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About

Slaapwel Records is a small record label specialized in music to fall asleep to.

Wim Maesschalck aka Wixel, who started the label, often found himself lying awake in bed, not sleepy enough to fall asleep, not lively enough to keep doing stuff. He figured it would be good if there was more music that soundtracks the thin border between being asleep and lying awake, deliberately choosing the sleepy side of things. So he set out, looking for people that would be good at making mind-soothing songs.

He asked them to write a sleep-inducing record, he listened to it, and when he failed to reach the end because he fell asleep, he released it as a musical record. All artists are various people he met through the years, different yet all connected with their unique talent, yet all very good at making "boring" music. This is not an insult.

"I love their music to death and I think they are all very capable of making wonderful sleep-inducing songs. In any case, don't make too much of it. It is all just good fun. Sleepy fun."

And that is still the philosophy of Slaapwel Records today. 

 

Demo Policy

We're really humbled by all the requests for releasing a record.

It's very flattering you think Slaapwel could be a good home, but, in all honesty: if you made an album and you're looking for a label to release it: Slaapwel can't do that for you.

Slaapwel only releases albums specifically made for people to fall asleep to. Much like scientists, we do a test with each submission before releasing it.

If you want to make something special, feel free to send it over. We promise we'll try it out, if it works, we'll get back to you, if it doesn't, we prefer staying quiet because it is no fun to say it didn't work. :-) 


Elsewhere
Tuesday
Jul312012

Seaworthy

Sleep Paths by Seaworthy

While typing up some text to accompany this release I looked up the very first few e-mail conversations Cameron and I had about a release on Slaapwel Records. Not only does our first email date back to autumn 2008, it explains this release a good deal. Cameron explained that, round the time his first child was born, he recorded some tracks which he liked to call ‘sleep loops’, pieces of either guitar, electronics, ukelele or music box that were used as lullabies for his daughter. He reworked these tracks into one long piece of shimmery soundwaves. Meanwhile both Cameron and I got another child (not together, you silly :)), so he made another lullaby which is included here as a bonus track --- and suddenly we’re four years later and finally ready to release Sleep Paths, a patient, floating piece that’s absolutely sleepworthy.

Cameron Webb has PhD in environmental sciences, for which he spends a lot of time in the Australian wetlands and has recorded for 12K, Preservation and Low Point.

CD comes in our traditional Stumptown Arigato Pak, yet stitched with original wallpaper of Cameron's childhood bedroom - first 50 copies came with a free xeroxed booklet made by Seaworthy himself. Comes with a free download only 'bonus' track if you order at slaapwel directly.

BUY NOW AS LIMITED CD (8€) OR DIGITAL DOWNLOAD (5€) 

• slaapwel xi • released 01.08.2012 • limited edition (300) • CD •

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