Blah Blah Cafe, the Jean-Michel Jarre forum

[melo]

An ARTE documentary written and directed by David Unger, An Elevator Music Story delves into the origins and purposes of muzak. The film will be available from March 11, 2026, on arte.tv.

Written and directed by David Unger, A History of Elevator Music – From Muzak to Streaming is a 52-minute documentary produced in collaboration with ARTE France and Oléo Films. This historical and cultural investigation delves into a pervasive yet rarely examined sound phenomenon: background music, commonly known as muzak. The film will be available starting Wednesday, March 11, 2026 on arte.tv, as well as on YouTube and ARTE’s social channels.

It’s everywhere, yet often goes unnoticed: in supermarkets, clothing stores, restaurants, parking lots, and waiting rooms. This so-called "functional" music is actually the result of a carefully devised system that originated in the United States in the early 1930s. Initially, Muzak — the company behind this soundscape — played music in elevators to soothe passengers, but their true aim was to boost worker productivity in factories, using carefully curated background tunes to influence behavior.

The documentary traces the gradual spread of muzak, initially across North America after World War II, before reaching Europe and the rest of the world. Shopping malls, hotel lobbies, banks, airports, hospitals, and gas stations: background music became a tool believed to soothe, reassure, encourage purchasing, and make work more bearable.

Trailer for the documentary A History of Elevator Music:



Through rare archival footage and a series of in-depth interviews, Une histoire de la musique d’ascenseur highlights the perspectives of philosopher Pauline Nadrigny, writer Jacques Attali, journalist Sophian Fanen, and British academics Toby Dubois-Heys and Paul Rekret. Musical artists, including Jean-Michel Jarre, also contribute their insights into the aesthetic and symbolic layers of elevator music.

more information and font:

https://www.sortiraparis.com/en/what-to-do-in-paris/cinema-series/articles/341185-a-documentary-on-elevator-music-a-history-by-arte

[Dr_Jones]

OK wow, what a topic Will definitely check this out!

[Kanta]

Source: https://arte-magazine.arte.tv/programme ... ar8atQz_hw

[Kanta]

A History of Elevator Music

Video: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/123404-00 ... tor-music/

[Dr_Jones]

A History of Elevator Music

Video: https://www.arte.tv/en/videos/123404-00 ... tor-music/

He appears at 40:30 in the video.

This is what he says:

I once finished a track in a lift, but I've never specifically composed for them.

However, HSBC contacted me because they manage all those tunnels... those telescopic jet bridges. They wanted to destress passengers before they boarded their flight. The idea was to make these tunnels feel organic. In fact, I decided to create the music based on the plants themselves. Plants emit electricity, or rather, energy. By placing electrodes on the leaves, you generate energy which I then converted into MIDI to compose the piece. My only restriction was that I couldn't include any sounds that resembled birdsong. Apparently, bird sounds stress out anxious passengers before a flight.

I think music is everywhere today, perhaps even more so than before. Most people now walk around with headphones and an iPod, essentially creating their own personal "furniture music." It's the same thing. The listening habits may have evolved, but we hear far more music in hair salons, hotels, and restaurants now than we did back in the '70s.

The plant-music thing sounds interesting. This is not one of the HSBC tracks we already know, is it?