3 entities tie-up to bring comfort to the bereaved
Direct Funeral Services, Teng Ensemble and Singapore Institute of Technology come up with the world’s first music album that utilises monaural beats for grief support
[SINGAPORE] Music has long been said to bring people together.
Three very different parties – artists, academics and a funeral services company – have collaborated to produce an album. And despite coming from different professional backgrounds, the result of their work addresses the one thing humanity has in common – death.
Launched on Thursday (Aug 21), Music for Comfort is the product of a tie-up among Direct Funeral Services (DFS), Teng Ensemble and Singapore Institute of Technology (SIT). It directly addresses grief and death, which is often a taboo topic.
Jenny Tay, managing director of DFS, said it is the first music album globally that utilises monaural beats – two tones of different frequencies combined into one – for grief support.
“In many Asian cultures, it is common for many to be taught to contain their emotions, even when going through ups and downs. The typical ways of addressing grief through silence, avoidance, or clinical terms can feel heavy and inaccessible.”
Research has shown that monaural beats at gamma frequencies help with emotional processing.
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Tay, who is also the co-founder of DFS’ giving back unit, Direct Life Foundation, added that while initially conceived for funerals, the album’s therapeutic benefits extend far beyond death care, offering a valuable resource for individuals navigating other forms of emotional loss, including divorce and illness.
The production of the album took about a year, and researchers from SIT helped align the music with the various stages of grief.
On the collaboration with different stakeholders, Dr Samuel Wong, creative director of The Teng Company, said: “Each partner came from a very different world – arts, academia, and funerals – so naturally we spoke different ‘languages’. But that was also the greatest strength of the project.
“The challenge was finding a common ground where artistic expression, clinical evidence and the realities of funeral practice could meet … SIT grounded the work in evidence, Direct Funeral Services ensured it was practical and meaningful for grieving families, and Teng gave it emotional voice and resonance.”
In fact, the idea for the album was sparked after Tay attended a concert by The Teng Ensemble, where they shared about their album Music for Mindfulness, which uses binaural beats in compositions to ease anxiety.
Dr Wong said that this album is the first that Teng Ensemble has worked on that deals directly with grief.
“What makes Music for Comfort unique is not only its innovation – embedding monoaural beats into original compositions – but also its intent. It is art created not for spectacle, but for solace. Few arts projects are designed to meet people at their most vulnerable moments,” he added.
An EP album will be made publicly available for free on Spotify in the last quarter of 2025.
Tay of DFS said: “Beyond funerals, we hope to collaborate with more community and health partners to make this tool widely available as a resource for mental wellness.”
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