From the depths of despair in a parent’s life, beautiful music can be made. And this is where the award-winning children’s music duo Itty Bitty Beats comes in.
Christchurch friends and teachers Jenny Payne and Lucy Hiku (both 33), are a musical duo who write and perform songs for little Kiwis from a special place in their hearts.
In fact, the two mums happen to be the best in the country after scooping up a Vodafone New Zealand Music Award for best children’s album last year.
“Lucy and I met at music school in 2001, and we met our husbands there too,” laughs Jenny.
Fast forward more than 10 years to 2014 and the two friends realised they could take their talent for writing kids’ music to the masses.
Jenny, who has two children, Izobella (10) and Lachlan (5), and Lucy, who has a daughter, Maia (3), say Itty Bitty Beats has become a family affair. They are assisted by Jenny’s husband Rob, who produces their music, and Lucy’s husband Clayton, who makes their videos.
“Our husbands are a huge part of what we do,” Lucy says.
“Both of us have recording studios, which is quite lucky. Being mums, we don’t really have any time, so being able to do some work in the evenings or a half hour here and there, is wonderful,” Jenny adds.
But there is one song in particular that is close to both their hearts, The Last Lullaby. The women wrote and released the song in 2015 for Baby Loss Awareness month in October for parents who had lost their beloved children. Late last year they released a second song on the subject called Soaring Through Skies.
Scroll down to listen to the song
There’s a poignancy behind both songs. Jenny and Rob’s son Leo died when he was three days old after one of his kidney deteriorated, and his lungs hadn’t developed properly.
“He came along at 34 weeks. It was a horrible time,” she tells.
“The doctors eventually diagnosed it as being posterior urethral valves, which is kind of a one-in-a million chance. Unfortunately, he was never going to get better. He lived for three days, then we took him off life support. It was just horrible to make that decision, but we didn’t want him to suffer. Leo was a beautiful, stunning baby.”
During this nightmare time for the couple, they came to a mutual decision. Jenny and Rob wanted to be open about the loss of their son and to leave a legacy in his name. The grieving parents held a charity ball where they raised $19,000 to redecorate the neonatal family room at Christchurch Women’s Hospital.
“I thought I could sit here, let my life fall apart and fall into a bad place, or I could look at what this beautiful boy has brought to my world and the people he touched. I decided we could do something positive and leave a legacy for him,” she says.
Part of this openness also came through music, and Jenny and Lucy realised there was a gentle way they could reach out to other parents who had lost their children.
“When I went through what I did, I was looking for music to play for the funeral and there was just nothing that struck a chord with me.
“I’ve written a lot of music about my experience and for my child. Throughout it all Lucy was an amazing friend and we always looked at what we could do to support a cause.”
Lucy quickly expresses how writing these songs together helped the women bond.
“As an outsider to that type of grief, you don’t want to say the wrong thing or do the wrong thing. But Jenny and Rob were so generous with their experience,” Lucy says.
“We didn’t want it to be a taboo thing,” adds Jenny.
So the mums got to work and created a meaningful tribute for all grieving parents.
“It was hard to write,” Jenny admits. “I don’t think both of us have cried so much in a recording studio. We knew we’d done something beautiful.”
But the outcome was worth every tear for both women, with their music impressing audiences at home and in the UK.
“We can’t make a casserole for everyone who’s grieving, and we can’t sew angel gowns, but we can make music,” says Lucy.
“It actually helps you feel like there is something you can do for people going through this horrible loss.”
Both women share a deep bond and it’s obvious they have a passion to bring great Kiwi music to our kids. It’s something they hope to continue doing for years to come if they have their way, Lucy nods.
“It’s a really nourishing genre because we all just want what’s best for kids, we just absolutely love it!”
Words: Ciara Pratt
