London Heathrow Airport (LHR) and Grammy award nominee, Jordan Rakei have collaborated to produce a new piece of music that will be played at the airport’s four terminals. The song has been created using an array of different sounds from the airport, and aims to ease the fears of nervous flyers all the while capturing the essence of the excitement of going away for the summer holidays.
Music for Heathrow
Famed musician, singer, songwriter and record producer Jordan Rakei has created a seamless looping track, titled Music for Heathrow, which uses his recordings of over 50 sounds from around the airport. This includes footsteps of those travelling, passports being stamped, and aircraft engines preparing for take-off.
Music for Heathrow also features some sounds from iconic movies, such as passengers tapping their feet in Bend It Like Beckham, the airport security scanner in Love Actually, and the aircraft in Die Another Day.
The song is a tribute to Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, that was released in 1979, and is heralded as the start of the ambient music genre, which intends to induce calmness. Both Eno and Rakei’s tracks have been designed to be listened prior to flying, and have been divided into four compositions, each of which portrays a different part of the journey through an airport.
Rakei has commented:
“Having traveled 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 honor. 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.”
Ambient Music
The ambient music genre aims to settle worries and encourage peacefulness. With Rakei’s Music for Heathrow being played in the London airport’s four terminals, the track seeks to reduce the nerves of anxious travellers and bring forth tranquillity. This addition comes soon after the launch of Heathrow Reimagined: A Better Hub for Britain, which aims to resolve issues with the airport’s current regulatory model and infrastructure.
But Rakei’s composition doesn’t only intend to soothe tension. The goal is also to provide a soundtrack that matches the excitement of going abroad during the summer season. The song has been released ahead of what Heathrow expects will be its busiest summer on record, with a quarter of a million passengers boarding outbound flights every day over the holidays.
Lee Boyle, Head of (Terminals) Services at London Heathrow Airport, has also made a statement about Rakei’s new music that will provide a relaxing backing track for the busy terminals:
“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.”
Alongside being played in Heathrow, Rakei’s song is available for download and can be listened to on YouTube.
Will you be giving Jordan Rakei’s Music for Heathrow a listen? Let us know your thoughts on the track and if you found it soothing.
