The rhythmic hum of escalators, the rumble of baggage carousels, and the hurried cadence of footsteps intertwine with the clipped tones of the public address system: “Boarding at Gate 18.”
Now, the UK’s busiest airport aims to amplify your experience, making it sound, well, even more like an airport.
In a move that could be interpreted as an effort to rehabilitate its image following a disruptive offsite fire in March, or simply a summer travel-season marketing initiative, Heathrow has announced the commission of a new, “mood-matching” soundscape. This ambient mix will be seamlessly looped throughout the airport’s terminals during the summer months.
According to the airport, “Music for Heathrow” is designed to evoke the “excitement and anticipation” associated with the start of a vacation, effectively jumpstarting passengers’ holidays.
“Nothing compares to the excitement of stepping foot in the airport for the start of a summer holiday, and this new soundtrack perfectly captures those feelings,” asserts Lee Boyle, Heathrow’s Terminals Director.
Regardless of its intent, the project raises questions about the necessity of additional background noise in an environment already rich with auditory stimuli – from the cries of children to the hushed farewells of travelers on their mobile phones, and the urgent final calls for tardy passengers.
Heathrow tapped Grammy-nominated “musician, multi-instrumentalist, and producer” Jordan Rakei to compose the soundtrack. The airport claims this is the first sonic composition created entirely from the sounds of an airport. However, Heathrow also revealed that the track incorporates audio elements from iconic movie scenes, including passengers tapping their feet from *Bend It Like Beckham* and the beeps of a security scanner from *Love Actually*.
The project is conceived as an homage to Brian Eno’s seminal album, *Music for Airports*, released in 1979. Eno’s work is considered a landmark in the development of ambient music, a genre designed to provide a calming influence while remaining easily ignorable.
“I spent time in every part of the airport, recording so many sounds from baggage belts to boarding calls, and used them to create something that reflects that whole pre-flight vibe,” Rakei explained.
The recording also incorporates the sounds of passport stamps, planes taking off and landing, snippets of conversation, the ‘ding’ of elevators, and the gentle flow of a water fountain – sounds that some may find triggers Autonomous Sensory Meridian Response (ASMR), a phenomenon characterized by a pleasant tingling sensation.
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