Friday , March 29 2024
The executive producer of all Putumayo World Music albums on Asian Dreamland

Interview: Dan Storper

I don't know much about Asian music so I hoped to learn about it from listening to this
CD aimed at children and families and interviewing its producer. The songs are lullabies. I listened to them and fell asleep. So, mission, um, accomplished?

What were you trying to accomplish with this project? Did you accomplish it?

Our Dreamland series is intended to help lull children to sleep and also provide relaxing music for adults. I think we accomplished it with Asian Dreamland.

Were you trying to educate the public, entertain people, or both?

Lullabye albums really are more about putting children to sleep and relaxation than education or entertainment, although we provide informative liner notes about the music and hope that the songs will also be entertaining.

Were those lullabies tested on people to make sure it helped them get to sleep? Because I have to confess I played this for others and it did indeed put them to sleep so I say, “Job well done.”

It was a hard album to put together since we generally try to provide upbeat music collections. Also, Asia is one of the toughest parts of the world for us to source music from given how little makes it to America, how huge it is, and how infrequently we travel there.

What do you like best about Asian music?

I like the traditional stringed instrumentation and beautiful voices.

What is the biggest misconception about Asian music?

Perhaps people think of Indian or Chinese music only when they think of Asian music. It’s a hugely diverse musically.

How did you decide which artists and songs you wanted on the album? Were these songs prepared specifically for this album?

I listened to hundreds of songs and felt these were the nicest and fit the vibe of the album best.

What has been the reaction to the album?

Very positive. It has seemed to work well both for putting children to sleep and for adults to relax/meditate/do yoga to.

What are you working on next?

Our next album will be called Animal Playground and it features animal-themed songs from around the world. It comes out at the end of May.

About Scott Butki

Scott Butki was a newspaper reporter for more than 10 years before making a career change into education... then into special education. He has been working in mental health for the last ten years. He lives in Austin. He reads at least 50 books a year and has about 15 author interviews each year and, yes, unlike tv hosts he actually reads each one. He is an in-house media critic, a recovering Tetris addict and a proud uncle. He has written articles on practically all topics from zoos to apples and almost everything in between.

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