Michael C. Bell

Michael C. Bell has never been a good sleeper. Not at night, anyway. His parents denied
him sugar and caffeine, scary movies and late night snacks, (for a while), but this only made
him hungry, never sleepy. Then one day, they moved the piano into his Kentucky
bedroom. Michael spent hours playing softly in the dark, feeling his way across the keys
until he learned to make the piano speak. Soon piano wasn’t enough though, and he
needed more voices, other voices. He needed strings and horns, woodwinds and
percussion to give voice to all he heard in the dark, while others were sleeping.

Michael played in bands, co-wrote with friends, laid down tracks using multiple tape
recorders. He dreamed of being in a rock band, but when people heard his original music,
they didn’t think of rock. They almost always thought of movie music. Some people would
cry. Others would say it made them think about someone they loved, but hadn’t seen for
awhile, maybe would never see again in this life. Michael married and had children, got a
great job, moved to a fabulous city, but somehow, it wasn’t enough. He still couldn’t sleep.
The music still wouldn’t let him. When he found the technology of music had advanced
enough to put a complete orchestra of sampled instruments at his fingertips, he began
composing again.

One day, Michael’s sister called. At three and a half, her son, Ethan, had never been a
good sleeper. She called to tell Michael that she’d been playing his music for Ethan at
bedtime and that it was the only thing she’d found that helped him relax enough to fall
asleep. And so, In the Stillness was born: an instrumental project designed to bring rest to
the weary, clarity to the rushed, and comfort to the over-worked. Michael’s insomnia is now
your non-pharmacological sleep aid. This disc has no harmful side effects.