Reserva Conchal: howlers at dawn
The sun is rising fast and bringing in the heat. It is very early in the morning, but you can start to feel that it will be a hot day. The crickets are chirping, creating a constant melody in the forest, birds are calling and moving around the trees and a gentle breeze hits the leaves. A howler monkey emerges from the canopy, eating leaves and stretching from the night sleep. The sound of her c...
7m Dec 02, 2023
7m
Chanting monks, Chiang Mai
Monks and Buddhists chanting during the evening prayer ceremony, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Recorded by Alex Boyesen.
29m Dec 02, 2023
29m
Foggy mountain top, early morning
Vumari, Tanzania: birds, insects, wind howling. Recorded by Douglas Issai Ndanshau.
1m Dec 02, 2023
1m
Neighbourhood chirps
"The birds singing inspired me to imagine a dystopian world, where they made their appearance for the first time. When the people in the village immediately developed a strong dislike for them we listen to a man planning to return to force them to leave..." Birds in Vumari, Tanzania reimagined by Giovanna Iorio.
1m Dec 02, 2023
1m
Fall is in the air, leaves are on the ground
An informal evening meditation among falling leaves. Chiang Mai monks reimagined by Joel Graham.
3m Dec 02, 2023
3m
Bourbon Street R&R
"The original field recording by Alex Clifford featured a live jazz festival on Bourbon Street - one of the most iconic streets in the world. Although well known for it's 'buzzing' atmosphere, I wanted to try and evoke the rare times when Bourbon Street is quiet - maybe early dawn; the spring sun just rising, and the streets and hotel/bar fronts being washed down and prepped for another busy da...
5m Dec 01, 2023
5m
Bosque xo
"With the soundscape of that forest near the Thai city of Chiang Mai, I have reimagined a new space of natural tranquility with granular textures that process the original recording and playful random melodies imitating bird songs and tiny ambient noises." Thai forest reimagined by Marco Maril.
6m Dec 01, 2023
6m
Going to the airport
"An old man is riding the sleek new CAT train from central Vienna to the airport. He drifts and dreams, of trains and trams and railyards he has experienced throughout his long life. At one point he falls asleep and finds himself in a station, where he can’t understand a word of what’s on the public address system. Finally the announcement comes of arrival at the airport. Is he relieved?" Vien...
6m Dec 01, 2023
6m
All aboard the CAT
With the CAT (City Airport Train), Vienna offers a rapid connection between city centre and airport. In only 16 minutes, the City Airport Train brings you nonstop from the airport to the Vienna city centre and vice versa – without stress and traffic jams and in an environmentally friendly way. It’s relaxing and soothing with minor hums and clicks and not overcrowded. Let’s take a ride! Recorde...
19m Dec 01, 2023
19m
Thai forest at 7.00am
Early morning forest sounds with insects and birds, Chiang Mai, Thailand. Recorded by Alex Boyesen.
7m Dec 01, 2023
7m
Outdoor live jazz on Bourbon Street
Live jazz plays outside on an evening walk along Bourbon Street in New Orleans. Recorded by Alex Clifford.
5m Dec 01, 2023
5m
Overhead and overheard
"The filed recording runs quietly in the back ground having had sections copied and brutally mangled / filtered / granulised to make musical sounds. Synths added for flavouring." Manchester overpass reimagined by Simon Woods.
5m Nov 26, 2023
5m
The concrete jungle
"Trams pass overhead as we stand under a bridge in Manchester. In this urban recording, you can also hear loud construction sounds, passing traffic and nesting pigeons cooing in the quieter moments. Industrial Manchester." Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Nov 26, 2023
5m
Saigon balcony, teacher's call, children's yells
Deep in the city of HCM children can be heard learning simple sentences from their teacher. Recorded by  Kit Wilmans Fegradoe.
3m Nov 26, 2023
3m
Screamers
"This piece evolved out of the orginal field recording. I processed the original recording within Logic Pro and added some instruments that I felt fitted the sound. It seems to have a slight religious overtone to it due to the organ sounds I've used." Screamer kites in Bermuda reimagined by Richard Watts.
4m Nov 26, 2023
4m
Bermuda's traditional screamer kites
The sound of dogs and the traditional Bermudan "screamer" kites – big kites designed to stay up in strong winds and make as much noise as possible. Also the noise of wind in trees. Recorded by Mark Wilden.
2m Nov 26, 2023
2m
Teaching and learning in Ho Chi Minh City
"The recording from the hotel balcony captures the city's atmosphere together with lessons in a nearby school. I manipulated the voices of the teacher and children in their classroom and combined them with percussive sounds together with an additional street vendor's call." Ho Chi Minh City balcony recording reimagined by Roland Pyle.
4m Nov 26, 2023
4m
Cities and Memory Swedish radio interview
"In Oxford, Stuart Fowkes runs the Cities and memory site, one of the world's largest sound projects. Among other things, it is a large world map where you can listen to over 6,000 sounds from 115 countries and for each point on the map there are two sounds - a field recording and a variant of that sound interpreted by an artist. The sounds sometimes become albums and we listen to a humpback wh...
4m Nov 20, 2023
4m
La mer gelée (the frozen sea)
"For my composition La Mer Gelée (The Frozen Sea), I used a field recording from a frozen beach (Munkkiniemi Beach) in Helsinki, Finland. I was immediately drawn to the the idea of sound coming from ice crystals that literally touch the sea. My head filled with ideas for reimagining these frozen sounds into music. "I was focused on glitching sounds, using fragments of electronic and minimal ac...
5m Nov 14, 2023
5m
Wimbledon - mixed doubles action, July 2023
Action from the Wimbledon tennis tournament on 9 July 2023 - here we are on Court Two for the Mixed Doubles, watching Boulter and De Minaur (who have the home crowd on their side as Katie Boulter is British), vs. Vliegen and Xu. This is a tie break in the third set. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Nov 14, 2023
5m
Frozen beach, Helsinki
The delicate creaking and cracking of the sea ice at Munkkiniemi beach. The ebb and flow of the sea water pushes and pulls the ice blocks. Its almost as if the frozen sea is breathing. I had to place the recorder deep into a crevice of the ice to pick up these tiny sounds. The faint rumble of Helsinki city sounds in the distance. Recorded by Chris Bradbury.
5m Nov 14, 2023
5m
An evening in the Wazirpur Industrial Area
"Wazirpur is one of the 29 industrial areas spread across Delhi – NCR. The place is overrun with hundreds of small-scale factories which have attracted thousands of low-income migrant workers – usually from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal. Scattered among the factories are the jhuggis/ slums which these workers call home. "The recording is made one evening on a busy street in the Wazirpur Ind...
4m Nov 14, 2023
4m
New Delhi anti-ambient
"I wanted to use the rhythm and tones of the New Delhi voices and then add something melodic as the track progressed. Its relatively chaotic with all the voices/sounds and the ambient undercurrent anchors and balances this. The voices are the sound of life and I found this inspiring cos its real - unlike a lot of Western noise I am exposed to which just seems to be easy to ignore and filter out...
3m Nov 14, 2023
3m
UnderCourt
"A tennis match is a clash under the sea." Wimbledon doubles match reimagined by Leonardo Santiago.
11m Nov 14, 2023
11m
Cities and Memory - The Week in Art interview
Cities and Memory founder Stuart Fowkes talks to The Art Newspaper's weekly podcast The Week in Art, discussing our brand new project Migration Sounds, and how Cities and Memory uses sound to offer new perspectives on the world. Broadcast on 27 October 2023.
13m Oct 27, 2023
13m
Music for Sleep
"Music for sleep"is an almost hour-length composition constructed from carefully-selected contributions to the Cities and Memory global sound project Music for Sleep. The piece contains excerpts from the following compositions, all of which can be found in full at http://www.citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep. 1. Stirring by Keira Simmons 2. Warming ghost by Nicolo Scolieri 3. Adriatic moons...
57m Oct 21, 2023
57m
Thunderstorm soundscape, Music for Sleep
A soundscape of thunderstorm recordings from the Music for Sleep project, including: - Abbazia Pisani, Italy - Levpa, Slovenia - Ontario, Canada - Readyville, USA Explore the full collection of sounds at https://www.citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep (https://citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep/)
41m Oct 21, 2023
41m
Waves and water soundscape, Music for Sleep
A soundscape of wave recordings from the Music for Sleep project, including: - Krorez Bay, Albania - recorded by Rafael Diogo - Hilton Head, USA - recorded by Jake Carnley - Vis, Croatia - recorded by Roberto Vodanovic - Gjipe, Albania - recorded by Rafael Diogo - Hermosa Beach, Costa Rica - recorded by Marcel Gnauk - Sirolo, Italy - recorded by Cities and Memory - Port Noarlunga, Australia - r...
54m Oct 21, 2023
54m
Forest soundscape, Music for Sleep
A soundscape of forest recordings from the Music for Sleep project, including: - Uppsala, Sweden - Mont Serin, France - Glasgow, Scotland Explore the full collection of sounds at https://www.citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep (https://citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep/)
28m Oct 21, 2023
28m
Anglesey waves, part two
This reimagining is made entirely of the sound of the Wylfa Waves. Filtered, edited, Wavetable synth etc to make a double tempo, upbeat, dancing on the beach tune! Waves at Porth y Wylfa reimagined by Simon Woods.
3m Oct 17, 2023
3m
Waves at Porth y Wylfa
This field recording of sea waves was made at Porth y Wylfa on the island of Anglesey, North Wales by Phil Cunliffe.
1m Oct 17, 2023
1m
An electron’s journey from wind farm to joyous release
This reimagined composition centres around the carnival sound clip, but it seemed important to include the newly commissioned and controversial Rampion off-shore wind farm’s presence. The short sound sequence follows an electron’s journey from wind turbine through waves lapping the shore, and into the machinery and candy coloured lights of the carnival funfair situated east of the pier, only to...
3m Oct 17, 2023
3m
Worthing carnival, 2019
The sound is of the 2019 summer carnival as it passes Worthing pier (England); a joyful event with drums and parades, the recording is intended to capture the happy carefree atmosphere of the carnival and sense of relaxed fun, with locals and visitors happily jostling and dancing along together with their ice creams and children, all blissfully ignorant of the muted and fearful COVID 19 driven ...
1m Oct 17, 2023
1m
Anglesey waves, part one
Waves in Anglesey reimagined by Simon Woods - "the reimagined composition uses waves of synths and white noise to complement the sound of the waves."
3m Oct 12, 2023
3m
Porth y Môr waves
This field recording of sea waves was made at Porth y Môr on the island of Anglesey, North Wales. Recorded by Phil Cunliffe.
30s Oct 12, 2023
30s
I awoke
"This is a remix of the sounds recorded at the Mexico Punta Nizuc reef underwater at night by Heather Spence. For the piece I was aiming for the feeling as you wake up from a good night's sleep." Mexican reef reimagined by Doom Scrolling. Part of the Music for Sleep project - for more information and to hear more sounds from the collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep/
6m Oct 05, 2023
6m
Mesoamerican reef at night
Underwater recording of coral reef at night recorded autonomously (no human presence to change the soundscape). Punta Nizuc is a marine protected area off the coast of Cancun. At night, there are no loud boat motors. The primary crackling sound you hear is snapping shrimp. There are a few subtle fish sounds as well. The overall experience is somewhat like brown noise, which is excellent for sle...
1m Oct 05, 2023
1m
Spreading love and light on the borders of silence
"A thunderstorm at 5.00am already has a faraway, mysterious quality, as if you're not sure if you're really hearing it or whether you've dreamed the storm. This piece is an extension of a dream about a thunderstorm, with the arpeggiated synth lines representing the interplay of the falling raindrops. "The synth lines that emerge later in the piece represent the momentum of the storm as it pass...
8m Oct 01, 2023
8m
Nightime sounds, Rugova Mountains
As nighttime blankets the majestic Rugova Mountains in Kosovo, the symphony of sounds crescendos into a mesmerizing cacophony. The enchanting blend of insects' melodies and the haunting calls of night birds transforms a magical full moon night into a captivating experience. Secluded in a cabin amidst the wilderness, with no one for miles around, the solitude amplifies the ethereal ambiance, imm...
13m Oct 01, 2023
13m
At Rumassala Sanctuary
Rumassala Sanctuary (Jungle Beach), insects + birds +road traffic far away + passages + man talking + waves, and a monkey towards the end of the recording. Recorded by Stéphane Marin/Espaces Sonores. Part of the Music for Sleep project - for more information and to hear more sounds from the collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/music-for-sleep/ IMAGE: Raveenhw, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://...
12m Oct 01, 2023
12m
The 5.00am thunderstorm
A huge thunderstorm passes overheard at 5.00am in northern Italy - this recording is made from an open patio door directly out into the storm. Pouring rain clatters against the wooden shutters, while cracks of thunder rumble ominously and break overhead. Recorded by Cities and Memory. Part of the Music for Sleep project - for more information and to hear more sounds from the collection, visit...
7m Oct 01, 2023
7m
Lucidity’s keep
"Using the sound of the bridge as ambience and texture I re-imagined this piece. I sampled part of the sound to mimic the sound of breathing. The beat mimics the heart beat as we drift into sleep. The “tune” represents the awake mind . As we drift into unconsciousness our subconscious takes over and reimagines the “tune” in a variety of ways. As we drift into deep sleep we enter the dream. As w...
13m Oct 01, 2023
13m
Glacial exhale
"My recording from Julia Innes was of melting snow. My soundscapes gravitated towards climate collapse and a sense of deep time hearing solid ice turn to liquid. The idea of the earth exhaling and inhaling the cycles of life through the vast oceans of deep time emerged as a sculpted around Julia's field recording." Snow in Montreal reimagined by Michael Reiley. Part of the Music for Sleep pro...
4m Oct 01, 2023
4m
Sleep song (chirps of the exosphere)
"I got to work with the sounds captured at Rumassala Sanctuary in Sri Lanka. I was enchanted by how bustling the jungle beach actually is - it is absolutely packed with sounds. I was especially drawn to the tweets and chirps of the birds and insects, which inspired me to record a simple, peaceful, lullaby-like song. I don’t know what time of day it was when these sounds were captured, but I ima...
6m Oct 01, 2023
6m
Ferryman's repose
Though many of us seek calming sounds or voices to quiet our bodies and minds and to soothe us to sleep, our actual experience of sleep is rarely a still or tranquil one. Indeed cultures across the globe have long appreciated sleep as a dynamic, active domain. It is a space of dreaming, creating, processing, and remembering in which the conscious self of the waking world gives way to a very dif...
15m Oct 01, 2023
15m
Night sky
"The recording made me think of night soundscape in rural Italy, a childhood memory of a sonic picture that I feel has changed significantly today. As part of my work is to improvise with non-human animals I improvised a melody on guitar along the crickets, and then I improvised some chords on a midi keybpard on which I developed another guitar melody. The cricket sound has been modified and us...
12m Oct 01, 2023
12m
Melancolía
"I truly enjoyed participating in this project, where the beautifull sound of the stream served as my muse right from the outset. Upon hearing the field recording, I was immediately transported to a vision of myself, reclining in the soft grass by the stream's edge, resting, almost sleeping while friends wove spontaneous music into the canvas of a summer evening. It brings me a melancholic and ...
8m Oct 01, 2023
8m
Tranquil waters
The soothing melody of rivers cascading down Lengarica Canyon in Albania is profoundly calming, inducing a sense of tranquillity that harmonizes with your hiking journey. There is a remarkable quality to nature's sounds that effortlessly lulls you into a state of peacefulness as if nature itself has the innate ability to foster inner harmony with both yourself and the surrounding environment. I...
6m Oct 01, 2023
6m
Dreamcatcher
"Close your eyes and step into a world where dreams become a soothing lullaby and sleep turns into a healing sanctuary. Meet "Dreamcatcher," your trusted companion for a peaceful night's rest. "When I created this sound journey, my goal went far beyond just helping you sleep - it was about igniting your inner strength, reconnecting you to your roots, and nurturing spiritual healing. "Picture ...
8m Oct 01, 2023
8m
Entangled dreams
"I am a traditional Turkish reed flute ney player. Our traditional music is modal music and it has different maqams for different emotions. I have used one of them which has calming qualities. Selected sound were the nature sounds at the sea side evening time. This gave me some inspiration to improvise this melodies with my Ney to express this common and collective field where all the dreams ar...
5m Oct 01, 2023
5m