This week I’ve already touched on the urge that many of us have to apply the breaks on an ever increasing frenetic world (see Luke Sital-Singh post yesterday). Now the acclaimed German-born British composer and electro-acoustic polymath Max Richter has responded in his own way, composing an 8 Hour lullaby titled Sleep. As many of you have probably guessed the composition was made for the purpose of listening to whilst asleep.
Max is certainly not alone in feeling there are benefits to not just slowing down our fast-paced lives but also listening to slower music – this is an 8 hour piece to rest. “It’s my personal lullaby for a frenetic world,” he says. “A manifesto for a slower pace of existence.”
The composition came with it’s own set of challenges as you can see on the trailer below, this will be put to the test further in the live performances to follow:
The 31 track album is available to download although there is also a one hour day-time version available. The album was given a global free premiere yesterday, allowing listeners to listen to the album for free for one night. After listening, participants were encouraged to share their experiences, dreams and thoughts using the hashtag #OneWorldSleep, via Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, which all feed into the website. You can see some of the responses on Twitter below, scroll through to see more comments:
Download the album via iTunes (includes Digital Booklet):
To find out more, visit: http://www.maxrichtermusic.com/