On the streets of Kiev
Part of the Cities and Memory x Kit Monteith: Audio-Cartographic Experiments project, January 2021. More information at www.citiesandmemory.com/audio-cartographic-experiments  This is the new work by Liverpool based artist Kit Monteith, presented on Cities and Memory as part of a new collaboration. Recorded entirely on an iPhone 6s, the album is designed to be listened to in a single sitting, ...
38s Dec 12, 2020
38s
Ukrainian art installation
Part of the Cities and Memory x Kit Monteith: Audio-Cartographic Experiments project, January 2021. More information at www.citiesandmemory.com/audio-cartographic-experiments  This is the new work by Liverpool based artist Kit Monteith, presented on Cities and Memory as part of a new collaboration. Recorded entirely on an iPhone 6s, the album is designed to be listened to in a single sitting, ...
1m Dec 12, 2020
1m
A final taxi ride
Part of the Cities and Memory x Kit Monteith: Audio-Cartographic Experiments project, January 2021. More information at www.citiesandmemory.com/audio-cartographic-experiments  This is the new work by Liverpool based artist Kit Monteith, presented on Cities and Memory as part of a new collaboration. Recorded entirely on an iPhone 6s, the album is designed to be listened to in a single sitting, ...
3m Dec 12, 2020
3m
Aldeburgh beach during lockdown
"This seascape is iconic, not least because of the link with Benjamin Britten, but also because of the nature of the pebble and shape of the beach. "I’ve made several attempts at recording this location in the past, but the lockdown enabled me to record without noise pollution. An unexpected bonus that night were three planets rising across the horizon and a comet!" Recorded 21st July 2020 02...
12m Dec 09, 2020
12m
Salt tears
Cannaregio boat and street works in Venice reimagined by Moana McReynolds. "I was inspired to research the neighborhood of my sample and was interested to learn that this was the site of the world’s first Jewish Ghetto. From this starting point I was led to the story of “Sarra Copia Sulam (d. 1641) , renowned for having written a Manifesto in which she upholds the principle of the immortality ...
2m Dec 03, 2020
2m
Pavement works in Cannaregio, Venice
Walk around Venice on a regular weekday and you'll hear the sounds of construction and repair, as you would in any other city.  Here in Cannaregio, at the northern end of Venice's main island, workmen are maintaining the canalside pavements, while boat after boat comes in and out of Venice from the lagoon to the north. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Dec 03, 2020
5m
Old streetcar, Russia
"An old streetcar is slowly moving through streets of Ulyanovsk. Announcements from loudspeakers, rattling of broken doors, squeaks of brakes." Recorded by Alëna Korolëva.
3m Dec 03, 2020
3m
Tatra T3
Streetcar in Ulyanovsk reimagined by Alëna Korolëva. "I tried to give a voice to a dying streetcar, to hear music behind its rattling and squeaks. I used a notch filter and layered some tones, and this tune appeared a bit sad.  "A few old streetcars with the model Tatra T3 were made in between the 60s and 90s in Czechoslovakia and are still operating in Ulyanovsk, Russia. I grew up in this ci...
3m Dec 03, 2020
3m
Lenin's memorial facade deconstruction
Lenin's memorial facade deconstruction in Ulyanovks, Russia recorded by Alëna Korolëva. "Drilling and crushing, deconstruction of facade of Lenin's memorial."
7m Dec 03, 2020
7m
Facade
Lenin's memorial facade deconstruction in Ulyanovks, Russia reimagined by Alëna Korolëva. "I added some filters and mixed it with the sounds from a train sorting station."
2m Dec 03, 2020
2m
Spend the most, the best, the greatest
Hoarders created by Michelle Breslin (Sick Little Slinky). "Amplifying the love of money and things that was bearing down on us during this Fall of 2020." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/inferno (https://audioboom.com/posts/7731138-phleget...
3m Dec 03, 2020
3m
Murano bells reimagined
Bells in Murano, Venice reimagined by Alex Hehir. "I loved the sonic mixture of the bells and the boats hitting each other. There are also some voices that make it into the final piece. Much of the sound design came from the original recording and was heavily processed using various techniques within Ableton."
5m Dec 01, 2020
5m
Midday in Murano
On the island of Murano in Venice, the bells ring out for midday across the canals. The sound is accompanied by the gentle sloshing of moored boats so characteristic of Venice, and we can hear a mother telling her daughter Nina that there is a boat with the same name as her. Recorded by Cities and Memory. 
1m Dec 01, 2020
1m
Light whispers
Cicadas in Arquà Petrarca reimagined by Andarctica.  "I really wanted to use the rhythmic pulsing of the crickets as a filter element, so it was a matter of first augmenting the sound to be more tonal and playable, then feeding it back through a vocoder with the original sample as the carrier. It led to some really nice phasing and harmonics, especially when put to tape."
4m Nov 24, 2020
4m
The background to summer
Mid-August in the incredibly beautiful little town of Arquà Petrarca in northern Italy, where the poet Petrarch spent most of his days. On this balmy, hot day, we listen to the cicadas in the trees chattering out their constant chorus, truly the background to summer. Recorded by Cities and Memory. 
2m Nov 24, 2020
2m
A day of lockdown in Bourges
Sounds from a typical day during lockdown in Bourges, France (ignoring remote working, of course): 0:0s: churches ring at 7:30 AM 2:00s: birds recorded from my balcony 4m:30s: bells ring the mass 8m:10s: playing fetch with my cat 9m:00s: going out (1 hour/ 1 km radius), rain over fallen leaves in Prés Fichaux garden. 13m:15s: night walk in the deserted streets of Bourges, Saint Etienne Cathedr...
20m Nov 24, 2020
20m
The ineluctable decline of Venice
Listen closely on a walk around some of the less-explored corners of Venice, and as well as the sounds you'd expect, like boats on the canals and the clacking of shoes on bridge crossings, you'll hear repair and construction, as an ancient city founded on the lagoon constantly regenerates and renews herself for the next generation. Here we're tuning into house repairs on Fondamenta San Felice, ...
4m Nov 20, 2020
4m
Construction
House repairs in Venice, Italy reimagined by Xqui. "I wanted to utilise all the background sounds by way of manipulation.  Everything here is taken from the original recording."
5m Nov 20, 2020
5m
Tranquility in Venice
In the Giardini della Biennale at the far end of Venice, it's a quiet moment on a sunny September weekday, with hardly anyone around, and the only sounds being the passing boat traffic at the far end of Venice's main island, and the faint sounds of birdsong from the gardens. Recorded by Cities and Memory. 
3m Nov 19, 2020
3m
Surface
Venice Biennale gardens reimagined by Eleni-Ira Panourgia. "The original recording of the passing boat inspired me to listen to the water surface. The recording reveals traces of human activity and machines in relation to the space, the flora and fauna of that specific location in Venice.  "The piece ‘Surface’ focuses on the soundscape’s microcosm. Drawing from the issue of the rising sea lev...
5m Nov 19, 2020
5m
The grand applause for the boat crane
On the island of San Pietro di Castello in Venice, on an otherwise tranquil and still weekday afternoon, we hear a boat being lowered into the water by one of Venice's typical boat cranes. The operator spins the boat around and zooms off - and at the close of the recording, the slosh of the wash against the boats opposite us almost sounds like a grand applause celebrating the achievements of th...
5m Nov 16, 2020
5m
Virtual Venice
Venetian boat crane reimagined by Andy Billington. "I wanted to work from a visual score so took all of the parts of the original recording and colour coded anything that sounded like drums or percussion. "Next I took any ambient voice sounds or water sounds and positioned these on top of the drum samples (now all layered). Slowly a sort of smeared jazz construction was built out. Adding DAW ...
8m Nov 16, 2020
8m
Cuarentena en Santafe
Bogota lockdown recording by Ricker Silva, November 2020. "During quarantine, a car passes by the neighbourhood, reminding us how we should take care of ourselves." Part of the StayHomeSounds project to map and reimagine the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
1m Nov 16, 2020
1m
Phlegethon
Phlegethon created by Nigel Firth (The May). "This piece starts with a fanfare of foghorns and waterlogged saxophones that then play from the forlorn banks of the river as seen from above. As we descend through the smoke and mist the true horror of the river of burning souls reveals itself, with the mangled screams of the victims and the beastly cries of the centaurs that taunt them discernibl...
4m Nov 16, 2020
4m
The Lost Poet
Earth's surface by Mark Taylor. "Canto 1 and 2 of Inferno take place entirely on the surface of the Earth, so I decided to base my music around the strong narrative contained within these opening verses:  "Opening Section:  Dante is halfway through his life. We find him walking along contentedly, but there is an edge of melancholy to his mood; something is missing. "Section 2 (starts at 1 mi...
7m Nov 14, 2020
7m
Terra de Lumine
Earth's surface created by Elska (Laura Boland). "This soundscape represents Zone 1: Earth’s Surface; an ethereal introduction to Dante’s journey before he reaches the entrance to hell.  The dark forest sequence is depicted with samples of nature sounds that I took in a forest upstate New York. The resonant gongs at the beginning of the piece are from a bodhran drum. The piano tracks are the d...
4m Nov 14, 2020
4m
Selva oscura, amor mi mosse
Dark forest created by Angela Winter. "'Midway upon the journey of our life I found myself within a forest dark, For the straightforward pathway had been lost.' "Dante has lost his way and finds himself wandering through an ambiguous dark forest. As he traverses the surreal landscape, he encounters three beasts—a leopard, a lion, and a she-wolf—each more terrifying than the one before. Sudden...
9m Nov 14, 2020
9m
Dark Forest
Dark forest created by Karhide. "Dark Forest is based around the sounds of synthesised strings, strange background noises and a glitchy distorted rhythm to create a dark dense piece of music to get lost in." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/i...
6m Nov 14, 2020
6m
Per me si va ne la città dolente
Canto Three represents Dante's last moments in the earthly realm before entering Hell - and contains the most famous lines of the entire Divine Comedy. "Lasciate ogni speranza, voi ch'intratre" / "Abandon all hope, ye who enter here" The pieces develops as a journey - first, we hear the birdsong of the dark forest as Dante and Virgil walk on. As they move through, voices begin to whisper the ...
6m Nov 14, 2020
6m
Vestibule
Vestibule created by Dinah Mullen. "The moment of waiting, of anticipation, being confined - claustrophobia. The sense of a world around you, yet being separated from it. The sound of your own thoughts and terrors, and the sounds of the terrors to come." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find o...
4m Nov 14, 2020
4m
Was/Is/Will Be - Please Close the Gate
Hell Gate created by Christopher Hill. "It was the idea of the Hell Gate as a threshold, a psychic and spiritual borderland that determined my sonic strategies in representing the despair embodied in Dante's motto, 'Abandon all hope ye who enter here'. The listener, I imagined, would become a third party to Dante's increasingly traumatic passage towards Hell itself.  "As the birdsong of the o...
16m Nov 14, 2020
16m
Jerusalem
Jerusalem created by Janae Jean. "When creating this piece, I sought to combine elements of the "Divine Comedy" itself, such as the frequent use of the number three and the use of beasts to symbolise the three types of sins, along with ambient sounds of night in the medieval world.  "I chose to play an acoustic guitar with a passerelle (an additional bridge) that turns the guitar into a harp-...
3m Nov 14, 2020
3m
The Love Which Moves The Sun & Other Stars
Jerusalem created by The Gaye Device. "The final part of the journey of Dante reaching Jerusalem and Paradise and looking out on to the universe inspired me to write this composition.  "Are we all looking for our own idea of paradise? How do we reach that and in what way, is it physical or mental, is it even important? This is a part of a personal journey using tones to induce an almost trans...
9m Nov 14, 2020
9m
Abandon all hope...
Vestibule created by Sherman and Field. "The work is a single-take room recording, improvised by candlelight after a storm featuring effects-drenched guitar, drone devices, beats and local-area field recordings. The intention was to capture the ominous feel of approaching the gates of hell and the abandonment of hope that commences the descent towards Lucifer… " Part of the Inferno project to...
9m Nov 14, 2020
9m
Lotus banks of the Acheron
Acheron created by Martha Riva Palacio Obón. " As Teodolinda Barolini mentions in Commento Baroliniano, Inferno 3 occurs in a liminal space. A no-place for neutral angels and all those people who, paraphrasing Dante, never were really alive. The Acheron is the threshold. In this sound work I explore the boundaries between human - no human, silence, noise, order and chaos. A circular piece in w...
10m Nov 14, 2020
10m
Through the door
Acheron created by Simon Woods. "The piece is made up of water sounds (courtesy of my bath and sink) along with synthesised bees / wasps / insects buzzing and voices of the ‘couldn’t care less’. "The final earthquake is the sound of fireworks outside my house on Nov 5th 2020." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The ...
3m Nov 14, 2020
3m
SKLTN in Limbo
Limbo created by Andy Skelton. "Dante's Limbo contains those souls trapped between two states - neither of sufficient faith for paradise, nor sinful enough for hell.  I started thinking about this, and our commonly understood meaning of limbo (ie held in suspension between two possible outcomes).   "Taking inspiration from this, I improvised a piece on shortwave radio receivers. I was careful...
4m Nov 14, 2020
4m
“My youthful hopes are in the Limbo of lost dreams”
Limbo created by Eva Q. Mansson. "“My youthful hopes are in the Limbo of lost dreams” I am the snail  In a bubble of nothing Dreaming I am here, yet am not I am a meat grinder. Grinding myself Surviving. Dying. Leaving without a trace Going nowhere. Being everywhere Believing nothing. Knowing even less I am the snail, yet am not (Thoughts during the hell of worldwide current events) Field r...
7m Nov 14, 2020
7m
Passage(s)
Limbo created by Philippe Neau. "I worked with my voice and the sounds of water and air. My track tries to evoke the expectation of souls in the afterlife, in an intermediate and fuzzy place." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/inferno
5m Nov 14, 2020
5m
Limbus Patrum
Limbo created by Warren Daly. "My composition tries to capture the varied emotions of being ensnared in limbo.  "I used field recordings from a tropical forest in order to mirror Dante's journey. The juxtaposition of chords and polyrhythms is striking, immersing the listener in layered organic synthesis reflecting the tantalizing proximity yet rejection from utopia." Part of the Inferno proj...
3m Nov 14, 2020
3m
A Slow Hot Kiss of Wind
Lustful created by Kenneth Lyons. "“A Slow Hot Kiss of Wind” addresses the elemental environment in the zone of the Lustful into which Dante enters early into his journey. It is an environment where classical figures, “those dames and knights of antique days” such as Cleopatra, Helen of Troy, Achilles, Paris and others are tossed back and forth in a violent wind as a form of punishment for giv...
11m Nov 14, 2020
11m
I was I am I am to come I
Lustful created by Vlad Suppish. "It has three layers. I've nicknamed them 'moans, groans and slaps' for this project. "The first one is a field recording of a rusty merry-go-round which I've recorded in Kyiv. Heavily processed, it became the perfect source for moan-like sounds in the begining and through the entire track. "The second one was song 'Infinity' by Aphrodite's Child from the alb...
6m Nov 14, 2020
6m
Third Circle - The Gluttonous
Gluttonous created by Alex Hawthorn. "Through my research, I learned that the souls of the Third Circle, guarded by Cerberus, were punished by laying in a freezing-cold slush for eternity, pelted by icy rain.   "I'd always heard that Cerberus was a three-headed dog, but apparently in Dante's Inferno, Cerberus is a worm-monster.  I used elements of weather - cold winds, icy rain, some hail - a...
8m Nov 14, 2020
8m
The gluttonous muck
Gluttonous created by Joseph Hoffman. "Dante describes this circle of hell as a wet and cold place. I created this piece by recording several different scenarios of water dripping and pouring. I layered the sounds of water pouring onto leaves, muck, and towels to create the sounds. I further manipulated them by slowing them down and adding effects. I also recording my family and pets eating me...
6m Nov 14, 2020
6m
Divine Comedy: Hoarders
Hoarders created by Jase Warner. "‘Divine Comedy: Hoarders’ is a composition for the Cities and Memory ‘Inferno’ project, celebrating the 700th anniversary of the completion of Dante’s ‘Divine Comedy’. "My composition is made up of several original unfinished pieces, some are snippets of near-complete arrangements, others are ideas in the form of short sonic sketches. The one thing that each ...
4m Nov 14, 2020
4m
Akrasia
Hoarders created by will sōderberg. "Hoarders and spendthrifts are souls gripped by opposing sins, who move towards each other along two halves of one circle pushing weights, when they meet they hurl opposing insults at each other. The tones used depict this construction, using stereo processing to represent thus... 'so did they move around the sorry circle / from left and right to the opposin...
5m Nov 14, 2020
5m
Wrathfulness
Wrathful created by David Webb. "They see souls squatting in the riverbank, covered in mud, biting at each other. These are the Wrathful souls. The composition is made from treated voice and running tap sounds." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.c...
6m Nov 14, 2020
6m
Wrath (castelli de Sabbia, Castelli di Rabbia)
Wrathful created by Patrick Bridge. "I was recently reading Alisdair Gray's translation of Dantes Hell so it was one of those coincidences that Cities and Memories chose it as your next theme.  "The section on the Wrathful appealed to me as we are in times of great upheaval and great rage. The words incorporated in my piece 'Castelli de Sabbia, Castelli de Rabbia' which translate as 'Castles ...
4m Nov 14, 2020
4m
Charon crossing the Styx
Styx created by Mike Tupling.  "Inspired by Joachim Patinir's painting 'Charon crossing the Stxy', the composition is an image in sound constructed from field recordings and synthesizers." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the 700th anniversary of The Divine Comedy. To find out more, visit http://www.citiesandmemory.com/inferno
8m Nov 14, 2020
8m
Last train
Styx created by Emmy Tither. "Whatever happens after death is the last conscious journey, right? Or may well be. That made me think of a train station located at the end of the known world, with trains going off to unnamed stations. All you get is a ticket with your name on it as the world fades away." Part of the Inferno project to imagine and compose the sounds of Dante’s Hell, marking the ...
2m Nov 14, 2020
2m