If you're a parent of a toddler or pre-teen, you basically have two choices when it comes to music. Either you listen to chart music and cringe inwardly when your little ones innocently start singing along with inappropriate lyrics, or you drive yourself round the bend listening to mind-numbing nursery rhyme type CDs. Well, it seems that a new option is becoming more widely available - child-oriented music that is good enough that parents will be listening to it even when the kids aren't about !
I recently posted my review of Nick Cope's What Colour Is Your T-shirt? CD and was pleased to discover a kids' CD that sounded like "real" music, but when Zeamu Music sent through their CD for us to check out, I discovered that they've gone one better - I've been playing this loads with or without the kids because it's so upbeat and boppy that it always puts me in a good mood.
Here's one of the tracks - OMG - on youtube to give you an idea. I guarantee you'll be tapping your pen on the desk and bopping in your seat !
You could play it in a nightclub and I bet half of the dancers wouldn't even realise it was from a kids' CD ! It sounds like real, grown-up music - good real, grown-up music at that - so I wasn't really surprised to see the big names linked to the project when I clicked through for more information. The creators explain : "The album Zeamu Music consists of 14 eclectic upbeat, dance-leaning pop and indie songs with a sprinkle of R&B and rock, written and produced by, amongst others, Grammy nominated Owen Parker (James Morrison, Rebecca Ferguson, Annie Lennox, Girls Aloud), Casper & Jonas (Damon Albarn, Gorillaz, Beth Orton, Keith Levene of The Clash, Noel Gallagher) Jimi Ashmore (Star Sailor, So Solid, Sugababes) Lee Gretton (Ads for ITV, MTV, Sky, Olympics 2012) and Jonathan Pilcher (Block Party, Super Furry Animals)." Wow !
Similarly, I wasn't really surprised, but I was impressed, to learn that the music was created by real parents - no doubt sick to death of CBeebies type songs or Wheels on the Bus rehashes ! The press release explains : "Zeamu Music Ltd was set up by ‘Mumpreneurs’, Barbara Bishop (40) and Fiona Case (41), together with Creative Director, Simon Case (43) who were inspired to set up the music company to bridge the gap in children’s music by providing authentic, quality mainstream pop music that children could relate to, is age appropriate yet sophisticated enough to put the magic back into music. “We all love music and our idea was born out of being parents wanting to provide fresh, innocent and fun music for our kids that they can identify with and take ownership of”, said Barbara."
I've listened to a lot of kiddie-oriented CD's in my time, but this is the first one that actually makes me want to get up and dance - actually, we do, quite frequently, doing crazy dancing in the front room because I figure it's got to be as good as zumba and can count towards my "get fit" New Year's resolution ! When you actually take the time to listen to the lyrics, they're very well written too though, dealing with themes such as bullying and being scared of the dark, alongside more carefree topics like summer holidays and best friends. My personal fave is Doing the Robot which deals with how embarrassing it is when your parents hit the dance floor at weddings !
If the words "kids' music" have you inwardly groaning, this is undoubtedly the CD you need to change your mind. And if you've had a listen and are hooked, you might like to know that all the lyrics are available as printable song sheets on the Zeamu website, alongside colouring sheets when everyone needs to calm down again after all that dancing ! Altogether now ... "Got my girls to my left (hey!), My brothers to my right (ho!),
Put your hands in the air, Gonna have a good time, O. M. G. It’s the weekend!"
star rating : 4.5/5
RRP : £10.99
for more information : www.zeamumusic.com
Disclosure : We received a CD in order to write an honest review.
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These sound fantastic, what a great idea. And like you say loads better than the kids singing along to chart music with inappropriate lyrics.
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