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 www.citiesandmemory.com
Episodes
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 ...
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...
Recorded in Oban, Scotland by Cities and Memory in April 2025.
"The music moves through evolving motifs: a peaceful drone and the suggestion of bagpipes represent the quiet of the unfinished enclosure overlooking the town and bay of Oban and a ...
"The piece is intended to present those sounds in different yet related contexts; the first section is melodic, while the seco...
Recorded by Jake Edwards.
Cuckoos in Tomintoul, Scotland reimagined by Dermot Fitzsimons.
The calls of cuckoos create an eerie presence that gives depths to the length of the surrounding valley. Along with the days awakening dawn chorus, loud insects chirping, a brash pheasant interrupts the sc...
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