TaoMix – Relaxation Through Sounds

In the mood to meditate?

Lifestyles today cram every minute with tasks and to-do’s to such a level that oftentimes people are forced to schedule in some downtime. We look for relaxing classes like yoga, Reiki, and stress-relief seminars to take the edge off, so we can go back for more. We also move to music to help bring balance to a day that has worn our wits to a weary end.

Music works wonder, and if you pick the right kind, it can be therapeutic. You could search, collect and build a playlist to soothe tired nerves. However, there is a better way to seek semblance. TaoMix by Sebastian Mourey is a neat iOS app that brings together a euphoric mix of sounds to your iPhone or iPad.

The interface is just as relaxing. Featuring a simplistic and neat appearance, the main screen is always black, offset with fine lines in clean circles sporting fun colors. Start with a clean slate, add items, and move them around to determine how loud they will render. Feel like a yoga session? Put together a few sounds that are soothing, yet stimulating to help pull you through those stretches. In the mood to meditate? Take your sound intensity down a few notches, slow the pace down, and breathe. You can even play a soothing sound that will put you to sleep at night.

TaoMix features sounds from nature, like thunderstorms, running streams, and wind. Add to these, sounds of birds, waves, and more. This customization is called an ambience. Once you create and save an ambience, the app takes over and moves it through its own evolution, so you will hear a new experience that changes randomly over time.

The minimalist design lends strongly to the overall end-result you seek to find – relaxation. No busy movement, overly bright colors or flashy icons. You simply see a neat black background upon which symbols representing sounds are displayed.

When creating an ambience, you choose a category of sound. Examples include: Water, Wind, Rain, Chimes, Human, and more. Progressively add to the first category to enhance the mix. Each sound is represented by a circle with a distinct picture and color. Move the sound circle closer to the cursor, a white ring, and the sound intensifies. Move it away and it grows faint. As a free app, you get a sound or two available to choose from within each sound category. In app purchases allow you to add more sounds to enhance your mixes.

With it simplistic display, it is soothing to use. However, it takes a few taps and experimenting to fully understand all the functions. At first, I was unable to find how to save an ambience. There is a dial with an upload and download icon, along with a power button, but it is not entirely apparent the functions they serve until you actually tap on them. Yet, as I sit here and type away, I am lulled into a sense of serenity as TaoMix brings sounds of a creek and the tweets of birds in trees from far off in the distance, close to my desk.