When you’re working on a computer, trying to concentrate on the task in hand, background noise can be a real distraction. Whether it’s a busy office, TV, music, or just other people moving around your home, it’s all too easy for your mood to be broken. Again, and again, and again.

Noizio is a free Mac app which can drown out the regular background sounds with something more soothing, ambient soundscapes which help you ignore any irritations and focus on what you really want to do.

The app offers 10 soundscapes: October Rain, Paris Cafe, Thunderstorm, Campfire, Winter Wind, Sea Waves, River Stream, Summer Night, Sunny Day, Deep Space.

If this isn’t enough then you can mix your preferred soundscapes, giving each one a separate volume level, until you produce the feel and atmosphere you’re after.

Mix individual soundscapes to create your own custom background noise

Whatever you choose, the sounds aren’t just an endless identical repeats of the same fixed sample. Noizio generates new ingredients for the mix you’ve selected each time, looping them seamlessly, so they can be left running in the background without ever providing any distractions.

If you really like the app then you can even have Noizio start when you log in, leaving nothing more to do: your favourite soundscapes will always be playing when you need them. (Although if you do need to turn them off, it only takes a couple of clicks.)

This kind of application won’t work for everyone, but Noizio does give you plenty of choice and control, and as it’s entirely free (no ads or other issues) there’s no penalty in giving it a try.

And if you need something similar for Windows, check out Atmosphere Lite, a free app which blends rain, wind, stream, ocean and other sounds to generate whatever soundscape works for you.