During our April 17 webinar, “Parkinson's Awareness Month: A Story of Empowerment Through Music,” Martha and Company discussed their new song about living with Parkinson’s, “Slow Emotion." The song was co-written by Martha Johnson & Mark Gane (co-founders of Martha and the Muffins) and musician/songwriter Fabio Dwyer. Both Martha and Fabio have Parkinson's disease. The idea for the song was first suggested by their neurologist, Dr. Alfonso Fasano - who also plays keyboards on the song - as a means to raise awareness of the disease and to show that life and creativity doesn't end with a diagnosis.
They and the song’s backing vocalists - all of whom have Parkinson’s - provided unique insights into their Parkinson's journeys, their creative process, and the dual impact of living with Parkinson’s and working together to record the song. We also played the song along with the lyrics. The single as well as a short documentary on the making of the song by Toronto filmmaker Jason Cipparrone was released on all platforms on April 11, 2024, World Parkinson's Day.