Cities And Memory

"What grabbed me about the original rainforest recording from Colombia was hearing two opposites collide – the raw, wild roars of howler monkeys and a strange, mechanical buzz. The longer I listened, the more apparent it became that this recording, much like the composition it inspired, revolves fundamentally around the idea of distance. Different kinds of proximity mix here – the clash of nature and machines, things that are near or far (those birds!). It provokes urgent questions: What is our place in nature? Where do we fit in the chain of evolution? What is our impact on the surroundings? "That friction between what’s wild and what’s wired creates a kind of unease. You can hear it in the music: a low, unsettling rumble, sharp spikes of noise, and a quiet ache that hums underneath. It’s that feeling when things don’t quite line up - like we’re close to nature, but also miles apart." Choco rainforest, Colombia reimagined by Przemysław Scheller.

"My composition “Skała” (which means rock) is based on a field recording from the Skała Choleric Jewish Cemetery in Pabianice, Poland. One might think what sounds could there be in a cemetery? Silence? Wind? Birds? When I first heard this field recording what I heard were the sounds of history. A very deep complicated history. Skała dates back to the 13th century, and the first Jews appeared settled there at the end of the 18th century.  "After the German army entered the town in September 1939, the Jewish community was immediately targeted with persecutions. And by the spring of 1941, an open ghetto of 3,000 Jews was established in Skała. In August 1942, some of them were deported to the Słomniki Ghetto, and then to the Bełżec extermination camp. The rest were murdered in the town or in local Jewish cemetery. It is with this historic background that I composed “Skała”.  "I was interested in the dual possibility of such a tragic history lying under the ground, while up above the peaceful sounds of silence,

"This composition is built entirely from a field recording of an electrical storm, whose raw energy and unpredictable structure inspired the form of the piece. I preserved the full length of the original audio, allowing its natural rise and fall to guide the listening experience.  "Through heavy processing, the storm’s dynamics are brought into sharper focus — from piercing, harsh bursts of energy to more subdued, crackling textures. Randomized sound transformations reflect the storm’s inherent volatility, creating a sonic environment that is both violent and delicate, chaotic and contemplative." Electrical storm in Perth reimagined by Stefan Strasser.

"I live on the Danish island of Bornholm, which is in the western end of the Baltic Sea. People here share a long, rich history with the Baltic countries, so choosing a field-recording from Tallinn felt natural. The dastardly Russian war feels really close here at the moment, and many of us here are more conscious about our cultural heritage and friendship across the sea now than we used to be. "This is, however, not a work about war, but more about celebrating the fact that we're still able to take a silly walk through the old historical part of Tallinn, not being at war, walking through a town that isn't in ruins - and simply exploring and enjoying what that's like.  "As you can probably hear, all sounds heard throughout the piece are from the original field-recording. I've used samplers and various sampling effects (like delays and reverbs), and a ton of manual edits (literally thousands of manual edits made over a two week period). The tonal sounds were made with "frozen reverbs". All this editing mainl

Walkthrough of Tallinn's medieval Old Town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, on a morning with pouring rain. The streets are quite empty compared to the usual bustle, and we hear rain overflowing from drainpipes and gutters. The soundwalk ends at the famous, beautiful medieval alleyway St. Catherine's Passage. Recorded by Cities and Memory. 

"The port of Brindisi, end of the Appian Way at five in the afternoon, along the steps at the foot of the Roman columns. "Two stretches of still and silent sea, the engine of the boat that connects the shores of the port, the bar and its cheerful customers, birds singing in spring, a sudden plane that takes flight from the nearby airport. "A counterpoint with an insistent rhythm that melts and drops a semitone at the moment of takeoff and detachment before nostalgia. An instant in a place of transit for centuries, voices and travellers who went." Brindisi port reimagined by Giuseppe Schirone. IMAGE: Freccia53, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

The port of Brindisi, end of the Appian Way at five in the afternoon, along the steps at the foot of the Roman columns. Two stretches of still and silent sea, the engine of the boat that connects the shores of the port, the bar and its cheerful customers, birds singing in spring, a sudden plane that takes flight from the nearby airport. Recorded by Giuseppe Schirone.  IMAGE: Freccia53, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Feature on French national radio station Radio France on Sonic Heritage, broadcast on 9 May 2025 - French language only. "Une bibliothèque où sont rangés les environnements sonores de 270 sites du patrimoine mondial de l’UNESCO Et aussi des objets immatériels , tous réimaginés par des artistes du monde entier. « Accessible gratuitement cette collection permet d’écouter les sons emblématiques du Taj Mahal, des gondoles de Venise, du Fado portugais et de la Tour Eiffel » lit-on dans Times.. Le nouveau projet de l’artiste que l’on pourrait dire gigogne vient s’intégrer à une collection encore plus vaste Cities and memory qui donne d’ailleurs son nom au site internet où l’on peut naviguer sur des cartes interactives à la recherche d’un lieu du monde que l’on voudrait visiter par les oreilles. Cathédrales, ponts, monuments, parcs et square, places et marchés mais aussi danses et chants traditionnels. Aujourd’hui elle compte près de 7000 enregistrements réalisés par plus de 2000 artistes dans 130 pays. Sonic

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 resulting sounds offer a glimpse into a way of life that has remained largely unchanged for centuries, providing a powerful auditory link to the past. Recorded in the Amazon rainforest, Ecuador by Rafael Diogo.

"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. 

"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. 

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.

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. 

"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.

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.

"A dense re-mix for the Cities and Memory project." Waves on Elgol beach reimagined by {AN} EeL.

"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. 

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. 

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 same while recording as it was during the shooting 11 years before, minus the cries of pain and panic and shots. Recorded by Anders Vinjar.

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 market, Odessa recorded by Rafael Diogo.