Drum Baby Sleep
I've created an album of original songs written with the intention of helping babies and children get to sleep. The songs are all accompanied by drums and percussion and informed by the idea of rhythmic entrainment - the idea that the brain itself will 'slow down' and become less aroused when exposed to rhythms played at progressively slower tempos. The music acts as the vehicle to carry an aroused and stimulated consciousness into the world of sleep. The repetitive and relaxing rhythms all work to decrease arousal and provide a relaxing and comforting setting for a collection of songs full of the imagery of drifting off into a warm and cosy sleep.
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Please give the album a listen for free above and if you like it please consider buying it there or at my bandcamp page.
Please listen to it on your best speakers!
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I really hope you enjoy it and that it helps get your babies and children to sleep like it has mine.
Inspiration for the songs came from my experiences singing my own children to sleep since 2018 as well as working as a healthcare musician for 15 years. I've often had the privilege of singing babies to sleep in neo natal units and hospital wards and been able to observe for myself the effects of gentle repetitive rhythmic music on the physiology of babies and children by watching monitors and seeing heart rates decrease and oxygen saturation rates increase or stabilise.
In 2018 just before the birth of my first son I journeyed to Santa Fe in New Mexico where I was lucky enough to study drum healing with Jeff Strong and experience Shamanic Journeying with Denise Andes. These experiences combined with years of studying and playing drums in Cuba, where the transformative effects of rhythm are a part of daily life, led me to conjure up an album of songs one day while meditating in the breaks between drumming sessions I was running at a children's festival. Although the genesis of the songs was quick, bringing the album into existence has taken a further 7 years.
I'd like to give my heart felt thanks to all the people who have helped me make this album a reality. Thank you to my wife Becky for encouraging me to leave my comfort zone. Thank you to my teacher in Cuba Santiago Garzón Rill aka ' Chaguito' for sharing his creative approach to the traditions of his culture with me. Thank you to Jeff Strong for crystallising the aspects of drumming and rhythm that help to shift consciousness and change how we're feeling; for boiling down what rhythm can do and how it may do it. Thank you to Denise Andes for wrapping this knowledge in love and awareness. Thank you to Paul K Joyce for your enthusiasm about my songs and your help with making them flow. Thank you to Nick Jonah Davis for his tireless work and patience while mixing and mastering the album. Thank you to the Nick Cutts, Sarah Matthews and Oli Mathews, musicians from OPUS with whom I have sung so many babies and children to sleep with over the years. Thanks to Rikki Thomas Martínez and Wayne Evans for all of their creative wisdom.
The album is dedicated to my sons Alfred and Silas.
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A note on how to use the album:
The first two tracks were written thinking of getting ready for bed climbing in, and calming down, still awake. The remainder help the listener to sink down into a relaxed and deep sleep.
The songs were originally written to specific tempos designed to decrease throughout the album, but as they took shape and developed aesthetically, tempos changed and the order that the songs made sense in as pieces of music evolved. I've ended up ordering the presenting the songs in an order that makes sense to me aesthetically. If you'd like to experience the album solely in terms of the tempos to maximise the potential effects of rhythmic entrainment you could think about reordering the tracks like this:
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1) Feel Safe 4.9 beats per second
2) Close your Eyes 4.6 bps
3) Land of Dreams 4.1bps
4) Let Go 4bps
5) Humming 3.9 bps
6) Blink Blink 3.6 bps
7) Listen 3.5 bps
8) Sleep Little One Sleep 3.3 bps