Sleep Song
Activity Overview
Episode publication activity over the past year
Episodes
Sweater weather
29 Sep 2023
Contributed by Lukas
For today's Sleep Song, composer Eduardo Rivera ran computerized string pads through an old tape recorder, resulting in the airy sound heard throughou...
King David's Wind Chime
25 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
After hearing the sound of a wind chime floating through his neighborhood, composer Eduardo Rivera is reminded of a stay in the mountain town of Idyll...
We are not alone
11 Aug 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Created using a new musical software called Collage, today's Sleep Song begins with a chord like a question, as if asking whether it's alone in t...
Welcoming change
14 Jul 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Sleep Song is all about movement. Almost every track in this piece is constantly shifting with panning or through the use of an LFO (low frequ...
A sky full of waves
30 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Inspired by surfer Garrett McNamara's episode of Meditative Story and his reflections on staring up at the clouds or, as he puts it, "waves in the sky...
Starting from C
16 Jun 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Composer Eduardo Rivera shares, "I've been using a wonderful felt piano lately that sounds incredibly intimate. It's been my main instrument for our s...
A world of voices
24 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Varshini Prakash’s Meditative Story, "Together, we move from fear to hope."Taken from the musical world of Varshini Prakash’s M...
Endless summer
10 Mar 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like the best part of an ’80s pop song, this Sleep Song celebrates the Yamaha DX7 synthesizer, and answers the question: What would happen if a song...
There's a freedom in letting go
25 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Isabel Allende's Meditative Story, "From great loss, a great freedom."A quiet stirring of high strings is followed by an exhale of ...
Invitation to stillness
10 Feb 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Today's Sleep Song is an invitation to explore stillness. Picture yourself standing in a body of water and not wanting to create any ripples, gently c...
Slow drift
27 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Like a fuzzy shag carpet metronome, this Sleep Song begins with the metered pads of a synth rippling out, and reverberating to the edge of awareness. ...
Take refuge here
13 Jan 2023
Contributed by Lukas
Can you zoom in and notice the fine sounds of finger pads pressing keys, the piano's felted hammers making contact? Today's Sleep Song is an invitatio...
Solstice sky
23 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Like the chime of Dickensian church bells, or the twinkling of a star high in the heavens, piercing the night sky, this Sleep Song opens with a sonic ...
Generative unfolding
09 Dec 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For this week's Sleep Song, composer Eduardo Rivera experiments with generative synthesis, a concept in which digital sounds influence each other with...
Falling into vinyl
25 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
When you’re too sleepy to turn the record over on the turntable, new melodies start to emerge from beyond the crackle of the vinyl. As the record sp...
Time stretching
11 Nov 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Composer Eduardo Rivera tells us that he recorded this week's Sleep Song by time-stretching a ten-minute piano piece, leaving behind an overlay, like ...
Una Corda petal fall
28 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Warm, inviting tones, and the call of a piano's voice, announce it's time for tranquility and rejuvenation. Guided by light synth breezes and Una Cord...
Glassy Synthesis
14 Oct 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In today's Sleep Song, composer Eduardo Rivera follows the path of least intrusion, creating a synth sanctuary for weary bodies and minds. The Yamaha ...
Back to basics
30 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
This week's Sleep Song finds composer Eduardo Rivera going back to basics with his beloved old acoustic guitar. Says Eduardo, "I bought this guitar in...
Lullaby for another world
16 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
In a long hallway, curious echoing sounds leak through the walls; a piano's chords ground our footfall, assuring us we are not alone. Rainforest and j...
Digital universes
02 Sep 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Pulsing rhythms and gauzy sonic breezes introduce this week's Sleep Song. Here, composer Eduardo Rivera experiments with what it means to feel a human...
Peaceful pulse
19 Aug 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An expectant thrum sets the tone, as the softest strings begin to slowly strum. With intentions of being the truest form of a lullaby, this Sleep Song...
When does the new become known
22 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
For this Sleep Song, our composer Eduardo Rivera was wondering: At what point does something new feel familiar and comfortable? A piano motif floats t...
This humble machine
09 Jul 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Our composer, Ryan Holladay, writes: On a recent Sunday drive in East Los Angeles, I came upon an estate sale in my neighborhood of Mount Washington. ...
Delta wave revelation
24 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Deep resounding cello opens a pathway to an unknown world, where violin, harp, and piano dance, where echos of gentle voices breathe sung revelations....
Wandering piano
10 Jun 2022
Contributed by Lukas
An opening chord like warm rays of the sun greets us as soft flute duets with piano. The grounding thrum of stringed instruments, violins, cellos, vio...
We already know how to play
20 May 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Matthew Mercer’s Meditative Story, "The magic that ripples out when we share our passions with others."A pan-like flute sets an i...
Strength alone is not enough
15 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Silvia Vasquez-Lavado’s Meditative Story, "Choosing compassion over conquest."Greeted by an ethereal choir, the soft echoing voic...
A more playful lens
01 Apr 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A whimsical synth and piano line seems to recontextualize the day’s ups and downs, suggesting a more playful lens with which to frame the view. It’...
Hope's persistence
18 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
We're greeted by a deep sine wave, reminiscent of muted brass, like calls from mountaintop to mountaintop heralding the arrival of night. The introduc...
Una Corda petal fall
04 Mar 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Warm, inviting tones, and the call of a piano's voice, announce it's time for tranquility and rejuvenation. Guided by light synth breezes and Una Cord...
Something is stirring
11 Feb 2022
Contributed by Lukas
A quiet trembling begins, and something deep underground beginning to stir, while steady chords mirror the sun's encouraging rays warming the damp ear...
Lifting the curtain
21 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Austin Mao’s Meditative Story, "Peeling back these layers of my inner truth."We're met with a solo piano's lilting melody, string...
Watercolor pastoral
07 Jan 2022
Contributed by Lukas
Tremulous snare sounds and open notes gather the day's scattered thoughts, as a cello assures that it's time for new beauty, fresh unity of mind, and ...
Deep winter landscape
17 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A celestial orchestra softly tunes, becoming the quietest invitation to coast across a wintry landscape of glassy crystalized sheets and aurora polari...
Dream stroll
03 Dec 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Rev. Monique Ortiz’s Meditative Story, "The heart comes out at night."Sonorous cello, and lilting piano provide an invitation for...
Gray matter massage
19 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Meredith Arthur’s Meditative Story, "Ignoring inner me."Greeted by a gentle piano, a melody conjuring childhood curiosity and inn...
Falling into vinyl
05 Nov 2021
Contributed by Lukas
When you’re too sleepy to turn the record over on the turntable, new melodies start to emerge from beyond the crackle of the vinyl. As the record sp...
Music for evening wishes
29 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
A slowly rising sonic wave is met by the call of a single piano key, awakening a chorus of gentle wind instruments. Massaging tonal pulses dance along...
Motion in harmony
15 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Dr. Marla Spivak’s Meditative Story, "How the bees saved me."Above a bed of colorful strings, a sprightly piano picks its way, mo...
Shifting harmonies, alone and together
02 Oct 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Rev. Dr. Otis Moss III’s Meditative Story, "America’s jam session."An hour of music that moves from action to contemplation, fr...
A growing clarity
24 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Bishop Mariann Budde's Meditative Story, "Three moments of clarity across the arc of a life."This spacious hour of music is anchore...
Forward, step by step by step
17 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Robin Arzón's Meditative Story, "Even a superhero starts with small steps."As the music begins, a bed of synths and strings create...
The quiet heart
03 Sep 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Joel McHale’s Meditative Story, "One beating heart."As our Sleep Song begins, a lilting melody on guitar plays against a chorus o...
Slow changes
27 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Omar Wasow’s Meditative Story, "Getting unstuck, reframing the question."In this quiet gathering of sounds, a soulful chorus of v...
A curious child
20 Aug 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Majora Carter’s Meditative Story, "Do great things – and take your flowers."As our dream scene opens, a quiet piano theme evoke...
Drawing together
30 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Wayne Little’s Meditative Story, "A nurse's story."This sweeping composition begins with a single piano describing a plainspoken ...
Changing scenery
23 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Stephen Wilkes’s Meditative Story, "What's most vital is right in front of me."A movable feast of sound, this Sleep Song mixes a ...
Open space
16 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Florence Williams’s Meditative Story, "To chase the sunset."Shimmering strings hover above a quiet piano line, evoking the wide s...
Cabinet of curiosities
09 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Nate Berkus’s Meditative Story, "Designing your space in the world."After a short welcome from Rohan, the listener enters a music...
Ride through peaceful country
02 Jul 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Tri Robinson’s Meditative Story, "To walk the Earth."Inspired by our storyteller's morning ride through a wide-open valley in the...
Travel to a quiet garden
25 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Krista Tippett’s Meditative Story, "I let go of my plan — and found myself."A piano melody echoes over water, evoking a voyage ...
Innocence and simple dreams
18 Jun 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Shea Hembrey's Meditative Story, "Trust the world to show its goodness."After a short welcoming meditation from Rohan, the music be...
Cosmic and tender
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Michelle Thaller's Meditative Story, "Finding meaning in the vastness of the universe."As Rohan invites you to prepare for rest, a ...
Old melodies, new possibilities
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Moj Mahdara’s Meditative Story, "Standing in my own truth."As this Sleep Song begins, a simple musical theme evokes lost melodies...
Questioning, contemplating
25 May 2021
Contributed by Lukas
Music adapted from Sam Harris’s Meditative Story, "Finding happiness amid the ordinary collisions of life."As the Sleep Song begins, you’ll hear a...