Sleep City
Piazza Dalmazia in Florence reimagined by Ross Burns. "The inspiration: You are falling asleep in the afternoon and are somewhere warm. As you drift off, lightly in the background you begin to hear only the sounds around you. This field recording reminded me of these moments.  "The track is made by panning different parts of the field recording to the left and right. I then added processing a...
4m Sep 25, 2021
4m
KafkaKlaxon
Kotor clock tower reimagined by Camilla Fanning. "The Montenegro bell recording is perfectly pleasant, unfortunately the year that's in it all I could think of was a warning bell. The piece reflects a sense of swirling words, numbers, unease and alarm.  "The tracks are taken from real emails and texts received over the last year, as well as some official advice. In all it felt like a general ...
3m Sep 25, 2021
3m
In the hull
Inside a ferry in Piombino, Italy reimagined by Richard Gadd. "I wanted to use as much of the original sound as possible for its 'industrial' quality. Among those qualities are resonance and confinement. Within a shuddering steel hull the sounds of the ship are compressed into a bewildering cacophony."
14m Sep 25, 2021
14m
In the hull of a car ferry
Recording from inside the hull of a car ferry from Elba to Piombino, Italy, arriving at our destination. It's a claustrophobic, dense soundscape in which the overwhelming drone of the ferry's engines is punctuated by a car alarm going off, and towards the end the ferry doors open, letting in the summer morning daylight and an escape to freedom. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
7m Sep 25, 2021
7m
Crashing waves at Baie de Cayola
"The Baie de Cayola is located on the western shores (Atlantic Ocean) of France near Les Sables d'Olonne. It is a very small bay (800 meters wide), with a pebble beach.  "There is a road nearby, but you won't hear it on this recording. It was recorded in autumn 2018 under beautiful blue sky and orange light." Recorded by Jeremy Simoncello.
9m Sep 18, 2021
9m
Baie de Cayola (Andy Lyon reimagining)
Baie de Cayola, France reimagined by Andy Lyon. "Initially I was going to use a full on experimental / glitch approach but I find the sea quite mesmerising, it's alluring and mysterious. So I went with a minimal approach to compliment the recording adding tension, dark and light with a hint of glitch.  "For me it came out a bit darker than I intended but I think it works really well, I tried ...
10m Sep 18, 2021
10m
Stepping stones (Hexany 1-3-9-13)
Bells in Pomonte, Italy reimagined by Phexioenesystems. "This piece is based on a field recording of church bells and the surrounding ambience from Pomonte on the Island of Elba.  "The bells themselves are used in multiple ways: pitched to fit with the Hexany tuning system (but otherwise untreated) and as a granulised layer.  "The remaining ambience is also left untreated but appears with be...
6m Sep 17, 2021
6m
Made in Italy - Milan to Modena
Milan Stazione Centrale reimagined by Simon Woods. "The piece is performed entirely with instruments from Italy.  "Samples of classic Italian synths made by Crumar, Siel and Elka, whilst most of the other instruments are made by IK Multimedia from Modena.  "The lead violin is Native Instruments Stradivarius."
5m Sep 17, 2021
5m
A long, slow Italian summer
Listen to the sounds of the evening bells for mass ringing in the sleepy village of Pomonte, in the south-west of the island of Elba. The sun is beginning to set in late August after a long day on the beach, and the bells ring out across the sky.  Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Sep 17, 2021
3m
A busy morning at Stazione Centrale
The hustle and bustle of an early morning in Milan's main Stazione Centrale. You can hear us making our way along the moving walkways through the station as crowds pass us and announcements ring out around the station - we then emerge out into the main platform hall with its huge reverberation and the sound of trains preparing to leave. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
5m Sep 17, 2021
5m
Baden Powell
Giardino Baden Powell, Florence, reimagined by Karhide. "This started out as a different kind of remix and then I came up with a guitar line and started to test some new plugins. The plugins used are the Audio Damage Other Desert Cities delay  and the Klirrton Grindstein amp sim by Audiority plugins.   "The only other plugin used in the project is the Audio Damage Eos reverb and then mastere...
4m Sep 17, 2021
4m
Cicadas
Stazione Le Piagge, Florence, reimagined by Chelidon Frame. "This summer I had the pleasure of reading Bernie Krause's The Great Animal Orchestra. One thing that fascinated me was how a natural soundscape can be altered by external noises, such as a plane or a train passing by: sometimes the biome takes a lot of time to restore its perfectly calibrated concert. In the original field recording,...
6m Sep 13, 2021
6m
Cities and Memory interview, BBC Radio 4 Sunday programme (Inferno project)
Cities and Memory founder Stuart Fowkes is interviewed on BBC Radio 4's Sunday programme about the Inferno project, marking the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante. The interview features an overview of the project plus selected sound clips.  
3m Sep 12, 2021
3m
Sound of empty
Piazza San Marco, Venice reimagined by Cristina Marras. "I worked on subtractions, using my recent experience in Piazza San Marco to bring together a past that seems now almost retro-futuristic, with a present that no science fiction could have ever imagined."
5m Sep 11, 2021
5m
The Bridge of Sighs
Repairs on Fondamenta della Canonica, Venice reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder. "I decided to use the field recording of repairing a gate near the Bridge of Sighs Fondamenta della Canonica because the bridge is rich with historic meaning. The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) was built in the year 1600 and connects the Doge's Palace to the historic prison across the canal. Prisoners that were tr...
6m Sep 11, 2021
6m
Repairing La Serenissima
On any normal day in Venice, roadworks are a little different from your average city, with repair boats on the city's canals looking after its unique system that keeps the entire city afloat. Here, we can hear gate repairs taking place on Fondamenta della Canonica, just a short distance from the iconic Bridge of Sighs. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
6m Sep 11, 2021
6m
Piazza San Marco, returning to normality
The iconic Piazza San Marco on an August afternoon in 2021, as the city returns to normal levels of tourism after the worst of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the piazza fills with tourists. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Sep 11, 2021
3m
Tutta la squadra
Cittadella stadium announcer reimagined by Richard Watts. "I found the original recording imposing (and slightly sinister for some reason) so I've tried to capture that in the reimagined piece. I've used lots of samples from the original recording and manipulated them using the Alchemy, a sample manipulation synthesizer in Logic Pro."
4m Sep 11, 2021
4m
PA announcer reading out the teamsheet
At the Stadio Tombolato, Cittadella, Italy for Cittadella vs. Crotone, August 2021 - the stadium announcer reads out the Cittadella teamsheet before a match that the home team would go on to win 4-2. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
2m Sep 11, 2021
2m
The memory ski lift
Passo Rolle ski lift reimagined by John Tenney. "Happy and unhappy memories while riding on a ski lift."
3m Sep 08, 2021
3m
Aboard the Passo Rolle ski lift
The sounds from on board a simple two-seater ski lift transporting skiers up the mountain in Passo Rolle, San Martino di Castrozza, Italy. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Sep 08, 2021
4m
The thing and the place itself
Yorkshire Dales field of sheep reimagined by Paul Walsh / Foldhead. "This piece is in part inspired by the memory of a long, lost walk through the hills and valleys of Mayerhofen, Austria, a few years ago.  "Having walked for hours through increasingly heavy falling snow we took what we hoped was a shortcut through a large field.  "After a few minutes traipsing through the snow I looked to m...
9m Sep 07, 2021
9m
A sunset for the sheep
A field of sheep bleating, calling and frolicking at dusk on a beautiful April evening in the Yorkshire Dales, England. The air is clear, the atmosphere is pure with no traffic noise, just the placid hum of the village and the reverb of the hills above. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
3m Sep 07, 2021
3m
Elicottero
AH-64 Apache flypast in Italian Dolomites reimagined by Richard Watts.  "I really like the rhythm in the original recording so have tried to capture that in the reimagined piece. I've used samples of the helicopter and fed them through a filter generator to create the background sounds then added drums, pads and a couple of melodies that seemed to fit."
4m Sep 05, 2021
4m
Military helicopter flypast in the mountains
An Apache AH-64 helicopter on training manoeuvres next to Tre Cime di Lavaredo in the Italian Dolomites, as heard from halfway down Monte Piana, August 2021. The helicopter can be heard long before and after its appearance with an enormous reverb trail generated by the sound bouncing off the mountains on every side. An impressive sound. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
2m Sep 05, 2021
2m
The loneliness of the late-night station
Bellevue station, Berlin reimagined by Cities and Memory. "The original recording conjured up a mental image of a deserted, lonely station late at night, with just the occasional traveller passing through, trying to get home. A place of isolation as much as a place of connection. "For the reimagined piece, we've tried to emphasise the 'coldness' of a lonely station late at night and the sense...
5m Sep 04, 2021
5m
A night at Bellevue station
Bellevue station, Berlin, Germany recorded by Cristina Iscenco. "I was walking home after a rehearsal. The sound of the trains was blending with the drone of the bells coming from nowhere. It was only about 20:30, but everything was asleep and dark."
1m Sep 04, 2021
1m
Brent de l'Art
Torrent at Brent de l'Art, northern Italy reimagined by Karhide. "The idea behind the track was the slow erosion of the rock to form the canyon."
5m Sep 03, 2021
5m
Torrents of canyon water
Brent de l'Art is a natural rock formation similar to a canyon, created by thousands of years of erosion by water, which has exposed layers of rock formed millions of years ago. This erosion is due to the debris that the water carries across these narrow valleys. Stones and plants overwhelmed by the flood of water, once they enter the canyon they create whirlpools, they hit the walls, digging ...
4m Sep 03, 2021
4m
Horses at a mountain stream
An idyllic scene from Lago Antorno in the Italian Dolomites, as a pack of horses with cowbells attached to their necks feeds on lush grass next to a mountain stream. In this recording you can hear the horses, the bells and the water rushing by in a binaural recording taken close by. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
1m Sep 03, 2021
1m
Lago Antorno (Cravune remix)
Horses by the stream at Lago Antorno, Italy reimagined by Cravune.  "The original piece evokes tranquillity and peacefulness. I wanted to overemphasise this aspect of the recording by chopping the audio, pitching it down and rearranging it on top of a simple low frequency drone."
2m Sep 03, 2021
2m
Saudi Arabia Riyadh hotel (Andy Lyon reimagining)
Marriott hotel sounds from Riyadh reimagined by Andy Lyon. "I wanted the focus to be on the recording, I really like the flow and contrast.  I've added subtle orchestration and effects to try and create a 'floaty' kind of ambiance to compliment the recording."
8m Sep 02, 2021
8m
Birdsong and sirens, Riyadh
One of our earliest recordings from Saudi Arabia, sadly only able to be captured on a mobile phone, but evocative of the soundscape nonetheless. In 40 degree heat outside the Marriott hotel, we can hear police sirens in the distance, the heavy drone of Riyadh's constant traffic, and a light chorus of birdsong in the hotel garden.  Recorded by Cities and Memory.
8m Sep 02, 2021
8m
The sky is a soundtrack
Starling murmuration in Curtarolo, Italy reimagined by Cities and Memory. "Seeing a murmuration of any size is a truly wonderful event, and in this recording we're close to the roosting birds and their sound is pushed directly down to us, so the soundscape is full and loud.  "The reimagined piece is based around trying to musically visualise the absorbing and miraculous patterns of the murmur...
4m Sep 01, 2021
4m
Starlings murmuring on a mobile mast
A small murmuration of starlings swirling around in the sky and then landing in large numbers to roost and chatter on a mobile mast in Curtarolo, Italy on a hot August day. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
4m Sep 01, 2021
4m
If you listen closely through the forest, you can hear the rumble of the highway
Bindertwine Park, Ontario reimagined by Neil Wiernik. "Birds chirping in a forest meadow, it feels like we are in a remote place away from the cars and the city but if you listen closely you can hear the rumble of the cars and trucks on the highway off in the distance.  "What if the birds voices became louder, deeper, doubled, what if the sound of the breeze through the trees became tones, dr...
19m Sep 01, 2021
19m
In Bindertwine Park
"This recording was made in a meadow surrounded by the forest of Bindertwine Park, in Vaughan, Canada. Birds chirping and if you listen closely you can barely hear the highway off in the distance, all ending with a gust of wind." Recorded by Neil Wiernik.
1m Sep 01, 2021
1m
Panelaõs for Rio
Rio de Janeiro Panelaço protest reimagined by Jochen Edmund Pendleton. "Pots and pans make wonderfully festive musical instruments.  Here I've added a few others of my own design and, channelling Walter Smetak, tried to find some stillness amidst the commotion."
9m Aug 29, 2021
9m
Mountain kosmische
Radio mast on Monte Capanne reimagined by Cities and Memory. "Having looked for more information on the masts atop Monte Capanne, we discovered that one of them is the key Italian mast for Radio France (you can see Corsica across the water from Elba), which became the starting point for this piece.  "A sample from Radio France (courtesy of the Shortwave Radio Archive) forms the crackling back...
5m Aug 28, 2021
5m
A sinister hum on top of a mountain
Having climbed to the top of Monte Capanne on the Italian island of Elba, we were greeted by the sight of several enormous radio/mobile masts at the summit.  Not exactly the most beautiful sight, necessary though these masts are, but the perfect peace at the top of the mountain was broken by the incessant, pulsing drone from the masts, which becomes the key sound signature at the summit.  Thi...
2m Aug 28, 2021
2m
Everdream
Kotor old town reimagined by Bev Craddock. "When I visited Kotor at the end of an exhausting and emotional bike trip from Split via Mostar I stumbled across a Jazz cafe called Evergreen in the Old Town which has Tom Waits pictures on all the tables and live music.  "I sampled a loop from a track, used a music box recording of the sonata, stretched the supplied recording and played some played...
4m Aug 28, 2021
4m
Turbine transformation
Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford sound installation reimagined by Scott Lawrence Whitman. "The source of the original field recording was a sound installation at the Pitt Rivers Museum at Oxford University involving windmills.  "My reimagined piece, like a windmill, revolves and evolves around the field recording, part of which can be heard as a buzzing, insect-like drone  and child's voice, which ...
3m Aug 28, 2021
3m
90 minutes compressed
Venezia vs. Cittadella football match reimagined by de Velden. "The field recording that started this track was made amongst football fans, away from the pitch.  "It captured the excitement on the stands, which, in my track, I have tried to bring together with a musical interpretation of the drama and particularly the dynamics of a game of football."
5m Aug 18, 2021
5m
Among the ultras
A rare recording from the away end at a Serie B football match in Italy, December 26 2019. The Stadio Pier Luigi Penzo in Venice is unlike any other in the world, requiring arrival for the away fans via a vaporetto water taxi across Venice.  During this match, which Cittadella won 2-1, we hear the aftermath of one of Cittadella's goals, with songs, chanting and general merriment (and abuse) be...
6m Aug 18, 2021
6m
NYC Chinatown wander
Chinatown, New York City reimagined by Kathleen Judge. "Having lived in New York City’s Chinatown many years ago, listening to the original field recording brought many memories to mind. Visions and sounds full of static—distorted by time. Moments of clarity, a solid memory surfaces— and then vanishes.  "I approached this piece as if I were tuning into a memory of a place, like turning a dial...
6m Aug 18, 2021
6m
An exploration of Chinatown
Recording from Mott and Hester in Chinatown, New York City by Cities and Memory.  A soundwalk through the Chinatown district, with multiple open shop fronts and customers giving the feel of a busy Chinese market right in the heart of Manhattan. 
5m Aug 18, 2021
5m
A single chord in an abandoned hospital
Abandoned hospital sound reimagined by Cities and Memory. "The original field recording is a sinister drone right out of a dystopian tale, and I wanted to accentuate that sinister quality, along with the mechanical, industrial nature of the sound.  "This is a 'self-generating' piece with various arpeggiators and loops playing the same chord and developing themselves over the course of the pie...
5m Aug 16, 2021
5m
Empty hospital drone
Abandoned hospital drone recorded by Connor Orrico. "The children's hospital moved, so this is just ambience of the abandoned central plaza of the old building next to a fairly busy street."
2m Aug 16, 2021
2m
Starlings
Starling murmuration reimagined by thequietwood.  "The field recording reminded me of walks and runs (very slow jogs), on my local moor (Dartmoor). "I imagined myself going for a run on a crisp spring morning, crunching my way over icy grass  and stopping by a hedgerow where I briefly disturb the Starlings, and then I proceed to run on, watching the murmuration display of the soaring and swir...
6m Aug 16, 2021
6m
Starling murmurations, Otmoor
A freezing cold afternoon in winter, and we visited the RSPB nature reserve at Otmoor in Oxfordshire to try to see the starling murmurations. The main event happened way off in the distance and was impossible to record, but walking back along the icy, flooded path, we accidentally disturbed a huge number of starlings in a hedgerow right next to us, who took to the skies and circled above our he...
2m Aug 16, 2021
2m