Sounds of Cocoplum | Biophilic Hotel Soundscapes

Acoustic Design · Cocoplum Interiors

A curated biophilic hotel soundscape suite for hospitality environments. Five zones. Five playlists. One acoustic identity rooted in the Australian bush.

At Cocoplum Interiors, sound is part of every hospitality brief we write. Before a guest consciously registers the materials, lighting, or spatial proportions of a room, their nervous system has already begun responding to its acoustic environment. Music is one of the most powerful and most overlooked levers in wellness interior design.

Sounds of Cocoplum is our in-house soundscape framework: five public Spotify playlists, each designed for a specific zone within a hospitality property. The programme is modelled on the acoustic philosophy of 1 Hotels, whose Sounds of 1 monthly Spotify playlists are curated by sonic designer Michaelangelo L’Acqua specifically to echo the harmonies and rhythms of the natural world across all their properties globally. We have applied the same principle to the Australian landscape. Australian bush sounds are woven throughout each zone as a unifying identity thread.

The playlists are free to follow on Spotify. If you are a hospitality operator, developer, or property investor looking to implement a full acoustic design programme, get in touch.

Zone 1 · Ambient Drift · Corridors and Transitions

Vibe: Subconscious · Continuous · Rhythm-free · Brian Eno · Hammock · Stars of the Lid · William Basinski · Tim Hecker

Corridors are not destinations. The acoustic rule here is absolute: no lyrics, no heavy bass, no sudden volume shifts. This playlist functions as sonic architecture in the best possible sense,  present enough to register subconsciously, recessive enough never to demand attention. Brian Eno’s foundational ambient works anchor the zone, supported by Hammock’s reverb-soaked guitar textures and long-form pieces from Stars of the Lid and William Basinski.

Australian bush sounds woven throughout: eastern bellbirds, wind through eucalyptus, and soft rainforest rainfall – the acoustic signature of the Australian landscape.

Zone 2 · Sound Bath and Healing · Spa Sanctuary

Vibe: Meditative · Grounding · Timeless · Liquid Mind · Deuter · Jon Hopkins · Max Richter · Nils Frahm

The spa is the one space in a hospitality property where time is supposed to disappear. Every track in this zone was chosen against a single physiological criterion: does it lower the heart rate within the first 30 seconds? Liquid Mind’s ultra-slow harmonic drones, Max Richter’s Sleep compositions, and Tibetan singing bowl recordings tuned to 432 Hz support the parasympathetic nervous system response that wellness interior design is built to activate.

Deep Australian forest sounds including lyrebird song, rainforest frogs, and a babbling creek ground the sanctuary in living ecology. Time of day does not exist in this zone.

Zone 3 · Pool Deck and Sun Terrace · Organic House

Vibe: Sun-drenched · Breezy · Upscale · Polo and Pan · Goldcap · Chancha Via Circuito · Nicola Cruz · Bonobo · Khruangbin

The pool deck is the social heart of the property. The music must have rhythm and warmth without aggression. Organic house and folktronica provide that balance: Polo and Pan’s sun-drenched French electronics, Nicola Cruz’s Andean-influenced percussion, and Khruangbin’s effortlessly cosmopolitan guitar grooves. Social energy without volume pressure.

Australian coastal sounds including waves and birds at sunset are placed between tracks, anchoring guests in the specific landscape of this property.

Zone 4 · Lobby Morning · Neo-Classical Piano

Vibe: Gentle · Acoustic · Mindful · Nils Frahm · Olafur Arnalds · Agnes Obel · Jose Gonzalez · Andrew Skeoch

The morning lobby carries guests between the private world of their room and the beginning of the day. The music should feel like soft light through a window: acoustic, piano-led, unhurried, never in the foreground. Nils Frahm and Olafur Arnalds provide the neo-classical anchor. Field recordist Andrew Skeoch’s Australian dawn recordings, crested bellbirds and the heathland dawn chorus, close the playlist, connecting the interior to the living landscape outside.

The heathland dawn and crested bellbirds by Andrew Skeoch close the playlist — the acoustic equivalent of opening the curtains to a bush morning.

Zone 5 · Lobby After Dark · Deep Organic House

Vibe: Sultry · Deep · Organic · Bonobo · Nicolas Jaar · Four Tet · Jon Hopkins · The Cinematic Orchestra

From sundown until the lobby closes, the acoustic identity shifts. Warm bass, slow groove, adult. The music should feel like the building itself has exhaled. Bonobo’s deep downtempo grooves, Nicolas Jaar’s hypnotic organic house, and The Cinematic Orchestra’s slow orchestral builds create an evening atmosphere that is sophisticated without demanding attention. Late-night arrivals are greeted by something unhurried and enveloping.

Australian night sounds including owls, crickets, and rain on eucalyptus provide the ecological ground beneath the music, connecting the evening interior to the nocturnal landscape outside.

Questions about sound design in hotels

How do hotels use sound design?

The most thoughtful hospitality brands treat sound the same way they treat lighting, scent, and materials: as an intentional design decision made at the brief stage, not an afterthought switched on before opening. 1 Hotels is the most cited example in the luxury sector. Their Sounds of 1 programme uses monthly curated Spotify playlists developed by sonic designer Michaelangelo L’Acqua, specifically chosen to echo the harmonies and rhythms of the natural world across all their properties globally. At Cocoplum, we take the same approach for our hospitality design projects in Australia, with the added layer of local ecological sounds as a place-specific identity marker.

What music should play in a hotel lobby?

It depends on the time of day and the brand positioning, which is why a single playlist for an entire lobby is almost always a mistake. In the morning, a hotel lobby is a transitional space: guests are moving between rest and the day, often slowly and with low cognitive load. Acoustic and piano-led music works best — unhurried, background, never foregrounded. In the evening, the same lobby becomes a social arrival point for guests returning from dinners and events. This calls for something with more energy and warmth: deep organic house, slow groove, or sophisticated downtempo. Research published in the International Journal of Hospitality Management found that slow-tempo music increases lobby dwell time by up to 18% and contributes to higher post-stay satisfaction ratings.

Does the music in a hotel affect guest reviews?

Yes, consistently. Research shows that 72% of hotel guests notice background music during their stay, and when it matches the brand, it can increase satisfaction scores by up to 20%. The effect works below the level of conscious attention: guests rarely write in reviews that the music was excellent, but they do describe a lobby as welcoming, a spa as genuinely calming, or a pool deck as having great atmosphere, responses that are directly shaped by the acoustic environment. The inverse is equally true. Generic or mismatched music is one of the most common sources of atmosphere complaints in hospitality reviews, even when guests cannot articulate exactly what felt off.

What is neuroarchitecture and how does it apply to hospitality design?

Neuroarchitecture is the study of how the built environment affects the brain and nervous system. It brings together architecture, interior design, neuroscience, and environmental psychology to understand why certain spaces make us feel calm, alert, creative, or anxious. In hospitality interior design, neuroarchitecture informs decisions about ceiling height, natural light, material texture, scent, and sound. At Cocoplum, it is the framework that underpins our entire design approach – you can read more about it in our Wellness Design Formula. Sound is one of the most powerful neuroarchitectural levers available, because it is processed by the brain before visual information and therefore sets the emotional tone of a space before a guest has consciously registered anything else.

What is the best background music for a hotel spa?

Music that demonstrably lowers cortisol and activates the parasympathetic nervous system. In practice this means slow tempo below 60 beats per minute, harmonic rather than dissonant, no lyrics, no sudden dynamic shifts. Composers like Max Richter, Liquid Mind, and Nils Frahm are specifically known in wellness contexts for this physiological effect. Nature sounds, particularly running water, birdsong, and forest ambience, activate the same biological relaxation response as being outdoors, and are highly effective in spa settings. For Australian properties, the lyrebird and the Australian rainforest at night are among the most calming acoustic environments in the world.

Can Cocoplum design an acoustic programme for our property?

Yes. Acoustic design is part of our full-service offering for hospitality interior projects. We develop a zone-by-zone acoustic brief alongside the visual design programme so that the sound identity is integrated from the start, not added at the end. We also work with existing properties on acoustic audits and playlist programmes. Get in touch to discuss your project.

All playlists curated by Ozge Fettahlioglu, Cocoplum Interiors. Public and free to follow on Spotify. Hospitality operators should hold current PPCA and APRA AMCOS licences for commercial music use. Cocoplum Interiors does not provide music licensing advice.