About the recording
It was recorded on the bank of the Torrente Pettorina, near Boscoverde in the Italian Dolomites. It is one of the steadiest recordings in the library: its level barely moves from one minute to the next.
River sound has more low end than rain and fewer separate drops, so it tends to sound rounder and less busy. Our guide to river sounds and rain sounds goes into the difference.
Pair it with
In the app you can layer up to five sounds and set each one’s level. These go well with a slow river:
- Crickets. Crickets on the bank: a summer night by the water.
- An open fire. A cabin by the river with the stove lit.
- Rain on a window. Rain falling on the river, and on the window above it.
In Lalai’s sleep stories
Lalai’s hour-long stories have their own sounds under the voice. You’ll hear this kind of sound in:
- Houseboat on the Slow River: water along the hull, then slow lapping beside the cabin
- The Summer Farm on Bell Mountain: a small mountain brook running past the door all night
All night, with the screen off
A browser tab usually stops playing when your phone locks or the tab goes to sleep. In the Lalai app, the full 7-minute recording keeps playing with the screen off and fades out on the timer. You can layer up to five sounds, put slow original music underneath, and keep everything on your phone for nights with no signal.
Free to try for seven nights. A slow river comes with a subscription, $24 a year or $3 a month, and new subscribers get seven nights free. The mixer, the timer and a free sound in every category are free for good. No ads, no account, no analytics.
Listening safely
- Start low. Set your device volume low before you press play, and turn it up only as far as you need. The loops here are mastered quietly on purpose.
- Not too close. A phone on the bedside table is closer to your ear than it seems. Avoid falling asleep in earphones at volume.
- Use the timer. It fades the sound out rather than stopping it dead, so the quiet arrives gradually.
Lalai is for relaxation and enjoyment. We don’t claim that this or any sound changes how you sleep, and if poor sleep goes on for weeks, please see a doctor. More on protecting your hearing.
