A terminal wait
At Tallinn airport terminal, with birdsong piped into a souvenir gift shop, the children's play area, a game of ping pong in progress and the chatter of passing passengers in various languages. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
8m Dec 01, 2024
8m
Hyde Park, Sydney
A walk through Hyde Park in Sydney, Australia, with buskers, fountain, and bells from St Mary's Cathedral. Recorded by Richard Watts.
3m Dec 01, 2024
3m
Autumn rhythm (ode to street traffic)
"The original field recording is dense, detailed and full of lively street traffic noise. Bursts of radio, voices, cars and noise. The intertwined sounds of life inspired where I cut the samples, how I colour coded them to arrange and structure the track that ultimately ebbs and flows like the snapshot of life captured. "Slowly the melody presented itself, fleeting and briefly there as a coda,...
6m Nov 26, 2024
6m
Intermundium
Intermundium is a stroll down the sidewalk in a street called Titi Garage in Yaounde, Cameroon (Central Africa). This piece was recorded using stereo microphones. On the right, you can hear the hustle and bustle of the road: mostly cars and motorcycles zooming by. On the left, you can hear folks chatting, taxis stopping, and bars with music playing. Amidst this urban soundscape, the natural wo...
9m Nov 26, 2024
9m
Early morning livestock market
This market is the biggest Livestocks market in Altay area at west-north part of XingJiang Province. The herders still use the traditional way to dealing with the price, which's been 1 thousand years or even longer. Except the busy animals roars, you also can hear them talking and clapping hands(means deal). Recorded by Digimonk.
4m Nov 26, 2024
4m
On Platform 7
On the newly-refurbished platform 7 at Gatwick Airport, UK, as we hears trains arriving, dropping up hundreds of travellers and holidaymakers excited about embarking on their latest journeys, while every 30 to 60 seconds a plane takes off or lands overhead, making it clear that this can only be a train station directly connected to an airport. Recorded by Cities and Memory. IMAGE: Sunil060902...
4m Nov 26, 2024
4m
The life & the line
"A low laid back trail of beats supported by a separation of melodies representing the general minimal motion that is interupted by the bursts of air & rail travel." Gatwick Airport railway station reimagined by Scholars of the Peak. IMAGE: Sunil060902, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
4m Nov 26, 2024
4m
Breath on the air of a high Altay valley
"The original recording is of a livestock market in the city of Altay, Altay Prefecture, Xinjiang, China. There are men shouting and talking, various noises of a livestock market, and a huge variety of bellowing sounds from the livestock. The animal noises are very musical in their own way, but also wonderfully unique and discordant, and I was inspired to use these sounds as the basis for exper...
8m Nov 26, 2024
8m
Island Gardens
"I often focus on the visual nature of sound and music, and when working with field recordings, my aim is always to find the hidden or unexpected connections between the sounds of the recording, musical sounds and other natural sounds. I always try to create expansive musical landscapes that can trigger memories and associations - and hopefully invite the listener to create their own mental ima...
4m Nov 21, 2024
4m
DLR from Island Gardens
Aboard the Docklands Light Railway (DLR) line of the London Underground, travelling from Island Gardens to Westferry. Announcements, doors closing, the thrum of passengers sounds and the drone of train engines. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Nov 21, 2024
4m
Street market and Thai announcements
The bustling sounds of the street market with a public announcement in the foreground. Recorded in Chiang Mai, Thailand by Alex Boyesen.
7m Nov 21, 2024
7m
City of night
"I took the recording of the loudspeaker at the start of the recording and broke it down into rhythmical elements. This formed the basis of the track. From them I layered beats and chords around it." Chiang Mai night market reimagined by Gareth Evans.
5m Nov 21, 2024
5m
Action from Eights Week
 Soundscape from the traditional Oxford University rowing competition, Eights Week, held in May each year. You can hear commentary on race preparation, advice for boating crews and race in progress, crowds chattering and cheering and the atmosphere of the event. Recorded in May 2024 by Cities and Memory.
8m Nov 21, 2024
8m
RGB (105,105,105)
"RGB (Red, Green, Blue) is a colour model used for representing and displaying colours in digital systems. The acronym RGB stands for Red, Green, and Blue, which are the three primary colors of light. In this context, RGB (105,105,105) represents the colour DimGrey, and this track serves as the soundtrack for DimGrey. In RGB (105,105,105), the audio source from an Oxford race event was deconst...
3m Nov 21, 2024
3m
Hotel Shadab
A busy lunch service at the Hotel Shadab in Ghansi Bazar, Hyderabad. This is a traditional biryani restaurant with open air seating near the street and aircon service upstairs. Even in the closed portion, the bustle of the city can be heard. Recorded by Rob Phillips.
2m Nov 21, 2024
2m
Sound of city festivities
"The original field recording was from Hotel Shadab, Hyderabad India. The recording was so humanly rich, with lots of voices, and activities which gave me an aural sense of a city in a busy day. Although I have never been to Hyderabad, the recording presented information about a generic day but of a particular time. "So the recording inspired me in a way, that I wanted to illustrate my city, w...
9m Nov 21, 2024
9m
Remembrance of things to Come
"I was inspired to use depth and space to frame both the ambient atmosphere and the composition; to have layers of time and memory intermingling, manifesting a narrative of sorts. "Another aspect is that we hear the sound recordist, which I really like, and that presence adds another mysterious layer to the story." River in Otterton, England reimagined by Eulipion Corps.
5m Nov 14, 2024
5m
ⱨȞǝṝԺ
"My partner is a scientist who studies reindeer, so I've been lucky enough to spend a fair amount of time with these strange animals and the people who herd them. The relationship between the deer and the herders is unique in the realm of human-animal relationships, more akin to symbiosis than to any definition of domestication. "The crunching texture of the footsteps through snow suggested a ...
5m Nov 14, 2024
5m
The Otter flows
The River Otter gently flows over a bed of stones in Otterton, England, accompanied by the chirping of summer birdsong, and a gentle breeze blowing through the grasses. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Nov 14, 2024
5m
Herding reindeer at Dukha Camp
Dukha, there is another well-known name is Tsaatan which's called by Mongolia. its small and special community at west-north corner of Mongolia. They're actually Tuvan, living with reindeers and still keep the traditional migration life. I lived with them at their winter camp in deep mountains for a week. What a nice and pure people. Recorded by Digimonk.
3m Nov 14, 2024
3m
Vicolo della Torre
"I've been really into the concept of "anemoia," a term referring to feelings of nostalgia for places or events that one has never experienced. Listening to field recordings often gives me this feeling; they're a little glimpse into someone else's life or a part of the world, and the sound-only nature of field recordings allows the listener to use their imagination and immerse themselves into t...
4m Nov 11, 2024
4m
Kids in the rain
"As soon as I read the title of the field recording it made me nostalgic for that time when rain wasn't just an inconvenience to be avoided, but something fun. Who didn't love splashing in puddles or drawing on a steamed up window in the back of a car as a child? "My editing of the field recording was minimal, simply removing a few short sections that I felt distracted from the sounds of the f...
4m Nov 11, 2024
4m
Kids in the rain fountain, Tallinn
"The "kids in the rain" sculpture fountain in Tallinn heard from various angles, with trams passing in the background, and the crunch of walking down a gravel path." "Kids in the rain" fountain statue in Tallinn recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Nov 11, 2024
4m
Cicadas vs. air conditioning
The somewhat unusual sound of cicadas audible in the centre of a city during late morning, as their chirping competes with air conditioning sounds from a neighbouring building. Recorded in Treviso, Italy by Cities and Memory.
4m Nov 11, 2024
4m
In a thermal pool, Gellert Baths
"Inside the stunning Gellert Baths, one of the most famous sets of natural thermal baths in Budapest - this is a recording from the interior of one of the thermal pool rooms." Recorded by Cities and Memory.
6m Nov 11, 2024
6m
Promenade
"I imagined a public piano by a public swimming pool, and someone sitting down and picking out a simple theme, becoming part of the general ambience. There were elements of both Eno's Ambient series and Satie's Furniture Music in its conception." Gellert Baths, Budapest reimagined by Simon Greenwood.
4m Nov 11, 2024
4m
Crossing a weir in Treviso
Crossing a weir that spans the width of a road in Treviso, Italy, recording it from different sides and angles. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Nov 11, 2024
3m
Falling water
"I was inspired by the descending nature of water being pulled by gravity. The recording was rather full, so some frequencies needed to be trimmed to make way for musical aspects. Pads via the Vector synth & bass from Vital." Weir in Treviso reimagined by Leafblighter.
3m Nov 11, 2024
3m
Missed call
"There are those of us who cannot afford to mourn in private. We might spend a day with family but quickly find ourselves at work surrounded by an indifferent clientele, disassociating into loss only to be dragged back into reality by strangers. "Listening to the original recording, I was struck by the sound of the ringtone and how news of a loved one's passing is spread and mourned. This work...
4m Nov 11, 2024
4m
Sounds of the final journey
"I recorded this sound sitting next to a friend and the body of her deceased mother. The mourning song, sung by women young and old in one of the Pamiri languages, provided a sad comfort - knowledge of the finality of all human experience and confirmation that we all must make this final journey sooner or later. I also imagined that the song was meant to reassure the departing soul that her lov...
6m Nov 11, 2024
6m
Migration Sounds feature on CBC radio, November 2024
Migration Sounds feature on CBC Radio (Canadian national radio), on The Current show presented by Matt Galloway. The interview is with Cities and Memory founder Stuart Fowkes, and goes in depth into the Migration Sounds project, and how we can use sound as a tool to open up new angles on social issues and current affairs. The package features the following contributions to the project: - The...
27m Nov 10, 2024
27m
Migration Sounds full installation from the Pitt Rivers Museum
This is the sound installation of the Migration Sounds project, presented in the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford. Please note that the sounds are panned left and right, and this was designed to be played in a large physical space, so it is likely to sound somewhat unusual through headphones or in particular close sets of speakers. In this installation, on one side of the space listeners could hear...
53m Nov 10, 2024
53m
Sunrise in the forest
"Inspired by the early morning forest sounds of insects and birds in the field recording, I’ve composed a piece to convey a sunrise in the forest. The middle section of the piece allowing the forest's natural sounds to shine through.' Thai forest soundscape reimagined by Jaspal Singh Bhogal.
6m Nov 05, 2024
6m
Three fountains at Kardriorg Palace
"Slow melodic piano piece over top of morphing ambient pads with wind chimes from an alien planet. Mixed with fountains from Kardriorg Palace. I envisioned this piece as a lonely elderly man who visits the fountain every day to enjoy his lunch being around people." Kadriorg Palace fountains reimagined by Mathew Gracie.
20m Nov 05, 2024
20m
Thai forest at 7.00am
Early morning forest sounds with insects and birds recorded in a forest near Chiang Mai, Thailand. Recorded by Alex Boyesen.
7m Nov 05, 2024
7m
Three fountains
Three fountains and water features in the gardens behind Kadriorg Palace, Tallinn. The microphone moves from fountain to fountain from different angles and proximities, along with the crunch of the gravel paths underfoot. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
7m Nov 05, 2024
7m
Autumn thieves
"The Medellin traffic sample shapes both the atmosphere and structure of the piece. In the opening, isolated fragments—like engine hums and the sharp sounds of brake noise—are presented with minimal processing, immersing the listener in the city’s raw soundscape. "Following a moment of silence, which contrasts sharply with the noise, the piece evolves as these sample fragments create semi-rand...
4m Nov 05, 2024
4m
Traffic noise in Medellin
Noise, the soundtrack of our everyday life in a city. If you look at the spectogram of the recording you'll find it very boring and static, almost like a pink noise. It is mandatory to remember that noise pollution is a big issue for our wellbeing. The recording was made in Pueblito Paisa, Medellín, Colombia on 21 december 2023 at around 1 p.m. with a Zoom H1N. Recorded by Cosmin Sandu.
1m Nov 05, 2024
1m
Returning
"My piece “returning” was inspired by the field recording “in the turbine hall” by Cities and Memory. As I listened to the field recording, especially the resonance of the Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall, I immediately thought that it would blend well with some of my own recent experiments with resonance to create a new sonic landscape. "The sound sources consist of field recordings of a playground...
9m Nov 05, 2024
9m
In the turbine hall
A soundscape from the Tate Modern's famous Turbine Hall, moving into a sound and video installation by Paul Maheke (August 2024), and back into the hall, which has a very distinctive reverberation character. Recorded by Cities and Memory. IMAGE: the wub, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
9m Nov 05, 2024
9m
Tram ride ambience
"I tried keeping the integrity of the field recording with the aim of telling a story. However, I did edit out some coughing from tram passengers as this was too distracting. To provide some consistency, I added a piano melody, and wove in some ambience through drums. I liked the talking from the passengers and kept that in, allowing the piece to end on a child saying 'OK.' I also enjoyed heari...
6m Nov 05, 2024
6m
Tallinn's famous trams
A ride from the trendy cultural hub of Telliskivi in Tallinn to Kanuti aboard the ubiquitous trams - all public transport is completely free to residents of Tallinn. Here we listen to the sounds of the tram journey, complete with announcements, doors sounds, exiting the tram and listening to it depart. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
7m Nov 05, 2024
7m
Passing Märket
"Märket is a tiny 3.3ha island shared by Sweden and Finland in the middle of the Baltic Sea. I imagined the being on the ferry passing this island of two equal but slightly different halves, hence the structure of this reimagined piece." Ferry across the Baltic Sea reimagined by Moray Newlands.
5m Nov 03, 2024
5m
Falling
"The title of my piece for the Autumn Project is called “Falling”. It is based on a field recording of fore and aft engine rooms on the Suur Toll museum ship in Tallinn Estonia. "I was very drawn to the percussive metallic clangs in the recording. For me autumn has a definite impact on my senses, which reminds me of distinctive percussive sounds coming from unknown directions. I do a lot of wa...
7m Nov 03, 2024
7m
The intense throbbing of engines
Crossing the Baltic Sea from Tallinn to Helsinki aboard a large ferry, the deep pulsing of the ferry's engines mingles with light rain on the canopy overhead, and the faint piping of the music that can be heard much more loudly throughout the interior of the ferry. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Nov 03, 2024
3m
In the engine room
Aboard the Suur Toll museum ship in Tallinn, we take a tour around the engine deck, exploring the fore and aft engine rooms, before climbing a metal ladder and listening to a recreation of the sound of the ship's engines at work, and the regular ship's bell. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
7m Nov 03, 2024
7m
One unconfutable proof
"A talented but tormented artist grapples with existential questions, consumed by his obsession with proving or disproving the existence of God. His creativity, fuelled by strange and often unsettling ideas, leads him into a spiralling journey of philosophical inquiry. "His lover, a narrator who has long since abandoned faith without much thought, watches as the artist delves deeper into the r...
4m Oct 18, 2024
4m
Kids in Campo San Giacomo
Children play football in the spacious Campo San Giacomo in Venice, while people sit in local bars and cafes enjoying a drink in the late afternoon Venetian sunshine. The bouncing ball and cries of the children reflect off the reverberant spaces between the buildings in the campo. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Oct 18, 2024
5m
Markets, streets and people - Poland and England
"I was struck by the similarities between the sounds of the people, streets and market of Blonie in Poland and those of Newton Abbot: the town in southwest England near where I live. "I made some field binaural recordings in Newton Abbot town centre and combined them with the Blonie market. There's the obvious difference in language but the overwhelming feeling the commonality of the sounds of...
3m Oct 18, 2024
3m
Blonie city market, Poland
Soundwalk through the city market in Blonie, Poland. Recorded by Dominik Witaszczyk. IMAGE: MateuszEs, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
2m Oct 18, 2024
2m