What do you get when you combine Spotify’s lossless audio with an ambient interior and a killer stereo setup fit for only the most prestigious listening sessions? You get the new Spotify Listening Lounge, of course — which I had the pleasure of visiting.
In the heart of central London at Spotify’s headquarters, the music platform has unveiled a new purpose-built space for intentional and focused listening. Overseen by Billie Baier, Co-Head of Marketing for Spotify U.K. & Ireland, the Spotify team has collaborated with loudspeaker design studio Friendly Pressure, founded by Shivas Howard-Brown, and Hugh Scott Moncrieff from design studio Cake Architecture to build a permanent listening space from the ground up.
At first, only a set of black curtains separated the Listening Lounge from me. Once they were drawn, it was like stepping into Wonka’s chocolate haven (it’s a shoes-off zone, obviously), but with a soothing mid-century modern interior and the biggest stereo system I’ve ever seen — I was desperate to press the play button.
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Stereo is forever…
In a culture where slow listening is a dying form of music consumption, the Spotify Listening Lounge doubles down on the fact that listening to albums with intention is the only way to really appreciate craft, all while offering only the top fans a space for them to feel even closer to their favorite artists. The purpose of this space is two-fold:
“The launch of lossless last year really kicked this off for us — thinking about how to showcase that quality of sound in the best possible way”, says Baier. “At the same time, we’re seeing a growing desire from fans to get closer to artists. Listening events are important, and this is about creating the most intimate version of that — bringing fans and artists together in a really meaningful way”. This is where the expertise of Howard-Brown shines.
The stereo setup is by far the star of the show. With the Bluesound Node Icon streamer in the centre, it’s fitted with the PrimaLuna DAC and accompanying PrimaLuna Evo 400 Valve Preamplifier. Two Bryston 3B Cubed Power Amplifiers sit on each side, all bookended with a pair of monster FP-4XXX Alnico Loudspeakers, mounted with custom SOES Resin Horns to bring out the best of lossless.
“All Friendly Pressure systems are stereo because it’s about honoring the full craft of music — the production, the musicianship, everyone involved in bringing a record to life”, Howard-Brown reveals, and he applies this ethos in his approach to his bespoke setup for Spotify. “Music has been recorded in stereo since the 1950s, and it remains the most authentic way to experience it. While there are newer formats like spatial audio, they rely heavily on digital processing. For me, if you really want to respect how a piece of music was created, you listen to it in stereo”, he adds.
… and so is slow listening
As well as being a Spotify subscriber, I’m a firm believer that albums should be listened to in their entirety. That also means setting time aside to ensure optimal listening can be attained, without distractions. This is where the marrying of design and sound engineering really pushes the boundaries of how a listening space can function.
From a design perspective, Moncrieff puts it this way: “As designers, we think a lot about atmosphere and emotion — and this was the first time we could fully bring sound into that conversation”, he tells me. “The space is designed as a journey: from the street into a darker, grounding entrance, before opening into something softer and warmer. It’s about preparing you to really listen”. That’s just one way of eliminating distractions — Howard-Brown’s custom stereo system reveals something deeper.
“What’s changed is that people now want to show that they’re engaging with (analog) — and beautifully designed systems become part of that expression. There’s a real symbiosis between how something sounds and how it looks, and that’s what draws people back into truly sitting and listening”, he concludes.
So what lies in store for the Spotify Listening Lounge? Well, the space is multifaceted. On the surface, it’s a visually stunning environment, both in its design and setup, but at its core is the ethos that how you listen to music also impacts what you listen to. Exclusive album releases and anniversary events will become central to the space going forward, as Baier teased to me, and I hope it encourages fans to make slow listening a bigger part of how they engage with music.
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rowan.davies@futurenet.com (Rowan Davies)
