Raymond Scott’s early electronic masterpiece Soothing Sounds For Baby reissued on vinyl

Kraftwerk for kiddies, ambient for adults.

One of the 20th century’s great electronic music innovators, Raymond Scott’s astonishing 1963 record Soothing Sounds For Baby to be reissued on vinyl in its entirety.

Made using an Ondioline – a precursor of the sysnthesizer made popular by Jean-Jaqcues Perrey – home-made rhythm and tone generators and pioneering tape echo techniques, the project was designed as a series of somnambulant “aural toys” to help relax young children. Split into three volumes by age group (1-6 months, 6-12 months, and 12-18 months) the rhythms were intended to be “pleasantly stimulating… and quieting.”

To adults and contemporary ears however, the music provides a fascinating insight into early electronica, a precursor to Kraftwerk, Brain Eno and minimalists like Steve Reich and Philip Glass.

An accidental proto-ambient masterpiece, the complete three-volume set of Soothing Sounds For Baby has been reissued on silver vinyl in a limited edition of 1000 copies by Music On Vinyl, in collaboration with Basta Music.

Listen to the extraordinary recording below:

As well as Soothing Sounds For Baby, Raymond Scott’s seminal Manhattan Research Inc is also set for a triple vinyl release, collecting over two hours of pioneering electronic music experiments that span musique concrète, Radiophonic Workshop-esque sci-fi scores and some of the first TV & radio adverts to contain electronic music.

Find out more about both releases here.