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 8,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 140 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 www.citiesandmemory.com
Episodes
An interesting spot in central Berlin at Gontardstrasse - an intersection with passing trams and buses from two sides, while trains pass overhead to our right. As an added bonus, we stand between two pedestrian crossing boxes, with a stereo effect as they exchange pulses on either side of us.
Recorded by Cities and Memory, September 2025.
I was especially inspired by the rhythmic, stereo qualities of the traffic sounds. Their sound texture gave me new inspiration every time I listened to them.
The reimagined piece is nostalgic and dreamy. I was really focused on the storytelling aspect, in a kind of post-cinematographic way. The composition is built partly from « tape music » using the original recording, then layered with two modular parts and a drum kit for t...
"This recording felt introspective, reflective and meditative and the Indonesian chant took me back to Bali, where I had just been in April 2025. I used some recordings I took in Bali such as a dawn chorus and placed birds and rustles in the wider stereo field. I recorded myself playing the flute, basing the melody on the chant, which is woven throughout the piece."
reimagined by Sarah McRuvie.
There are various insects and birds in Rumah Tangga while the space is filled with gardens. During the morning time, there used to be a 'sholawat' (a praise to God from a nearby mosque) until noon.
Because of the vast lands, the megaphone sound from the mosque sprawls nicely throughout the area. The sound of the inhabitants gives a calm and soothing feeling. I love to wake up early in the morning to feel grateful for the aura...
"I found inspiration for this piece within the first few seconds of listening to the recording, it quite literally leapt out at me (Pardon the pun), a very distinctive rhythm, I quickly wrote a riff that followed the rhythm and made it the focal point of this piece with it reappearing throughout, some very chaotic sections (similar to the hopping of a frog). I used guitar amps on a lot of the frog sounds that I'd chopped out ...
"One night the frogs of Varka village were improvising!"
Recorded in Varka, Greece by Agapi Zarda.
The original sample was resampled, with a lot of treatments. Guitar samples were added, as well as synth and keyboards sounds. The idea was to end up with an ambient piece in which you would still hear the original atmosphere. The piece was mastered by Fabric Decay, an electronic / experimental artist from Kyiv, Ukraine.
Kelvingrove museum, Scotland reimagined by Abstrakt Lake.
IMAGE: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativeco...
The atmosphere of the Kelvingrove art museum in Glasgow. People walking, talking, children playing. The amazing reverberation of the building makes steps sound a bit like treated percussion, at times. Minimum editing (fade in/out and EQ).
Recorded by Balthazar Klimt.
IMAGE: 瑞丽江的河水, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons
The most striking feature of the original field recording is dozens of motorbikes and scooters zooming past and dodging their way through the pedestrians. Throughout the day when it's busier they can only pass very slowly, but with sparser crowds at night they rip past us on both sides.
This composition brings to life some of the energy of the city of Marrakesh by night, with the instrumentation highlighting the buzz and busyn...
Marrakesh, Morocco - at 9.30pm in the Bab Doukkala district, the city is full of life.
Shops are open and bustling, the area is mostly locals and few tourists, but the most remarkable thing is the sheer number of scooters and motorbikes passing - in the space of just a few minutes, more than 20 motorbikes zip and slalom past us in the narrow alleyway, zig-zagging between pedestrians. You can hear it all in this recording.
Reco...
For this piece, multiple layers of synths, strings and other instruments layer on top of one another, performing variations of the same melody, to mimic both the repetition and individual variations within the the frog choruses. Each instrument becomes a voice joining in with the frogs’ calls, creating a melodic bed that reflects on the majestic beauty of nature’s large-scale gatherings of animals.
Night time frog chorus in G...
"Reimagination of Hastings Boat Launch with a blues shuffle feel to it."
Hastings boat launch reimagined by Gareth Eckley.
|Trees and birds have always been considered the lungs of a neighbourhood. Yet, even though we recognise their value, the policy of too many (Belgian) cities is to trade vibrant greenery for dull, grey concrete. This is a call to action: we must do more to protect our scarce green spaces."
Bos forest, Amsterdam reimagined by Jade Yorks.
This was recorded near a field after the rain around midnight where frogs were having a huge discussion about meeting their future partners.
Recorded in Goa, India by Anantha Krishnan.
his recording, made in January 2025, is of one of the fishing boats being launched from the beach in Hastings. This sustainable fishing fleet has a history spanning over 200 years and faces many challenges, such as the gradual decline of fish stocks, damage to the marine environment from pollution and climate change, over regulation and unfair competition and encroachment from the european industrial fishing fleets. Beach lau...
Amsterdamse bos is a 100-year-old forest surrounded by a 750-year-old city. This artificial forest is both a forest and park-like. It provides a significant habitat for non-human creatures within the city. Meanwhile, behind the voices of birds, you can hear the constant sound of airplanes passing overhead on their way to Schiphol Airport, which was built on reclaimed land just like the forest. I recorded this on my way home f...
Ambisonics recordings at Checkpoint Charlie, the famous crossing point between East Berlin and West Berlin during the Cold War.
Recorded by Anders Vinjar.
"I wanted to keep the original recording as intact as possible. I had some chord progressions I was already working on, and they seemed to fit the theme, so I orchestrated from there. Wanting something that reflected both the past, present and future of the location, the Berlin School influenced was obvious, but then it needed to break down a bit, before coming back to the reality of the present with the person doing the reco...
"Some five years on I have changed very little to this original recording, leaving most of the irregularity in the ringing in place and working with and around its rhythm, embracing the imperfections and al...
The artist found the bell lying silent on the ground and restored its voice. From its new home on Radhusplassen, here outside the City Hall, the bell can once again interact with the bells in the tower. By putting your foo...
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