Heathrow Airport is cranking up the atmosphere this summer – quite literally – with the launch of an experimental new ambient soundtrack designed entirely from the noises of an airport.
From the hum of escalators and the thud of rolling suitcases to the distant echo of the tannoy calling, “Boarding at Gate 18,” the UK’s busiest airport will now be piping the sound of itself through its terminals.
Dubbed Music for Heathrow, the looping track was composed by Grammy-nominated artist Jordan Rakei and commissioned to “match the mood” of holidaymakers and tap into the sense of anticipation and excitement that comes with the start of a journey. The unusual sonic project will run throughout the summer season.
“Nothing compares to the excitement of stepping foot in the airport for the start of a summer holiday,” said Lee Boyle, Heathrow’s Head of Terminals. “This new soundtrack perfectly captures those feelings.”
While the airport is no stranger to noise – from last-minute boarding calls to tearful goodbyes – this curated blend of sonic elements is being marketed as a more artful, immersive version of the usual departure lounge din.
Rakei, who is known for his multi-instrumental and genre-blending style, spent time exploring Heathrow’s hidden corners, collecting audio from baggage belts, departure gates, lift dings and even the rustle of passports being stamped. These were then stitched together into a single track, overlaid with subtle musical motifs to create a sense of flow.
The composition is said to draw inspiration from Brian Eno’s iconic 1979 album Music for Airports, a milestone in ambient music that aimed to calm and reassure air passengers. Heathrow’s tribute nods to that ethos but adds a 2025 twist: incorporating clips from famous airport movie scenes, including the security scanner beeps from Love Actually and the tap-dancing travellers from Bend It Like Beckham.
The result is a hybrid of ambient composition, found sound and marketing message – a kind of sonic branding exercise that might also function as background ASMR. Heathrow hopes the recording will be “easy to ignore but satisfying to notice” – echoing the philosophy behind ambient music’s original purpose.
The timing of the campaign may be more than just coincidental. Heathrow is still working to restore its reputation after a major offsite fire disrupted services earlier this year. While the airport hasn’t directly linked the soundtrack to that incident, some may see Music for Heathrow as part of a broader summer rebrand strategy.
Others might simply question whether travellers need more airport sound, when they’re already surrounded by a cacophony of kids, coffee orders, rolling cabin bags and mobile phone farewells.
Still, the move shows Heathrow embracing an increasingly popular trend in public space design – where sound is no longer incidental but instrumental in shaping the user experience.
As Rakei puts it: “I wanted to reflect that whole pre-flight vibe – the nervous excitement, the movement, the sounds that mean you’re going somewhere. It’s music made entirely from the airport, for the airport.”
Whether it will soothe frazzled families at check-in or simply fade into the background remains to be seen. But one thing’s certain: this summer at Heathrow, the soundtrack to your holiday starts before you even reach the gate.