The best Hong Kong events in June 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Heathrow has turned airport noises into music. Here's why
Heathrow Airport has introduced a new ASMR music track, created by musician Jordan Rakei, designed to help ease passenger nerves before flights. The track is composed of more than 50 sounds recorded within the airport, such as travellers ' footsteps, passport stamps, and aircraft engine hums. Designed to loop, the music is being played across all four of Heathrow's terminals and is also available for passengers to download. Rakei's creation pays tribute to Brian Eno 's 1979 album Music For Airports, which is credited with launching the ambient music genre. The initiative comes as Heathrow anticipates its busiest summer on record, with a quarter of a million passengers expected to board outbound flights daily.
The Independent
3 days ago
- The Independent
Heathrow Airport in bid to cure nervous flyers with ASMR and engine music track
Passengers flying from Heathrow Airport this summer can now listen listen to a new piece of music created to ease nerves before take-off. The new ASMR experience, compiled by musician, producer and Grammy award-nominee Jordan Rakei, was made entirely from using sounds of the airport. More than 50 sounds were recorded, such as travellers' footsteps, passports being stamped, public address announcements and the hum of aircraft engines. It is a tribute to Brian Eno's 1979 album Music For Airports, which is credited with launching the ambient music genre. The track – which is designed to loop – is being played inside Heathrow's four terminals and is available to download. Rakei said: 'Having travelled all over the world for my music and spent a huge amount of time in airports, I've always loved that buzz that comes with the excitement and anticipation of travel. 'So, getting the chance to turn Heathrow's many sounds into music was an honour. '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. 'It's all about building suspense and setting the mood for wherever you're headed on your summer holiday.' Heathrow expects this summer will be its busiest on record, with a quarter of a million passengers boarding outbound flights each day. The airport's director of services, Lee Boyle, said: '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. 'We're excited to have Jordan on board to create this one-of-a-kind soundtrack, sampling so many real life sounds from everything that passengers experience during their time at Heathrow. 'As the best-connected airport in the world, Heathrow is where countless summer holidays begin, and we hope tuning in will be the perfect start to our passengers' well-deserved summer breaks.'
Telegraph
3 days ago
- Telegraph
Heathrow to blast soundtrack of jet engines and beeping scanners all summer
Passengers flying from Heathrow this summer will be subjected to a non-stop soundtrack of roaring aircraft engines, tannoy announcements and beeping security scanners. The four-minute loop, created entirely from more than 50 sounds sampled from the airport's terminals and runways, began playing on Tuesday and is due to run until the end of August. Also featured on the track are recordings of passenger footsteps, passports being stamped, bags hitting the luggage carousel and 'dings' from lifts and tannoys. Other noises, including a jet engine firing up, a baggage conveyor siren and a plane taking off, were passed through synthesisers to create the soundscape, which is punctuated by passenger announcements and radio chatter between pilots and the control tower. While music derived from the cacophony of a busy airport might seem to be of dubious appeal to passengers stuck in security queues or marooned after cancellations, Heathrow said it will 'loop seamlessly and will be played throughout the terminals this summer'. Ode to Brian Eno The gurgle of a water fountain has also been included for 'ambience and ASMR', Heathrow said, referring to the autonomous sensory meridian response, where the brain creates a feeling of tingling or euphoria. Composed by Grammy-nominated musician and producer Jordan Rakei and named Music for Heathrow, the track is intended to evoke 'the excitement and anticipation at the start of a summer holiday,' while helping to 'diffuse any pre-holiday jitters'. Heathrow said it is also an ode to Brian Eno's 1979 album Music for Airports, which is credited with launching the ambient music genre and also designed to be listened to ahead of a flight. Lee Boyle, director of services at Heathrow, said: 'We hope tuning in will be the perfect start to our passengers' well-deserved summer breaks.' Mr Rakei, a New Zealander who in the past year has appeared at the Royal Albert Hall, Sydney Opera House and Glastonbury Festival, made his recordings over the course of a day last month after being granted access to all parts of Heathrow. He said that the track is intended to build suspense and set the mood for passengers as it follows the four stages of a journey from check-in to take-off. A spokesman for the airport, which expects to handle 250,000 passengers a day over the summer, declined to say how much Mr Rakei had been paid for the commission. Heathrow under fire Thomas Woldbye, chief executive of Heathrow, said last month that punctuality had improved to the best level amongst European hubs. However, disruption has flared up recently following French air traffic control strikes, bad weather in Europe and the conflict with Iran. Meanwhile, Mr Woldbye has come under fire after it emerged he slept through the first seven hours of the airport's shutdown earlier this year because his phone was switched to silent mode. Heathrow's airlines, including British Airways and Virgin Atlantic, have also stepped up criticism of the airport's charges, saying they are the highest in the world and not justifiable based on the standards of service it provides to passengers.
