Havana streetscape, Cuba
A classic Havana street soundscape starts with crowds going about their daily business, before halfway through some wonderful Cuban music plays from a nearby bar as we walk past, creating a wonderfully lively atmosphere. Recorded by Jack Hyde. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading...
1m Oct 09, 2022
1m
The world's busiest train station, Tokyo
Sounds from inside the incredibly busy Shinjuku train station in Tokyo - announcements, crowds and a wonderful spread of sounds across the stereo field.  The sounds of public transport and travel are always indicative of a thriving city, and as we struggle to meet the challenges posed by climate change, a reliance on safe, clean and efficient public transport will be one of the key tools at the...
3m Oct 08, 2022
3m
In Wenshuyuan Temple, Chengdu
Recording of prayers, song, gongs and worshippers in Wenshuyuan Temple, Chengdu. The sounds of worship and prayer are crucial to the well-being of a city - providing spiritual spaces for different religions that allow everyone to express themselves as they would like to are essential, and these spaces can also be among the most important from the perspective of tourism too. Recorded by Emmanue...
11m Oct 08, 2022
11m
The Chinchineros, Santiago
The Chinchineros are traditional street performers in Chile, with a large bass drum strapped to their back and a noose around their foot to control a cymbal - they perform in small groups, conducting synchronised dances along with their drum patterns. Here we listen to a group of four chinchineros on the streets of Santiago, Chile, where they represent a cultural tradition played out on the str...
5m Oct 08, 2022
5m
Parallax
"The original recording was dense with the buzz of a city; the deeply layered sound of many things heard at the same time - a hum so dense that it is hard to make out any one sound, any one event. "Asking myself how we might nurture our well-being in such a disorientating acoustic environment I thought about how we are able to isolate one sound and block others out. I atomised the original rec...
3m Oct 08, 2022
3m
Golden sun bird
"I named this song 'Golden sun bird' after an ancient artefact unearthed in Chengdu in 2001, now the logo of China Cultural Heritage. History is important, understanding where we have been helps us navigate what’s ahead. "The sound I was given to work with was recorded at Wenshuyuan Temple in Chengdu, China. To me, this recording is a perfect example of the past being honoured and celebrated w...
3m Oct 08, 2022
3m
A daisy through the asphalt sees the sky
"The Chinchineros are traditional street performers in Chile, with a large bass drum strapped to their back and a noose around their foot to control a cymbal - they perform in small groups, conducting synchronised dances along with their drum patterns. Here we listen to a group of four chinchineros on the streets of Santiago, Chile, where they represent a cultural tradition played out on the st...
7m Oct 08, 2022
7m
Imaginary garden (over Wat Pho) [Hexany 1-3-7-9]
"A technique I frequently employ is to allow a field recording itself to provide the structure of a composition in a very direct way: the sounds play in the background and aural events within the sound directly trigger musical motifs, hence the title “…(Over Wat Pho)”. "In this instance the composition begins with simple motifs in a highly consonant tuning system being initiated by the sounds ...
6m Oct 08, 2022
6m
Open windows
"The original recording provided for this project appealed to me as it captures some of the silver linings of COVID lockdowns in Australia and around the world. Despite all of the tragedies, lockdowns slowed everyone down and so many people around the world started to reflect on the importance of social and environmental connection in their lives. "In my own town, our bookshop sold 5 times mor...
6m Oct 08, 2022
6m
One hundred strings
"The original recording contains a santur, which is a percussion-stringed instrument known as a hammered dulcimer. It was invented and developed in Iran and Mesopotamia and its origins date back to at least 669 B.C. It is believed that the harp, the Chinese yangqin, the harpsichord, the qanun, the cimbalom, and the American and European hammered dulcimers all derive from the Mesopotamian santur...
9m Oct 08, 2022
9m
When the traffic disappears, Adelaide
This is a recording from the Adelaide suburb of Parkside. It was made on my upstairs balcony in a block of six town houses at 10am on Wednesday, 22 March 2020. It was a bright and sunny Autumn morning with a very faint breeze. In this recording you can hear the lively birdsong of lorikeets, honeyeaters, finches and native pigeons. Traffic can be heard *very* faintly to the right of the field, w...
16m Oct 08, 2022
16m
Exploring Wat Pho, Bangkok
Recorded by: Benjamin Richards Date: March 22, 2003, 10:24 a.m. Location: inner courtyard of Wat Pho, mid-morning on a Saturday.   Equipment: Sony MZ-R909 MiniDisc recorder, Sony ECM-MS907 Coordinates: 13.7465º N, 100.4933º E Recorded by Benjamin Richards. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 ...
4m Oct 08, 2022
4m
Ferhadija, Sarajevo
People from Bosnia are very diverse and different with many influences and it is difficult to stereotype these people. But when travelling across Sarajevo, you’ll notice that there are certain features that you encounter again and again, no matter what street you’re in. Bosnians are friendly people. Bosnians generally have a pretty relaxed sense of time and that’s why they easily start conversa...
1m Oct 08, 2022
1m
A psalm for the city
"How to create a sense of well-being out of the harsh sounds of a metal-machine-shop? That was the challenge that pulled me in. After enveloping the core sound with voice and various instrumentation it started to sound less abrasive to me and more calming and possibly restorative, which is not a bad thing, especially in modern city life. The piece was created entirely via a Mellotron keyboard."...
3m Oct 06, 2022
3m
Tämänjälkeen (After this)
"Our composition Tämänjälkeen (After this) was inspired by the recording of Warsaw, Poland (a C40 city) during the first day of the nationwide coronavirus quarantine on March 16th 2020 near to the University's main campus; using the majority of the whole recording unchanged, we have overlayed a complimentary soundscape and designed a digital audio effect to “hear” the effects of air quality bei...
6m Oct 06, 2022
6m
2222 (Twenty-Two Twenty-Two)
"In 2222 (Twenty-Two Twenty-Two) I wish to demonstrate through sound, a balanced relationship between humans, technology, and the natural world. Without this balance, true well-being is impossible. The original sound file features the ambient outdoor sounds recording in a tourist area in Stockholm, Sweden. This sound includes human voices, traffic, and bird calls—the sounds of a contemporary wh...
3m Oct 06, 2022
3m
Tourists at the Royal Palace, Stockholm
The recording takes place by the Royal Palace, a wide traffic-free area, a tourist attraction spot. On a morning during the weekday, where most Swedes are working in their offices, these locations are left for the tourist crowds to explore, whereas the Swedish routine is left unheard for its own quietness. Recorded by Melissa Pons. IMAGE: Abhijeet Vardhan, CC BY-SA 2.0 <https://creativecommon...
2m Oct 06, 2022
2m
Monday sounds like Sunday, Warsaw
Recorded on 16 March 2020, the first day of the nationwide coronavirus quarantine in Poland. The signature sound of the Warsaw University's main campus is surrounded by a chorus of birds. Monday sounds more like a Sunday and the city sound resembles a much smaller town. Lockdown sounds features as part of the Well-Being Cities project as evidence of how the sounds of our cities were one of the...
7m Oct 06, 2022
7m
Mullaedong machine shop, Seoul
Seoul's Mullae-dong is a gentrifying area where small industry sits cheek by jowl with bars and shops. This recording was made from the street into an open fronted metal machine workshop. Recorded by Michael Nathaniel Meyer. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborati...
3m Oct 06, 2022
3m
Our intangible heritage
"Our wellbeing in cities is heavily influenced by noise and sound.  We may not always associate noise with melody and harmony but listen carefully and the intangible becomes a bit more tangible. The piece here samples fado, a recognised UNESCO intangible cultural heritage which is renowned for its expressive and melancholic characteristics, a trait often mirrored in the sounds of many cities ac...
10m Oct 06, 2022
10m
The right place
"After listening to the street band playing during the Mexico lockdown, I was inspired by how life changed during that time for not just humans but the entire planet (the living ecosystem). How animals came out on the street, birds chirped throughout the day, the color of the sky turned the most beautiful blue, and so much more. Thinking back about this time, I feel there is a lot to learn from...
6m Oct 06, 2022
6m
Salaam
"I wanted to reflect a peaceful walk around Essaouira in the composition. The walk would take you from the busy and angry sounds of a city into more quiet and interesting squares and areas, full of the sounds of water, birds, people and music. I like the idea of creating hidden quiet spaces to help with well-being. "I have used a very slowed down and treated version of the original recording t...
4m Oct 06, 2022
4m
Serenades in the fado house
Fado is one of the few sonic items of intangible heritage listed by UNESCO, and indeed even within Portugal there are some specific variants, including Coimbra fado, which is different from that found in Lisbon, and frequently deals with feelings of longing and love for the city itself. Inside a 14th century chapel converted into a fado house, we listen to some of the traditional sounds of fado...
20m Oct 06, 2022
20m
The wonder of gnaoua
In Essaouira, the musical tradition of gnaoua is at its strongest (and indeed the city is home to the world’s largest festival of gnaoua). The streets of Essaouira are noticeably filled with many musical performers, giving the city a distinctly relaxed feel, and gnaoua is the prime musical form on display. Essaouira shows the strength of a strong musical and cultural identity being allowed to l...
4m Oct 06, 2022
4m
Street band in lockdown, Mexico City
During lockdown all music live events were cancelled. Many musicians went to the streets and played. People from the windows threw them some coins or food. They are playing "Asi Fue" a song by famous and iconic Mexican musician, Juan Gabriel. I love the dogs barking in the distance, annoyed by the music. Lockdown sounds features as part of the Well-Being Cities project as evidence of how the s...
1m Oct 06, 2022
1m
New city ways
"Taking the original questions posed in the brief I embellished with a set of automatically written answers in the form of a monologue that was pasted into the Google text to speech app. I wanted to address the concerns I have living in a more urban environment and seeing the impact this has on people's health and wellbeing. I thought about how the urban spaces i walk through could be improved,...
8m Oct 06, 2022
8m
Circles of wind and light
"The recording I worked with from Burkina Faso captured me immediately. Its liveliness and feeling of sparking joy moved me greatly. As well as the feeling I had of music being part of life. Music is not separate from our daily lives but is another facet of our community and of what binds us together as people. Cities have that unique potential of connecting and providing space if balanced prop...
6m Oct 06, 2022
6m
Coltrane At The Highline
"The piece inspired me in a number of ways. First, thinking about the voice of Coltrane's saxophone singing out over the chaos of a subway train station and the crowds of people milling about on their way to somewhere. The station as a point of departure, not the destination, and so the people all en route, in motion, leaving for different destinations. Secondly, John Coltrane is a legendary sa...
11m Oct 06, 2022
11m
Coltrane on the High Line
The High Line in New York is one of the world’s best-known urban transformations, and has taken an abandoned section of railroad and turned it into a major global tourist attraction and a valuable green space for the citizens of Manhattan - surely of the best examples of how to think of adding to the health of a city. In this recording, a busker performs a piece by John Coltrane in one of the r...
4m Oct 06, 2022
4m
The sea organ at Zadar
The sea organ (Morske orgulje) at Zadar is a prime example of how cities can use sound positively to improve the daily lives of its citizens - it is an architectural sound art instrument that plays musical sounds controlled by the movement of waves through a series of tubes located underneath a set of marble steps. The sound changes according to the season, time of day and associated weather co...
4m Oct 06, 2022
4m
Street musicians in a bar by night, Ouagadougou
Street musician performing in front of a bar during the early evening in Ouagadougou. This is a great example of a soundscape that shows something culturally-specific and therefore highly valuable and to be protected. Recorded by Martin Weissberg. IMAGE: Wendkouni, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a un...
3m Oct 06, 2022
3m
Orbital <環>
"The earth revolves around the sun. The moon orbits the earth. Such continuous circuits of cosmic patterns are recurrent and orbital. In my exploration of answering this project prompts, I contemplated the orbital rhythms of celestial bodies. In the light of fostering a healthy city soundscape, sounds may orbit the axis of a 24-hour day with a series of sonic activities that foster reciprocal s...
10m Oct 06, 2022
10m
The value of noise
"I originally used a recording of a climate protest in Exeter, United Kingdom, which inspired me due to the power of it - the sheer power held in a crowd of people shouting the same chant for the same goal. Health and wellbeing are not just in the places we expect; the health of cities can come from a sense of community, from the sense of fighting for the same result, from the ability to have a...
9m Oct 06, 2022
9m
Dissolvin' malady
"What inspired me about the original recording was the presence of an underlying beat and a rhythm that stayed constant throughout the recording. There was a feeling that even though there were vocals and some chatter/noise in between. The rhythm stayed somewhat constant but loose. A lot of times, well-being in a city can mean being able to sustain a constant stream of thought for extended peri...
3m Oct 06, 2022
3m
Busy Turkish bazaar, Istanbul
Tarihi Sali Pazari is one of the largest markets (bazaars) in Istanbul. Very busy. Vendors selling clothing, carpets, spices, antiques, second hand goods and food. This is a great example of a soundscape that shows something culturally-specific and therefore highly valuable and to be protected. Recorded by Marcel Gnauk. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cit...
4m Oct 06, 2022
4m
Anti-coronavirus song on the radio, Senegal
I was on a trip with some friends in Senegal just few days before the lockdown in Europe and on my way to the Dakar Airport I recorded this song directly from the radio of our driver. The piece is in Wolof and is about Coronavirus, the singer is "praying" that the virus will not reach his community and will go away soon. Recorded by Luca Piparo. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique...
1m Oct 06, 2022
1m
Fridays for our Future
Recording from the "Fridays for Future" climate protests made every week by school children all over the world - this excerpt is from Exeter, England, 2021. Recorded by Joe Baker. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right ...
1m Oct 06, 2022
1m
Departures
"Starting with a field recording made in Nairobi Airport, this piece imagines a departure lounge for all the birds we have lost and stand to lose in the face of the climate crisis. A child quietly contemplates how we, as humankind, might learn from birds to create built environments that better serve the natural world, by making less noise and more space for them, not us. "As we drift into her...
8m Oct 06, 2022
8m
Dérive
"The clip I was provided with was a recording of live music from the 1st Musical Decontamination March in Argentina, a protest carried out to demand controls of emission and pollutants from the Bahía Blanca Petrochemical plant. Whilst amplified music may be considered 'loud' and in some instance a nuisance which may be also through of as a pollutant by some in a city catering for well being, an...
9m Oct 06, 2022
9m
The hills
"This piece is about the neighbourhoods outside city centres. The title refers by name to residential areas in Oakland and LA, but I’d be surprised if many other cities didn’t have “The Hills” too. "In this piece I used volume envelopes to makes hills of sound, where field recordings are nestled between musical instruments and household sounds. The focus is on the mundane, and I left many of t...
5m Oct 06, 2022
5m
Musical decontamination march, Buenos Aires
The audio corresponds to the 1st Musical Decontamination March (first of a series of three protests carried out to demand controls on emission of pollutants to the Bahía Blanca Petrochemical Complex). The right to protest is another key aspect of a city that demonstrates and offers well-being to its citizens. This recording is from the C40 Summit's 2022 host city, Buenos Aires. Recorded by H....
1m Oct 06, 2022
1m
Waiting in Jomo Kenyatta, Nairobi
Departures at Jomo Kenyatta airport, Nairobi, Kenya - you can hear among the normal sounds of bustle and shopping in the terminal the crackle of the security guards' radios and the feedback as they stand too close together. Sometimes the sound of a city's airport can tell you as much about that place as a recording from its historic city centre. Recorded by Giulia Biasibetti. Part of the Wel...
2m Oct 06, 2022
2m
Mile Pop Jordanov street, Skopje
A simple recording of my street, rеpresenting the contrast of the sound over several minutes. When considering well-being in cities, it's important not just to head to the most culturally or historically significant areas to judge its health - you can learn just as much from listening to everyday street sounds. Recorded by Toni Dimitrov. Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collabo...
4m Oct 06, 2022
4m
Harmonic warmth
"The original recording inspired me by being sorta a current day protest song.. during Covid when people couldn't really gather banging pots and pans from our respective homes was a way for us to connect and express frustration. "I find a lot of similarities between Brazilian and American politics and I wanted to find a way to illustrate those connections as well as articulate what a sustainab...
5m Oct 06, 2022
5m
Fora Bolsonaro!
This is a short recording of a pot-banging protest in the Catete neighbourhood in Rio de Janeiro. When people cannot go on the streets to protest, they bang pots to show their displeasure with the government. In this case, the protest was a general protest against the president of Brazil, Bolsonaro. Pot-banging is a relatively easy form of protest: it makes lots of noise, does not require peop...
6m Oct 06, 2022
6m
Noise2Noise
Colombian protest reimagined by Wijnand Bredewold. "Once there was nothing, maybe just white noise, a random signal of equal intensity at different frequencies. Due to the origin of the earth, nature, animals and people, variations in this white noise arose, there was no overcrowding or disturbance, it was in harmony with each other. "Due to the increase in the world population and the urban ...
9m Oct 05, 2022
9m
Manifestants' Parade, Bogotá
We can hear chanting protesters from Bogotá, Colombia, on November 26th 2019, less than a week after protests started. I was in Bogotá for a residency and it just happened that I arrived at a very agitated moment in the city, with people denouncing corruption and demanding better quality of life. It was beautiful to see them out in the street in solidarity, protesting in a very civil manner for...
5m Oct 05, 2022
5m
Kaoss on the Elizabeth Line
Elizabeth Line opening day reimagined by Simon Woods. "The 'Kaoss' of the title refers, not to any chaos that may or may not have occurred on the opening day of the Elizabeth Line, but to the use of Korg Kaoscillator and Kaoss Pad in the composition. All the percussion is made from sounds of the doors closing or other bangs and crashes on the journey. The two chords are from the tone of the tr...
3m Sep 21, 2022
3m
The first day of the Elizabeth Line, London
The first new full London Underground line since 1979 opened on 24 May 2022, in honour of the (recently-passed) Queen Elizabeth II. We jumped on board the line on its very first day to record the sounds of a journey from Farringdon to Paddington. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
12m Sep 21, 2022
12m
Dreaming with cicadas
"Following some other samples I recording around the mountain, I try to image a scene when cicadas start dreaming." Composition by Ryan Chiang.
3m Sep 11, 2022
3m