voice. I knew that the words needed to complement the underlying medicinal tones coming forth, and the songs had to have a bigger audience. I felt guided to expand the variety of songs to include the styles of modern pop, jazz, world, and electronic dance. 

By the time I entered my first real studio to record in 1996, I had recorded almost a thousand songs and dozens of special collections on my own. I expected that the challenge would be selecting which songs would appear on this first professionally-recorded CD. Thankfully, I felt equally directed in selecting the songs; the songs in that first studio collection were selected effortlessly.

What ended up being one of the most difficult things was deciding on an artist name. Although many people urged me to release the music under my own name, it did not feel right to do that, because I understood—even if I did not explain it to anyone else—that the music was coming from somewhere or someone else. It was “my” music because I physically created it, and I know that I was chosen because I have an ability to understand how music goes together, but the songs themselves were not from my soul alone, so I wanted to find a separate name for the music. After much deliberation, I decided on “Navaz,” which is an ancient Persian word that means “gift from God” or “gift from above” as in a spiritual sense. Although I did not fully understand then where this music was coming from or why it was coming through me, I knew it truly was a gift from above, and I wanted to honor it with a name that would be intriguing and accurate. Navaz seemed perfect. 

That first collection took nine months to record as I wanted this CD to be equally perfect. The first song had 16 layers of vocal tracks alone. I joked that it was “my baby,” although it would never have been created without the talents of the studio engineer and the technical team that mastered and programmed the start and stop codes on the tracks. (As the tracks lined up, I felt like they should all fade into one another with no breaks—creating a continuous presentation of music taking the listener on an emotional healing journey, and back then the only way to do that was to program actual start and stop locations by hand on the master. This continuous flow style became the norm for all future recordings.) I was also grateful for the musicians who helped provide background vocals and instrumentation. Bronze Lullabies was released on my birthday in 1997, and it was the result of the hard work and inspiration of many individuals.

But before Bronze Lullabies was even released, more new music was coming through. In addition to countless new age style instrumentals, I was receiving more vocal songs. It seemed that the style was evolving…the words were even more multi-dimensional and the music was more complex. While many people would have stopped after the first CD and taken some time to promote it, I went back into the studio almost immediately to start recording another. And another. And another. 

Although I had childhood dreams of being a famous “rock star” musician, my life took a different path as I received my Masters and later a doctorate in counseling psychology. I moved to a different state so that I could pursue that career, and eventually I received guidance to open a community holistic wellness center. The more I immersed myself in this world of holistic wellness, the more I realized that there was a huge need for tools to help people get and stay well. I knew that the music I had been recording for decades could be one such tool, and I set aside my fantasy for an opportunity to co-create these amazing pieces that have had a huge impact on me and many people around the world. 

Combining all of my interests in music, psychology, healing arts, Reiki, hypnotherapy, fitness, and yoga, the musical projects started ramping up as I returned once more to the new age instrumentals. Sometimes I would sit at the keyboard and a whole CD would come out in one evening. Some of the songs had binaural beats added—tonal frequencies known to increase relaxation and believed to trigger healing responses for specific physical or emotional issues. I began recording guided meditations as part of the music, having come full circle to realize that the voice I had always felt embarrassed about had its own powerful ability to initiate a relaxation response.  I recorded yoga and fitness videos as well. As technology changed, I was able to do quickly at home by myself what once required a studio and a team of people. 

Since 1997, I have released over 30 studio CD’s, countless hypnotherapy recordings, and have thousands of other songs never heard by another human being. The ideas for new songs and collections come in every day, and the only limit is my own time constraints.

At eight years old, I had no idea what it meant to channel, or why I was chosen, or what the music would do in this world. I never found the fame I once dreamed of as a child but am grateful that I found something better—the joy of knowing that this music and other wellness products are reaching people and making a difference in this world in the perfect way. It is an honor to be able to channel and be the keeper of this music…and I am so forever grateful for the ways that music has shaped and healed my life. I sincerely hope that this music may have a positive impact in your life as well.

                                                                                        - William Kelley

THANK YOU

Great spirit…the universe…God…Goddess…Mother Earth…my parents…my family, Justin, Shayne, Sonja, Lindsay…Martha, Carolyn, Travis, Mr. Moss, Chris, Donna, Jerry, Gary, Trisha, Lorraine, Mike, Alex, Kathleen, Pat, Peggy, John, Nancy, Maura, Gene, Perry, Brenda, “the Divas” (Alicia, Michelle, Denise, and Colleen), Bruce, Sonya, Arnaud, Bud, Matt, Mona, Hansel, Gretel, Kiki, Zeke, Peaches, Autumn, Petey, Becky, Jen, Hella, Vera, Katie, Charlotte, Kirsten, Manon, Marsha, Teri, Sally, Stan, Galen, teachers, colleagues, students, the Pyramid team, Brad, Scott, Jeff, Zack, Eileen, and anyone and everyone who has supported me and the music in any way, including purchasing or sharing a recording, saying a supportive or kind word, or just being you. And of course…thanks to…

Navaz.