Since launching in 2008, citizenM has made its name in the world of hospitality with innovative ideas for improving the experience of travel. Most recently, the hotel brand launched a commitment to take this mission to the next level by creating a ‘Guide to Business Travel’, addressing common issues experienced by those who are often in transit. Volume one of the guide is called Brainwaves – an innovative musical collaboration between citizenM, record label Erased Tapes, music scientists at Goldsmiths, University of London, and supported by Bose.
Commenting on this project, David John Baker, PhD Candidate, Music Cognition and Computation Lab and Robert Raths, sound architect and founder of the independent record label, Erased Tapes, share their thoughts exclusively with Luxury Briefing.
“The brainwaves project has been one of the most collaborative and innovative research projects I’ve worked on. Working directly with artists to discuss how to create music that is both artistic and effective in helping people, has demanded creativity from both the scientific and music team members. From designing ecologically valid experiments that capture tasks akin to what travellers experience, to trying to communicate how to craft material that fits within established musical parameters, the project has been rewarding to work on as a music scientist. This type of collaborative work demonstrates how fruitful collaborations between music and science can be.”
“We were immediately drawn to the idea that by making Music for Brainwaves we could actually help each other and the people around us with common issues. Being able to work side by side with scientists like David and his team, not only giving our composers access to informed data, but also testing and giving feedback on their musical contributions, was very innovative and made this so much more relevant than the attempt of compiling existing, and often very short pieces of music to achieve a certain level of calm and mindfulness. Whilst this music here was made for and with our current knowledge of the brain and its complex architecture, which makes it so incredibly exciting and forward thinking.”
Listen to the three Music for Brainwaves tracks online now.
citizenm.com
erasedtapes.com
bose.co.uk
Image credit: Avi Richards