Mapalecolumbian
"Taking the original background noise of a Columbian protest and treating it like a drone, but adding reverb and delay on certain higher pitched sounds within it, I built a reggae bass loop and drums with some dub effects, building to a more dance 4/4 track. The piece then progressing to bring in brass to reflect the carnival vibe of South America." Protest in Bogotá reimagined by Dubberrookie.
7m Mar 31
7m
Chapinero Alto protest
Binaural recording of a protest in Bogotá Colombia from my porch. Birds, traffic, protest. Recorded by Seth Power.
8m Mar 31
8m
The aftermath of the fish market
The Rialto fish market in Venice is an incredible piece of history, dating back to the 1200s. Sometimes when you're in Venice, it feels like little has changed (other times, conversely, you're well aware of the march of time!). Once the fish market is close to closing, what we hear is the sound of workers shovelling up the ice and leftovers from the ground to be taken away. For hundreds of ye...
3m Mar 31
3m
Unfamiliar states
The sample of the workmen shovelling the ice to cleanup the market space has this rich, raw, physical and rhythmic texture, and an overall flow from start to finish. It's a story of a changing states - and I felt like accentuating these changes  would be an interesting direction. Of course, ice itself changes state, and that sparked the idea to use various states of water - rain, frost, snow, ...
4m Mar 31
4m
Follow the sun
 "I began writing this song on the spring equinox, so it felt natural to follow the sun. While writing it, I kept thinking about the whole cycle: winter’s quiet, spring’s return, summer’s abundance, autumn’s slowing down. "The same is true of day and night - we need both. "This song is really about rhythm: how spring only means what it means because winter came first, and how light matters be...
5m Mar 30
5m
Live from Le Duc de Lombards
Live jazz from one of Paris' top night spots, Le Duc des Lombards - the excellent quartet The Hookup (Geraldine Laurent, Noé Huchard, François and Louis Moutin) entertain us with a great piece. Recorded in Paris, France in February 2026 by Cities and Memory.
10m Mar 30
10m
Maghrib call to prayer, Koutoubia mosque
The maghrib call to prayer at 6.45pm from the biggest mosque in Marrakesh, the towering Koutoubia mosque. Recorded in Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2026 by Cities and Memory.
3m Mar 29
3m
Drummerrssss by Gilad Ratman, Jewish Museum
|Drummerrss "connects two operating systems: the idea of land, territory and borders, rooted in the ground, and the idea of a spiritual belief system, with a different set of rituals, codes and rules. Both systems are crucial to the formation of individual and collective identities. In Drummerrsss, the connection and friction between them evolve through rhythm and beat: this can be fruitful, bu...
3m Mar 29
3m
For patience joins time to eternity
"My composition for the Cities & Memory Spring Project, For Patience Joins Time to Eternity, draws on a field recording of the Maghrib call to prayer, captured at 6:45 p.m. from the Koutoubia Mosque in Marrakesh, Morocco. I was drawn to this recording for the haunting, resonant quality of the voice, as well as its poignant relevance to contemporary events unfolding across the Middle East. "As ...
9m Mar 29
9m
As above, so below
"I really liked the reverb of the recording. Hearing the echos of the space and the sound of footsteps as people took in the performance was special. I took the recording and put it into Convology XT to use the space as a reverb and played some notes using DecentSampler and Vital vsts. "From there, I took the sound and stretched it and added more reverb effects to it to boost the sound. Throug...
7m Mar 29
7m
Aegean waves
A recording of lapping waves from Serifos island, Faros, Greece, by Agapi Zita.
2m Mar 29
2m
We have an emergency in the building
Attention please! Attention please! The sound of the emergency alarm being tested in an empty shopping centre - shades of post-apocalyptic movies or Dawn of the Dead, as the emergency announcement echoes out across the cavernous space, which is deserted this early in the morning. Recorded in Oxford, UK in November 2025 by Cities and Memory.
1m Mar 29
1m
The organic blur
"By filtering the waves to focus on the deep, rhythmic pulse of the water, I’ve made out a space for the ethereal pad.Its a place where the digital and the organic blur into one." Waves in Faros, Greece reimagined by Substak.
5m Mar 29
5m
The three S's
"he Westgate shopping centre is deserted and subject to an unknown threat that must be dealt with by: seeing, saying and sorting. There is the ticking or an unreliable clock and the mixed up sounds of a public announcement that will be familiar to users of UK railways." Westgate Centre alarm, Oxford reimagined by Roland Pyle.
3m Mar 29
3m
Relaxing ocean
"In this piece I created an ambient soundscape on top of the initial recording this was to add to the relaxation of the waves slowly crashing against the shore." Koh Rong beach in Cambodia reimagined by Jake Edwards.
5m Mar 17
5m
A passage to Bamiyan
"I composed this piece imagining the observational or listening perspective of the field recordist Anders Vinjar in the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan, after decades of war in Afghanistan. The recording is from inside the upper part of Shah Mama, near where the head used to be. "While composing I tried to imagine the vastness of the region and the passages once used by monks moving through the ...
3m Mar 17
3m
Buddha Shah Mama
Peaceful ambient sound from the Bamiyan Valley in Afghanistan, post 45 years of war in Afghanistan. Recordings from top of inside Buddha Shah-Mama, where the head used to be. Recorded in Bamiyan, Afghanistan by Anders Vinjar.
10m Mar 17
10m
Relaxing night forest
"In this piece I wanted to make an ambient soundscape layering different textures on top of the recording. To make a composition the listener can just zone in to." Borneo rainforest reimagined by Jake Edwards.
5m Mar 17
5m
A vastness as a neighbour came
This beautiful recording of nocturnal crickets in Ghana opened up the night to me - I wanted to create a piece that had something of the warmth of a long summer evening, gazing up at the infinite sky as the crickets sing. The arpeggios grow and develop, with more instruments entering throughout the piece, representing the growth of the cricket chorus as more and more insect voices join the song...
4m Mar 13
4m
Nocturnal cricket chorus, Ghana
Faint cricket chorus at night, Ghana. Subtle night activity of crickets in a suburban community in Ghana. Human movements, voices, autos and textures can be observed in distinctive stereo fields.  Recording format: Binaural. Please wear headphones. Recorded in Koforidua - Bonya, Ghana by Samuel Kudjodzi.
2m Mar 13
2m
Losing the beat
"The core of this reimagining lies in the steam engine’s rhythmic inconsistency. I wrote this piece after listening to the sounds of an uneven, mechanically gasping engine: an exercise in translating industrial unpredictability into a structured yet fluid composition. "The process mirrored the engine's own struggle - a push-pull between rigid mechanics and the faltering quality of a machine th...
3m Mar 13
3m
Stationary steam engines
Stationary steam Eegines at the Coleford Festival of Transport. The stationary steam engines at the Coleford Festival of Transport always attract attention with their mechanical symphony of rhythmic chugging, the high pitched hiss of steam, and the clanking of rods and flywheels. The sounds of this engine were particularly beguiling. It sometimes faltered, and for a moment it seemed like it wou...
2m Mar 13
2m
A Century of Sounds live - conversation panel 2, 27 February 2026
Artists in conversation with the Pitt Rivers Museum curatorial team at the Century of Sounds launch event in Oxford on 27 February 2026. Featuring: Ilaria Boffa Salma Ahmed Caller Neil Spencer Bruce Panel presented by Philip Grover, Pitt Rivers Museum A Century of Sounds is a partnership between Cities and Memory and the Pitt Rivers Museum (https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/) , inviting listeners to ...
31m Mar 05
31m
A Century of Sounds live - conversation panel 1, 27 February 2026
Artists in conversation with the Pitt Rivers Museum curatorial team at the Century of Sounds launch event in Oxford on 27 February 2026. Featuring: Laura Irving laura dymphna Nick Drake Panel presented by Christopher Morton, Pitt Rivers Museum A Century of Sounds is a partnership between Cities and Memory and the Pitt Rivers Museum (https://www.prm.ox.ac.uk/) , inviting listeners to explore ...
29m Mar 05
29m
A Century of Sounds on Battiti, Rai Radio 3, February 2026
A Century of Sounds feature on the Battiti show on Rai Radio 3 in Italy, broadcast on 26 February 2026. Featuring: - Drawn to the circle by Ana Habesh - Mwana wevhu by Ndinibeatz - Kinnaur calling by Sonic Soma Plus discussion of the project and our partnership with the Pitt Rivers Museum.
22m Feb 26
22m
We sing together
When I first heard this recording of men gathered around a guitar, singing fragments of traditional songs and inventing lyrics on the spot, with women and children laughing in the background - it hit me: music isn’t just sound, it’s connection. It's a reminder of the timeless beauty in coming together, sharing stories, passing down traditions, and creating something meaningful in the moment. C...
2m Feb 22
2m
Nothing changes (a begging I will go)
This piece is built around a field recording from the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum of Berber beggars singing for charity. Listening to this recording, across time, what struck me was not difference but familiarity. Themes of begging, homelessness and poverty recur in traditional songs from all cultures, spanning the centuries. Despite differences in place, language and technolog...
5m Feb 22
5m
Sapeh (three-stringed boat lute)
"Sapeh (type of three-stringed boat lute) being played": the instrument was recorded in Sarawak by collector Leslie Bennett. From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being one of a small number of recordings of the musical instruments in the institution's collections being played or discussed. Recorded by W. Leslie Bennett. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, Uni...
6m Feb 22
6m
Beggars singing for charity
From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of reel-to-reel tape recordings of Berber (Ait Haddidu) music and soundscapes made by members of the Oxford University Expedition to the Atlas Mountains of Southern Morocco in 1961. Recorded by Audrey Butt, Michael R. Emerson or Ralph Hudson Johnson. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of ...
3m Feb 22
3m
Afternoon beneath a palm shelter
From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a large collection of cassette tape and digital audio tape recordings of Bayaka music and soundscapes made by ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno mainly in the Central African Republic (and the Republic of Congo) between 1986 and 2009. Recorded by Louis Sarno. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. ...
14m Feb 22
14m
To the land of the hornbills
I listened to the piece and researched any historical links between Plymouth, my home town and Sarawak, were the original recording by Leslie Bennet was made. It turns out there were three white "Rajahs" of Sarawak and they were members of the Brooke dynasty: James Brooke, who founded the rule in 1841; his nephew Charles Brooke, who succeeded him; and Charles' son, Charles Vyner Brooke. Althou...
7m Feb 22
7m
The rainforest
The field recording that inspired this composition features a Bayaka musician playing the geedal, an instrument whose sound is deeply connected to the forest, communal memory, and oral transmission. When I first listened to the recording, what struck me was not only the melody, but the space around it: the breath, the rhythm, and the sense of conversation between the player, the instrument, and...
3m Feb 22
3m
Duet for conch shell and synthesisers
The recording I worked with was pure beauty. A simple, pure sound of a conch shell being played - according to my further research, these conches can be hand-stopped to produce different notes and tones, and when played on the reefs in Vanuatu, can “make the whole reef resonate in sympathy”. Conch shells are also used ceremonially, for instance, to celebrate and denote the quality of boars tha...
7m Feb 22
7m
Mwana wevhu
This project is inspired by a 1958 field recording of a Bamum girl singing a religious song in Fumban, West Region, Cameroon, recorded by Lois Mitchson on a ¾-inch reel tape. The archival voice forms the emotional and conceptual core of the project. The recording of the young girl singing praises about the Sultan Njoya who was part of the monarchy which dates back to the fourteenth century, is ...
7m Feb 22
7m
Balonyona playing the geedal (bow harp)
.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a large collection of cassette tape and digital audio tape recordings of Bayaka music and soundscapes made by ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno mainly in the Central African Republic (and the Republic of Congo) between 1986 and 2009. Recorded by Louis Sarno. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. ...
3m Feb 22
3m
Natar (song) on conch and musket
Natar (song) with Markany Lei on conch and Wani on musket. From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a large collection of reel-to-reel tape recordings of music and soundscapes made by ethnomusicologist Raymond Clausen mainly on the island of Malekula (Malampa Province) in Vanuatu between 1960 and 1979. Recorded by Raymond Ernst Clausen. Copyright...
2m Feb 22
2m
Bamum girl singing religious song
From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of reel-to-reel tape recordings of songs and musical instruments made by journalist Lois Mitchison in Cameroon during 1958. Recorded by Sonja Lois Mitchison. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. ——— Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 yea...
2m Feb 22
2m
Drawn to the circle
Drawn to the Circle began with a field recording of a boar tusk horn calling people into a full circle. The sound comes from Malekula Island in Vanuatu, performed by Melteg Ike and Mal Maru of the Big Nambas cultural group, and recorded by Raymond Clausen in 1962. When I first heard it, I was struck by how two players became one sound. It felt less like music and more like an invitation — a cal...
3m Feb 22
3m
Broken
When I first heard "Mekana discussing a case of adultery", I really wanted to know more about the background to the recording. My research led me a to 1983 Granada Television Programme from the Disappearing Worlds Series which introduced the idea of "Benge", the poison oracle used by the Azande People of Central Africa to answer questions relating to, amongst others, infidelity. It was also viv...
5m Feb 22
5m
The hills remember
“The Hills Remember” is a concept piece on the “domination paradigm” — a cultural logic shared across systems of oppression. The work explores the intersections of religious nationalism, religious violence and colonisation, authoritarianism, capitalism, misogyny, domestic and child abuse, gender- and sexuality-based violence, racial oppression, and rape culture — systems all linked by hierarchi...
20m Feb 22
20m
Sound weaver's incantation (for capturing and preserving the sounds of life)
I selected the recording of a night forest in the Central African Republic without looking at the description, simply because it sounded magical. I usually search the recorded sounds for inspiration to tell stories that are more or less personal, but this time it was different. As I started reading about the origin of the sound, chosen solely for its magical aspect, I found myself lost in the d...
5m Feb 22
5m
Talea
A talea is both faithful and transformed. It remains genetically identical to the source, yet grows into something new through a different environment. It is not preservation or betrayal. It is organic continuation, the way traditional music has always moved through time and space. Our composition embodies the talea principle by maintaining an unbroken genetic thread to the source field record...
13m Feb 22
13m
Likimbi forest camp late at night
From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a large collection of cassette tape and digital audio tape recordings of Bayaka music and soundscapes made by ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno mainly in the Central African Republic (and the Republic of Congo) between 1986 and 2009. Recorded by Louis Sarno. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford. ...
28m Feb 22
28m
For the sun
Researching this sound and the U’wa people gave me an opportunity to scratch the surface of their deeply complex seasonal customs, involving dance, storytelling and performance. Ann Osborn (the sound recordist) documents this in her study "The Four Seasons of the U'wa: A Chibcha Ritual Ecology in the Colombian Andes". What I learned inspired me to tell a new story. In this piece you hear about...
6m Feb 22
6m
Geedal in the forest with male voices
Geedal (bow harp) played in the forest with male voices accompanying. From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a large collection of cassette tape and digital audio tape recordings of Bayaka music and soundscapes made by ethnomusicologist Louis Sarno mainly in the Central African Republic (and the Republic of Congo) between 1986 and 2009. Recorded...
6m Feb 22
6m
Lozorüü - Angami Naga love song
"Lozorüü" (tune: "Hoiyi Olle"): an Angami Naga love song performed by two men and two young women ("Though the villages are separated the herds graze together./ Upon the ridge there is a great stone to sit on"). From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of wax cylinder recordings of Naga (Angami, Sümi, Lotha, Chang and Sangtam) songs ma...
3m Feb 22
3m
Mekana discussing a case of adultery
Spoken word recording of Mekana discussing a case of adultery. From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of wax cylinder recordings of Zande songs, dances and spoken language made by social anthropologist Edward Evans-Pritchard in South Sudan between 1928 and 1930. Recorded by Edward Evan Evans-Pritchard. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum,...
4m Feb 22
4m
Merer Pake: nDavu trumpet signal
"Merer Pake": an nDavu trumpet signal for a full circle tusked boar. From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a large collection of reel-to-reel tape recordings of music and soundscapes made by ethnomusicologist Raymond Clausen mainly on the island of Malekula (Malampa Province) in Vanuatu between 1960 and 1979. Recorded by Raymond Ernst Clausen. ...
1m Feb 22
1m
U'wa drones
U'wa drones from the Andes in north-east Colombia. From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of reel-to-reel recordings of U'wa songs and stories made by anthropologist Ann Osborn in the Northern Andes (Sierra Nevada del Cocuy region) in Colombia between 1969 and 1977. Recorded by Ann Osborn. Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University o...
1m Feb 22
1m
A Vanuata hymn
I heard the piece, which is a Vanuata hymn called 'You say you no want ’im married long me,' and connected with it immediately. Despite not knowing what the lyrics were about the singing was filled with emotion and a kind of melancholy that I often bring to my own work. I contacted Pitt Rivers for details on the lyrics, as I thought I would like to add my own singing to the piece, but unfortuna...
2m Feb 22
2m