Joyous sounds of fireworks welcome arrival of the Fortune God
On the fifth day of the Chinese Lunar New Year, it is the day to welcome the God of Wealth, and people often set off fireworks and firecrackers at midnight as a gesture of welcome, hoping for his favor in the coming year so they can accumulate wealth. In recent years, China has banned the use of fireworks and firecrackers in urban areas to ensure safety and reduce pollution. This recording capt...
9m Mar 23, 2025
9m
End of Christmas market in Luebeck
We are in Lübeck's old town in Germany. It is a cold and windy day. The St. Jakobi church stands at a crossroads near a large, old square called Koberg. There are many people on the street. On December 30th, large trucks are parked next to St. Jacob's Church because the Christmas market is over and things are packed. The bells of St. Jacob's Church and other churches in the old town start ringi...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Westlicher Najadenbrunnen in Autumn
The sounds captured in this recording are: airplanes, dry leaves (lots of them), birds, footsteps on gravel, people talking (in several languages, since it's one of the most famous gardens in Vienna), and children playing. It was a beautiful, warm Saturday, and my close friends and I decided to take a walk through the gardens of Schonnbrunn, hot chocolate in hand and recording equipment in the...
13m Mar 23, 2025
13m
Loong Kwailei
"Listening to the audio recorded in Shanghai, China, at the Spring festival, I identified interesting melodic fragments from a puppet show, as well as discernible rhythmic and melodic elements from unintelligible background voices and other noises from the audience. "I was drawn to these sounds both as being culturally significant and as being representative of aspects of World Heritage connec...
5m Mar 23, 2025
5m
Dun on the run
"Whenever and wherever I travel, I try to meet up with local musicians so that we might play together. In this way, I have played with musicians in Africa, India, China and elsewhere. I have not been so much concerned with learning the local or national modes of playing, as in trying to propose and adapt my own modes and methods to what's being played locally, there and then. This tends to crea...
3m Mar 23, 2025
3m
Warm Saturday
"The track was influenced by both the field recording and the recording artist’s description. Tomasz describes walking with friends through the famous gardens of Schönbrunn in Vienna on a “beautiful, warm Saturday,” which immediately shaped my approach. Warm Saturday felt like a natural title, capturing both the mood and memory of the recording. "I usually lean towards ambient or experimental ...
4m Mar 23, 2025
4m
Performance of traditional puppetry
While out shopping, I stumbled upon a performance of puppetry, capturing the scene of people gathered by the roadside to watch the show. This is a traditional form of performance, steeped in history. UNESCO listing: China’s Spring Festival Recorded by David Ge. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more an...
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m
Tibetan opera at Xiahe
Tibetan opera at Xiahe. Stereo 48kHz 24bit. UNESCO listing: Tibetan opera 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
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Echoes of the sacred
This field recording, captured on May 13th, 2023, in Pisa at the Battistero di San Giovanni, immerses the listener in the acoustics of one of Italy’s most iconic heritage sites. The soundscape is a blend of the bustling noise of tourist groups, their conversations drifting in and out of focus, and the captivating vocal performance of a tour guide. As the guide demonstrates the remarkable acous...
4m Mar 23, 2025
4m
Sacred echoes
"I was drawn to this sound due to it's sacred lineage. As an atheist, I am fascinated by peoples devotion to their sacred beliefs. The notion of these spaces being 'tourist attractions' allows fleeting glimpses in to the historical conventions surrounding religiosity. "What interests me is experiencing the sonic character of these spaces, most likely an unintended result of the grandiose desig...
5m Mar 23, 2025
5m
Duende
"My wife and I traveled to Seville on my honeymoon and saw Flamenco. I even created field recordings of Flamenco while there. But I never did anything with the recording, though I've thought about it quite often. When it showed up on the list of possible sounds to remix for Sonic Heritage, it felt like that sound chose me. "Musically my goal was to keep the essence of the original piece intact...
6m Mar 23, 2025
6m
Amazon biosphere - dawn chorus
At dawn in the heart of the Amazon Biosphere, Colombia, the world emerges from its slumber in a harmonious symphony of life. The dense, emerald-green rainforest envelops you, and the morning stillness gives way to a vibrant medley of birdcalls, insect chatter, and distant howler monkeys marking their territory. This timeless soundscape reflects the pulse of one of the most biodiverse regions on...
3m Mar 23, 2025
3m
Emerald
"The recording was so beautiful to listen to, that I decided not to do my usual stripping the wav down to its bones and rebuild it into something else. "I took my cue from Rafael's description using Emerald as the title. I also included the whole recording as the base and created a reflection of electronic sounds to mirror and respond to the sounds of the Amazon, layering to build up to the da...
3m Mar 23, 2025
3m
Gibbons
"We felt the field recording had quite a psychedelic and surreal feel about it, it holds melodic qualities that are unique to the voice of a gibbon, and you would never expect to hear from a human voice. Once flipped and processed by us, it had a much more synthesiser like sound, though still with a lot of organic charm to set it apart from artificial sounds. "Our composition addresses the the...
3m Mar 23, 2025
3m
The bells of time
"After hearing the sound piece 213 Asakusa Bell of Time Senso-ji Temple bell and reading the accompanying description I became fascinated by the sounds and the history of this and other bells in Tokyo. Particularly by the fact that the bell is still rung everyday and is mostly now not heard above the sounds of the city. "I spoke to my friend Mike Ward and fellow musician from Longstone https:/...
8m Mar 23, 2025
8m
Whispers of the ancients: the Bushmen’s mouth bow melodies
The Seworoworo or commonly known as the Mouth Bow, is one of the world’s oldest instrument, originally invented by the Bushmen. I really feel lucky that I had the chance to record it right at the very heart of the Okavango Delta in Botswana. The instument is played by Tango, a young man from the Delta. Birds sing during his playing as well. This instrument has a palm-leaf string that is made t...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
High altitude temple bells
Hidden deep within the breathtaking mountains of Svaneti lies Ushguli, one of the highest and most remote inhabited villages in the world. The air here is crisp, and the silence is punctuated by the gentle chime of temple bells. These bells echo the prayers of villagers who live amid snow-draped peaks and ancient stone towers, their faith and traditions anchoring them in this harsh, otherworldl...
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m
Voices in the bows
"Voices in the Bows explores the resonance and cultural significance of the Botswana mouth bow, an instrument with a rich history of oral transmission and performance. The original field recording captivated me with its percussive qualities, harmonic overtones, and rhythmic fluidity. Rather than manipulating or digitally altering the bow’s sound, I chose to preserve its natural timbre, allowing...
3m Mar 23, 2025
3m
Svaneti Tempel
"I want to dedicate this composition to my grandfather - Anatoliy Mytianskyi. He was a passionate tourist and loved Berlin school of electronic music very much. He actually was at Svaneti in the 1970s and made some beautiful photos of this place. As a kid I remember looking at this old photos, admiring the towers of Svaneti and mountains around them while my grandfather was listening to some ep...
8m Mar 23, 2025
8m
Coimbra daydream
"The field recording I chose is of an old blind man singing to himself and talking about how he uses sound to get around the city of Coimbra. My partner and I visited the city while travelling around Europe in our VW camper in 2003, and had a lovely experience there, walking the streets, attending an avant garde music event and soaking up the city's atmosphere. We may have even passed this man ...
5m Mar 23, 2025
5m
Rua da Sofia I (2013)
Recording with a blind man at the entrance to the shopping mall who has been a regular presence there for 50 years. Your voice and the importance of sound in your everyday life. UNESCO listing: University of Coimbra – Alta and Sofia Recorded by Luís Antero. ——————— This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights. Find out more and ex...
8m Mar 23, 2025
8m
Asakusa Bell of Time
This is a field recording that I made in 2014 of the ringing of the Senso-ji Temple bell. What is heard is walking on traditional gravel path up to the bell, hearing the monk approach and ring the bell which has been rung at 6:00am for 400 years. During the Edo period at the heritage site of the Senso-ji Temple time was announced with bell chimes. These were “official” time bells called toki n...
7m Mar 23, 2025
7m
Kaeng Krachan post-rain stillness
The jungle settles after a strong rain - light drops of rain patter on leaves while wind swells through the leaves. Distant gibbons sing from deep in the mountains. UNESCO listing: Kaeng Krachan Park Recorded by Paul Virostek. IMAGE: JJ Harrison (https://www.jjharrison.com.au/), CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons ——————— This sound is part ...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Guest house
"This piece is a sonic recreation of the Sema ceremony - a sacred ritual of the Whirling Dervishes, recorded at Istanbul’s Mevlevi center, a UNESCO-listed Intangible Heritage of Humanity. The intent was not simply to reference the ceremony but to immerse the listener in its very essence - the initiation atmosphere, the mystical ascent, the infinite rotation. "At its core, the composition integ...
5m Mar 23, 2025
5m
Tunis alleyways
"This composition is an ode to the intricate labyrinth of one of the world’s largest medinas—Tunis, Tunisia. As I wandered alone through its winding alleys, the uneven cobblestones beneath my feet seemed to whisper and reverberate, as if time itself were suspended in a dense fog of noise and memory. "The medina pulsed with a multidimensional tapestry of sound. Metallic echoes spilled from shad...
5m Mar 23, 2025
5m
Posidònies i ones
"The piece combines a field recording taken from UNESCO World Heritage sites with instrumentation that can be electronic or acoustic. Its aesthetics are based on the theme of the sampler: the sea and the waves. "Posidònies i ones." serves as the epilogue to a series of ten compositions grouped under the title: "Hipervida. Book 1. Abans que jo, tots els éssers." "One spring, we collected posido...
4m Mar 23, 2025
4m
Sama
In the heart of Istanbul, within the sacred walls of the Galata Mevlevi House, this recording brings to life the opening moments of the Mevlevi Sema Ceremony. The whirling dervishes begin their silent ritual, their robes swirling with each precise movement. The space hums with reverence as their feet glide across the floor, initiating a sacred dance that echoes centuries of tradition. The atmo...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Crashing waves at Cala Deià
Cala Deià is a tiny beach down from the mountain village of Deià, in the heart of the Serra Tramuntana in the northwest of Mallorca. The beach is only about 70 metres long and is mostly small pebbles and large rocks. This rich recording captures waves breaking onto the rocky beach on an October afternoon. UNESCO listing: Cultural Landscape of the Serra de Tramuntana Recorded by Cities and Mem...
6m Mar 23, 2025
6m
A sensory labyrinth
The Medina of Tunis is a sensory labyrinth — a bustling marketplace during the day and a quiet, mysterious maze by night. During one nocturnal stroll, the eerie cry of what sounded like a baby echoed through the narrow alleys. It turned out to be a fierce territorial battle between two cats, their voices amplified by the silence. This historic heart of the city is a place where every sound tell...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Serbian Slava
"Slava is a Serbian family celebration which is unique to Serbian Orthodox Christians. For this project, I read documentation on this cultural practice, and it is a tradition that has very deep roots in the Serbian society, which are said to be pre-Christian. I am accustomed to European family celebrations like Christmas and St. Nicholas' Day (in the Netherlands), but Slava has a very different...
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m
(re)place
(re)place: A Sound Design Exploration of Kraków's Market Square "The field recording of Kraków’s Market Square captures the energy of a living, pulsating space that has survived for centuries. My personal connection to this place lies in my study of the Polish language (during my Bachelors I minored in Slavic Languages), and my subsequent visits to the city as a professional musician. What str...
9m Mar 23, 2025
9m
Over the Forth
"The original train and water sounds inspired me to create a work that suggested the passage of time and the motion of things - a journey. The field recording was edited and collaged with two Moog Subharmonicon patterns applied to support it and frame the original sounds. It documents an imagined journey over the Forth." Forth Bridge reimagined by Alan Cook. ——————— This sound is part of the...
6m Mar 23, 2025
6m
The rumble under the Bridge
Residents of South Queensferry (and North Queensferry) are familiar with the sonic "rumble" heard when a train passes over The Forth Bridge. The submitted audio recording includes 3 such rumbles and some ambient sounds such as waves lapping on the beach under the bridge. Unfortunately 30th December 2024 when the recording was taken was a very windy day so the mobile phone recording is not very ...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Church interior ambience with orthodox Christian liturgical singing
Slava is celebrated in family home as well as in the chruch. This is a recording of divine liturgy in church with people inside who celebrate that day's saint. you can hear priests singing and reading the bible, stories about the saint and his legacy. Recorded at Crkva prenosa moštiju svetog Nikole, Melenci, Serbia, April 2023. UNESCO listing: Slava, celebration of family saint patron’s day R...
10m Mar 23, 2025
10m
Rynek Główny
In the recording, the heart of Kraków’s Market Square comes alive with the dynamic sounds of a lively marketplace. Happy crowds weave through the market, searching for deals, while the rhythmic footfalls of eager buyers punctuate the energy of the square. The timeless spirit of markets, the energy of commerce, connection, and exchange - is palpable in every sound, where all of life feels concen...
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m
Erica maderensis
"Erica madernsis, Inspired in the sound emmited from water bodies in Levada do Rei in Madeira, Portugal, which is a small island with amazing landscapes, with vast florae, a special place with it's own oddities & singularities in the endemical plants that inhabit there. E. madernsis is one of those endemycal plants, that although being small, intrepid, perennial, ramified and bushy, now is also...
17m Mar 23, 2025
17m
Ushguli
"I love a creaky door sound anytime, but this one was particularly special. The slow movement of this ancient door in Ushguli village as it groaned and rumbled on its rusty hinges was evocative of the remote mountain landscape it came from. You can almost smell the freshness of the air and feel the solidity of the village’s decadent medieval stone Svan towers. I had never heard of this place un...
6m Mar 23, 2025
6m
Cuzco street market
"As the primary sound from the original field recording, I chose to loop a section featuring what sounds like an older woman talking and laughing. To me, she seems like someone who has been to the market many times—perhaps even works there. Her laugh carries an element of mystery and wisdom. By looping this moment, I wanted to express how, although time passes and this recording captures just a...
4m Mar 23, 2025
4m
The ancient door
In the remote and rugged landscapes of Upper Svaneti, Georgia, life is shaped by the rhythms of isolation and endurance. This high-altitude region, often snowbound for much of the year, is home to ancient villages where time seems to stand still. The creak of an old, weathered door in an abandoned home carries the echoes of past generations — its rusty hinges groaning like whispers from another...
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m
Cuzco street markets
In Cusco’s vibrant street markets, life bursts forth in a riot of color and sound. Andean communities descend from the mountains, bringing their handcrafted goods, fresh produce, and unique traditions. The air is filled with laughter, music, and the hum of conversations in Quechua and Spanish — a sensory feast that encapsulates the spirit of the Andes. UNESCO listing: City of Cuzco Recorded b...
7m Mar 23, 2025
7m
Levada do Rei: water abundance
This recording captures a moment I stoped on a walking along a "levada," a traditional water channel originally built to transport water from the north of the island. These networks of aqueducts stretch across many kilometres and are accompanied by narrow walking paths, open to the public and popular among tourists. It runs through a high-altitude area characterised by lush greenery and dense ...
1m Mar 23, 2025
1m
Downtown Zacatecas (Andy Lyon reimagining)
"I really like the peaceful ambience of the recording and it got me thinking about how we tend to miss these opportunities to connect with a place and time due to busy lifestyles, multitasking and being glued to our phone screens, especially when it’s off the beaten track like an alleyway where this recording was taken. "So my approach was to create a piece that is uptempo, capturing snippets ...
8m Mar 23, 2025
8m
ASRASRASR call
"The call to prayer carries deep cultural and spiritual significance. This recording from Essaouira captivated me, not just as a religious ritual, but as an acoustic force, inseparably tied to its surroundings. I wanted to explore what happens when this call is taken out of its original space. How does it transform? How does it resonate elsewhere? "My remix places the sound into new, imagined ...
10m Mar 23, 2025
10m
An immersion into a feeling
"This piece is inspired by a soundscape recorded at St. Mary’s Basilica by Serge Bulat. In my initial listening to the piece, and in the reading of their text, I was stuck by characteristic sounds and qualities of a culturally significant space on several levels. First the space itself - a basilica, which is a place of worship, contemplation and reflection ( both in the literal sense of the aco...
9m Mar 23, 2025
9m
Kościół Mariacki
Kraków’s St. Mary’s Basilica, with its towering Gothic spires, radiates an atmosphere of reverence and connection. The recording immerses you in the tranquil energy of a service unfolding within its sacred walls. The priest’s voice reverberates gently through the space, guiding the congregation, while the soft cadence of collective prayers fills the air. You can hear the quiet exchange of worsh...
4m Mar 23, 2025
4m
Callejón San Pascual at Zacatecas
Sounds from San Pascual alley at Zacatecas downtown. Stereo 48kHz 24bit. UNESCO listing: Historic Centre of Zacatecas 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
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m
Exist to resist
"Inspired by the main pipes from the sample, I’ve crafted a ravey, powerful, and emotional soundscape, rooted in a delirium of glitch and floating particles. The composition captures the essence of a secret gathering deep within the forest—a celebration of sound, humanity, and the spirit of Mother Earth. It evokes an ecstatic atmosphere, mirroring the apotheosis of creation and the infinite, ev...
6m Mar 23, 2025
6m
Sacred spaces
"Upon hearing Paul Virostek’s recording from the villages and communities living in the Angkor War temple complex I was immediately transported to my experiences of field recording in Indonesia. The bustling life around the sacred spaces is very similar and this inspired me to combine my recordings in Indonesia with Paul’s recordings from Cambodia, a place I long to visit. "Indonesia is a stro...
4m Mar 23, 2025
4m
A past flown past
"Cultural heritage can be a strange one, as it can range from mass cultural significance to something on a more personal level. This sound spoke to me for many reasons on a more personal level. I grew up in South London so didn't really go to a lot of the "tourist" areas of London, as they were just somewhere we could reach in an hour on the train, they were not going anywhere. The Tower had be...
9m Mar 23, 2025
9m
Street sounds in Pernik at the Surva Festival
This is a recording I made during the Surva Festival in Pernik in 2018. I was walking along Pernik's main street (Krakra Pernishki Sq.) in the late afternoon/early evening during the main day of the festivities. This is one of the many folk bands accompanying "kukeri", who are presenting their costumes during the festival. UNESCO listing: Surva Festival in Pernik Recorded by Anna Nacher. IMA...
2m Mar 23, 2025
2m