''Soothing Sounds for Baby'' (1962) is a three-volume set of ambient

electronic music Electronic music broadly is a group of music genres that employ electronic musical instruments, circuitry-based music technology and software, or general-purpose electronics (such as personal computers) in its creation. It includes both music ...

by American composer, musician, and inventor

Raymond Scott Raymond Scott (born Harry Warnow; September 10, 1908 – February 8, 1994) was an American composer, band leader, pianist and record producer. Known best in his time as a composer of production music, Scott is today regarded as an early ...

. Scott originally intended to lull infants to sleep with the music, but later generations have found value in the music for its

minimalist In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...

aspects, often comparing it to the works of

Brian Eno Brian Peter George Jean-Baptiste de la Salle Eno (, born 15 May 1948), also mononymously known as Eno, is an English musician, songwriter, record producer, visual artist, and activist. He is best known for his pioneering contributions to ambien ...

Kraftwerk Kraftwerk (, ) is a Germany, German Electronic music, electronic band formed in Düsseldorf in 1970 by Ralf Hütter and Florian Schneider. Widely considered innovators and pioneers of electronic music, Kraftwerk was among the first successful a ...

and

Tangerine Dream Tangerine Dream is a German electronic music band founded in 1967 by Edgar Froese. The group has seen many personnel changes over the years, with Froese the only constant member until his death in January 2015. The best-known lineup of the grou ...

. Originally released in collaboration with the Gesell Institute of Human Development, the volumes are split up into three age groups: Volume 1 is 1 to 6 months; Volume 2 is 6 to 12 months; and Volume 3 is 12 to 18 months. The music gets more complex with each volume. Scott created much of the music on the albums with instruments he created, such as the Electronium and the Clavivox. "Particularly on Soothing Sounds for Baby, Scott proved to be one of the first composers to merge the Brave New World of electronic sounds with a rhythmic pop sensibility." Contemparary reviews characterised the work as "skull splitting". Basta Music of Holland reissued the albums as 3 individual CDs and as a 3-LP box set in 1997. In 2017, ''Music On Vinyl'' in cooperation with Basta Music pressed a limited edition of 1,000 copies on silver-coloured vinyl.

Notes

External links

Soothing Sounds for Baby at raymondscott.com
{{Authority control Ambient albums by American artists 1962 compilation albums Children's music albums Raymond Scott albums Epic Records albums