Cities and Memory - remixing the world

" Boscastle, such a beautiful magical place, set in a deep valley carved out by the river, with jagged cliffs covered in emerald & drifts of Sea Pinks & white Campion, where the sea birds nest. The buildings growing out of the cliffs in slate & killas. The slate slabs & cobbles trodden into forms of memories for hundreds of years. 

"I was inspired by the Boscastle field recording because of my deep connection with the sea & the place itself. I lived nearby for many years. I was there at the time of the awful flood. My connection deepened when close friends I’d w...

Light waves breaking on a stone boat jetty in the very small one-boat Boscastle harbour in Cornwall on a sunny August afternoon.

Recorded by Cities and Memory, June 2025. 

"This composition is built from a field recording of a waterfall in the Lake District by Rob Parton. The waterfall has a broad spectrum of frequencies decaying and emerging; a metaphor for autumn: as each droplet’s resonance fades, new ones emerge, echoing nature’s descent into winter, its long sleep and quiet preparation for spring. 

"The piece features a vocal sample of Karen McCarthy Woolf reading from her poem Conversations with Water, her contemplative words reverberating through this honouring of water and the transformative season of autumn.

"Using the Torso S-4, I gradually transformed the raw w...

"The original source sound for this piece was from a bat echolocation detection device. So in this sonic interpretation, I aimed to create the feeling of reaching out into a mysterious, dark space of unknown size or location. 

"The timbre is meant to be muffled and imprecise while the musical material is deliberate and approaching Baroque. I also bounced the original source sound between various audio and music composition softwares, relaying the message and having it change along the way–similar to a game of telephone. The rhythmic patterns were all taken for the rhythmic patterns of the son...

"I was drawn to the call of the Rag and Bone man, and I thought of the man himself, beyond the call - and imagined my own best beloved Great Grandmother and the stories she told me of getting a Donkey Stone from the Rag and Bone man, and scrubbing her step clean. 

"It must have been important to her, because she told me about it as though it were a ritual. So I wrote her song, as she might sing to him. 
Maybe she called him Donkey Stone. 

"Maybe she dreamed of running away and...

Annual "palio" games are common across Italy, in which the town divides itself up into different quarters, which then compete in a series of games over several nights - here, we listen to the first event, the tug of war, with several rounds between different teams all named after animals. We can also hear the nightly "campana della sera" evening bells at 9.00pm midway through the recording. 

Recorded in Villa del Conte, Italy, June 2025 by Cities and Memory. 

"|Using SpectralLayers, I isolated the background noise and PA voice into distinct layers that were shortened and pitch-shifted with various effects to create a bed for the track. Then samples of the voice and background were chopped up and woven into a chilled-out ambient composition."

Villa del Conte palio games reimagined by Karhide.

Every now and then a Rag ‘n' Bone man (scrap metal man) drives his van round my village in the Forest of Dean picking up scrap metal. It has been difficult to record him. By the time I’ve got the recorder out he’s gone. This time I was lucky. The recording captures him passing down my lane, then the strident chatter of sparrows and the gentle hum of bees in the garden before we hear him again calling in the distance.

Recorded by Paul Stephens-Wood.

The sounds of a bat detector converting bat echolocation calls into audible frequencies on a bat behaviour/nesting site survey in Oxfordshire. 

Recorded by Giulia Biasibetti.

Finding a spot in Wuhu’s city center that fit this recording project’s theme was nearly impossible, but a sentimental taxi driver pointed me to Yuncao, a small town on the Yangtze’s north bank. Water transport (caoyun) is the origin of Wuhu’s name, hinting at stories embedded in the town’s identity. Recently turned into a tourist spot, it was still free of visitors, with shops and residents all locals, unhurried and unprepared for tourists—perfect for my experience and recording. 

I arrived during breakfast time, with few vehicles around. Shopkeepers sauntered to open their stores, and k...

Mountain Waters captures the sound of water flowing along the Stickle Tarn trail in the Lake District, near Stickle Tarn at the heart of the Langdale Pikes. The water moves over rocks and drops, creating a rhythmic, textured sound that reflects the natural processes shaping this landscape.

The Lake District, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is defined by its lakes and mountains, and this recording highlights the water that connects them. It provides a sense of place, transporting the listener to a key element of this heritage site.

The sound was recorded using a Zoom H3...

Protest outside SOAS in support of Haya Adam - 26th September 2025. A Palestine-related protest outside SOAS, UoL, Bloomsbury, London. Haya Adam is a student who has led Palestine protests and was expelled from SOAS this summer. The first half of the recording has protest chants, the second half is a speech from Haya Adam.

Recorded by James Errington.

A recording capturing the energised nature of Cape Town, complicated by the historic struggles that have defined the country. This was an autumn day, blue skies and bright sunshine. This was during my first trip to South Africa, where I had started visiting to uncover information about my South African family and dad, who died when I was very young.

Recorded by Daniel Mackenzie.

Recorded on a summer morning in the middle of a beautiful rice field stretching as far as the eye can see. It felt like a magnificent sound installation, with crows and insects singing.

Recorded in Niigata, Japan by Miyu Hosoi.

"This piece emerged kind of organically out of itself. It was rather hard to start to manipulate the original recording of Digimonk, because it was so beautifull in itself, technically and naratologically speaking. 

"It turned out to become some kind of radiophonic storytelling piece."

Wuhu old town soundscape reimagined by Sebastian Dingens.

"The heavy drumming and urgent voices in the recording immediately captured my attention. Following the rhythm of the recorded percussion I built sounds, that felt poignant and appropriate, around the initial groove and pitches inherent in the chanting voices. As a 'protest song' I felt that Dub and Reggae influences were relevant, and added charisma to the piece. I hope that I have captured something of the feelings of justified anger, sadness and hope that I drew from the source recording."

SOAS protest in London reimagined by dead kousin.

"The music, rhythms, sounds from Cape Town have inspired many of us for long now. In this piece one can sense that layering of the rich fabric of the city musical history: all I did is trying to highlight the rhythms and motives, I didn't want to add anything else!"

Cape Town dancers reimagined by Clelia Ciardulli.

"This sonic composition, titled Yūgen (幽玄), delves into the aesthetic of subtle beauty and the profound mystery that defines this Japanese concept. The work originates from a deep immersion in the serenity of the Niigata rice fields at dawn, a space of absolute tranquility where the absence of sounds from human sources becomes the creative driving force.

"The process focused on the creation of an atmosphere that honors this initial stillness. The assigned field recording served as the foundational starting point, which was then subjected to sound design techniques. These included manipulating speed and pitch to highlight the subtl...

Step into the vibrant streets of Molenbeek, Belgium on a Sunday morning, where the sounds of the bustling market come alive. This immersive sound walk recording captures the sights and sounds of the local community as they go about their day.

The air is filled with the cacophony of vendors calling out to passersby, the clinking of pots and pans, and the murmur of lively conversations in a variety of dialects. The scent of fresh produce and exotic spices wafts through the air, enticing shoppers to explore the stalls. In the distance, the gentle chime of church bells...

This curiously named lane, marked by a stone archway, hosts an open-air market hemmed in by tall, dense residential buildings. Mobile vendors, traditional snack stalls, breakfast shops, butchers, and seafood stands huddle together, with a central lot crammed with bicycles and scooters. It serves as the local wet market, breakfast spot, and a hangout where elders idly stroll. 

Vendors’ calls are swallowed by the bold, booming voices of Nanjing locals. Online, many claim this is Nanjing’s most authentic, lively spot, as if noise, chaos, and disorder define “local flavour.” The equation seems to be: noisy public spaces = bustling...

High in the misty mountains of northern Vietnam, the sound of water guides you to serenity. A gentle, steady stream cascades from the Love Waterfall as birds call softly in the distance – their contrast providing the perfect melody.

This tranquil soundscape captures the pure essence of Sa Pa’s beauty, where nature sings in tones of peace and clarity, inviting you to breathe deeply and let go.

Recorded in Sa Pa, Vietnam by Jake Edwards.

This is a simple field recording of passenger hubbub and train announcements at Baltimore Penn Station which was constructed in 1911. They have recently updated the building and they have started to play classical music in the background which I personally adore.

Note: Some people like to affectionately call the city "Bawlmer", thus the file is named "Bawlmer Penn".

Recorded by Bill McKenna.

In the Belén neighborhood of Iquitos, Peru, extreme poverty prevails. Residents live in wooden stilt houses along the Amazon River, vulnerable to flooding, with poor sanitation and limited access to healthcare. This recording captures the ambiance of the street market, where exotic animals are sold, reflecting a community trapped in poverty and neglect.

Recorded by Rafael Diogo.

Å village is full of seagulls - they never stop talking and singing!

Recorded in Lofoten, Norway by Agapi Zita.

Walking through the Grønland district in Oslo, a pealing of bells starts up from a nearby church to mark the beginning of a wedding starting inside. The bells end, and we walk through the nearby Bierkelunden park, listening to passers-by talking, and passing close by a fountain. 

Recorded in May 2025 by Cities and Memory.

We can hear the protest chants of thousands of protesters in central Athens, calling for an investigation into the deaths of Greek citizens in a train accident due to missing security protocol and corruption. The protest took place March 8, 2023 at 16:55.

Recorded by Daniel Beaudoin.

A peaceful Monday morning in Bremen's Buergerpark, with plentiful birdsong, and the occasional jogger and cyclist passing us on a sunny May morning. 

Recorded in May 2025 by Cities and Memory. 

Parks draw elderly crowds, each with unique soundscapes shaped by distinct groups, hard to discover without local insight. This recording was a lucky find. Guanqian Park, a refined roadside garden, hosts elderly chess players in tight-knit groups, clearly familiar. 

Some laugh, others argue heatedly, slapping chess pieces in excitement, creating a lively buzz. Onlookers watch quietly with poised restraint, embodying Suzhou’s cultured folk spirit. Unexpectedly found in a roadside park.

Recorded by Digimonk.

Jiwei Cun is a small village in Liangshan Mountains of Sichuan province, China. They are Yi nationality. The local people have pigs, cows and chickens in backyards, under trees. Yi is very very old tribes in history. Because of the mountains, they're a mystery.

Recorded by Digimonk.

Teahouses were once hubs of socializing, business, and leisure in towns along the Yangtze, akin to British pubs or Shanghai’s 1990s eateries. At Jiaotong Teahouse, most patrons are retired local men, much like their ancestors a century ago. They trickle in around 5 a.m., chatting, playing cards, chess, or sipping tea under dim wooden beams and brick walls, with scarcely a sound from phones or devices. Some linger all day, swapping tales from near and far; others head home by noon with vegetables for lunch. Wang Di’s book Teahouse vividly explores the traditional Chengdu teahouse’s role in cultur...

" Although sampled, processed, arranged then processed,reprocessed and arranged again, the sound of the stream still persists."

Sa Pa, Vietnam water sounds reimagined by Alex Vald.

"The people in the teahouse were a focal point for my approach to reimagining this sound, I listened to the cadence and rhythm of conversations and clattering of cups and found a melody, chopped up the audio to accentuate the melody, dialed in some synths and lo-fi drums to act as the vehicle for that melody and took it some weird and wonderful places, here are some interesting points from the piece:

"I wanted to include some nods to China in this piece, the gongs at the beginning and end, the mandarin phrases which were "Begin" "Breakdown" and "...

"Floating Sediments is a work that uses sounds from a market in Iquitos, Peru. The voices of vendors and customers, fragments of music, and everyday murmurs are extracted through spectral processes to reconfigure this landscape within an expanded temporality. Through synthesis, modulations of speed and pitch, resonances, and reverberations, a state of persistence is suggested, of traces that fix and vanish in a space of their own.

"The work is a collage of vocal layers, displaced textures, and imagined presences. Synthesizers are also incorporated to add harmonic color, creating a sonic fabric that oscillates between memory and transformation...

"The original field recording by Colin Hunter is a layered feast of distinctive sounds - bells ringing, unusual whistles, vendors shouting short phrases repeatedly, people softly laughing and a baby trying out words. I've taken seven of these sounds and set them in opposition to the same sounds found in other places. At times they are swamped, at other times they blend and form a new audio relationship."

Molenbeek market, Belgium reimagined by Chris Lillywhite.

"The sounds of Sanqiba Alley in Nanjing reminded me of living in Nanjing several years ago, and the sense of the history of this place and its people was really strong. The piece draws on the sounds of conversations and food preparations to suggest a moment that is rooted in time and is also timeless in a way."

Nanjing old town reimagined by Wayne DeFehr.

" used the prominent sound of the bells to explore polyrhythms and basic sound effects such as pitch and timing alteration, and reversing. I structured it so that the rhythm is established, then altered, then becomes chaotic, then gives way to more melodic and coherent material. The harshness of sound and the wedding bells are a micro structure, briefly explored."

Oslo wedding bells reimagined by Patrick Duffy.

"I like to push myself beyond my comfort zones so as an exercise in avoiding my biases I asked Stuart to choose a sound for me. It's almost as if he knew! Stuart gave me a sound recording of seagulls that really challenged me. It was a difficult sound to work with because it has a very narrow tonal range and was quite repetitive. I found that surprising for a natural sound. 

"All of the sounds in this composition have been derived from the original field recording."

Gulls in Lofoten reimagined by Robert Gillespie.

"I was inspired by the guttural sounds of the animals roaring. I decided to investigate the detail of these by slowing the material down. I then layered different components and added plugins including comb filtering, space grain and evolution. The resultant audio suggested to me how it might sound if you were a small creature swallowed by a predator."

Jiwei village, China reimagined by Alison Beattie.

"While listening to this composition I am imagining walking mindfully through a park and feeling centred and contemplative. I used the whole field recording, applied different effects and made the accompanying synth lines while imagining I was in the park."

Buergerpark, Bremen reimagined by Eden Grey.

"Starting with a recording from Baltimore airport, I created a contrast between nature and the urban environment. My goal is to highlight how we have become accustomed to the artificial noises of the city, ending up almost completely ignoring the sounds of nature. This composition is intended as an invitation to listen to them carefully again."

Baltimore station reimagined by Samuele Arcudi.