A WORLD OF SPA SOUND

REPORT BY DAVID FAGAN

European Spa explores how incorporating sonic elements into the spa journey can add a whole new sensory dimension to your guests’ experience

Sound plays an integral part in everybody’s daily experience whether we realise it or not, from the ambient noise of the appliances in our homes and workplaces to the chatter of people in public spaces and the music we play to switch off, concentrate or energise ourselves.

In recent years there has been a rapid evolution in the sophistication of how sound can be used to enhance wellness. The advent of online and wireless technologies has made it ever easier to access sources of music and other sound-based content. This has been driven by major global streaming services such as Spotify, which has a vast library of wellness-oriented content, from ethereal orchestrated music to nature sounds such as ocean-wave recordings. The BBC’s Sounds app also offers a myriad of wellbeing-enhancing mixes for listeners to stream.

A proliferation of mindfulness apps including Headspace, Calm and Wave provide invaluable resources to help individuals perform fitness activities or meditate, while businesses can also harness their offerings to complement a range of activities such as yoga.

The benefits of sound in spas

Sound has been shown to have a wide range of healing effects on the human body, from helping to reduce pain, stress, blood pressure and cholesterol levels, to lessening mood swings and improving the quality of sleep. Consequently, spa and wellness providers are increasingly incorporating sonic elements into their guest offering.

Carefully orchestrated soundtracks are being used throughout spas to help guests decompress during their journey; instruments of sound are being incorporated into more and more treatment experiences; individual and groups of spas are evolving their menus to provide immersive sensory experiences; and spa product and equipment partners are providing new ways to enhance the spa experience through the use of sound.

We have researched the growing use of sound in the wellness arena, seeking out experts to share the latest ways it is being used to enhance the spa experience and contribute to the delivery of fully immersive treatments.

Creating a sound journey throughout your spa

How to help your guests decompress and enhance their relaxation experience

Sound has always been used to help spa guests open up to the benefits of their stay. However, the programming and delivery of sound within spas can vary, and with it the effects Rob Wood on guests.

“Sometimes sound in a spa isn’t thought through, which can lead to complaints from both staff and guests,” says Rob Wood, creative director and founder of Music Concierge, a company that provides signature soundtracks for high-end brands and spaces, including a wide range of spas and hotel chains.

“Repeating the same playlist or using individual iPods or CDs in treatment rooms – or leaving it to staff – can lead to the sound going off brand,” he says. “A consistent sound that can reflect the spa concept or brand values is beneficial, but this needs managing properly.”

Ragdale Hall Spa in Leicestershire, UK offers guests a Sensory Journey

The use of sound in a spa requires careful consideration if businesses are to maximise guest satisfaction. The aural

journey must complement and enhance the design of the overall spa experience. “If it’s a relatively small operation then you have to think about the sound journey a lot less than a more extensive spa,” says Wood.

Creating the right energy “The way we think about it is from the guest’s perspective and what they are trying to get out of that experience,” Wood adds. “Typically, the relaxation journey should begin when you walk through the entrance, but it has to start off at the right level. You have to create the right energy.”

The sound journey in a spa should be staged to follow the guest’s journey into a relaxed state in which they are more receptive to the benefits of the treatments they receive.

“Reception is one level, but when you get changed, for example, or go into a consultation room, the music will be more relaxed,” Wood says. “Ultimately you will be in the treatment room and in that state between sub-conscious and semi-conscious. That is where the music really has to be carefully toned and with the right energy level for relaxation, taking into account the rhythm of tracks, how densely the music is constructed and what the overall emotional feeling is.

“Any signature spaces along the way might require something different. You may have a pool area with a quirky USP where you can use music in a very different way, and in fitness areas people obviously require stimulation.”

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Bringing sound to life in the spa environment

Mark Hutchison, technical director at Hutchison Technologies, which provides audio-visual experiences to the health and fitness, hospitality and leisure sectors, offers advice for spas looking to enhance their offering through the use of sound.

"Due to the nature of spas, there are a lot of hard surfaces as well as mechanical and electrical infrastructure to consider. This often results in poor baseline acoustic comfort. Vibrations from the pool plant, ventilation systems, etc. are all aspects that can detract from the desired calming experience visitors expect from a spa.

Naturally sound-absorbent materials in the pool area at Six Senses Gstaad

"Look at ways to control the acoustic comfort of the spa through architectural design. Staying away from large open-plan spaces, and instead opting for half-height or full-height dividing walls can enhance both acoustic and visual aesthetics.

"This also allows the fine-tuning of speaker and lighting placement in order to create a more intimate, subdued and softer atmosphere than can be achieved in a large-scale open space.

Gyms, such as in the Three Graces Spa at Grantley Hall, should be filled with energising sound

"Also consider investing in acoustic-friendly materials, such as rugs, pillows and non-permanent installations.

"To enhance the overall experience, consider using environmentally friendly sustainable and renewable materials. Eco-walls are a great option with a characteristic style, and the density and porosity of some of the stone materials, also offers sound-absorbent qualities."

Subtle and discreet

"Use a distributed audio solution to ensure an even coverage throughout your spa. Consistent, non-intrusive background music is key to delivering a five-star experience, allowing the sound to become a subconscious element.

"As well as providing aesthetic benefits, installing invisible speakers can improve the quality of sound in an acoustically challenging environment. High-quality products should require little to no maintenance and can be protected from moisture-heavy environments behind a barrier of plaster and paint."

Immersed in sound

"Underwater sound is becoming a popular way to create an immersive experience, so consider the use of speakers in spa pools. Good quality water-resistant speakers are also vital to extend your sound delivery into saunas and steam rooms. Speakers like these must be calibrated precisely to perform well in each individual environment, so audio engineers should be involved in the setup of the space."

www.hutchison-t.com

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Going deeper into sound healing

Sound healing has a tradition that stretches back thousands of years to some of the world’s most ancient cultures. One person who has attempted to harness its fundamental benefits is Aurelio C. Hammer, mentor and founder of Svaram, a community of artisans, designers, healers and sound enthusiasts in the southern Indian experimental township of Auroville.

Aurelio C. Hammer, Svaram

The organisation provides sound-based wellbeing experiences and journeys in a range of indoor and outdoor environments, including corporate wellness events for companies including Microsoft.

“I find the wellness sector at this moment very interesting because it is exploring new modalities,” says Aurelio. “It is much more open than medical science, which is almost stuck in a materialistic dogma and doesn’t allow anything that cannot be measured on their instruments. In the wellbeing sector there is strong demand for experiences and for a shift in the state of people, however they are feeling. There is a longing for harmonisation.

A room full of sound

Svaram produces a variety of more than 100 musical instruments, some of which are made by its craftspeople and nowhere else. These are used in a range of ways to provide healing experiences, but perhaps most impressively as part of its Sonorium – a collection of instruments that aims to transport clients on a primal journey using a strong combination of harmonic and chaotic sounds.

The Sonorium is an immersive sound healing installation

“The Sonorium uses what I call ‘tuned’ sounds, but they are polarised with elemental, primal sounds – the sound of thunder or a waterfall, the sound of stone used as a friction instrument,” says Aurelio.

“What the Sonorium offers is a complete immersion in sound. If you are surrounded by a few singing bowls it is fine and beautiful, but the Sonorium is full of massive instruments. We have tubular bells and the gong may weigh 25-30kg, and the person is lying on a bed that has 50 strings underneath, so its can be quite powerful.”

Just as you can play a wine glass with a wet finger, so you can play one of Svaram’s stone instruments, except these can weigh up to 80kg. “Think of the sound that an 80kg wine glass would make if you rubbed it,” says Aurelio. “It actually can be quite overwhelming. It definitely has a strong and immersive effect.”

Therapeutic benefits Aurelio believes the clash of harmonic and primal noises that the Sonorium provides plays a vital role in delivering a deeper level of sound therapy. “At the core of most chronic diseases there are usually traumatic experiences, and if you are not tapping into these you will not get to the root cause of the disharmony,” he says.

“The sonorium’s combination of harmonic, tuned sounds and primordial elemental sounds create a polarity in that field which surprises people. It can shake people up.”

www.svaram.org

Sonic instruments of wellness

Sound-based spa therapies using singing bowls and gongs

Sound healing has long been a part of spa treatment menus, but recent events have seen a sharp growth in this due to its ability to calm and relax guests.

“Spas can be very clinical and sound healing brings in more holistic aspects.” says Jill Russell, who was drawn from a career in spa operations to become a full-time sound healer two years ago.

Jill Russell, 'The Gong Whisperer'

“Sound therapy is essentially a massage of sound,” she says. “We are all energy, we are all sound. When you get into the quantum physics of it all, matter doesn’t exist, we are all singing our own song in our own individual frequencies.”

Also known as ‘the Gong Whisperer’, Russell is a devotee of what the instrument can offer. “Gongs are so powerful and all encompassing – your brain cannot fight the vibrations they create,” she says. “You may have your ‘monkey mind’ for a while, and everybody struggles a little, but the next moment their chests are moving differently and I can see they are in a nice relaxed state.”

Kalm Horizons experiences incorporate Full Moon Tibetan Singing Bowls

“Sound healing can also be used within other treatments, especially through the use of Tibetan bowls,” she adds.

Tibetan singing bowls are something of a traditional sight in spas and are used as part of the Sensory Journey offered at Ragdale Hall Spa in Leicestershire, UK; the bowl’s vibrations flow into the body to cause the emission of alpha and theta brain waves which help to restore, optimise and balance the flow of the client’s energy.

Mark Smith, founder of immersive wellbeing brand Kalm Horizons, is another advocate. His ocean-based meditations culminate in the use of a Full Moon Tibetan Singing Bowl, hand made in Nepal, to bring an extra vibrational element to the practice. “The ‘singing’ sensations have a mesmerising effect on participants.,” he adds.

Spa operators building on sound foundations

How wellness providers are adding sound to their treatment offering

Expanding the use of sound to enhance the delivery of relaxing and healing experiences within spas is leading to many innovative collaborations.

At Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel and Spa in Glasgow, DJ Brian d’Souza (aka Auntie Flo) collaborated to create a biophilic sound meditation soundtrack that is used in a ‘forest bathing’ room within the hotel.

La Chambre Verte at Kimpton Blythswood Square

Known as La Chambre Verte, this is an immersive experience exploring the psychological and physical benefits of biophilic design and therapeutic sound in a room filled with plants, which can be enjoyed alongside CBD rituals from product partner La Rue Verte.

La Chambre Verte at Kimpton Blythswood Square was created in collaboration with La Rue Verte

Elsewhere, luxury wellness brand Six Senses offers a range of sound-based therapies at its resorts around the world. At Six Senses Douro Valley, Portugal, a 20-minute underwater sensory experience called Float Your Troubles Away has guests supported on the water while listening to a range of sounds passed through it. Meanwhile, Six Senses Dubai offers a Sound Suite, which allows guests to rest on a vibro-acoustic lounger that carries musical vibrations directly into the body.

Sound also plays a central part in the Tibetan Healing Retreat at Six Senses Alpina Gstaad in Switzerland. On the second day of the three-day experience, sets of Tibetan singing bowls are placed around guests and on parts of their body – one is even big enough that the guest literally steps into it. Other instruments include a gong, tuning forks to work on the chakras, chimes, koshi and tingsha bells, rainsticks and ocean drums.

Sound healer Antonis Sarris performs a sound healing treatment as part of the Tibetan Healing Retreat at Six Senses Gstaad

“Our mental, emotional and physical body, which often carries blockages, responds greatly to the healthy energy flow that is created through the singing bowls and sound healing equipment,” says sound healer Antonis Sarris.

Telling a story through sound

“Some properties want to innovate through sound and go beyond just music tailored to a treatment,” says Rob Wood of Music Concierge. “Sometimes we work with composers to create a completely unique piece of music to go with that treatment. We have even gone beyond that to create soundscapes for different areas of a spa. This is like telling a story through sound and can incorporate found sound, sound effects, music or spoken word.

“We work with sound designers to create a whole sonic experience that can be activated in different parts of the spa. Not just in the treatment room but in other areas.

“We have also been asked to put together guided meditations that can be activated in a treatment setting. Beyond the spa itself we are using wellness related music concepts in guest rooms.”

Music Concierge worked on sonic staging with ESPA Life at Corinthia London

Music Concierge’s work with ESPA Life at Corinthia London is a good example of the depth and variation of the application of sound in spas.

“We provided music in all areas and a choice of music in treatment rooms and also in the pods within the spa,” says Wood. “Because they are in London they wanted a sense of Britishness to come through some of the music ideas, so we used a spoken word element with pieces of literature set against classical music.”

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Sound in the mix with spa treatments

Following his collaboration with La Rue Verte at Kimpton Blythswood Square Hotel and Spa in Glasgow, award-winning DJ Brian d’Souza of music strategy developer Open Ear discusses his new sound-based programme, called Swell.

Brian d'Souza, DJ and founder of Swell

Tell us how Swell developed.

For the past 15 years, Swell’s parent company, Open Ear, has worked with thousands of hospitality and leisure companies, many of which were hotels with a spa offering. The music used in the spa was often an afterthought: laughed off as ‘whale sounds, tolerated as generic ‘spa music’ and delivered via very basic loudspeaker set-ups, leading to an underwhelming sonic experience.

Swell was created as a response to this, to help elevate the sound within spa and wellness environments and allow it to become a positive sensory experience for customers and therapists alike.

How do spas go about using the service?

Swell is available as a mobile or browser app with a monthly subscription. We know that every spa has different requirements, so we offer a free consultation to help get spas optimised for sound and to tailor an audio experience that will really enhance their spaces and treatments.

What is special about the sonic experience that Swell provides?

We’ve spent years developing a novel approach to how sound can be created for the spa environment, bringing together the psychology of music, sound therapy techniques, healing sounds from the natural environment and award-winning music composition to offer a range of signature Swell sound treatments. These are tailored to match the type of protocol and also the product being used.

What can Swell add to treatment menus?

Swell introduces the potential for a new range of sound treatments, delivered with or without a therapist, adding fresh revenue streams. These are therapeutic sound experiences similar to a sound bath or gong bath, developed by the Swell team to work in headphones and mixed in Dolby Atmos surround sound, delivering a deep relaxation experience.

Which spas are partnering with Swell?

We’re about to launch with IHG UK spas – in Scotland at Kimpton Blythswood Square in Glasgow and Kimpton Charlotte Square in Edinburgh, which will have its own dedicated Swell Room; and voco St David’s in Cardiff, Wales. We will also be launching with Coworth Park, UK, part of the Dorchester Collection, in April.

In addition, we are partnering with ishga to develop bespoke massage treatments. This has involved a trip to the Hebrides to record a unique sense of its products, using cleansing water sounds and traditional instruments to make a range of therapeutic experiences to be rolled out across its partner spas.

www.openearmusic.com/soundwellness

Spa partnerships based on sound principles

How wellness brands are adding a sonic dimension to their products and treatments

While spas are bringing elements of sound into more aspects of their operations, spa brands and suppliers are also incorporating sonic elements into their treatments and product offering.

When it comes to bathing, Irish seaweed-based skincare brand VOYA has been encouraging the physical practice since it was founded, and its dedication to immersion now stretches to sound bathing. A collaboration with sound therapist Andrew Tyler led to the creation of an online sound bath similar to those Tyler runs at the Salt & Soul Studio in Strandhill, Ireland.

Sound healer Andrew Tyler has collaborated with VOYA

“Sound bathing allows people to tap into the sense of relaxation and meditation that water bathing can give you, but via an alternative sensory experience whether it’s in a physical or mental sense.” says Gretta Salter, brand manager for VOYA.

The brand encourages its customers to stream the sound bath video at home after creating a cocooning atmosphere through the use of candles and natural fragrances, as well as products such as its Mindful Dreams Body Oil and Lazy Days range.

Soul Medicine

Bringing a personal touch to the use of sound, ila founder Denise Leicester has been recorded chanting as part of a soundtrack that also features music written, played, produced and engineered by composer Tom Simenauer.

Soul Medicine allows clients to tune in to ‘the frequency of harmony’

Part of the Soul Medicine project to bring vibrational remedies to spa clients, the 432 music – so-called as it is performed at 432Hz, which is said to be ‘the frequency of harmony’ – is played during ila treatments at all of its partner spas. The Lotte New York Palace, US and The Lanesborough and Grantley Hall in the UK also include the brand’s 432 Singing Bowls as part of their treatment offering.

Meanwhile, ESPA has partnered with One&Only Resorts to deliver a holistic experience based on the concepts of eco-therapy and vibrational energy, to restore internal balance by bathing people in sound, vibration and nature.

Nature’s Resonance from ESPA harnesses the power of vibrational energy

Available as a 30-minute stand-alone experience or as part of 60 or 90-minute body and face-and-body rituals, Nature’s Resonance uses binaural beats. This auditory therapy delivers different tonal frequencies into each ear to affect the client’s vibrational energy, aiming to reduce anxiety, increase focus, lower stress, promote creativity and even help to manage pain.

High-tech vibrations Bringing a high-tech approach to the use of sound vibrations in the treatment room, Gharieni has unveiled the successor to its SpaWave treatment bed, Welnamis.

Gharieni’s Welnamis bed provides four new sound-based programmes

A touchless treatment experience that combines the positive health benefits of vibration with sound therapies designed for the delivery of specific brainwave frequencies, it provides four new programmes. Stress Relief is recommended for first-time users to foster a deeply relaxed yet present state of mind; Mindfulness encourages creativity, insight, dreams and light sleep, often associated with REM sleep; PowerNap fosters a regenerative state associated with deep sleep, which is the most restorative part of a person’s sleep cycle; and Awareness is said to create conditions for increased perception, learning and problem-solving as well fast and efficient thinking.

The human touch

While Welnamis is innovative for being a non-touch treatment facilitator, as with everything spa-related, the human touch plays a vital role in delivering a tailored and effective use of sound.

“We don’t use any algorithms, its all human-based curation,” says Music Concierge’s Rob Wood. “In our music team we have about eight people in the UK and others around the world, and they are our music gurus, as it were.

“The real skill in those people is to be able to understand what a brand DNA might be, understand an audience, understand the space and its design, and then match that to music and how you want to make people feel. Its a very unique skill.”

Likewise, sound healer Aurelio C. Hammer, founder of sound research organisation Svaram, also believes a personal touch is essential to a deeper sound healing experience.

“I worked for many years in academic studies in music therapy, and basically what really makes the difference in healing, the most important factor, is actually the human element,” he says. “Music therapy involves a relationship between two beings and what happens between them.”

Thanks to our experts: www.musicconcierge.co.uk www.kalmhorizons.com www.facebook.com/thegongwhispererinfo www.ragdalehall.co.uk www.kimptonblythswoodsquare.com www.lrvskincare.com www.sixsenses.com www.corinthia.com www.espaskincare.com www.sound-health.ie www.soulmedicine.ie www.lottenypalace.com www.grantleyhall.co.uk www.oetkercollection.com www.oneandonlyresorts.com www.voya.ie | www.ila-spa.com