#RSFlashback: 30 Years Ago, Deep Forest Released ‘Sweet Lullaby’

Three decades ago, the world caught hold of a song based on the traditional Baegu lullaby from the Solomon Islands called “Rorogwela” performed by Arunakwa, originally recorded by ethnomusicologist Hugo Zemp in 1970 and then released by UNESCO as part of their “Musical Sources” collection in 1973. In 1992, it became the core ingredient of French world/electronic duo Michel Sanchez and Eric Mouquet aka Deep Forest who turned that lullaby into “Sweet Lullaby.”

“Sweet Lullaby” became a massive hit across the globe reaching the Top 20 across Europe, the US and beyond. Remixes of the song pushed the track to continue to chart through 1993 and 1994. Australian TV network SBS used the song as its theme and German TV broadcasters RTL used it as their closing theme for the UEFA Champions League.

While audiences across the globe became mesmerized and sang along without understanding a single word of the song, the lyrics actually are quite haunting as they refer to a young orphan getting comforted by his older siblings after the loss of their parents.

The sadness of the sample juxtaposed with the beautiful atmosphere created by Deep Forest turned the track from feeling like a novelty to actually something substantial. Much like Enigma, Deep Forest found a way to bring mellow to the charts and their debut album Deep Forest became a platinum seller, one of the key projects of the first wave of chillout dance music that erupted in the 1990s. As a result of its popularity, the album was also heavily criticized by cultural critics who felt the duo had been accused of ethnic plagiarism.

Could we ever see the rain forest pygmies of Africa score a hit on the radio today? At the time, “Sweet Lullaby” was considered “alternative rock” or “modern rock” – getting played between tracks by Nirvana, Seal, Enya and Tori Amos, without anyone batting an eye. It’s hard to say but the success of the track may have encouraged more collaborations between European and African artists as only a couple of years later we’d have the megahit “7 Seconds” featuring Neneh Cherry and Youssou N’Dour.

The music video for the track also proved extremely popular. Directed by Indian director Tarsem Singh, the video was nominated for multiple MTV Video Music Awards.

Deep Forest continued their artistic hot streak with their second album “Boheme,” an underrated gem of the time that shifted the focus from the forests of Africa to Eastern European folk standards. This time around, they made sure to carefully document all inspirations and samples so as to avoid another blowback. While the album didn’t chart to the same level as their self-titled debut album, it proved that musicians had created a unique space, serving as a template for artists like Zero 7, Moby, Air and so many others that would follow and give us the world served on a chill platter.

While Deep Forest is now just Mouquet, his vision still honors what he set course with in 1992 with “Sweet Lullaby.” That song has its own unique history and continues to be remixed seemingly every week, giving the western world yet another mix to dance along to.

With new TikTok trends emerging every day, here’s hoping younger generations embrace “Sweet Lullaby” all over again. and perhaps this time the conversation can delve deeper and perhaps even the tribes responsible for this sleeper hit finally get compensated for a lullaby that has kept us rocking for 30 years and counting.