Guide
Marsha Swanson has released her new single “Something Real,” out now and marking the launch of TroubleChutes, a creative emotional literacy project built from years of work with children. The project draws on music, storytelling, illustration and open discussion to help children recognise and express their emotions through creative exploration.
The Emotional World Behind the Songs
The songs explore friendships, family relationships and the wider emotional lives of children, shaped by Swanson’s long history of psychologically informed creative practice across therapeutic and educational settings. TroubleChutes brings together original music, lyrics, illustration and visual storytelling, with each element reflecting the same emotional tone so children have multiple ways into their own thoughts and feelings. These can then be explored further through conversation, singing and performance.
More Than Music
The project extends beyond the songs themselves. It includes an educational resource published by Karnac Books, alongside a completed television pilot made in collaboration with St Mary’s Hampton CE Primary School, currently being pitched to broadcasters.
“At the heart of TroubleChutes is the idea that music can bypass language, allowing emotional truth to be felt, whilst words can help name those feelings,” Swanson says.
Swanson’s Return to New Music
“Something Real” is Swanson’s first new release since her album Near Life Experience and the single that followed it, Like an Angel. Though TroubleChutes was created with children in mind, the music holds onto the same reflective songwriting that has defined her work throughout her career, and speaks just as clearly to adult listeners.
“I’ve never seen the need for a divide between adult and children’s music,” Swanson says. “Children experience the same emotional truths as adults, love, loss, fear, friendship and hope. They simply encounter them through a different stage of life. The music is written, recorded and performed with the same care and honesty; only the perspective changes.”
Collaborators on the Single
“Something Real” features input from Henry Thomas, the musician, presenter and producer best known for hosting Rockschool, who also appears in the pilot in his first educational presenting role since the original series. British producer Stuart Epps, known for his work with Elton John, Led Zeppelin and Chris Rea, handled additional production and mastering.
What Others Are Saying
Susie Orbach says: “Music expresses our longings, our sorrows, our sadnesses and our hopes. Rarely does it nudge us into helping us change ways of being that enhance our experience. Marsha’s work does exactly that. She brings emotional literacy to songs whilst warming our hearts.”
Brett Kahr adds: “Marsha Swanson and her team deserve admiration for showing that music provides pleasure but can also help heal pain. This project will save many broken souls.”
Camila Batmanghelidjh, who previously worked alongside Swanson at Kids Company and later at Oasis Charitable Trust, called her “immensely talented,” with “great analytic and practical skills,” and praised the way she works creatively with children facing complex emotional difficulties.
What Comes Next
“Something Real” is the first public introduction to the wider TroubleChutes project. A music video will follow, weaving in footage from the pilot to extend the visual world Swanson has built around the songs.
Listen To “Something Real” By Marsha Swanson
- “I Had No Room to Dream” Cloud Opens Up on the Pain Behind ‘Nobody’s Dreaming’ - September 8, 2026
- Marsha Swanson, “Something Real” – New Music - August 6, 2026
- Julia Thomsen and Raphael Beaudon, “Meet You In Nottinghill” – New Music - August 6, 2026
