Cities and Memory - remixing the world
Cities and Memory remixes the world, one sound at a time - a global collaboration between artists and sound recordists all over the world. The project presents an amazingly-diverse array of field recordings from all over the world, but also reimagined, recomposed versions of those recordings as we go on a mission to remix the world. What you'll hear in the podcast are our latest sounds - either a field recording from somewhere in the world, or a remixed new composition based solely on those sounds. Each podcast description tells you more about what you're hearing, and where it came...
The seven artists of San Stae
"Inside the church of San Stae, the right wall contains altars with works by Niccolò Bambini, Giuseppe Camerata, and Antonio Balestra. The three chapels on the left house works by Giuseppe Torretto, Pietro Baratta, Francesco Migliori, and Jacopo Amigoni.
"There are seven distinct synth sounds within the piece - each representing a different artist whose work can be found within the church, layered on top of one another just as the layers of history sit like a fine sediment running through the city of Venice itself.
"For this piece, these synths work together to build an im...
The Grand Canal heard from San Stae
The iconic sounds of the Grand Canal in Venice, as heard from outside the Chiesa di San Stae. The low thrum of vaporetto taxis and smaller boats, the lapping of water on the sides of the canal, the conversations of locals zipping up past us on boats, all on a warm, sultry summer afternoon.
Reimagined by Cities and Memory.
Spice market, Pointe-à-Pitre
"A walk through the Spice Market and the surrounding area in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. It's 11 a.m. on September 7, 2019."
Recorded by Azadeh Nilchiani.
Pointe-à-Pitre
"My track “Pointe-à-Pitre” is based on a field recording from a spice Market in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. I was drawn to the field recording because it captures the magical atmosphere of the city. I can imagine being taken away by the smell of the spices, fruits and vegetables at the market on this Caribbean paradise.
"It is this feeling that I have infused in this reimagined music, of being in the heart of Guadeloupe Islands, soaking up the enjoyment of that Caribbean lifestyle. The sun, the colors, the smells. Walking through the market, listening to the sounds of life...
Haunted streets of Montmartre
"Reimagined the streets of Montmartre as haunted from the ghosts of the past."
Montmartre street recording reimagined by VVHΛLTHISИEY.
Four o'clock in a perfect world
"My recollection of this field recording was standing in Campo San Giacomo di Rialto at 4pm, after an entire day of recording the sounds of Venice - my favourite urban space in the world for sound recording. The sun was warm and mellow, and the campo was unusually quiet and empty considering its proximity to the Rialto Bridge, one of Venice's most popular and crowded tourist spots.
"The trickle of water from a small fountain cut through the air, and when the bells chimed the hour, I felt lucky to be alive, and fortunate to be spending time d...
A lazy afternoon in Rialto
A walkthrough across Venice's iconic Rialto Bridge, through the market at the bottom of the bridge, and out into Campo San Giacomo di Rialto. In this quiet square just away from the hustle and bustle of one of Venice's most popular tourist spots, all we can hear is the gentle trickle of a water fountain, and the bells chiming for 4pm.
An unusually contemplative and mellow end to a soundscape of what is often one of the most frantic and crowded destinations in Venice.
Recorded by Cities and Memory.
Migrating terns
"The sound of the migrating terns is replaced by violins playing a the same rhythm as a short loop of the field recording. This pattern is faded in and out with other orchestral string instruments playing similar tern patterns."
Migrating terns reimagined by Simon Woods.
Tern colony at Cemlyn Bay
Tern colony at Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey. Sandwich, Common and Arctic tern migrate from Africa or as far as the Antarctic for the Artic tern every spring to breed there and then head back each autumn hopefully with young terns following them.
Recorded by Phil Cunliffe.
To step outside time's relentless flow
"I listened and listened to the beautiful recording and played along the best I could on my acoustic guitar to form an idea. I used the recording complete in places and cut up and sampled in others , to creat a kind of vocal line to the piece.
"To step outside of times relentless flow is a journey , a holiday if you like. A trip away from the everyday. Music for me is the escape , the trip , the journey.
"The voices on the recording filled me full of awe and wonder. Each voice individual and unique in i...
