Like many people around the world, I binged Grey’s Anatomy like a great fan. Anything that I like, I enjoy with my utmost passion, and the famous medical series was not the exception. I gobbled it up right until the 11th season and only then did I act normal towards it (some might get why). Of course, some obsessions often lead to other obsessions and I was pleasantly surprised to come out of my Grey’s Anatomy mania with a new love: Sleeping at Last. Any good Grey’s Anatomy fan knows the series uses a vast amount of Sleeping at Last songs throughout the series and, in my opinion, those who didn’t search for more information about the artist or listen to their other songs, are clearly missing out.
Many might know about Sleeping at Last for their song “Chasing cars,” an emotional cover that was featured on Grey’s multiple times. Or, “Turning Page,” another classic of the artist featured on Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part 1. For this particular song, the artist has a thorough run through of the way it came to life on their website which I found fascinating. For me, there’s an intimate beauty when you find an artist that loves and cares for the stories they tell through their music. You can certainly find this essence when you listen to and read the lyrics composed and sung by Ryan O’Neal, the magician behind the magic. Little by little, and as more of their music was featured on Grey’s episodes and other TV and movie platforms, I found myself searching and yearning for more. If I had to choose the artist’s most essential songs, I would turn anyone towards the Atlas collection.
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The artist’s Atlas collection is a magnificent and intricate compilation of songs “based on the origins of the universe and life within it.” Divided into two parts, with a third coming soon, the artist makes use of things as vast as the elements of the universe (light, darkness, space), and other things as complicated as us humans (senses, emotions, personality types), to make songs that cater or define, sometimes in words and others in simple strings, these concepts and feelings. This is where my love for Sleeping at Last’s music came to grow. I listened to the Atlas’s compilations, with no idea of where they came from or what they, as a whole, were. I simply went through each song and found myself enchanted again and again. I remember being obsessed with “Bad blood”and “Pluto”from Atlas:1, and then becoming an entirely different person after listening to “Anger,”“Two” and “Eight.” It was at that moment that my love and respect for Ryan’s music and way of storytelling was cemented. But I was still in for a ride.
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While listening to songs like “Two” and “Eight” for the first time, I had no idea that they were inspired by the Enneagram personality types. The moment I found out about this, I lost myself looking for information about it. I was shocked and then in awe, to find that my personality type (drumroll please) was that of “Two” and “Eight.” I had loved these songs from the first listen, and after looking for information and taking an online test, I had an idea as to why. Now, of course my experience is not universal, although some have found themselves in my shoes, but I share this to further explain how and why I came to love this artist and the music he makes. You can look for an Enneagram personality test anywhere online, or can sit and listen to Atlas: Enneagram and find a song that fits you best. Ryan also has a podcast for every Enneagram song, in which he explains his creative decisions along with Enneagram Expert, Chris Heuertz.
There is an unexplained emotion, perhaps close to joy or love, in being able to enjoy music wholeheartedly, from the strings and keys of instruments, to the voices that accompany them and, of course, the lyrics that give them life. In a world of malleable everythings, uncertainties and millions of questions, there is comfort in finding mirrors and definitions in something as pure and raw as music. I believe Sleeping at Last is one of the few artists who can achieve this. Which of course, is why I’m obsessed with his songs and invite anyone to give them a listen.