Marsha Swanson has released her new single “Something Real,” out now, marking the launch of TroubleChutes, a creative emotional literacy project built from many years of work with children.

Rooted in music, storytelling and illustration, TroubleChutes explores how songs can help children understand and express emotions. The themes woven through the songs, friendship, family and the wider emotional world, come from Swanson’s long standing psychologically informed practice with children and families across therapeutic and educational settings. Music, lyrics and visual storytelling are designed to work together, giving children different ways into their own thoughts and feelings, with room for further discussion, singing and performance.

Alongside the music, the project includes an educational resource published by Karnac Books and a completed television pilot filmed with St Mary’s Hampton CE Primary School, now 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,” says Swanson.

The release marks Swanson’s first new music since the album Near Life Experience and the single Like an Angel. Though TroubleChutes has been written with children in mind, it carries the same reflective songwriting that has always defined her work, and speaks just as easily to adult listeners.

“I’ve never seen the need for a divide between adult and children’s music,” says Swanson. “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 exactly the same artistic integrity; only the perspective changes.”

“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, provided additional production and mastering.

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 worked alongside Swanson at Kids Company and later at Oasis Charitable Trust, has described her as immensely talented, praising her analytic and practical skills and her gift for working creatively with children facing complex emotional issues.

The release of “Something Real” marks the first public introduction to the wider TroubleChutes project. A forthcoming music video, drawing on footage from the pilot, will extend the world of TroubleChutes following the single’s release.