Inside the Sonic Science: How Vedam Records Is Redefining Wellness Music

In an exclusive conversation with MusiCulture, we explore the minds behind Vedam Records, Universal Music Group’s wellness-driven label, and the team steering the Grammy-nominated albums Sounds of Kumbha and Shayan. What follows is a deep, illuminating dive into how science, culture, spirituality, and sound come together to create music that heals. We had an interaction with Faustin Missier, Head of Wellness Business, Universal Music India, check out in brief what he has to say:

First things first, congratulations on the Grammy nomination! When did the team realise Sounds of Kumbha needed to be submitted for the Grammys?

Thank you! The decision happened organically. When the team first heard the album last year, there was a collective realisation that this is the one. The album’s global appeal, cultural depth, and sonic integrity stood out. By June–July, we knew it had to be submitted.
We cleared the first nomination round and are now in the final voting phase. Fingers crossed!

The Grammy process can feel like a mystery to many. Could you break it down simply?

Absolutely. In the simplest form:

1. Release Window: Music must be released within the designated eligibility period.
2. Submission: Through the Online Entry Process (OEP), you submit to specific categories.
3. First Voting Round: Members vote; top 5 move to nominations.
4. Second Voting Round: The final phase that decides the winners.

It’s like running a full-fledged presidential campaign; listening sessions, networking, strategy, visibility, and outreach.

How did Vedam Records get involved with Sounds of Kumbha?

The album sits with Universal Music Group India. Vedam Records came on board specifically for its Grammy-side strategy, marketing, and planning. The album beautifully ties culture, spirituality, tradition, and storytelling around the Kumbh, making it an ideal global export of Indian heritage.

Watch the full conversation here:

For our readers, what does Vedam Records actually stand for?

Vedam is a wellness-centric label built on one core philosophy: “Better Your Being”. It aims to make music a form of medicine, addressing stress, anxiety, sleep issues, focus, and mental well-being through scientifically engineered music.

The label works across:

• Yoga Music
• Meditation
• Sleep
• Deep Focus
• Guided Practices

Every track is built after studying frequencies, binaural beats, isochronic tones, environmental sounds, and behavioural patterns.

How long did the research behind Vedam take?

Five years. Vedam was designed from ground zero starting from testing sound patterns, studying listener behaviour across ages, experimenting with binaural frequencies, and validating all output with experts before launch.

The label officially launched in 2024 but has been in development since 2019.

There seems to be a lot of neuroscience, psychology, and medical influence in Vedam’s work. What does that scientific team look like?

At the core is a committee of:

• Neuroscientists
• Medical practitioners
• Sound designers
• Modality experts (Yoga, Breathwork, Meditation)
• Composers and musicians

Together, they define problem statements, sleep, anxiety, restlessness, focus and “design” soundscapes that physiologically influence heart rate, breath cycles, and brainwave states.

For example:

• Heart-rate-aligned beats (55–65 BPM)
• Wave cycles synced to breath counts
• Binaural beats at specific Hz for sleep or focus
• Sub-layers like ocean waves or heartbeat cues
• Ambient tones matched to circadian patterns

With so much science behind Vedam, how does your own background tie in?

Surprisingly, no! I’m a musician first. I grew up teaching piano to ADHD children, which shaped a lot of my understanding of attention, emotion, and sonic response.
Academically, I studied English Literature and hold Master’s degrees in Global Sales & Marketing and Global Business. Music and wellness simply came together naturally.

What challenges do you face in getting people to understand wellness-driven music?

For people above 30, it’s a matter of discoverability and experience. But Gen-Z gets it instinctively, they already listen to brown noise, white noise, lofi, and ambient soundscapes for sleep and study.

Interestingly, India is now catching up with the global wellness movement:

• Sound baths
• Yoga-music events
• Spiritual club culture
• Meditation concerts
• Breathwork workshops

This shift is helping labels like Vedam grow rapidly.

Would government support or policy intervention help accelerate this movement?

Definitely. If music and wellness were integrated into education and public health systems, we’d solve half the country’s mental-health challenges. We already lead the world in yoga and ancient sonic traditions—policy support could amplify that globally.

What collaborations are planned for 2026 and beyond?

Many exciting ones! We’re working with:

• Chad Lawson for India’s first ASMR-piano-ISOchronic immersive album
• Indian classical artistes exploring the intersection of tradition and mental wellness
• Modality experts who will co-create music
• Regional creators to expand into guided sessions in Indian languages
• Global collaborations—like creating guided meditations in Swahili for South Africa
• Instruments like harps, sound bowls, pan flutes, and immersive spatial audio setups

We’re expanding geographically and sonically.

Coming back to Sounds of Kumbha — what comes after this album, is there a Sounds of Kumbha 2 expected given that you must already have a lot of content beyond what has been released?

We won’t create a Sounds of Kumbh 2. The project was conceived as a singular cultural experience. But yes, there is more music from the collaborators, and two major culture-rooted projects are already in development. These will continue the tradition of blending ancient Indian narratives with contemporary global sound design.

Final thoughts?

We’re proud of how Sounds of Kumbh showcased India’s spiritual richness on a world stage. And with Vedam Records, our mission is simple, export India’s sonic wellness heritage to the world, one scientifically-crafted soundscape at a time.