Music For Sleeping Children

Music for Sleeping Children is a multi-media investigation of the American teenage girl conceived by Believe Media director and visual artist, Charlie White. 

 

At its centerpiece, alongside photography and music videos, is an experimental pop teen album that marries the voices of 5 in-depth teen interviews, with pop, electronica, and house music all created by Mercury Prize-nominated musician Boom Bip (aka Bryan Hollon) for the project.

 

 

 

Of his on-going teen narrative of the American teen White says: “The American teenage girl is one of the strongest symbols in contemporary culture. She reflects how much power we hold in the world, illustrating our uniquely puritanical battle with purity and the prurient, and continually representing our economic condition. I see the image of the American teen girl as a barometer for the cultural and political state of the nation. 

 

White and Hollon set out to realize an ambitious project that began with a year and a half casting process searching for 5 diverse “real” girl personalities to interview and record for approximately 3 hours each. 

 

Working in tandem, White and Hollon fashioned each track around the original studio recordings of girls ranging in age from 12 to 16. The result is 5 highly diverse, character portraits that underscore the complex tensions resonant in teen voices while transforming each girl into a music of her own. 

 

Says White: “They just talked to me about their lives and their sense of self, and from there we opened the discussion up to everything. It was very sincere, and although their final form is electronic dance music, I believe that each track is a very honest portrait.”

 

 

 

We get, for example, the privileged and popular “Georgia”, to the sultry "Isabelle", to the neurotic and impatient  "Sabrina" planning her life down to the last detail while fearing failure at every turn.

 

Each track - named after a girl - is supported by a unique music video from 5 diverse directors selected by Charlie especially for their unique aesthetic: Believe Media director/photographer Sammy Rawal, director Tom Kuntz, performance and 3D animation artists Jacolby Satterwhite, artist/filmmaker Molly Schiot, and filmmaker Star Rosencrans.

 

The videos, alongside select Charlie White photo works selected from his Cyrilla Strothers documentary project, and a vinyl release of the project from Lex Records, is live at musicforsleepingchildren.com.