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 6,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 120 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
April 25, 2024 • 5 mins
"I wanted to capture the rolling rhythm of a water in the original field recording so I've used a series of pads and synth sounds to create that feeling. I also used a repeating piano melody to mimic the sounds of the water going over rocks etc. I tweaked the original recording to bring up the bird song."
Vermont bird soundscape reimagined by Richard Watts.
Vermont bird soundscape reimagined by Richard Watts.
Mark as Played
April 25, 2024 • 3 mins
In this scene in Berkshire, Vermont, a small babbling stream takes center stage as a variety of birds can be heard singing both near and far.
Recorded by Chris Ruprecht.
Recorded by Chris Ruprecht.
Mark as Played
April 16, 2024 • 4 mins
"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 anoth...
"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 anoth...
Mark as Played
April 16, 2024 • 7 mins
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.
Reimagined by Cities and Memory.
Mark as Played
April 16, 2024 • 5 mins
"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.
Recorded by Azadeh Nilchiani.
Mark as Played
April 16, 2024 • 5 mins
"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 Guadelo...
"It is this feeling that I have infused in this reimagined music, of being in the heart of Guadelo...
Mark as Played
April 16, 2024 • 2 mins
"Reimagined the streets of Montmartre as haunted from the ghosts of the past."
Montmartre street recording reimagined by VVHΛLTHISИEY.
Montmartre street recording reimagined by VVHΛLTHISИEY.
Mark as Played
April 9, 2024 • 4 mins
"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 ...
"The trickle of water from a small ...
Mark as Played
April 9, 2024 • 4 mins
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 t...
An unusually contemplative and mellow end to a soundscape of what is often one of t...
Mark as Played
March 29, 2024 • 14 secs
"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.
Migrating terns reimagined by Simon Woods.
Mark as Played
March 29, 2024 • 3 mins
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.
Recorded by Phil Cunliffe.
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 6 mins
"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.
"Th...
"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.
"Th...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 3 mins
"In my mind, a pier is almost always a busy place, people are coming or going and that alone brings excitement. For those who in fact are on the pier to embark on a voyage it is perhaps even more exciting. Remember the feeling as a child going on your first travel by boat, being in the moment just before embarking, feel the tremble of joy, but also of fear of the unknown. What may happen once out to sea? But then the anticipat...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 4 mins
"A period of time
a few minutes long
fifty-eight years wide."
"This recording gave such a strong sense of a moment in time held still - the way in which the space of a minute in the middle of the night can take on the same qualities as an hour during daylight.
"The nighttime rainfall sits as a bed throughout the track, which overall is structured into one section punctuated by the calls of an owl, an...
a few minutes long
fifty-eight years wide."
"This recording gave such a strong sense of a moment in time held still - the way in which the space of a minute in the middle of the night can take on the same qualities as an hour during daylight.
"The nighttime rainfall sits as a bed throughout the track, which overall is structured into one section punctuated by the calls of an owl, an...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 6 mins
"I loved how the field recording provided a really nice atmospheric layer to the song. The interesting thing is that the recording has different moments as in one part you hear the sounds of the waves and in another, human voices combined with other elements that inhabit the place.
"This song talks about the wish of feeling nature, of experimenting the outside.
I think that the feelings of travel and adventure are...
"This song talks about the wish of feeling nature, of experimenting the outside.
I think that the feelings of travel and adventure are...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 4 mins
"I used the field recording unedited and throughout the duration of my piece. It inspired me to put myself in the outdoors, listen to the sounds of nature in the recording and transfer how this made me feel into music: peaceful and hopeful, and then adventurous. I started with a piano solo and build instrumentation around it. I also drew inspiration from the classic composition by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, hence the ...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 14 mins
"A sleepy harbour at Pepperskär on the island of Järsö, 12km south of Mariehamn, Åland's capital. It's just after 7am on a Sunday. The roe deer on the road vanish into the woods as I arrive, the gulls haven't yet flown in from the rocky havens in the bay.
"A slight breeze stirs the tide to softly lap the the wood-clad harbour walls and the hulls of the handful of boats moored therein. Alongside the rough cawing of ea...
"A slight breeze stirs the tide to softly lap the the wood-clad harbour walls and the hulls of the handful of boats moored therein. Alongside the rough cawing of ea...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 3 mins
"The field recording from the martial arts studio in Thailand is over 20 minutes long, so I initially selected several parts that appealed to me because of their athletic energy, community spirit and sweat.
"I chose sound sections that reflect the general training atmosphere in the room and, of course, the sports activities with rhythmic sequences. Muay Thai is a national sport in Thailand, so I also wanted to incorp...
"I chose sound sections that reflect the general training atmosphere in the room and, of course, the sports activities with rhythmic sequences. Muay Thai is a national sport in Thailand, so I also wanted to incorp...
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 21 mins
"People from across Chiang Mai and the globe training in a Muay Thai gym."
Recorded in Chiang Mai, Thailand by Alex Boyesen.
Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.
Recorded in Chiang Mai, Thailand by Alex Boyesen.
Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.
Mark as Played
March 8, 2024 • 19 mins
"A dense and captivating dawn chorus of Vietnamese wildlife in Huyện Đà Bắc, Hòa Bình, Vietnam. The waking of animals, birds, insects and people on the edge of a lake in the jungle at around 5am."
Recorded in Vietnam by Kit Wilmans Fegradoe.
Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.
Recorded in Vietnam by Kit Wilmans Fegradoe.
Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations.
Anna Sale explores the big questions and hard choices that are often left out of polite conversation.
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
If you can never get enough true crime... Congratulations, you’ve found your people.
A straightforward look at the day's top news in 20 minutes. Powered by ABC News. Hosted by Brad Mielke.