Whilst the world is seemingly spiralling further and further into chaos, one Scottish musician is on a mission to make us all feel a little brighter with an album made out of ‘happy sounds’ – best if all, it’s yours in exchange for a happy message 💕

40-year-old Tommy Perman from Kinross came up with the idea for the album after becoming frustrated with the overwhelming negativity he saw on social media during lockdown.

In September 2020, Perman contacted 50 of his friends from around the world, asking them to send him a sound that makes them happy. Audio files began flowing into his inbox, from Mexico to, Germany, Holland to Hong Kong, India to Australia and everywhere in between.

The sounds are as diverse as the people who sent them and include birdsong; the purrs, grunts and squeaks of people’s pets; ambient sounds of nature, such as water bubbling at pebbles on a beach; quirky sounds from the home, such as door squeaks and washing machine bleeps; and the sounds made in people’s favourite activities, including those from drawing and brewing cider.

Perman said:

The contributors span a wide age range: from toddlers to people who are well into adulthood. Through their sounds and messages I was reminded of the different things sound and music can mean to us – a toddler intently exploring sounds of a xylophone with her dad, ‘grown ups’ revelling in losing themselves while making music.

Now that I’ve finished I want to share this album with as many people as I can. Rather than ask for money I thought it was a nice idea to encourage some happy thoughts. To ‘buy’ the album simply email a message about something that makes you happy and you’ll receive a download link.

Perman & co’s 20-track album is roughly 80 minutes of what he describes “as gentle electronic and ambient music”.

The Tales Behind the Sounds

Perman has also collected the stories behind the sounds on his website, which make for inspiring and heartwarming reading – here’s just a few:

Let me tell you about two very special, very large gum trees in my street in Melbourne that are currently in full flower.

During the day, they are mobbed by rainbow lorikeet, cockatoos, wattlebirds, magpies and mynahs. At night, the fruit bats come for their share. It’s noisy and glorious to listen to.

One thing that makes me happy is when my children start singing spontaneously along to my old records. I had no idea they had been listening. Heart of Glass came on yesterday and my 14-year-old Evie said – I LOVE this song dad. She had no idea who Blondie or Debbie Harry were, just really got into it.

I wake in doubt, anxiety eating at my heart.
I need to steady, to breathe, to gain perspective.
My bicycle waits, always..
The road is still, my wheels are free, the breath I need is there.
Dappling through the trees, exploring the curves, the sea calling.
I stand on the dune, the sea is forever.
Sand stretches out, arcing in a slow dance of aeons.
This is the place.
This is the place where doubt disappears.

You can ‘buy’ the album by emailing a message about something that makes you happy to happy@positiveinteractions.space You will then receive a download link.

What makes you happy? Head back to our post and let us know in the comments. ☺️

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