Local arts company TENG releases stress and anxiety alleviating album

Tired of listening to the same old Lofi beats when you need to relax? Local arts company TENG has launched a stress and anxiety alleviating instrumental album on Wednesday (Feb 1).

Named Music for Mindfulness, the album marks the company’s foray into music for wellness, and consists of 10 tracks made with a progression of Binaural Beats from theta waves to delta waves. This is combined with Chinese instruments like the guzheng, pipa and erhu.

Binaural Beats are auditory illusions perceived by one’s brain when tones of slightly different frequencies are played to the left and right ear.

According to TENG, the Music for Mindfulness album cover is designed with elements of fresh air, sand dunes, and greenery to create a serene look and feel.

It is also sequence locked, where listeners are supposed to enjoy all ten tracks in its fixed order – from theta to delta waves – which lasts for a total duration of over an hour. 

Listeners should not drive and operate machinery when listening to the album, and are encouraged to listen to Music for Mindfulness with headphones.

The album tracks are based on research conducted by TENG in collaboration with the Singapore Institute of Technology’s Health and Sciences Department on the impact of Binaural Beats as a form of sound wave therapy. 

Results revealed positive correlations between lower anxiety levels after listening to instrumental music with Binaural Beats as compared to listening to purely instrumental music or an audiobook.

The company also researched on the ancient Chinese philosophies of music therapy, which uses five notes of the Chinese musical scale to treat mind-body illness. 

TENG also consulted registered music therapist and founder of Prospect Music Therapy Evelyn Lee while producing the soundtracks for Music for Mindfulness.

The album follows TENG’s ongoing TENG Gives Back programme, where award-winning instrumentalists perform at homes, dialysis centres, hospitals and hospices across Singapore to bring comfort to beneficiaries through music.

Co-founder and creative director Dr Samuel Wong shared that their venture into music for wellness arose during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic where there were “higher levels of anxiety” and an “increasing youth mental health crisis around the world”.

“We are keen to bring research-proven anxiety-reducing musical experiences to one’s homes as part of our work in reimagining music and its possibilities to not only entertain, but to empower and benefit the community,” he added.

Music for Mindfulness is available exclusively on iTunes at $14.80, with individual tracks priced at $1.48 each.