A short summary of the life path of musician, composer and therapist Deva goes something like this: Expressing myself through the love of music to generate positive emotions in all areas of life. Born in Argentina with music in his soul, Deva has entertained countless thousands throughout South America, Europe and Asia. He has played with famous musicians and DJs on the great stages of the world, yet his deepest musical love is his spiritual work using sound to heal physical and emotional problems. His main instrument is the saxophone, but he can skilfully use multiple instruments to both entertain and to heal.

Deva has been living on Ibiza for 15 years, and we asked him to tell us a little about his work and what he experiences through music.

Your name is special, tell us why you are called Deva?
It’s my spiritual name. That change happened 20 years ago while I was living in a spiritual community in India doing inner work and a lot of meditation. I decided to make a great internal change and taking my new name mirrored that inner transformation.

You have a long history with music. Do you play many other instruments, and why did you choose the sax?
My mother is a music teacher and my father a percussionist and singer. So I grew up in a musical environment and started at age five to play the piano. At eight I went to the guitar and voice, plus other instruments like the flute. But when the sax arrived that was it... I was conquered forever.

How did you come to use music on a spiritual and emotional level?
That started about 2011, when I was again in India. I use several different types of instruments including gongs, Tibetan bowls, tuning forks and more, to create sound as a cure on both the physical and emotional levels. With sound therapy it is possible to overcome blockages, relieve pain and even cure disease. For the past four years I have been creating a sound healing room at the meditation and yoga retreats run by Elena Tancredi. The space in which I work has a variety of instruments that produce different sounds which connect with your inner peace in an incredible way. This space of sound and music is always open to anyone who wants to experience it, with sessions for the residents of Ibiza and for tourists at reasonable prices.

Getting back to your work as an entertainer, where do you usually play on Ibiza?
I play regularly in hotels, beach clubs, and especially at private parties and weddings. I also play at international events and spiritual festivals during the summer.

Can you express what you feel when you play?
It’s a feeling of joy mixed with magic... passing through many emotions... riding those emotions, forgetting techniques and letting the notes flow. It is a great connection of feelings with sound and also interacting with people... capturing the energy that they transmit, getting their feedback and giving it back.

Of all the performances you have done, is there one in particular that stands out?
Well, there were many, but there was one five years ago, in Moscow, in the Red Square with 85,000 people!  That was quite intense, but really I feel that magic in all of my performances. The interaction of the audience with the sound... the rewarding energy of generating emotions between people and music. In Ibiza I experience these vibrations in Sa Trinxa, Blue Marlin, Ushuaïa, private parties, festivals and several other places.

Besides playing you are also a composer.
Yes, I have been composing for years with innovative work that blends different sounds with the saxophone. My current project is a set that starts with organic music, some loops that are mixed with electronic music, saxophone, flute and after that it goes into total sound healing.

Why living on Ibiza?
I decided to stay in Ibiza because I wanted a natural place to develop my work. The first time I came here I was going to stay for just a week, but I barely got off the plane and I said to myself “this is my island, this is the place where I want to live.” I felt the resonance of the island saying “YES”... and everything has flowed incredibly well.

What do you like most about the island?
The nature, the beauty of the countryside and the beaches. The alternative people and the options that the island gives you for always being open to the new.

And what do you like the least?
The superficial commercial part of Ibiza that mixes music and drugs. It brings a false illusion of openness, celebration and happiness, but it is actually emptiness.

What message would you like to express?
Always follow what you love; it does not matter where you have to go or what you have to do to make that happen. When you do that you are always becoming more complete... more of who you really are. All doors are open to you if you have the confidence to know that everything can appear, and that everything you dream of will always arrive.