Morning birds in Apoala
Morning birds in Santiago Apoala. Stereo 48kHz 24bit. UNESCO listing: Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley: originary habitat of Mesoamerica Recorded by Erick Ruiz Arellano. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
3m Mar 31, 2025
3m
Ponte de Dom Luís I
Spanning the Douro River, the Dom Luís I Bridge in Porto provides a unique moment of calm in the early hours of the day. The recording captures the peaceful atmosphere, where the distant calls of seagulls and the quiet hum of the city fill the air. In this tranquil setting, the Metro train makes its dramatic entrance, its sound gradually building as it approaches, becoming louder until it pass...
1m Mar 31, 2025
1m
Birds of Apoala
"This piece reflects the birds of Apoala sounding at first light. After 30 seconds there are sounds of music, representing the unique sonic relationship that birds and their songs have with man." Birds of Apoala reimagined by Tallest Trees. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole pr...
2m Mar 31, 2025
2m
Rust
 "I grew up close to one of the biggest Catholic pilgrimage destinations in the world - I could never escape bells. I love the way they sound, the seemingly impossible rhythms and beatings they create, and the long ringings. "I wanted to preserve those sounds and rhythms in some way, but at the same time reflect the wanton disregard with which we treat our past. I decided to use the sounds of ...
8m Mar 31, 2025
8m
Morning pass
"I wanted to create the sense of multiple trains passing over time by breaking up the sounds into component parts with distortion and delay but also introduced the feeling of being on the train at the same time with the background notes." Dom Luis I Bridge, Porto reimagined by David Cowlard. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most fa...
2m Mar 31, 2025
2m
The life of Winston Churchill
Blenheim Palace was the birthplace of Britain's most famous Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, and throughout the property there are plenty of reminders of this, including a dedicated permanent exhibition to his life. Attention has been paid to sound in the exhibition, which variously includes mockups of Churchill's voice telling stories about his childhood, Morse code to mark his years in the ...
5m Mar 29, 2025
5m
I loved riding
"To start with I was mostly interested in seeing if I could extract the typewriter and morse code sounds and use those rhythms to trigger snippets of Churchill's voice. I wanted to re-code the existing code and tried a variety of techniques including EQ, AI Stem Splitting, Gates, Envelope Followers, distortion and reverb. "I started to make some overlapping rhythms with the morse code and type...
3m Mar 29, 2025
3m
Campanas de la Catedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de México
On Palm Sunday during Holy Week, all the cathedral bells are rung. It is a unique moment throughout the year. UNESCO listing: Historic Centre of Mexico City Recorded by Leonardo Santiago. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
7m Mar 29, 2025
7m
Bell fall
"I love this recording by Leonardo Santiago of the cathedral bells in Mexico City. I was working with a mix of voice, song and sound elements taken from the recording, but then I got sick and couldn’t record the voice elements. So this is a really simple combination of the second part of the recording with a poem I wrote about a visitor descending into the square to the sound of bells." Mexico...
3m Mar 29, 2025
3m
Naja nostalgia
 "The world is not this world when heard through the auditory spectrum of a snake. It follows, then, that history itself might also shift if perceived outside the limits of human hearing. Naja Nostalgia is a sound work that employs field recording, geophone recordings, synthesizers, and an improvised Viridu performance to recreate the experience of walking through Sri Lanka’s Galle World Herita...
4m Mar 29, 2025
4m
Jaguar head instrument at Teotihuacan Pyramids
Juan imitates the sound of a jaguar with an ancient instrument at Teotihuacan Pyramids. Stereo 48kHz 24bit. UNESCO listing: Pre-Hispanic City of Teotihuacan Recorded by Erick Ruiz Arellano. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
29s Mar 28, 2025
29s
The ancient and the new
This recording was captured in Fanal, a vast forested area with an enchanting atmosphere and ancient-looking trees that are part of the indigenous Laurisilva forest. In the recording, you can hear me walking, sounds of people talking, taking photos and wandering through the mist. Between some powerful winds, theres some calmer moments where you can hear the soft patter of raindrops falling from...
3m Mar 28, 2025
3m
Transformation
"The field recording I worked with was of a 'Jaguar Whistle', an instrument designed to replicate the sound of a jaguar. My understanding is that in Mesoamerican cultures, the jaguar was a symbol of transformation, bridging the earthly and spiritual realms. Research suggested that Shamans and rulers sought to embody its power, believing they could take on its form to navigate the unseen world, ...
4m Mar 28, 2025
4m
Misty transmutes
"I got inspired of the original recording’s “rough” essence - the windy and rainy weather was dominant, along the noise of the people. For me, it reflects the ongoing change of the climate and amount of tourism which seem to change and grow hand in hand. "Also the description of the original recording tells about capturing the sound of growing number of people in the misty forests of Fanal, Po...
11m Mar 28, 2025
11m
Heritage simulacrum
"I approached the word 'heritage' from two directions; there is what we receive, 'inherit', (and what we in turn leave) - an imperative to consider how we care for leave behind what we hold precious. But heritage can also indicate efforts to retain what has, realistically, been lost - a simulacrum, second-hand experience. In the context of this project, how much better to protect and experience...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Day of the Dead at Xoxo
Day of the Death at Xoxocotlán cemetery. Families gather around thumbs. Stereo 48kHz 24bit. UNESCO listing: Indigenous festivity dedicated to the dead Recorded by Erick Ruiz Arellano. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Skara Brae
"After carefully listening to my chosen field recording; Skara Brae, I refreshed my memory and researched the Neolithic site in Orkney. "I liked how the geofon recording added a mysterious layer, with distant sounding muffled voices and rumbling… I accentuated and extended this mystery. "I imagined the aeons of time that has passed on the site; the prehistoric industry and life, how many visi...
12m Mar 27, 2025
12m
Skara Brae tourism
Skara Brae, Europe's most remarkably preserved Neolithic village, offers a profound connection to the distant past. In this recording, the wind carries its timeless song, mingling with the murmurs of visitors as they explore the site. Captured through the Geofon, the vibrations of wind and footsteps resonate like the ancient village's heartbeat, while the muffled conversations evoke echoes of l...
2m Mar 27, 2025
2m
Does it drive you crazy too?
"I liked how the field recording sounded messy and not put together 100% and I incorporated that in my production style. I also liked the raw sounding vibe of the recording which i enhanced with reverb to create a unique atmosphere in the background. "I think my composition shows that every sound has a place in today's music style and we can preserve sounds from across the world by including t...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Delos, from Egypt to modern day
"Upon listening to the in field recording, I instantly had the idea of doing something involving synthesis and tying that to the idea of time travel. What stood out to me most is the raw, natural ambience that it has. I used this to use hard panning in the beginning to simulate the listener looking around. I connected it to the sound of a stream flowing. "Upon researching Delos, I found out th...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Soul of Italy
"The opera singing within the field recording sounded soul-like, which inspired us to pull inspiration from 90s hip hop, such as the Wu-Tang Clan, who also sampled a lot of old music. As discussed, we used sampling techniques and other effects such as bit crush, to achieve an old school sound." Singer at the Pantheon, Rome reimagined by Theo Steventon. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic...
2m Mar 27, 2025
2m
Wieża
""Wieża" considers themes of change, stasis, motion, stillness, and meditation, as suggested by the original field recording. The footsteps that explore Wieża Ratuszowa in that recording become a percussive pulse in this composition, exploring convergence, tension, loss, and progress: people, events, ideas, emotions, structures, melodies, instruments, elements of arrangement, all arriving, depa...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Wieża Ratuszowa
From the height of Kraków’s Town Hall Tower, this recording transports you to the heart of the Old Town, where the echoes of history are intertwined with the pulse of contemporary life. Standing as a proud Gothic monument since the 14th century, the tower bears witness to centuries of change. Soft, measured footsteps ascending the narrow stairs, while the hum of modern life drifts in through t...
1m Mar 27, 2025
1m
Hagar Qim, Il-Genna Mitlufa (Hagar Qim, Paradise Lost)
"Hagar Qim, on the south western edge of Malta, is one of the oldest built structures in the world. Over 5000 years old, this megalithic temple overlooks the dazzling blue Mediterranean. In 2008, canopies were constructed to protect these monuments from further elemental damage. Small birds, mainly sparrows, have now made their home among the high eaves of these shelters, their calls echoing th...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Walking back into Hagar Qim, neolithic temples
Footsteps on the stony path, hundreds of sparrows, the sound changing when entering under the canopy that covers the temples, other birds, insects buzzing. UNESCO listing: Megalithic Temples of Malta Recorded by Suzy Mangion. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https:/...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Arranging and rearranging black feathers (the game)
"The inspiration for this fugue-like piece was the imagined relationship between the crows - possibly Rooks by their call - and the Blenheim gamekeepers. One of judgement and mutual dislike, or perhaps literally a game. "The rising cello slides were suggested by what I suspect is an accelerating car in the original sound clip around at around the 1:10 mark – just before the jogger runs past. ...
2m Mar 27, 2025
2m
Crows nesting in the palace grounds
Crows nesting high in the trees in the ground of Blenheim Palace, being very vocal on a Sunday afternoon, as we also hear one of the regular joggers in the grounds going past us. UNESCO listing: Blenheim Palace Recorded by Cities and Memory. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole ...
2m Mar 27, 2025
2m
Hema in Mexico City
"The sound piece was inspired by the Mexico City mariachi street march, I was inspired by the poly rhythmic patterns and the instruments I was hearing over the street sounds in the recording. I enjoyed how the sound kept changing and gave the impression of moving through a street or passage with sound. In my composition I imagined myself as part of the procession whilst trying to create an indi...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Weaving rhythms
"With its sharp, clipped sounds and natural rhythm, this recording immediately drew me in. It felt like a composition in itself, already crafted, and required little manipulation to tease out its natural syncopation and lively tempo. In my reimagined piece, I aimed to enhance these natural rhythms, capturing the physicality of Kente weaving - the movement of hands, the crossings of parallel thr...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Names in the air
"In my composition, I mixed the sound of an air raid siren in Prague, Czechia; the sound of a metronome as a symbol of time’s relentless march and history’s cyclical nature; two voices: a child repeating after his mother the names of Ukrainian cities; and an old Ukrainian folk song, Grey Goose, sung dramatically by a solo a cappella female voice (Yulia Volovik). "I chose the air raid siren in ...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Air raid siren
The air raid siren in Prague that sounds the first Wednesday of every month, and it is a practice alert as part of the Czech Republic's emergency preparedness system. The siren goes off at 12:00 PM and it's not meant to signal an actual threat, but rather to test the nation's readiness in case of a real emergency. It serves as a regular reminder of the country's civil defense system, helping ci...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Mariachis at Plaza Garibaldi
Distant Mariachis bands play at Plaza Garibaldi in Mexico City. Mono 48kHz 24bit. UNESCO listing: Mariachi, string music, song and trumpet Recorded by Erick Ruiz Arellano. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Ewe Kente weaving in Kpetoe
Ewe Kente weaving by a group of two weavers in the Kpetoe community in Volta Region, Ghana. Kente is woven on a horizontal strip loom, which produces a narrow band of cloth about four inches wide. Several of these strips are carefully arranged and hand-sewn together to create a cloth of the desired size. Most kente weavers are men. Weaving involves the crossing of a row of parallel threads cal...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Piazza San Pietro
Recording of St Peter square, with people speaking, walking, waiting in line to see the Vatican. Millions of tourists visit this sight every day so this it how it sounds all the time. UNESCO listing: Vatican City Recorded by Danilo Crnogorac. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Pulse of Yellowstone
"The first National Park in the United States was Yellowstone, and the most recognised attraction is the geyser Old Faithful. Predictions of Old Faithful eruptions are central to human activity at the site. People plan their days around these times. Efforts are made to make the most accurate predictions possible, however there are variations and it is never exactly known at what moment the geys...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
In those days
"I was inspired to create a piece reflecting the complex history of this World Heritage Site via the personal recollections of a centenarian with fond memories of growing up on such a cosmopolitan coast. And yet if we go further back, more complicated histories also reside here - and so I wanted to refer to that ambiguity sonically - especially in a place which is now such a tourist destination...
7m Mar 27, 2025
7m
Clogra
"I originally picked this sample because it reflected my research interest in pedestrianism. Listening back, I was wondering what the volume of conversation and impression of sociality around the Vatican that was captured in the sample might mean....at the same time, I had the idea of incorporating the Angelus bells which still ring twice a day in Dublin. Similarly, everyday life happens around...
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Spice market in Stone Town
Inside the spice market a seller offers a variety of spices, flavorants and perfumes. UNESCO listing: Stone Town, Zanzibar Recorded by Marg Laing. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
5m Mar 27, 2025
5m
Rhapsodie d'Serra
"Composed over several weeks using the entire recording used in sections takes the lively street and voices as introduction numerous sounds sampled and were sculptured using audio software and Eurorack hardware itself becomes a rhapsody dedicated to sound recordists and artists everywhere. "This beautiful momentary field recording of Valldemossa, Mallorca Spain inspired our composition and enc...
8m Mar 27, 2025
8m
Snow memory
"Multiple tracks were played on a keyboard, arranged and combined with the audio field recording using midi workstation computer software. "The sound for this piece is a recording of a stream running under the snow with the sounds of running water, the popping of ice melting and pebbles bumping and clacking as they are rolled by the water. I live in California now but as a child I lived for a ...
8m Mar 27, 2025
8m
Dos caminos
"The field recording I chose was rich with historical resonance, immediately reminding me of another sacred route in Japan—Kumano Kodo, an ancient pilgrimage trail deeply connected to spiritual tradition. This parallel between Camino de Santiago in Spain and Kumano Kodo in Japan felt natural, as both sites are UNESCO-designated partners in preserving cultural and historical heritage. "Fortunat...
7m Mar 27, 2025
7m
Water under the snow
A short recording with an hydrophone. A stream running under the snow, popping sounds of ice melting and pebbles. UNESCO listing: High Coast / Kvarken Archipelago Recorded by Shachaf Polakow. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
The mechanical clock
It's 9pm in the village of Valldemossa in the Serra Tramuntana, and we hear the bells chime the hour from a clock tower with an interesting mechanical clockwork sound that's clearly audible on a quiet night like this. Following the chimes, we walk around the church, to hear the sounds of restaurants doing a brisk evening trade. UNESCO listing: Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana Rec...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
Praza das Praterías
At the core of Santiago de Compostela, Praza das Praterías (Plaza de las Platerías) pulses with the sounds that embody its spiritual and cultural spirit. The resonant toll of bells from the nearby cathedral forms a solemn call, echoing across the plaza as pilgrims gather, their conversations blending into the hum of the crowd. Galician bagpipes provide a distinct, melodic layer to the atmosphe...
1m Mar 27, 2025
1m
Ships sail softly
"The sound of waves and voices intertwine in an endless field, creating an immersive experience that echoes through the depths of the Neva River. Field recordings were processed through a resonator to expand space and enhance sub-bass frequencies. "A tape-recorded and processed recitation of the poem Requiem by Anna Akhmatova adds lyrical meaning to the composition. The Peter and Paul Fortress...
8m Mar 27, 2025
8m
The soft entrance
"I worked in Edinburgh for 13 years and was part of the team that led on the nomination bid for the Forth Bridge. The sound of The Bridge was important for me to include in the piece as I feel partly responsible for it being considered a WHS. "The aim of the piece was to highlight the role of sound in shaping the tourist experience. The familiarity of the train crossing could evoke a sense of ...
13m Mar 27, 2025
13m
Icthyophaga vocifer
"This piece was made from a field recording of African Fish Eagles in duet at Djoudj Bird Sanctuary in Senegal. The recording has been processed through software to manipulate its pitch and other characteristics, in order to unearth mutations in timbre of the birdsong and create a chorus of ersatz birdsong. What interested me about working with this sound is the questions it raises about the na...
3m Mar 27, 2025
3m
El retiro, Madrid (1 February 2025)
"In recent years, I've developed a field recording based practice of reworking and remixing sounds using small portable speakers, using binaural headphones in combination with a stereo pair to record my hybrid performance-installation. I happened to be in Madrid shortly after choosing my sound, and so I reworked the original field recording of monk parakeets in Madrid's Retiro Park in situ, my ...
12m Mar 27, 2025
12m
Trains crossing the Forth Road Bridge
Living in Edinburgh, I often forget that I see a UNESCO Heritage site every morning rising above the River Forth. I catch a train across the Forth Road Bridge to Fyfe, drive past it through South Queensferry or simply see it in the distance as I walk the dog in Portobello. I remember the first time I saw it I was in absolute awe of the huge iconic structure, wondering how on earth was it built....
4m Mar 27, 2025
4m
Monk parakeets in Madrid
Madrid has the greatest population of Monk Parakeets in Europe, many of whom can be seen and heard in the El Retiro park. This park was named a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2023 and includes the tree-lined Paseo del Prado avenue as well as the 120-hectare Jardines del Buen Retiro (Garden of Pleasant Retreat), a remnant of the 17th-century Buen Retiro Palace. In this recording we hear a group o...
5m Mar 27, 2025
5m