BDSM Sessions: The Ritual. Music Designed to Play as You Play

BDSM Sessions: The Ritual is the Marquis de Mayfair's first album: nine pieces of music written to be played during a scene, in the order a scene runs. It lasts 41 minutes and 45 seconds, it was released on 4 November 2026, and it is on Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon Music, YouTube Music and Deezer to stream, in the iTunes Store to buy, and on vinyl.

Stream on SpotifyApple MusicAmazon MusicYouTube MusicDeezerBuy the album

Buy the album on vinyl · £59.99
12-inch LP, made to order: allow about 4 weeks before dispatch.

Why a scene wants its own music

The Marquis has a rule about telephones in the playroom, and it is a short one. Yet somebody always ends up reaching for a screen, usually with one hand occupied, because the playlist has wandered off into something bright and cheerful at exactly the wrong moment.

A scene has a shape: an arrival, a slow beginning, a height, and a gentle way back. The Ritual was written in that order. The music changes when the evening does, so you may press play as the door closes and not think about it again until the blanket comes out.

The nine tracks, in the order of an evening

1. Red Room Door (6:23). The threshold. The door closes, the lights go down and the rest of the world is dismissed.
2. Prepare (2:16). Two minutes to lay everything out: the cuffs, the limits, the stop word said aloud.
3. The Ritual (3:59). The first instruction. Slow, deliberate and a little ceremonial, which is the point.
4. Subterranean Pulse (7:56). The long one. Nearly eight minutes to settle into, and nothing in it to break your concentration.
5. Inevitability (3:39). The pace gathers. You both know where the evening is going.
6. Rush (4:23). The height of it.
7. Permission (3:34). Asked for, and granted.
8. Sub Space (5:59). Weightless. Say very little and let it play.
9. Aftercare (3:29). A blanket, a glass of water, a hand on the shoulder. The most important three minutes of the evening.

How to use it

1. Start it before you begin. Press play as the door closes, then put the telephone out of reach.
2. Use a speaker. A telephone on a bedside table sounds like one.
3. Keep it quieter than you think. A stop word must never have to compete with the music. If you would have to raise your voice to be heard, turn it down.
4. Avoid the adverts. A free Spotify account will interrupt you at the worst possible moment. Use a paid account, or buy the album and own it.
5. Let Aftercare finish. The last track is three and a half minutes long for a reason.

For hosts and DJs

Play parties and dungeon evenings want music that fills a silence without asking for attention. Loop the album, or keep Subterranean Pulse and Sub Space for the long hours. DJs may use it as a warm-up, a closing arc or a bed beneath a set: buy the album for your library, or add it to a playlist. For anything bespoke, write to marquis@marquisdemayfair.com.

Stream on SpotifyRead the track notesBuy on vinyl

Music for consenting adults.

Also by the Marquis

The Fully Illustrated Spreader Bar BibleThirteen positions, painted and explained. On Amazon.The Erotic Map of Great BritainSixty-five true stories of scandal, each at a place you can visit.