The Shaman Behind The Magic Garden: “With Our Rock, We Channel Spiritual Messages”
Denmark’s most spiritual rock band is set to release a new album, guiding listeners on an inner journey towards ecstasy. “We’re aiming for the biggest stages,” says Electric Shaman frontman and shaman, Jacob Moth, as he opens the doors to his cosmic creation, The Magic Garden.
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Get Started NowPeople flock to The Magic Garden for a spiritual transformation. This expansive villa, adorned with winding vines, tarot symbols, carved wooden sculptures, and statues reflecting spiritual symbols from across the world, is a mystical sanctuary. Tall trees intertwine with the building, their branches linked by wooden pathways that spiral upwards. From the treetops, you can look out over the city or gaze down on a grand stage where Electric Shaman plays their powerful music. Beneath the trees, a meditation chamber has been carved into the earth, offering a haven of deep silence.
AMG Presents Moonboots
“Everything here is designed to reflect the states of consciousness one experiences during meditation,” says Jacob Moth, the long-haired lead singer, as he describes how the vision for the garden was delivered to him by a spiritual being in 1995. It was then that he planted the first trees and began to build.
“You can’t experience true happiness without confronting the depths of your subconscious. It’s a terrifying process at times, as it forces you to transcend as a person and reach a deeper understanding of who you really are,” Moth explains. He’s also the author of The Land of the Night Butterfly, a journey into personal growth, with a foreword by the renowned psychotherapist Stanislav Grof.
The Spiritual Power of Rock
That journey has also fueled his passion for rock music. His band, Electric Shaman, is set to release an album featuring 12 new tracks that aim to take listeners on a spiritual ride.
“With our music, we communicate spiritual messages that ignite an inner journey. Our aim is to elevate the audience into an ecstatic state, creating a bond between them,” says Moth, who’s no stranger to the rock scene, having played with Savage Rose and Fate, and composed music for films and the TV show Klovn.
“Our sound? Imagine a fusion of Muse, Pink Floyd, and Jimi Hendrix. We have Muse’s precision, their modern tones and melodies,” Moth says as he reclines in one of the villa’s many rooms, offering nuts and tea. Around him, amplifiers, guitars, climbing plants, and spiritual artwork create an almost otherworldly atmosphere.
“We blend those influences with Pink Floyd’s cinematic quality, and with Jimi Hendrix, we let go of control, especially live, and dive into 20-minute psychedelic improvisations,” he adds. His rock-solid bandmates include veteran bassist Asger Steenholdt of Big Fat Snake fame, and the virtuoso drummer Niclas Campagnol.
Going for the Big Stage
“We’re aiming for the big stages. Playing the Orange Stage at Roskilde Festival is definitely on my list,” Moth says with a confident grin.
All of the band’s songs are inspired by Moth’s work as a modern shaman, guiding meditation, trance music, and inner journeys that attract everyone—from CEOs to single mothers. The band’s lyrics explore the profound spiritual experiences that have shaped Moth’s life. Every element, whether in the band’s music, their collective consciousness, or the villa, is interconnected.
Death and Rebirth
The single “Into The Night” was inspired by Moth’s encounter with a young woman working through her traumas. It was a process of death and rebirth—a shedding of the old self to allow for new personal growth.
Moth explains: “At some point in our lives, we all need to leave behind our old selves and emerge as new people. For this young woman, it was clear she needed a rite of passage. During our conversations, themes of death emerged. It was her mind and body’s way of saying, ‘I’m not a child anymore.’”
The young woman ultimately chose to forgo her confirmation, and Moth led her through a spiritual rite of passage. “Traditional confirmation is such a shallow ritual, unlike the profound rites of passage practiced in all pre-industrial societies. These rites marked the transition from one stage of life to the next,” says Moth, confirming that she emerged transformed.
According to Moth, our deepest drive is to transcend. He draws inspiration from Joseph Campbell’s monomyth, which describes the hero’s journey—a universal story that underpins all cultures, from Jesus to Harry Potter. “Music can trigger that journey,” he explains.
Rock as the Shaman’s Tool
During his shamanic sessions, music plays a vital role. It’s no accident that Electric Shaman chose their name. Moth invites us into a nearby round room, a musical sanctuary with a stage and carpets underfoot. Holding a butterfly-shaped guitar (a nod to his last name, Moth, meaning “night butterfly”), Moth gestures to a starry sky above, while the walls function as a 260-degree screen, delivering an immersive audiovisual psychedelic experience.
“The shaman’s most important tool is sound: chants, drums, rattles, horns—they all help guide people into spiritual states,” Moth explains, adding that shamans across the world, from Australia to Africa, have long used music to induce ecstasy and altered states of consciousness for healing. Musician and author Gabrielle Roth described musicians as modern-day shamans, bringing people together in states of ecstasy—especially rock musicians at festivals.
“Festivals free people, they lift their worries,” Moth reflects. “Music brings us closer to one another, and creates a feeling of oneness with the world. That’s something many people are missing in their lives today.”
The Band’s Spiritual Purpose
Moth pulls back a curtain, revealing a mandala—a drawing that symbolizes a microcosm, featuring icons from all major religions, shamanism, the four elements (earth, air, fire, and water), atheism, and agnosticism. “No matter what we believe in or don’t, we’re all brothers and sisters sharing the same planet.”
“The challenge today is that we feel separate from the universe and from each other, and that’s deeply painful. People are anxious, stressed, and popping prescription pills like candy. Shamans help people feel connected to the universe again—it’s the most healing experience you can have.”
“And that’s the band’s mission—to promote spiritual unity. We have a special chemistry in this band, and when we play, we enter a state of ecstasy, channeling that spiritual energy to the audience. Rock music holds immense power,” Moth concludes.
