Sleep is an album by composer Max Richter. It was released by Deutsche Grammophon on September 4, 2015 as a digital download, and on December 11 , 2015 as an eight-CD/one-Blu-ray set. The album serves as a concept album based around the neuroscience of sleep, hence its length of over eight hours. Sleep was accompanied by simultaneous release of the one-hour-long album , From Sleep, with seven additional tracks (different variations of tracks from the main album), and later by the remix album Sleep Remixes. Background In 2015, Max Richter released his most ambitious project to date, Sleep , an 8.5 hour listening experience targeted to fit a full night's rest. The album itself contains 31 compositions, some reaching 20–30 minutes in duration, all based around variations of 4-5 themes. The music is calm, slow, mellow and composed for piano, cello, two violas, two violins, organ, soprano vocals, synthesizers and electronics. The album's liner notes credits strings by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (Ben Russell, Yuki Numata Resnik, Caleb Burhans, Clarice Jensen and Brian Snow), vocals by Grace Davidson and the piano, synthesizers and electronics by Richter himself. According to Richter, as described in the album's credits, Sleep is "an eight-hour lullaby", "a piece that is meant to be listened to at night ... structured as a large set of variations."%DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Richter conferred with American neuroscientist David Eagleman while working on the album's piece to learn about how the brain functions during sleep. Richter stated, "Sleeping is one of the most important things we all do ... We spend a third of our lives asleep and it's always been one of my favourite things, ever since I was a child. ... For me, Sleep is an attempt to see how that space when your conscious mind is on holiday can be a place for music to live." Live performance  The album was performed in its entirety as one compositional piece at the Reading Room at Wellcome Collection in London, England, on September 27, 2015 from midnight to 8:00 AM  as the climax of the BBC Radio 3 "Science and Music" weekend.Sinfini Music – Latest: Music and the brain  The performance set Guinness World Records for longest broadcast of a single piece of music and longest live broadcast of a single piece of music.Max Richter Performs Sleep Live for Eight Hours, Sets Guinness World Record on BBC Radio 3 Instead of chairs to sit in and watch the performance, audience members were given beds to sleep in. Richter played piano, keyboards, and electronics, and was joined by Grace Davidson (soprano), Reiad Chibah (viola), Natalia Bonner and Steve Morris (violins), and Ian Burdge and Chris Worsey (cellos). The album was also performed in its entirety at the Philharmonie de Paris , France, on November 18, 2017 from midnight to 8:00 AM. Max Richter - Sleep Sleep was performed for its first outdoor performance and largest performance to-date in Los Angeles, CA on July 27-28th and July 28-29th, 2018, starting shortly after 10:30pm. It was performed in Grand Park, across from the Los Angeles Music Center. Each performance had 560 beds and was timed so the final movement, "Dream 0 (till break of day)" would occur at dawn. Richter played along with members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Clarice Jensen (cello), Ben Russell, Andrew Tholl (violin), Isabel Hagen (viola), Emily Brausa (cello), and Grace Davidson (soprano). Los Angeles Times - Composer Max Richter wants fans to spend the night in Grand ParkHollywood Reporter - Max Richter on Bringing Overnight Concert "Sleep" to L.A. and Why Sushi Helps Him Stay AwakeRolling Stone - Composer Max Richter to Perform Overnight L.A. Concerts With 560 Beds Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork Media gave the album a positive review, stating, "At its best, Sleep feels like compositionally rigorous new age music. It’s a place in which you can settle for a while, with or without a pillow, and emerge only when you are ready to rejoin the restive world." However, Currin was also slightly critical of the release, stating, "Sleep, then, is simply too didactic as a name. It’s a command that tells us how to enjoy something that clearly has other uses. That handle, combined with Richter’s conceit, has turned the record into a kind of clickbait story, too, which seems entirely antithetical to Richter’s point." Commercial performance As of April 2017 Sleep has sold over 100,000 copies. As of February 2020 Sleep has peaked at No.44 and has sales of 40,151 (15,905 from streams) in United Kingdom, according to the Official Charts Company. Up to July 2018 Sleep has earned 37,7 million on-demand streams in United States according to Nielsen Music. As of July, 2020 Sleep has amassed close to 500 million streams.
Sleep is an eight-and-a-half hour concept album based around the neuroscience of sleep by composer Max Richter. It was released in 2015 , accompanied by a one-hour version with variations , From Sleep, and later remixed as Sleep Remixes. Background Sleep is targeted to fit a full night's rest. %DIFDELCMD < %DIFDELCMD < %%% Richter talked with American neuroscientist David Eagleman while working on the album's piece to learn about how the brain functions during sleep. Richter stated, "Sleeping is one of the most important things we all do ... We spend a third of our lives asleep and it's always been one of my favourite things, ever since I was a child. ... For me, Sleep is an attempt to see how that space when your conscious mind is on holiday can be a place for music to live." The piece's 31 compositions, some 30 minutes in duration, are based around variations of 5 themes. The calm, slow and mellow composition is for piano, cello, two violas, two violins, organ, soprano vocals, synthesizers and electronics. In the album's credits Richter describes Sleep as an eight-hour lullaby and a piece that is meant to be listened to at night. Live performances The album was performed in its entirety from midnight to 8:00 AM at the Wellcome Collection in 2015 as the climax of the BBC Radio 3 "Science and Music" weekend.Sinfini Music – Latest: Music and the brain Audience members watched from beds instead of chairs. The performance set records for the longest broadcast and longest live broadcast of a single piece of music.Max Richter Performs Sleep Live for Eight Hours, Sets Guinness World Record on BBC Radio 3 The album was also performed at the Philharmonie de Paris in 2017 , Max Richter - Sleep and outdoors in Grand Park, Los Angeles in 2018. The Los Angeles performances had 560 beds and were timed so the final movement, "Dream 0 (till break of day)" would occur at dawn. Los Angeles Times - Composer Max Richter wants fans to spend the night in Grand ParkHollywood Reporter - Max Richter on Bringing Overnight Concert "Sleep" to L.A. and Why Sushi Helps Him Stay AwakeRolling Stone - Composer Max Richter to Perform Overnight L.A. Concerts With 560 Beds Grayson Haver Currin of Pitchfork Media gave the album a positive review, stating, "At its best, Sleep feels like compositionally rigorous new age music. It’s a place in which you can settle for a while, with or without a pillow, and emerge only when you are ready to rejoin the restive world." Currin was also slightly critical of the release, stating, "Sleep, then, is simply too didactic as a name. It’s a command that tells us how to enjoy something that clearly has other uses. That handle, combined with Richter’s conceit, has turned the record into a kind of clickbait story, too, which seems entirely antithetical to Richter’s point." Commercial performance As of February 2020 Sleep had peaked at No.44 , with sales of 40,151 in the United Kingdom. As of July, 2020 Sleep had almost 500 million streams.
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album
eight-and-a-half hour concept album based around the neuroscience of sleep
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by Deutsche Grammophon on September 4,
in
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as a digital download, and on December 11
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2015 as an eight-CD/one-Blu-ray set. The album serves as a concept album based around the neuroscience of sleep, hence its length of over eight hours.
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Sleep was accompanied by simultaneous release of the one-hour-long album
accompanied by a one-hour version with variations
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with seven additional tracks (different variations of tracks from the main album), and later by the remix album
and later remixed as
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In 2015, Max Richter released his most ambitious project to date, Sleep , an 8.5 hour listening experience
Sleep is
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The album itself contains 31 compositions, some reaching 20–30 minutes in duration, all based around variations of 4-5 themes. The music is calm, slow, mellow and composed for piano, cello, two violas, two violins, organ, soprano vocals, synthesizers and electronics. The album's liner notes credits strings by the American Contemporary Music Ensemble (Ben Russell, Yuki Numata Resnik, Caleb Burhans, Clarice Jensen and Brian Snow), vocals by Grace Davidson and the piano, synthesizers and electronics by Richter himself.
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According to Richter, as described in the album's credits, Sleep is "an eight-hour lullaby", "a piece that is meant to be listened to at night ... structured as a large set of variations."
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Richter conferred
Richter talked
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Live performance
The piece's 31 compositions, some 30 minutes in duration, are based around variations of 5 themes. The calm, slow and mellow composition is for piano, cello, two violas, two violins, organ, soprano vocals, synthesizers and electronics. In the album's credits Richter describes Sleep as an eight-hour lullaby and a piece that is meant to be listened to at night.
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Live performances
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as one compositional piece at the Reading Room at Wellcome Collection in London, England, on September 27, 2015
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at the Wellcome Collection in 2015
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Audience members watched from beds instead of chairs.
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Guinness World Records for longest broadcast of a single piece of music
records for the longest broadcast
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Instead of chairs to sit in and watch the performance, audience members were given beds to sleep in.
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Richter played piano, keyboards, and electronics, and was joined by Grace Davidson (soprano), Reiad Chibah (viola), Natalia Bonner and Steve Morris (violins), and Ian Burdge and Chris Worsey (cellos).
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in its entirety
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, France, on November 18,
in
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from midnight to 8:00 AM.
,
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Sleep was performed for its first outdoor performance and largest performance to-date in Los Angeles, CA on July 27-28th and July 28-29th, 2018, starting shortly after 10:30pm. It was performed in
and outdoors in
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across from the Los Angeles Music Center. Each performance
Los Angeles in 2018. The Los Angeles performances
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were
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Richter played along with members of the American Contemporary Music Ensemble, Clarice Jensen (cello), Ben Russell, Andrew Tholl (violin), Isabel Hagen (viola), Emily Brausa (cello), and Grace Davidson (soprano).
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However,
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April 2017 Sleep has sold over 100,000 copies. As of
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has
had
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and has
, with
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(15,905 from streams) in United Kingdom, according to the Official Charts Company. Up to July 2018 Sleep has earned 37,7 million on-demand streams in United States according to Nielsen Music.
in the United Kingdom.
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has amassed close to
had almost