Sometimes I'm absolutely ready for sleep, but my brain apparently isn't. Seems to happen more frequenctly actually (especially around this time of year - kids back at school, return to routines after summer, etc).

For me, I close my eyes and suddenly I'm thinking about tomorrow, replaying something from earlier, remembering something I forgot to do, or disappearing down some completely pointless train of thought.

Anyway, Quiet Mind is my attempt at making a sound for exactly that.

I did some more research on this, and how continuous noise, sound masking and low-frequency sound can affect what our attention picks up. Rather than adding melodies or obvious rhythms for the brain to follow, I again wanted to create the opposite: a dense but very smooth sound with as little useful information in it as possible.

I eventually built it around two elements:

INNER SILENCE

Broadband noise spreads energy across the frequency spectrum, helping to mask sudden sounds that might otherwise grab your attention. Its smooth, constant texture also gives a busy mind very little to actively follow.

THOUGHT DIFFUSION

Slow, overlapping tones concentrate much of their energy below 200 Hz, creating a deep wash without an obvious repeating pattern. They continually move through one another so no individual tone becomes the focus.

Together they create a sound that is deliberately difficult to follow. There's no jarring melody to remember, no beat to anticipate and very little change for your brain to keep checking.

And that's really the idea behind Quiet Mind. I can't switch your thoughts off, but I can make a sound that doesn't give them anything else to work with.

Put it on low, close your eyes and let everything become a bit less interesting for a while.

Hopefully your brain eventually gets the message.

Sleep long and sleep well, my friends.

MADE USING: Broadband noise, low-frequency MIDI tones, elongated fabric recordings, layered sine waves, softened harmonic textures and slow frequency modulation.