Music to Fall Asleep: The 8 Best Albums to Relax

Slow music that exudes calm – a proven way to slow down and fall asleep. Introducing streaming albums (ambient, jazz, film music, classical) on Spotify, Apple Music and Amazon Music that are chilled from start to finish.

For each album I give a specific song as a tip that reflects the overall mood well. This way you can quickly find out whether you like the suggestion.

Brian Eno – Ambient 1: Music for Airports (1978)

“Ambient” is the name of a style of music that attaches particular importance to atmosphere – and therefore moves melody and rhythm into the background. Perhaps the most important album in the genre is Brian Eno’s sixth studio album. Play tip: “1/1”

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Drill & the Club of Gore – Sunset Mission (2000)

The band Bohren & der Club of Gore comes from Mülheim an der Ruhr and has its origins in the heavy metal and hardcore scene. She is best known for a series of albums that define the dark jazz genre. Saxophone, double bass and drums are used – just like in jazz – but the tempo is extremely slowed down, the mood somber and melancholic. Play tip: “On Demon Wings”

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Charlie Haden – Nocturne (2001)

In 2002, Charlie Haden and Gonzalo Rubalcaba’s Nocturne won the Grammy for Best Latin Jazz Album. It may be that this casual and romantically beautiful record is hastily dismissed as “candlelight dinner music” – but that would not be correct. There’s more to it. Play tip: “Tres Palabras (Three Words)”

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Thomas Köner – Permafrost (2010)

Is that still music – or is it just droning noises? The album “Permafrost” by Thomas Köner is practically devoid of the melody and structure that is otherwise found. A white-grey maelstrom of abstract sounds that are mysteriously layered on top of each other. Not necessarily immediately accessible, but gets better with every listen. Play tip: “serac”

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Max Richter – Sleep (2015)

The name of the work can be taken literally: “Sleep” by Max Richter (listen on Spotify) has a total length of almost 8.5 hours. Yes, exactly, the “album” is so long that you can start it in the evening, let it ripple through the night and still hear the last sounds when you wake up. “It’s an eight-hour lullaby,” says Max Richter about his composition, which was created in collaboration with the American neuroscientist David Eagleman. The result is fabulous and a masterpiece of classical music. Also suitable for babies and small children. Play tip: “Dream 13”

The much shorter version of “Sleep” is called “From Sleep”:

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Trigg & Gusset – Adagio for the Blue (2015)

With Adagio for the Blue, the two Dutch musicians “Trigg” (Bart Knol; keyboards, beats, synths and samples) and “Gusset” (Erik van Geer; tenor saxophone, bass clarinet) have presented a jazz album that is at times reminiscent of film music. Very nice, even when driving through the city at night. Play tip: “The Vault”

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Kammarheit – Thronal (2000)

The musician Pär Boström comes from Sweden. His project Kammarheit stands for “Dark Ambient”, a genre with an extremely dark mood. The album “Thronal” sounds like the soundtrack to an endless fall into a black fissure. Play tip: “Before It Was Known As Sleep”.

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Loscil – Clara (2021)

Scott Morgan from Vancouver (Canada) produces excellent electronic music as “Loscil”. The ambient album “Clara” is already his fourteenth work. “Despite their limited palette, the compositions convey a sense of infinity, swelling and swimming through luminous depths,” explains the accompanying press release. There is nothing to add. Play tip: “stella”

Go to the album on Amazon Music Go to the album on Apple Music

Other tips: loudness, white noise, dub techno and lo-fi

When music is played softly, it often sounds “thin” – somehow the substance is missing. This has to do with our hearing, because we humans perceive low frequencies (bass) and trebles weaker at low volume. What helps here is the “aurally correct volume equalization”, which is activated with the loudness button on amplifiers. Some apps also often have a configuration called. in the equalizer settings loudness to find. It moderately boosts bass and treble so that songs appear full and rich even at low volumes. Some people swear by it “White Noise” (White noise). This is a monotonous noise in which all frequency components sound about the same loud: It hisses as if no radio station was tuned in. Variants of these are the slightly lower tuned ones pink noise and Brown Noise. The noise is said to help with tinnitus and calm the mind. You can try out white, pink and brown noise either as a stream or with an online noise generator like Mynoise.net. Music genres based on beats and loops (repeat) offer a little more drive than the above suggestions. you enter comfortable pace in front of which it concentrates, for example work on the computer or study for exams leaves. Are interesting about dub techno (Techno, but without excitement) or also lo fi (relaxed hip-hop beats). There are numerous playlists available from music streaming providers for both genres. My personal picks are two albums: Yagya – Sleepygirls (Dub Techno) and Don Philippe – Hour of Shadow (Lo-Fi).

Good night.