{"id":372690,"date":"2026-04-03T08:52:18","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:52:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/372690\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T08:52:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T08:52:18","slug":"technology-and-craftsmanship-align-at-spotifys-listening-room","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/372690\/","title":{"rendered":"“Technology and craftsmanship align” at Spotify’s listening room"},"content":{"rendered":"

Audio streaming service Spotify<\/a> has opened a listening lounge<\/a> at its London<\/a> headquarters, featuring a bespoke speaker system and a material palette chosen to enhance the room’s acoustic properties.<\/p>\n

The Spotify Listening Lounge<\/a> is a purpose-built acoustic space designed to provide an immersive setting for users to experience the company’s lossless audio<\/a> offering.<\/p>\n

\"SpotifySpotify has opened a listening lounge at its London headquarters<\/p>\n

The facility was designed in collaboration with local studio Cake Architecture<\/a> and features a bespoke sound system developed by London-based loudspeaker design studio Friendly Pressure<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Spotify<\/a> claimed that the listening room aims to celebrate listening as a communal, intentional experience, with access granted to artists’ top fans and Spotify Premium users.<\/p>\n

\"Purpose-builtThe lounge is a purpose-built acoustic space<\/p>\n

“The Listening Lounge is where technology, craftsmanship and culture align,” said the company’s head of marketing for the UK and Ireland Billie Baier.<\/p>\n

“By bringing lossless audio into a purpose-built environment, we’re demonstrating the full potential of streaming and fostering a deeper connection between fans and the music they love.”<\/p>\n

\"SlateSlate floors and steel details create a threshold between the urban setting and the lounge space<\/p>\n

The project follows a trend for listening bars and other audio-centred spaces, such as a pink monochrome bar in Sydney<\/a> and a hi-fi bar in London<\/a> designed to provide a range of acoustic experiences.<\/p>\n

Guests are welcomed into a reception area featuring warm lighting, slate floors and steel details that help to create a threshold between the bustling urban setting and the intimate lounge space.<\/p>\n

\"Brown-huedThe main listening room features brown hues and tactile surfaces<\/p>\n

The main listening room utilises a palette of brown hues and tactile surfaces that recede into the background to focus attention on the raised, backlit sound system.<\/p>\n

The room is simply furnished with plump, upholstered pieces from furniture brand Afra and designer Tobia Scarpa<\/a>‘s Soriana collection.<\/p>\n

\"KitchenCake Architecture said that “every surface pattern and material choice was a functional decision”<\/p>\n

“Collaborating with Spotify and Friendly Pressure allowed us to treat the room itself as an instrument,” said Cake creative director Hugh Scott Moncrieff.<\/p>\n

“Every surface pattern and material choice was a functional decision to eliminate interference, ensuring that the craftsmanship of the speakers is matched by the precision of the architecture surrounding them.”<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Listening<\/p>\n

Seven listening bars that are easy on the eyes and ears\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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New York-based acoustician Ethan Bourdeau<\/a> helped to refine the space’s acoustic design, with each wall featuring a calibrated surface pattern that disperses frequencies evenly around the room.<\/p>\n

The audio system used in the lounge was created by Shivas Howard-Brown of Friendly Pressure and features custom-made cabinets along with a frosted glass version of the brand’s signature waveguide horn.<\/p>\n

\"SpotifyThe space will host year-round programming for music fans<\/p>\n

“Growing up in and around recording studios exposed me to a whole heritage of craft,” Howard-Brown said.<\/p>\n

“Sound systems built in sheds, speakers designed for carnival stacks \u2013 these have always had the same ambition as anything you’d find in a high-end listening room. This new space is my attempt to make that argument.”<\/p>\n

\"Close-upThe speaker system references a golden era of British audio engineering<\/p>\n

The speaker system references a golden era of British audio engineering, utilising components including Alnico magnet drivers that would have featured in the famous Abbey Road recording studio throughout the 1960s, 70s and 80s.<\/p>\n

The Spotify Listening Lounge launched with an event hosted by UK artists Joy Crookes<\/a>, Nao<\/a> and Yazmin Lacey<\/a> and will host year-round programming for music fans.<\/p>\n

In 2021, Spotify began redesigning its offices<\/a> to give them a more homely feel, with a focus on improving acoustics and introducing softer, cosier spaces.<\/p>\n

Cake Architecture’s previous work includes the design of a wellness facility featuring a sauna for 65 people<\/a> and a late-night restaurant<\/a> designed to evoke the moody atmosphere of an Edward Hopper painting.<\/p>\n

The photography is courtesy of Spotify.<\/p>\n