Soothing Sounds for Baby

In 1962, pioneer American electronic-music composer Raymond Scott released Soothing Sounds for Baby, three records of ambient electronic music designed to lull babies to sleep. Each record targeted a different age group—one to six, six to twelve, and twelve to eighteen months—the music getting more complex with each volume.

In conjunction with our exhibition, Duty of Care, Madeleine Cocolas and Joseph Burgess present compositions inspired by the idea of therapeutic music. Cocolass’s collage soundscape will incorporate field recordings, whale song, breathing, vintage nursery rhymes, binaural beats, the voice of Sigmund Freud, and more. Burgess’s quadrophonic composition will draw on Scott’s three-part generative structure and incorporate modular synths, live strings, and plunderphonics.

Madeleine Cocolas is a Meanjin/Brisbane–based composer who creates post classical and ambient instrumental music. Her work moves between lush soundscapes to experimental electronics, field recordings and solo piano, and her expansive and rich harmonic textures stake out territory at the heart of contemporary electronic music. Released by Room40, her album Spectral garnered positive notices from Pitchfork, The Wire, and Electronic Sound, and featured on Bandcamp’s Album of the Day.

Joseph Burgess's (aka Unregistered Master Builder) creative practice rests at the axis between textiles, motion and sound. Joseph has contributed to projects across Europe, North-America, the Middle-East and Australia. Most recently deploying projects with Atelier Sisu (AU) and Barcelona-based Onion Labs (ES) as an animator and sound artist. Currently residing in Meanjin, Joseph is a director of KEPK and has focused on curating long-form durational sound projects and experimental showcases. Joseph is currently undertaking a Master’s by research exploring the interface between romantic-era technology and the absence of sound in modern-carpet making.