Flying Saucer Attack works great as lullabye/child soporific - other albums with white noise to put kids to sleep?

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Our 3-month-old son drops off in a heartbeat when I play side one of a Telefunken/FSA album. We have a CD with white noise - sounds of washing machines, heartbeats, rain - specifically meant to put kids to sleep. It works. I suspect that these sounds are much more effective than lambies-running-in-meadows and cradles-dropping-from-trees lullabyes. What other examples of "white-noisey" albums come to mind? GYBE?

― Maria Danielson, Monday, 24 March 2003 15:22 (twenty-three years ago)

I was so betting this was a Matt Maxwell thread. But it isn't and I don't recognize your name, so welcome Maria. :-)

I have no kid, but I suspect that if Main and Lull albums weren't so goddamn creepy they'd do the trick.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Monday, 24 March 2003 15:24 (twenty-three years ago)

stars of the lid knocks me out cold...i'm 28...so results may vary

― ddb, Monday, 24 March 2003 15:40 (twenty-three years ago)

Dunno but even today the sound of a hairdryer knocks me right out as it always has done.

― dog latin (dog latin), Monday, 24 March 2003 15:44 (twenty-three years ago)

Problem with falling asleep to GYBE is that the volume on the first two albums is all over the place. When things get lound on that album they get loud to different rates.
The ep is fairly even at least.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 24 March 2003 15:49 (twenty-three years ago)

nurse with wound's 'soliloquy for lilith' was composed specifically to put a young stapleton child to sleep, and it works on me too. beautiful, deep, earthy drones... highly recommended.

i too enjoy stars of the lid, as well as a lot of other droney bands when drifting into dreamland. windy and carl are pretty great for this purpose too. some pelt records are good but they can get pretty noisy and give you nightmares.

― j fail (cenotaph), Monday, 24 March 2003 15:50 (twenty-three years ago)

I've got Raymond Scott's 'Soothing sounds for baby' set - early electronica designed to soothe and stimulate the little mind. Made in the early 60s, could almost be Kraftwerk at points.

It's broken down into 3 records, for 0-6 months, 6-12 months and 12-18 months. Unfortunately I bought it too late to try out the first disc on my son, which is a pity as that's obviously when their sleep patterns are at the most random and you need a bit of sonic assistance. He was about 6 or 7 months when I tried it out, and to be honest, I got into it more than him. Soothing sounds for daddy.

― James Ball (James Ball), Monday, 24 March 2003 16:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Well, what you're describing doesn't sound like it's white noise at all?

So to veer slightly off elsewhere, have you tried using some of Robert Rich's music? It's ambient. I quite like the Trances and Drones albums.
Apparently he's done an 8hour audioDVD recently that's meant to be slept to.

― Øystein Holm-Olsen (Øystein H-O), Monday, 24 March 2003 17:06 (twenty-three years ago)

there was a v nice discussion on drone a while back abt drone music for babies.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 24 March 2003 17:16 (twenty-three years ago)

That Keith Fullerton Whitman album would probably do the trick.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Monday, 24 March 2003 17:31 (twenty-three years ago)

a vacuum cleaner works too

― keith (keithmcl), Monday, 24 March 2003 17:32 (twenty-three years ago)

Get 'em used to Merzbow young, I suspect the whole world will sound like that any second now.

― matt riedl (veal), Monday, 24 March 2003 18:36 (twenty-three years ago)

Brian Eno : Neroli should work
and Motion : Dust
and Senking : Silencer

but Soliloquy for Lilith creeps me out. Stapleton made this for CHILDREN?!

― Wintermute (Wintermute), Monday, 24 March 2003 18:56 (twenty-three years ago)

well, for his children. and if stapleton's your dad you're probably going to be a bit odd yourself.

― j fail (cenotaph), Monday, 24 March 2003 19:00 (twenty-three years ago)

FSA. Really? We're still looking for "the" record to put my second daughter to sleep with, she finds it more important to lie in my arms for quick results. With my first daughter Dots & Loops always did the trick (all those ba-ba's of course), followed by Pole 3 and Gentle Waves. not exactly white noise though. ;)

― Omar (Omar), Monday, 24 March 2003 21:06 (twenty-three years ago)

Aphex Trin SAW 85-92 should work well.

― Mr Noodles (Mr Noodles), Monday, 24 March 2003 21:17 (twenty-three years ago)

roy montgomery's "scenes from the south island"

― electric sound of jim (electricsound), Monday, 24 March 2003 22:53 (twenty-three years ago)

_Scenes From the South Island_ could kinda work, but you'd have to play it pretty low, 'specially for "A Noreaster Head On." Some of the other tracks can be pretty shrill, too.

My son doesn't really like any of my music, unfortunately. Though he does seem to respond to _Swordfishtrombones_/_Rain Dogs_-era Tom Waits. Think it's the clanky percussion.

― Matt Maxwell (Matt M.), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 05:23 (twenty-three years ago)

i think it's easy to associate drone with music to fall asleep to, but there are certainly other things you can play. the other night i fell asleep to 'elpmas' by moondog, which was great. i fell asleep before making it to the last track, which is the "drone" track (it sounds like stars of the lid).
i watched a friend fall asleep to man is the bastard once. at a low volume, it actually turned into a low, rumbling but active drone.

other good music to fall asleep to:
low, especially their earlier, quieter records
rafael toral - "wave field"

― j fail (cenotaph), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 14:38 (twenty-three years ago)

Mr Noodles = spot on, Selected Ambient works put me to sleep in a shot the other day, can't see why it wouldn't work on t'baby.

― chris (chris), Tuesday, 25 March 2003 16:16 (twenty-three years ago)

seven years pass...

great thread!

― by another name (amateurist), Saturday, 7 August 2010 07:30 (fifteen years ago)

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