Cities and Memory - remixing the world

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 from. There are more than 7,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 130 countries and territories. The sounds cover parts of the world as diverse as the hubbub of San Francisco’s main station, traditional fishing women’s songs at Lake Turkana, the sound of computer data centres in Birmingham, spiritual temple chanting in New Taipei City or the hum of the vaporetto engines in Venice. You can explore the project in full at http://www.citiesandmemory.com

Episodes

Ancient Waorani Icaro

May 5, 2025 • 2 mins
This recording captures the early morning sounds of an ancient Waorani warrior in the Ecuadorian Amazon. Staying with him in his traditional palm-thatched longhouse, the tranquility of the environment was profound, with minimal external noise. Despite a language barrier—he spoke only Waorani (Sabela)—we connected through gestures and shared moments. At dawn, as we emerged from our hammocks, I asked if I could record him. The r...
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Cantar

May 5, 2025 • 3 mins
"The original field recording is awesome so I wanted to keep as much of that as I could in the new piece. The background rhythm is created from a small sample of the orginal with some echo added. I then added some background melodies and overlay the original recording."

Ancient Waorani Icaro in Ecuador reimagined by Richard Watts. 
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Jarv

May 3, 2025 • 3 mins
"The original recording reminded me of woozy days listening to my children play when they were young. The music I've added intentionally loses focus / zones out and hopefully evokes a dreamlike state."

Swimming in Mooste reimagined by Adam Leonard. 
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Swimming in Mooste

May 3, 2025 • 2 mins
It was beautiful summer day in 2013 August and I was staying at the artist residency in Mooste. I wanted to record some local sounds and went to the swimming place at the lake nearby.I asked the people who were picnicking by the lake if they thought it would be ok to record and they said yes. I sat on the pier.

Recorded in Mooste, Estonia by Sirpa Jokinen.
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Crashing waves on Elgol beach

May 3, 2025 • 4 mins
Waves crash onto a rocky beach in Elgol, with the close sound of water smacking against the hard rocks of the beach. One boat passes by into the harbour during the recording. 

Recorded on the Isle of Skye by Cities and Memory. 
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The link of generations

May 3, 2025 • 2 mins
"I recorded and reinterpreted this sound myself. Our common bond, apart from kinship, is playing the guitar."

Cemetery in  Kemerovo, Russia reimagined by Pavel Lopatin.
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The sound of the cemetery in May

May 3, 2025 • 2 mins
The sound is in good weather at the cemetery, near my great-grandmother's grave. It's a bright place, despite the sadness. On the recording, you can hear birds, rustling, and a few other people, perhaps you can hear the wind. 

Recorded in Kemerovo, Russia by Pavel Lopatin.
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Isle of Skye ( {AN} EeL Versio )

May 3, 2025 • 3 mins
"A dense re-mix for the Cities and Memory project."

Waves on Elgol beach reimagined by {AN} EeL.
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Paris jazz club

April 28, 2025 • 3 mins
"The composition is made samples cut from the original field recording, with a little additions, looped and rearranged. It finishes with a nod to a Paris Jazz great."

Jazz show at Le Baiser Salé, Paris reimagined by Simon Woods. 
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Up close and personal in the Paris jazz scene

April 28, 2025 • 8 mins
A lively jazz sextet led by Michel Zenino recorded at the tiny, intimate Paris jazz club Le Baiser Salé. 

Michel Zenion Zewoaï:

Michel Zenino - contrebass
Leo Montana - piano
Christophe Monniot - alto saxophone
Jeff Boudreaux - drums
Manu Codija - guitar
Adriano Tenorio - percussion 

Recorded on 14 December 2024 by Cities and Memory. 
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Kjærlighetsstien, Utøya

April 28, 2025 • 10 mins
The recording contains the ambience at "Kjærlighetsstien" at Utøya, close to Oslo, in the morning of 22nd July 2022. Utøya was the site where mass murderer Anders Behring Breivik massacered 69 young people on July 22nd, 2011, exactly 11 years earlier. At "Kjærlighetsstien" 11 youth tried to hide and play dead, but were discovered and shot by Breivik, only a single survivor. The sound of the waves, forest, birds etc. is the sam...
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Pryvoz market

April 28, 2025 • 4 mins
Recording at Privoz market in Odessa was a mix of emotions. The market buzzed with life, as vendors sold goods and people clung to everyday routines despite the ongoing conflict. There was a sense of resilience in the air, but beneath the bustle, a quiet sadness lingered. It reflected the uncertainty of the war between Ukraine and Russia, casting a shadow over the moments of normalcy that still persisted.

Privoz marke...
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Global and local: market place in Odessa

April 28, 2025 • 2 mins
"This is a lovely field recording of the everyday bustle and chatter. I used a recording of shortwave radio (Web SDR) and a clip from Hat Note (the sonification of real time changes to Wikipedia) to try and convey the global backdrop to the everyday business of the buyers and sellers at Privoz Market in Odessa."

Privoz market, Odessa reimagined by Roland Pyle.
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Utøpya - Osøø

April 28, 2025 • 3 mins
"Ramblings and sound variations with and in the source landscape... dreamy moments... lunar thoughts..."

"Kjærlighetsstien" at Utøya reimagined by Philippe Neau.
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Sonic Heritage feature, CBC radio, 21 April 2025

April 27, 2025 • 5 mins
A feature on CBC, Canadian national radio, broadcast on 21 April 2025 about the Sonic Heritage project. Features an interview with Cities and Memory founder Stuart Fowkes, and several field recordings from the project.  
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BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: Sonic Heritage interview, 18 April 2025

April 18, 2025 • 4 mins
Interview with Cities and Memory founder Stuart Fowkes on BBC Radio 4's Today Programme on 18 April 2025, introducing the Sonic Heritage project. Features sound clips from the Tower of London, the Sistine Chapel and Valparaiso, Chile. 
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BBC World Service Newshour: Sonic Heritage interview, 18 April 2025

April 18, 2025 • 4 mins
Interview with Cities and Memory founder Stuart Fowkes on BBC World Service's Newshour programme on 18 April 2025, introducing the Sonic Heritage project. Features sound clips from the Sistine Chapel, Coimbra in Portugal and Okarito in New Zealand. 
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The place of greenstone

April 7, 2025 • 6 mins
"It was fascinating in the course of working on this piece to learn more about the significance of the Te Wahipounamu region to the Māori people, and to read of the world-building legends about how this part of the world came into being. 

"I wanted to hold this sense of the sacred close to me as I explored the sound - and what it represented - more deeply. This piece contemplates the very different meanings of the sam...
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Dawn chorus at Okarito

April 7, 2025 • 18 mins
This is a recording of a dawn chorus after two days of hard rain at Ōkārito. Pīpipi Brown Creepers, Mātata Fernbird, Tauhou Silvereyes, and other manu birds are busy feeding and grooming in the warm sunlight. Mixing with this birdsong is the constant rumble of waves that can be heard wherever you are in town. The trail where this was recorded was dripping with rainwater and steaming as the temperature quickly rose. Residents a...
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Sitting concession

April 7, 2025 • 6 mins
"The overlapping sounds – the drone's gentle pulse, the lingering reverb, the admiring whispers, and the sacred music – create a dreamlike and immersive experience. It's as if the drone has become a silent witness, its sonic capture blending the everyday wonder of visitors with the profound spiritual atmosphere of a Christmas Mass. The drawn-out notes act as a unifying force, binding these disparate sounds into a cohesive and ...
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