Blog1 min read
Notes on the sleep room
What I listen for when picking music for the sleep playlist, and what I leave off.
Sleep is the hardest brief on the site. Most playlists with the word 'sleep' in the title fail in one of two ways: too quiet to do anything at all, or too dynamic and the listener wakes up at three in the morning to an unexpected swell.
The test I use is plain. I put a candidate on a sleep timer at low volume, set an alarm for somewhere in the middle of the night, and pay attention to whether the music is what wakes me up. If it is, it doesn't go on.
There are also things I listen for on purpose. Slow fades at the head and tail of a track. Nothing sudden above three kilohertz. A tempo somewhere near a breath. No key changes that announce themselves. No resolutions that need to land.
Some music I love otherwise can't sit in this room. Music with arcs, music that asks to be heard, music that wants the listener present. It belongs on other playlists, or off the site entirely. The sleep room is for the music that's willing to dissolve.