Trend: Sound Waves in Thermal Water

Liquid Sound is an immersive artistic experience and European spa trend.

A technology developed through experimentation with orca songs in the Pacific Ocean more than 30 years ago has generated a popular multisensory experience. Liquid sound can be achieved anywhere simply with underwater speakers because sound waves accelerate in water – traveling five times as fast as in air—so music played underwater generates a surreal surround sound. The vibrations of the music impact the whole body, not just the ears.

Elaborate events, with live concerts, performed underwater where listeners float, were created in 1986 by Micky Remann, a musician who had studied the whale songs, and launched at the Frankfurt Underwater Concert. The spectacles can include light shows in the air, music in the water, and bathers experiencing both in what the Germans called Gesamtkunstwerk—a total artwork that synthesizes various art forms.

Popular Liquid Sound spas in Germany are three Toskana Thermes, or Tuscany thermal baths—Bad Sulza near Erfurt, Bad Orb near Frankfurt, and Bad Schandau near Dresden. Musicians and DJs in local Liquid Sound Clubs sometimes give underwater performances. Concerts often occur during full moons. The Liquid Sound Temple, a domed structure with a pool near the baths at Bad Sulza, provides a quiet place for meditation and offers bodywork and lessons in aqua wellness.

While Iron Mountain Hot Springs doesn’t offer Liquid Sound concerts, we love reporting on what others in the industry are doing. Iron Mountain promotes a serene spa-like environment by playing soothing music in the Quiet Zone, where the 16 soaking pools are located, and livelier music in the fresh-water pool where children and families tend to congregate.

Learn more about spa and hot springs trends at Iron Mountain Hot Springs and make plans to visit soon.