World Music Day: Can music help you relax? India’s wellness labels think so
Veteran American pianist Chad Lawson describes his latest album, Awakening: The Stillness Within, as an attempt to hold hope, grief and memory within what he
Veteran American pianist Chad Lawson describes his latest album, Awakening: The Stillness Within, as an attempt to hold hope, grief and memory within what he calls stillness. To realise that vision, Chad collaborated with flautist Rasika Shekar, sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee, singer Nush Lewis and sound healer Paayal Lal on the nine-track album. Produced by Vedam Records in collaboration with Decca Records, a British-American record label, it blends Western classical compositions with Indian cadences, mantras and healing frequencies. In doing so, it taps into the booming wellness music genre, rooted in Indian musical traditions and gaining increasing global attention. “The album was made in India with musicians who understand that kind of space far better than I do. So much of what the rest of the world now calls wellness music grew out of traditions that have been alive in India for centuries,” says Chad, who has previously topped the Billboard Top Classical Albums chart with his interpretations of Frédéric Chopin’s works. So, is wellness music a fact or a fad? “Music definitely has a calming effect. From infants lulled to sleep to older adults, music is not limited by age or demographic. It is a powerful auditory stimulus, a biological phenomenon rather than merely a socio-cultural one,” says psychologist Shantala Hegde, faculty-in-charge of the Music Cognition Lab, which advances research in music cognition and neuromusicology, and additional professor of Neuropsychology at the Institute of Mental Health and Neurosciences (NIMHANS), Bengaluru. Shantala points out that Indian psychology is deeply intertwined with philosophy, yoga and Ayurveda. The latter two were conceived with general wellness in mind, with mental health seen as a by-product. “Similarly, certain forms of music were designed with wellness in mind.
Psychologists understand that some ragas evoke peacefulness and devotion rather than serve as a cure,” she says. However, Hegde adds that existing research remains contradictory and the evidence is insufficient to prescribe music as an intervention. “Background music can influence cognitive function, attention and processing speed, but it may not benefit everyone,” she says. Growth of wellness labels Devraj Sanyal, chairman and CEO, India and South Asia, Universal Music Group, says, “A few years ago, we started hearing about mental health issues more than ever before,” adding that this led to the formation of Vedam Records in September 2024. The label delves into the Vedas and India’s traditional wellness practices, such as yoga, while classifying wellness music into five verticals — yoga, meditation, focus, sleep, and chakra balancing. In May 2025, Vedam Records collaborated with Apple Music to launch Sound Therapy, releasing music for focus, relaxation, and sleep — blending songs with sound waves to attain the desired results. Featured artistes include Imagine Dragons, Katy Perry, Kacey Musgraves, Ludovico Einaudi, AURORA, Jhené Aiko, Chelsea Cutler, and Jeremy Zucker. “The top search keywords from a wellness perspective are focus and study, followed by guided meditations and yoga/chakra music. The last one is sleep,” says Devraj. Frequency music is another genre on the rise, he says, referring to music that uses precisely calibrated sound frequencies such as binaural beats, white noise, and so on. These claim to stimulate the brain’s rhythmic patterns, creating an environment of auditory balance. “Wellness is no longer just an option,” says Devraj. “We observed a requirement, for instance, during the exam season, when we saw our music and videos being streamed. There was a huge upswing in focus and calming music.
The BriefWire