By Tom Achebe
It isn't the rain itself. It's what the rain covers up. On steady sound, and why we record ours on location.
A quiet room is rarely quiet. A car door, a pipe, a neighbour's footsteps: each one is small, but each one is a surprise, and surprises are what pull you up out of light sleep.
Steady beats silent
Rain is loud enough to cover those small sounds, and steady enough that your brain stops listening to it within a few minutes. That's the whole trick.
The best sleep sound is one you stop noticing.
Why we don't loop
Short loops repeat, and repetition is something your ear catches even half asleep. So every sound in Dusk is a long recording, made on location, and fades out once you're asleep.
