Margot Perot
Piece based on Margot Perot image by Brent Tomchik. "On the cusp of discovering her own self in Baltimore, she fell in love with Ross Perot on a blind date and married him; never to become the social worker she was studying to be. With their amassed wealth, mostly due to Ross Perot's real estate investments and political aspirations, she instead was swept into a life of philanthropy.  "She most...
5m May 27, 2020
5m
Spitfire
Piece based on Supermarine Spitfire by Jeff Holland. "This piece reflects the take-off, swooping majesty, and deadly impact of the Spitfire aircraft as it soars the skies in a quest for freedom." Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collection of new sound works inspired by items from the Smithsonian Museums’ collections - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/smithso...
7m May 27, 2020
7m
Moonshine
Piece based on DJ tweeters by Michael Lilley. "This treasure is named as Tweeters used as part of a DJ setup and categorised under hip hop music, which (semi-tangentially) led me to think about sampling....  "Every sound in my entire composition evolved from a (heavily manipulated and treated) single sample (of Imogen Heap singing the short vocal phrase which can be detected weaving throughout ...
5m May 24, 2020
5m
Rakim's Loop
Piece based on Rakim's microphone by Borys Kossakowski.  "A piece inspired by the Item Number 61 - Cordless microphone used by Rakim to record The 18th Letter. I dare to say that we are friends with Rakim now. For the last couple of weeks, we spent a lot of time together. Although we never met or talk.  Rakim was walking around the room, talking about his life. I was listening, noting, recordin...
4m May 24, 2020
4m
Things are weird and things are sad
Piece based on MacCameron's Waiting for the Doctor by Emmy Tither. "It's impossible not to make a connection between the piece, and the feelings in it, with what is happening globally right now. Things are weird and things are sad." Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collection of new sound works inspired by items from the Smithsonian Museums’ collections - for more information, see h...
3m May 24, 2020
3m
The death of Cleopatra
Piece based on The Death of Cleopatra by Cara Kelly.  "I first became aware of the artist, sculptor Edmonia Lewis and her work 'The Death of Cleopatra' through the Smithsonian’s podcast 'Sidedoor’. At the time I was also first in contact with 'Cities and Memories' so when I was asked if I would be involved in the  'Smithsonian Treasures Exhibition' and 'The Death of Cleopatra' was one of the wo...
4m May 24, 2020
4m
Reverie of Angels
Piece based on Angel by Mark Taylor. "The inspiration for the music came very much from the background story behind the picture – Abbott Henderson’s angels are recognised for their ethereal qualities and this particular one of his daughter, Mary, was also meant as an allegory for hope and spirituality. "There is a certain purity, naturalness and simplicity to the image so I created the whole pi...
5m May 24, 2020
5m
The dreams of Albert Potter
Piece based on Albert Potter's Modern Music by Jeff Dungfelder.  ""The dreams of Albert Potter" is a composition based on a linoleum cut on paper from 1933 (from the Smithsonian American Art Museum) by Russian artist Albert Potter. Since the artwork deals with death, and was created during a time of extreme social crisis, I imagined a soundtrack to his dreams, inspiring art that he would later ...
5m May 24, 2020
5m
Walt Whitman
Piece based on Walt Whitman photograph by Nick St. George. "Walt Whitman was a fascinating character. Probably gay (difficult in 19th C America), his poetry was radical and, at the time, condemned as obscene. His best known work, 'Leaves of Grass', exists in many different versions (Whitman revised it and added to it constantly), and the massed voices at the beginning and end of the piece refle...
6m May 24, 2020
6m
Sputnik
Piece based on Sputnik model by Martin Juenke. "'Sputnik' contains a musicbox playing the national anthem of Russia, additional sampled sounds coming from the Russian POLIVOKS synth, a computer generated voice reading parts of the Russian Wikipedia article about the Sputnik event accompanied by a heavy usage of a vocoder to modify that voice. "My aim was to capture this specific sense of triump...
3m May 24, 2020
3m
Sorrow
Piece based on Rodin's Head of Sorrow by Richard Watts.  "I thought that it would be interesting to explore the feelings of sorrow during the coronavirus lockdown. The piece is based around the number of deaths that there have been in the UK during this time and how the numbers don't really reflect the human side of the deaths. I have used a number of treated guitar parts and samples of someone...
5m May 24, 2020
5m
A Type of Jazz
Piece based on vintage typewriter by Tom Thompson. "The vintage typewriter image inspired me to create this down tempo jazzy flavored composition.  I played guitar for the melody lead but used digital and analog effects pedals to give the guitar more of a horn vibe. The typewriter sounds are from BBC Public Sound Effects Library under the terms of license." Part of the Smithsonian Treasures pro...
3m May 24, 2020
3m
A Night in the Park
Piece based on Edward Hopper's A Night in the Park by Ollie Campbell. "I chose this etching by Edward Hopper to reimagine because I really liked the texture in the piece and the dark, lonely atmosphere created by the lighting and scratches on the page. In my piece I tried to reflect the scratchy 'noisy' textures of the etching by layering lots different sounds including radio static, drones, di...
3m May 24, 2020
3m
All the waves were women
Piece based on articulated sailor model by Richard Watts. "The piece has two parts to it. The first is as if the Sailor is speaking to you about his life at sea. I have used quotes from Moby Dick for the samples - it's me reading it but very processed. I was trying to imagine how the Sailor would move so there are a lot of clockwork type sounds. The second part is supposed to be a 'jig'. The cl...
4m May 24, 2020
4m
Kurtis Blow's jacket
Piece based on Kurtis Blow's jacket.  "I took the catalogue description and fed it into Google Translate. The output was turned into a WAV which was then manipulated. Some of the detail was turned to Midi data.  "This was then fed back into my DAW and provided a melody idea. The remaining track was then manipulated until a structure was reached. Some sounds of clothing against the mic input of ...
8m May 24, 2020
8m
Everyone knows I'm not a liar
Piece based on "Murder on Lennox Ave." poster by Richard Watts.  "I always enjoy doing something dark. I managed to find a copy of the film on the Internet Archive so sampled some of the dialogue and the title music. There’s an odd feel about the film so I wanted to capture that in the re-imaged piece. I’ve used a repeating bass line that drives the piece on and then added a lot of horn melodie...
4m May 24, 2020
4m
Golden poison frog
Piece based on Golden Poison Frog by Odette Johnson.  "The Golden Poison Frog  is of the species phyllobates terribilis and is found in the pacific coastal regions of Columbia. It lives in areas of the rainforest with very high rain levels of about 5m per year, temperatures of at least 26°C, and relative humidity of 80–90%. For such a brightly coloured tiny frog, it is deceptively dangerous, as...
3m May 24, 2020
3m
Renewal
Piece based on "The Violinist" by Fernando Cerqueira. "The loneliness of the violinist." Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collection of new sound works inspired by items from the Smithsonian Museums’ collections - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/smithsonian
6m May 24, 2020
6m
Washing Fabric
Piece based on Japanese artwork by Andy Lyon. "There's an element of mystery to the picture. It appears to be set in the mountains with a picture of Mount Fuji in the top left.   "There isn't really a background, this adds to the mystery as does the serious expression on the lady's face and the fact she's looking behind her.  I've tried to capture the mood and various rhythms, there's rhythms i...
6m May 24, 2020
6m
What's my name?
Piece based on Muhammed Ali's headgear by Eva Quirentia Mansson. "Muhammad Ali, being one of the absolutely most fascinating people on earth, is someone I have admired all my life. I am not a fan of boxing. Not even interested in sports.  "But Muhammad Ali was so much more than his skills in the ring. When looking at his protection helmet, most probably used during a time when he was in the mid...
9m May 24, 2020
9m
An Ode to Lady Day
Piece based on Billie Holiday photo by Stephanie Merchak. "I've always loved jazz and when I saw that a photo of Billie Holiday was among the selection of items chosen for The Smithsonian Treasures project, I knew I wanted to compose a piece inspired by that photo. I wanted to create a jazz influenced piece that also included some electronic and experimental sounds and techniques. "Using the fr...
1m May 24, 2020
1m
Armstrong 2020
Louis Armstrong's trumpet reimagined by Simon Woods with Phil Nicholas. "On a walk through the Smithsonian Museum, a father and daughter encounter Louis Armstrong’s trumpet. The daughter mistakenly believes a trumpet sound is to be found on her mobile phone. The father quickly points out that this is what a trumpet sounds like before a blues begins with the ‘Louis Armstrong’ style trumpet playe...
3m May 24, 2020
3m
Three Women
Piece based on Bhairavi Ragini artwork by Marie-Cecile Reber. "I have used my field recordings for this piece. As a musical concept I have adopted the different levels of the image. It was also important to me to reproduce the calm that manifests itself in the picture.  "When I look at the picture, it triggers the following associations in me. It is a calm, peaceful atmosphere. Although it's ho...
8m May 23, 2020
8m
Sonogram Manipulation of Patent Model for a Feathering Paddle Wheel, 1877
Piece based on paddle wheel image by Dan Gusset. "I have used an image to audio converter to create eight audio samples for 45 degree rotations of the image of the Feathering Paddle Wheel. These have been manipulated these with various effects, stretching and layering to creating a looping audio piece. When viewed as a spectrogram it shows the rotation of the wheel." Part of the Smithsonian Tre...
1m May 23, 2020
1m
Frida Kahlo: a portrait in sound
Piece based on Frida Kahlo portrait by Richard Gadd. "This portrait is unusual in that it is not a self-portrait, perhaps the form Frida Kahlo is best known for. It is what an other else in her. I am struck by her slightly severe expression and pouted lips giving her a birdlike appearance, the heavy close=knit eyebrows and a suggestion of a moustache. "We know she was a feminist and gender-flui...
7m May 23, 2020
7m
Angela
Piece based on Angela Davis poster by Keisuke Oki. "Angela Davis is an American political activist, philosopher, academic, and author. The poster I selected from Smithsonian Treasures was made by the United Coalition for Angela Davis Day to demand bail for her. She was an icon of the 60s cultural and political revolution and is still radical." Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collec...
4m May 23, 2020
4m
Singer Song
Piece based on Singer sewing machine by Dave Webb. "I liked the idea of the repetitiveness of a sewing machine but as it is hand cranked, it will be a little arrhythmic.  "As I don't have access to a hand cranked machine to sample, I went to freesound.org and found a great sample pack from Juskidink." Part of the Smithsonian Treasures project, a collection of new sound works inspired by items f...
5m May 23, 2020
5m
The Stock Ticker in Times of Change
Piece based on stock ticker by Jukka-Pekka Piimies.  "The stock ticker has an interesting relation to time: as a machine, it revolves at a set pace, but the events that it stamps in the ticker tape are more random in the short term.  "In addition to the momentary pulse of the stock market, you also have the cyclical ebb and flow of the real economy. You do not know at any single moment to what ...
1m May 23, 2020
1m
Charlie's on the 'H'
Piece based on Charlie Parker's saxophone by Daryn Brown. "Charlie Parker was a legendary saxophonist but also a massive heroin addict. What I tried to do with this piece was blend two saxophone solos, the one the audience heard and the one that Charlie was hearing in his heroin-infused brain.  "I approached this project as an improvisation, very quick, one take and no editing. Everything in th...
4m May 23, 2020
4m
Century soundwalk
Epping Forest lockdown sound recorded by Andy Popperwell. "Since the Covid-19 crisis began, I've been keeping a diary.  I was inspired by my grandfather, whose diaries from the First World War are my most treasured possession.  I thought that walking through the grounds of Copped Hall, a restoration project where I volunteer, might make an interesting soundscape, with short excerpts from the tw...
9m May 23, 2020
9m
College graduation
Los Angeles lockdown sound recorded by Ray Connelly.  "This recording is at the time my friends and I were supposed to graduate college. Recorded outside on the patio, you can hear us Facetiming our family to celebrate on the inside coinciding with bird sounds and cars outside. A quiet graduation, but happy nonetheless." Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting and reimagining the sound...
19m May 23, 2020
19m
BeesWax
Epping Forest lockdown sound recorded by Jeff Dungfelder. "When asked to reimagine and remix the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdown, I chose a field recording of bees from the Epping Forest in the United Kingdom. Usually the sounds of the bees are drowned out by nearby motorway traffic, but not any longer. What fascinated me about this project is how everyday sounds can take on new meaning, and ho...
8m May 22, 2020
8m
Slip Away
Genoa lockdown sound reimagined by Tom Thompson. "I definitely could relate to the desire and need of slipping away to the waters edge and listening to the calming sounds of the lapping water during these confining times. "Yet, for me there is also the constant nagging worry of the Corona virus stalking each and every one of us. I tried to express the complexity of feelings in experiencing mome...
4m May 22, 2020
4m
Cherry Blossoms
Tokyo lockdown sound reimagined by Martin Juenke. "The back bone of this track is the traditional Japanese melody SAKURA or CHERRY BLOSSOM, which is played in several arrangements on different instruments against the background of the given field recording. This shall be a metaphor for the hope that the Japanese culture will survive and go on in all its diversity whatever the threads are." Part...
4m May 22, 2020
4m
Vienna Opera House memory
Vienna lockdown sound reimagined by Tim Kahn. "I first used maps and street views to look and see what this place was like before the lockdown. It looked busy and noisy. I was given this recording randomly, I like the constraint of working with something that I did not choose as well as it felt appropriate for this as none of us have chosen to be so constrained in this way.  "With one exception...
6m May 22, 2020
6m
A Pause to Applaud
Malaga lockdown sound reimagined by Dave Webb. "There was so much source material in this recording. The claps, the birds, the live music in the distance, chiselling out some loops from it wasn't difficult at all. "I tried to isolate individual claps for extra percussive sounds and the live music provided some great basslines.  "Altogether it ended up as an unexpected kind of hybrid dark disco ...
15m May 22, 2020
15m
Silencing Trafalgar Square
London lockdown sound reimagined by Jason Mundok. "According to the original sound description and upon listening to the recording, “Silence in Trafalgar Square”, it was clear that this space had far less people than usual. Never having visited Trafalgar Square myself, I talked with a friend who spent time there over the years and he also described it as a place typically bustling with people. ...
5m May 22, 2020
5m
Tamales
Mexico City lockdown sound reimagined by John Tenney. "Isolation and longing have been big parts of the pandemic for many people. Here, a woman in her Mexico City apartment hears a tamale vendor out on the street, then a second one. She begins to hallucinate as her stomach rumbles.  "Finally, she can't stand it any more, and goes into her kitchen to heat something up in the microwave oven. A po...
3m May 22, 2020
3m
Dawn chorus in Florence
Florence lockdown sound reimagined by Jase Warner. "‘Dawn chorus in Florence’ is a composition that uses elements of a field recording by Valerio Orlandini. The recording was taken at dawn in Florence near the borders of the historical city centre during the lockdown, where, in Valerio’s words, “traffic and lots of people” would normally be the dominant soundscape. "After listening to Valerio’s...
4m May 22, 2020
4m
Fora Bolsonaro
Belo Horizonte lockdown sound reimagined by Andy Billington.  "The original field recording is very powerful detailing the dissatisfaction with Bolsonaro. The sound is filled with rhythm, emotion and raw anger being smashed out on the bottom of pots and pans in streets and flats. As the sound develops you get a sense of the space it was recorded in and the scale of mistrust and vexation. All of...
6m May 22, 2020
6m
Peace has a price
Brasilia lockdown sound reimagined by Kim Goldsmith. "This 8-track mix includes 5’00 of the original sound recording as the hero of the remix, underscored by the same track in reverse to create tensity. Tapping into the need to feel ‘normal’ within the safety of our own homes and communities, in the midst of building global tensions around the Covid19 pandemic, I’ve used what’s readily availabl...
5m May 22, 2020
5m
Why are you clapping?
London lockdown sound reimagined by Michael Lilley. "Using endlesss.fm, my go to for pretty much everything audio based, I made this remix with a combination of in-app synths and FX plus I piped in the additional mournful lead and pass using Animoog on a second iPad. "For all our frontline services, you’re doing fantastic. Thank you." Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting and reimagi...
4m May 22, 2020
4m
Passing of Time in the Pandemic
Guadalajara lockdown sound reimagined by Millie Wissar.  "While in quarantine I experienced stillness of time, fear, joy, sadness, connection with others and mostly hope. Time felt different while in quarantine. It started out feeling "normal" and doable but as the days went by everything started to melt together.  "Some days went by too quickly while others never happened, some weeks felt like...
6m May 22, 2020
6m
Lockdown WHO?
Rio de Janeiro lockdown sound reimagined by Marcela Echeverri.  "I worked with the recording of a prerecorded warning message being played on the streets of Rio de Janeiro asking people to stay home, wash their hands and beware of the lethal virus. "All the sounds in my piece come straight from the recording. I was inspired by three elements: the engine of a motorcycle passing by, a cheese melo...
1m May 22, 2020
1m
The Island Of Birdsong (Xqui MLB Remix)
Heraklion lockdown sound reimagined by Xqui. "We're living in difficult times and maybe appreciating more of the world around us.  The sounds of nature particularly inspire me - were the sounds always there or is nature playing a different song?   "Birds provide the most calming chirp - their voices are clearer than ever before and provide much calm and solstice. Adding to their song gives a pe...
7m May 22, 2020
7m
Scops Owl World
Thessaloniki lockdown sound reimagined by Angela Winter. "The scops owl's voice, hidden before coronavirus quieted Thessaloniki, lured me into a dreamlike world. I began to wonder: What do owls hear when they sing within a silenced city? I imagined them gathering as I extended the original solo recording into an experimental chorus." Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting and reimagin...
2m May 22, 2020
2m
Piombino
Piombino lockdown sound reimagined by Anthony Lyons.  "I was drawn to the sound of the ringing bells of Piombino as markers of time, memory and experience during the lockdown period. The bells ringing every 30 minutes, punctuated by silence and seagulls seemed to capture a surreal sense of time passing – time seeming to slow down and become stationary, repeat, reverse. I was also fascinated by ...
6m May 22, 2020
6m
St Margaret's Drone
Oxford lockdown sound reimagined by Daryn Brown. "I love a pump organ. only played one once but this sound appealed to me. I didn't take my usual approach of stretching the hell out of it, I wanted to use the sound untreated. I made three copies of the original and used harmonisers, filters and gates to make random changes over time." Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting and reimagi...
2m May 22, 2020
2m
Great Tom
Oxford lockdown sound reimagined by Ruth Knight.  "My Piece "Great Tom' features the bell 'Great Tom' in Tom Tower at Christ Church College, Oxford. The recording was taken just 30 minutes after Boris Johnson announced the lockdown of the UK. "The recording influenced me massively, it runs the whole way through the piece and acts as the skeleton on which everything is built. I tried to bring ou...
5m May 22, 2020
5m
I.A.
Dubbo, Australia lockdown sounds reimagined by Luca Castaldo. "My piece is called I.A.That in Italian means the same as A.I.(artificial intelligence)and it's just a name. In this work i enjoyed overturning the perspective of a natural, good word opposed to a bad artificial world and create an alien planet in which artificial sounds live together with planet earth natural sounds. "An imaginary f...
4m May 22, 2020
4m