University College London (UCL), in collaboration with creative agency Innocean Berlin and audio production company DaHouse, has launched a project for Brain Awareness Week (March 11th—17th). The project involves creating bespoke songs to help relieve the multiple symptoms experienced by people with Parkinson’s.
More than 10 million people worldwide are living with Parkinson’s, a number expected to double over the next twenty years. With over 40 symptoms to the condition, the Tremors vs. Tremors project focuses on the individual nature of Parkinson’s and how it affects each person differently.
Exploring the intersection of music, mood, and movement, the project team measured the tremors of five people with Parkinson’s and composed unique songs with their tremor data embedded into the songs’ core.
The project was led by Neurologist Dr. Christian Lambert, a Principal Investigator at UCL who interviewed individuals affected by Parkinson’s and took recordings of their tremors. This was then sent to DaHouse, where the raw data of each participant’s tremor was transformed into a musical element and used to affect the instruments and melodies of the tracks. To ensure that each participant saw themselves in the song, the lyrics were based on their individual journey with Parkinson’s and the melody of their favourite music genre.
‘I feel a physical change in my symptoms when I have an emotional reaction to things. And there’s nothing more emotional than music that’s based on me,’ said Kuhan, the participant whose song is The Greatest Day.
Dr. Lambert describes the importance of the project: ‘In managing Parkinson’s, it’s not all about medications. There is a broad range of strategies and therapies available that can form part of a holistic approach to care that is tailored to the individual person. Our hope is that this project will inspire patients, people caring for people with Parkinson’s, and researchers to take some of this work further, to provide more ways to help understand, manage and treat the condition.’
The Tremors vs. Tremors album is available widely on all major music streaming platforms, like Spotify or Apple Music, and includes a limited edition of vinyl records. All proceedings go to Parkinson’s UK.
Featured image: Tremors v Tremors project
