UK. London Heathrow Airport is featuring the music of Jordan Rakei throughout its terminals as part of its summer holiday campaign.
The collaboration debuts the first-ever original track composed entirely using sounds recorded within the airport, evoking the feeling of summer holiday travel.
Inspired by Brian Eno’s popular 1979 album Music for Airports, which helped define ambient music, Music for Heathrow is designed to enhance the passenger experience ahead of departure.
Rakei was given exclusive access to Heathrow’s airfield, baggage systems and passenger terminals, allowing him to collect 50 authentic sounds to curate this track.
He captured the complete passenger journey, blending sounds such as footsteps, tannoy announcements and the hum of aircraft engines preparing for takeoff.
The track is divided into four compositions that follow the passenger journey, in line with Eno’s original format. Sounds of passport stamping and baggage handling were used for percussion. A water fountain provided ambience and ASMR, while a jet engine and a baggage control siren were reimagined as soft synthesiser.
Rakei’s music is designed to play on a seamless loop and will be featured across Heathrow’s terminals this summer.
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.”
Best known for tracks such as Borderline and Midnight Mischief, the critically acclaimed musician recently became the first artist in residence at Abbey Road Studios.
Bringing Heathrow’s film cameos to life, the track features ambient echoes of cinematic moments. These include the tapping of feet at a Terminal 2 gate (Bend It Like Beckham), the beeps of a security scanner in Terminal 3 (Love Actually), and the engine roar on the tarmac where Die Another Day was filmed.
The seasonal campaign coincides with Heathrow’s busiest travel period, as the airport prepares to welcome record summer crowds, with 250,000 passengers expected to depart each day.
The airport connects travellers to more than 230 global destinations. While New York and Dubai continue to be popular, destinations such as Barbados, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Italy, Greece, Slovenia and Florida have emerged as top holiday picks this summer.
Heathrow Head of Terminals (Services) Lee Boyle added, “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.”
In addition to Rakei’s track, the airport will also host live music performances every Friday throughout July, featuring artists such as The Cash Cows and the Urban Cellist.
The sounds used in Music for Heathrow are:
- Siren from baggage control, made into a soft synthesiser
- Tannoy announcement ‘ding dong’
- A plane taking off, sampled and turned into an arpeggiated synth
- Low rumble from a plane starting up its engine, sampled and turned into a bass instrument
- Ambient background noise from announcements, chatter and more
- Lift ding
- Footsteps walking through Arrivals
- Water fountain for ambience and ASMR
- Radio chatter, from traffic control to pilots
- Bag clanks and hits from the baggage belt for percussion
- Passport stamps for percussion
- Baggage handlers’ pressure devices
- A plane landing ✈
