On April 11, 2024, Martha and Company debuted their beautiful new song Slow Emotion, in Toronto to mark World Parkinson’s Day. Although the rain was falling, spirits were high as onlookers and supporters listened to the inspiring lyrics, co-written by Martha Johnson, Mark Gane, and Fabio Dwyer.
You may recognize Martha and Mark from the band Martha and the Muffins, who previously wrote such hits as Echo Beach and Black Stations/White Stations. Fabio Dwyer is a singer-songwriter who was introduced to Martha through their neurologist. After some brainstorming and collaboration, they combined their ideas into a new project – Martha and Company was born.
One thing that makes Slow Emotion so special is that it was written, performed, and played almost entirely by people living with Parkinson’s. Both Martha and Fabio have Parkinson’s, and the song is an ode to their experiences living with it. As Martha notes “We wanted to have as many people as possible with PD involved in the recording. Fabio had already collaborated with me on writing the song and he also played guitar and bass beautifully on the track. I managed to find five people with PD who were excited about adding their voices to the song. The vibe in the studio was amazing and we were all so proud to have recorded a chorus of voices lifting everyone’s spirits higher.”
The results of this collaboration speak for itself. Everyone in attendance of the debut was touched by the performance and passion on display. Speaking with Martha about what the song means to her, she said “I’m hoping that people are moved by the song to a place of better understanding. Parkinson’s is continuously a life changing event for me. Beyond that, generally speaking, life is what you make of it and you’ll have a better time if you just slow down a little and really take it all in. I think that’s relevant to everyone.” She went on to talk about how the title, Slow Emotion, came to her years ago, and was a good fit for accepting and adapting to the changes you go through when living with Parkinson’s.