Egyptian market/Nightmoves
 "The original field recording is the the sound of a busy and chaotic market with traders calling out, pedestrian and vehicle sounds punctuated by either a radio or live performance of traditional song which is captured as the recordist moves through the space. "On listening, there seems to be eight or nine distinct ‘zones’ or areas of particular sound which are blended as the recordist travel...
10m Jun 24, 2024
10m
Late afternoon on the Grand Canal
"A moment of calm in the late afternoon on Riva di Biasio in Venice, looking out at the the Grand Canal. The classic sounds of boat traffic cruising past that make Venice sound like no other city on Earth. A vaporetto (water taxi) passes by every so often, with church bells chiming as we head into the early evening." Recorded by Cities and Memory.
8m Jun 23, 2024
8m
Calma
"The original field recording captured the sounds of boats, water, and people conversing, creating a very visual experience. I found it serene and decided to compose a piece that complements the immersive nature of the field recording. Despite the multitude of sounds in the recording, there is a sense of control and tranquility. It contains the gentle sound of water lapping against the bank, ha...
7m Jun 23, 2024
7m
The famous never rest whilst we stare at their graves
"Cimetière Père LaChaise is the world’s most visited cemetery. Over 3.5 million visitors a year come to see the graves of artists, musicians, dancers, scientists and politicians. This mecca for the deceased made me think about what it must be like for the spirits of the cemeteries famous inhabitants. Their fame during life has followed them into death, never escaping the public fascination and ...
6m Jun 23, 2024
6m
At Edith Piaf's grave
"In the famous Pere Lachaise cemetery in Paris, next to one of the most famous graves, that of Edith Piaf, with a quiet, contemplative soundwalk among the alleys and rows of tombs, among them some of the most famous figures of history." Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Jun 23, 2024
4m
Walking to school from my backpack's perspective
 I put a microphone in my backpack and recorded my walk to school. I cut out a few parts of me inside the bus and inside the rec center for privacy reasons of others. Recorded by Zach Dial in Boulder, Colorado.
13m Jun 23, 2024
13m
Aboard the 150-year-old funicular
The Budapest Castle Hill Funicular or Budavári Sikló runs up the hill to Buda Castle - it was opened on March 2, 1870, and has been in municipal ownership since 1920. It was destroyed in the Second World War and reopened on June 4, 1986. This recording is taken from a pedestrian bridge crossing the track halfway up, as the funicular passes back and forth beneath us. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
2m Jun 23, 2024
2m
Thousands of murmurating starlings
Thousands of murmurating starlings flying above us at sunset, on a cloudy evening in November 2023 at the RSPB Otmoor nature reserve in Oxfordshire, UK. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
8m Jun 23, 2024
8m
Yakiniku dining environment
 Japan's culinary culture has its own unique style, with both food preparation techniques and dining practices continually evolving through exploration and innovation. The recording location for 'Omakase - Dining Environment' is at an Omakase restaurant in Tokyo. The literal meaning of Omakase is 'I leave it to you.' The chef presents a series of dishes, starting from the lightest to the heavi...
7m Jun 23, 2024
7m
Do you know Mr. Ōizumi?
 "Musique concrète / sound collage. I was interested in isolating and exploring the 3 most prominent sounds in the recording: the sizzling sounds of cooking, the conversation, and the noises from various objects being moved around and being used. "I was able to split the audio out into 4 separate channels with the help of Demucs. In places I have integrated some samples from my own field recor...
2m Jun 23, 2024
2m
Starlings' startling murmuration on the moor
"Moors have always been mysterious places to me. Maybe it is because of its role in Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles, or because of my interest in railways, that made me discover the most remote station in Great Britain, in the middle of Rannoch Moor, Scotland. "Starlings murmurations are a mystery about collective behaviour. Their shapes always catch us by surprise. Their ho...
9m Jun 23, 2024
9m
Odyssey
"As the combination of the titles of the original field recording (recording trip home inside bag) and my reimagined track (Odyssey) suggests, I was thinking about the novel Ulysses by James Joyce. Using my own field recordings and recordings of resonances made during a study of the acoustics of an empty room of 3x5 meters, I tried to create a sound canvas that was practically devoid of events ...
13m Jun 23, 2024
13m
Funicular chorus
"I liked the evocation of the place with the original recording and have tried to reimagine it to create a chorus of funicular sound worlds." Budapest funicular reimagined by Mary Hooper.
2m Jun 23, 2024
2m
Fledge my child
"When I first think of Spring, I instantly hear birdsong filling the garden and woodlands, evoking a sense of renewal and rebirth. It also has as certain therapeutic quality giving me a feeling of relaxation and calm. When I heard the ‘Melody of Birds’ recording, I had a sense of the birds being engaged in conversation and wondered what they might be discussing. "Of course, Spring is the time ...
4m Jun 19, 2024
4m
Seeking air 12, 20, 90, 100
Reimagined composition based on tannoy announcement at Boston Logan Airport. Contains excerpts of Susan Howe reading Barbara Guest's Seeking Air, recorded at the Ear Inn, January 25, 1986. [https://writing.upenn.edu/pennsound/x/Howe.php] Reimagined by Thomas Martin Nutt.
5m Jun 19, 2024
5m
Crush tango
"For this short audio piece, I drew inspiration from the rooftop bar ambiance and live music, recreating a social atmosphere where you'd want to get up and dance. The music, with its seductive rhythm and and sense of push and pull, felt like the perfect backdrop for a crush story. "Here, it serves both as background and as a metaphor for the dance-like nature of a girl-meets-boy scenario. Comb...
4m Jun 19, 2024
4m
One sunny day
 "This piece was inspired by the wonderful musicality of the home appliance collectors voice. He has wonderful sense of phrasing and rhythm that must have come from much practice. Pretty well most of the instrumental parts are directly based on the man's call for appliances. Later in the composition, one hears the actual voice of the collector and the singing birds. Home appliances salesman in...
4m Jun 19, 2024
4m
Melody of birds, breeze and silence
Taken at Pat Busch, a reserve situated high up in the mountains about two hours outside of Cape Town, this recording captures something of the dramatic beauty and expansiveness of the mountainous areas of South Africa. One can hear the reserve’s rich bird life, which includes fish eagles, nightjars, sugarbirds, cuckoos, coucals and hundreds more species; a late winter breeze; and weaver birds ...
5m Jun 19, 2024
5m
Welcome to Boston, home of champions
 Announcement piped over the PA system in Terminal E at Boston Logan Airport, as mayor Michelle Wu proudly extols the virtues of "the city of champions and the birthplace of revolutionary ideals.. where people come to do good in the world". Her speech is cut short by the clatter of suitcases, trolleys and arriving travellers. Recorded by Cities and Memory in Boston, USA.
1m Jun 19, 2024
1m
Latin music on the rooftop
A Latin jazz and funk band plays a rooftop bar in the multicultural district of Peckham, South London on a lazy Saturday afternoon. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
2m Jun 19, 2024
2m
Morning in Xinqi village, Suzhou
A home appliances collector advertising in Xinqi village, Suzhou, China. Recorded by Tõnis Kimmel.
3m Jun 19, 2024
3m
The intense humming of frogs
"Newly-hatched frogs in the dozens croaking intensely to one another in an area of special scientific interest in an urban centre in Oxford. There are housing estates on all sides, with a small strip in the centre with a fen habitat that allows for all kinds of rare plant and animal species to thrive - the delicate protection of nature in a city space." Recorded by Cities and Memory.
7m Jun 19, 2024
7m
Mid-autumn festival buzz, Vietnam
Mid-autumn festival weekend buzz at Hoan Kiem, Vietnam, which is full with people celebrating, chatting, playing, eating together. Recorded by Kit Wilmans Fegradoe.
8m Jun 19, 2024
8m
Finding your beat
"Festivals bring people together: they gather, they chatter, they group up and disperse. The sound recording caught a relatively peaceful moment in a Vietnamese Festival. We captured our own sound recordings of traditional folk music and generic beats, gathered from discos and clubs. "We then recorded the beat of a traditional bell stick. Weaving these together, we created a piece that blends ...
2m Jun 19, 2024
2m
Human time | frog time
 "I’m a citizen scientist for FrogWatch USA, so I was naturally drawn to the Oxford frogs field recording. The first thing I noticed was the contrast between human created sounds and environmental/wildlife sounds. A distant siren stood out as a metaphor for human time. "I added traffic rushing past to emphasize the feeling of this concept. Digitally generated water plops, inspired by the origi...
2m Jun 19, 2024
2m
Violin practice in Venice
Violin practice drifts down from a window over an otherwise silent canal in Venice, Italy - a moment of rare peace off the beaten track in the centre of the city. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Jun 15, 2024
4m
Another homage
"The original recording has two distinct sections; the first features a violinist practicing whilst the second has more emphasis on people walking and talking. "I took a short section of the violin from the first part and slowed it down a little. I repeated this phrase whilst adding in other instruments as it repeats. The second half of the original recording is played over the music at roughl...
10m Jun 15, 2024
10m
Ornate swimming pool, Gellert Baths
"The Gellert bath complex was built between 1912 and 1918 in the (Secession) Art Nouveau style. It was damaged during World War II but then rebuilt. References to healing waters in this location are found from as early as the 13th century. A hospital was located on this site during the Middle Ages. During the reign of the Ottoman Empire, baths were also built on this particular site. The "magic...
4m Jun 15, 2024
4m
Crafting the Gellert thermal bath
"The Gellért Bath complex in Budapest was built between 1912 and 1918 in the Successionist style, a movement seeking to break down historical traditions of 19th century architecture and art. During the same period Lajos Kassák a Hungarian Dada/Contructivist artist wrote and published the poem Mesteremberek (Craftsmen), a poem of the collective identity of skilled or artisanal labour. "This pie...
3m Jun 15, 2024
3m
1,000 motorcyclists dressed as Santa Claus
An incredible scene captured in the centre of Paris one December evening. As we were walking back from dinner, we began to hear the roar first of several motorbikes, then of several dozen, then of hundreds all at once. More than 1,000 motorcyclists had gathered for a motorcycle parade through the centre of the city - and they were all dressed as Santa Claus. The event is the Carabalade (https:...
10m Jun 15, 2024
10m
Winds, birds, clicking frogs and loud roosters at noon
"In this soundscape in a neighbourhood in suburban Ghana, you can hear active singing birds on a midday, subtle human activity, crowing roosters and clicking frogs." "Recorded in binaural. Please wear headphones." Recorded in Koforidua, Trom, Ghana by Samuel Kudjodzi.
3m Jun 15, 2024
3m
Brussels Airport, gate A43
"Brussels Airport, gate 43. Early in the morning (05:05AM local time) - Waiting to embark on the plane for a short vacation to Gran Canaria." Recorded by Tony Van Dorst.
5m Jun 15, 2024
5m
Aviophobia
"The airport recording offered a wealth of interesting abstract noises to play around with. I liked the mixture of natural and synthetic sounds - the hum of private conversations, the public announcements, the sounds of children contrasted with the pings and beeps of various devices against background noise. I'm fascinated by the way sound can be transformed through isolation and repetition. "...
5m Jun 15, 2024
5m
1,000 Santas
"Hearing the field recording of 1000 motorcyclists dressed as Santa Claus driving through Paris caught my attention right away. On its own, a near perfect composition. "I embellished it a little by processing the original sound and using a recording of me whistling, then feeding it through my Lyra-8. It became more of a soundscape than a song, but the theme is still “Jingle Bells”. Now, just p...
8m Jun 15, 2024
8m
Ungravelled
"This raw material had elements which really appealed with its punctuation of the animals. I used Ableton Live to isolate these then with some heavy processing, played about with the pitch and timbres. The only VST used was Absynth FX which tends to pop up most of the time in my work and this treated the original sound file. My approach is more a wall of sound than specific beats and tend to v...
4m Jun 15, 2024
4m
TOMOE
"I chose the recording of a single Taiko drummer at the morning ceremony held everyday at the Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, Japan. I discovered that there is a Taiko drum performance during the annual Autumn Grand Festival at the entrance of the Meiji Shrine in the Yoyogi Park and used this as inspiration to create a powerful rhythmical drumming piece. "The beginning of the recording is used at the s...
3m Jun 12, 2024
3m
The most picturesque tram ride on Earth (daytime)
One of the most beautiful tram rides in the world, the number 2 tram in Budapest moves along the bank of the Danube and allows you to see many of the city's most impressive buildings and sites all on one simple trip aboard the traditional yellow trams. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Jun 12, 2024
5m
Morning Taiko drums
Taiko drums are played during the 8 a.m. ceremony at Meiji Shrine, Tokyo, Japan. Recorded by Yoshihiko Shiono.
2m Jun 12, 2024
2m
Romantika
"A chose the piece because I found the idea of the Danube passing through so many countries and cultures, as a perfect representation of Europe. Unique, but connected by a river flowing through. It reminded me of my romanticised notion of Europe when I was younger and less well-travelled. "My main exposure to Europe came not from books or TV, but from late night listening on Medium and Short W...
5m Jun 12, 2024
5m
Live samba at Ferrara International Buskers Festival
Ferrara International Buskers Festival 2023 - one of the top dates in the global street music calendar. Here we listen to a samba band from the Veneto region called Bloko Intestinhao, whose percussive music reverberates right across a large piazza. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
12m Jun 07, 2024
12m
The shadows of Este
"When creating this piece, I drew inspiration from the Estense Castle in Ferrara, a renowned symbol of the city's heritage. The castle's walls have witnessed a myriad of events, intrigues, love affairs and personal dramas involving the Este family. The piece reflects the dual nature of the castle which functioned both as a formidable fortress and an elegant court residence where shadows echo th...
3m Jun 07, 2024
3m
Laguna Viva
At the Laguna Viva art exhibition in the VAC Foundation in Venice, September 2023, with running water sounds punctuated by bizarre drones and screeching noises. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Jun 07, 2024
4m
The sparrows of Boston Common
Hundreds of sparrows in the trees at Boston Common, their songs intermingling with passing traffic, the chatter of passers-by and competition i the form of ground-wandering pigeons. We hear the bells of the famous Park Street Church chiming midway through the recording. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Jun 07, 2024
3m
Venice tech bizarre
"The recording was so gorgeous and surreal that i decided to take a production only approach. Focusing on shaping and colouring the original recording rather then adding any additional elements. The aim was to create a listening experience that highlighted the beauty of natural sound and contrasted it with the mechanical and technological sounds of our modern age." Laguna Viva in Venice reima...
4m Jun 07, 2024
4m
Ghost waltz #2
"I ran the original through a load of FX and the waltz theme emerged from the mess." Sparrows on Boston Common reimagined by Michael Lilley.
2m Jun 07, 2024
2m
Beatboxing on Christmas Eve
A very talented beatboxer performs on the streets of Padova, Italy on Christmas Eve 2023 - you can hear his beats and scratches, and between that his words of appreciation for people supporting his street music. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Jun 04, 2024
3m
A morning at Regoli Pasticceria
Waiting in line for maritozzi at the famous Regoli Pasticceria. Cups and plates clink, coffee is being made, and customers and the serving staff chat at the bar. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Jun 04, 2024
4m
Caffe del mattino
"I wanted to include the original field recording (unmodified) in this reimagined piece with a short composition using software instruments - I tried to aim for an operatic feel seeing as the original field recording was set in Rome, Italy, whilst attempting to complement the busy nature of the original recording. I'm not sure whether I achieved this or not, but it all seems to fit together rea...
3m Jun 04, 2024
3m
Beatboxer busker (northern Italy)
"This recording of a beat boxer interacting with his audience and the sounds of street life made it exciting to create a "frame" around his performance using percussive effects made with acoustic guitar and effects from the Koala app." Padova beatboxer reimagined by Paul Latham.
2m Jun 04, 2024
2m
Echo lift
"Airports always leave me with mixed feelings - the excitement of going to new places, the strangeness of wandering in a non-place for a few hours, the nervousness from flying in a machine that might fall, etc. I usually pay attention to the people I encounter and think about their destinations, or who they might be. It's a place loaded with information and stimulae. I especially pay attention ...
6m Jun 03, 2024
6m