Cities And Memory

The warrior sings gently and lovingly to his favourite bull. As he repeats his song, we're drawn into the beautiful moment and as the communication continues, voices weave in and out with the past and present. A reminder of the musical connection between humans with each other and other animals on the planet.Laarim warrior singing to his favourite bull reimagined by Lostworldsounds.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

With a project like this, I knew the work had to begin with research. I immersed myself in the cultural textures of South Sudan: its music, its landscapes, its people. From photographs and descriptions, a sense of place started to form. I wanted the first section of the piece to feel intimate yet quietly observant. I found myself picturing the Laarim man and his beloved bull, Logralim, moving together across the land, carrying out the rhythms of an ordinary day. From that image, the music slowly surfaced. I knew the original field recording needed to remain whole, a living thread, so I kept it centred in the mix. The second part of the piece reached outward, toward the stars. I imagined him looking up at the constellation Taurus, the stars echoing something ancient and vast. Those visualisations, both earthly and celestial, became the internal score from which this composition unfolded."Chuluth": a song for a favourite bull reimagined by Eulipion Corps.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining

"Chuluth": a Laarim man's song for a favourite bull ("I love cattle without horns/ This bull is called Logralim").From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of cassette tape recordings of music and spoken language (principally Laarim) made by anthropologist Patti Langton in South Sudan during 1979 and 1980.Recorded by Patti Langton.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

Storm: recording of torrential rain made during fieldwork in Colombia.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of reel-to-reel tape recordings of Chocó music and soundscapes made by students Jonathan Ambache and Richard Saumarez Smith in Colombia in 1965.Recorded by Jonathan Ambache and Richard Saumarez Smith.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

I composed this piece in an attempt to understand trance. I sought to merge specific leitmotifs and elements,embedding them within a classical orchestral context. This purely intuitive and emotional act, guided by the sensations inspired by the sound archive, follows no predefined methodology other than that narrated by improvisation itself, as articulated by the archive. The guiding thread is clearly the archive, serving both as a foundation of respect and as a compass for the composer. At eight distinct moments, sliding sounds of bowed strings emerge, followed like a shadow by a frenzied percussion that articulates an almost inhuman cadence. By placing these two sonic environments in contrast, the restraint of the classical orchestral language and the unbridled surge of ritual, I believe a union is established between two styles which, though articulated differently, pursue the same aspiration, the transcendental, the absolutely spiritual, intertwining and mutually illuminating one another.In order to avoi

A significant aspect of this project has been research into the location of the recording - the Colombian Chocó department, one of the rainiest regions on Earth. With dense rainforest and flooding, the terrain is uncompromising and one of the most isolated regions of Colombia, with no major infrastructure due to underdeveloped roads, yet it is one of the most richly biodiverse zones on the planet.Since the recording was made, there has been ongoing desecration of the land from both violent conflict and extraction of its gold leading to enforced displacement, cultural disruption, poverty and lack of healthcare and resources. The more I learnt about this volatile status in Chocó in relation to both its natural and violent political climate, the more I felt a responsibility to understand the impact on the Indigenous communities such as the Emberá, as well as the historical roots of the AfroColombian diaspora. The dense and remote jungles have historically provided refuge for African slaves escaping from gold mi

This recording was originally broadcast in 1963, in the first year of Taiwan’s first terrestrial TV station, the Taiwan Broadcasting Company. "Look me in the eye" takes a short sequence of a mountain folk song sung by a women’s chorus, from the original 30-minute recording. I layered sound in GarageBand, selecting and editing archival material, contemporary field recordings, overheard dialogue and digital loops, to build aural glimpses of cultural, temporal, and geographic landscapes. By positioning the mountain folk song in dialogue with a recording of a metro train in a Tokyo tunnel, I form a sonic relationship between the mountain above, the underground below, and the distant flatland of my Newhaven studio from which the piece is composed.The folk song functions as both voice and landscape, carrying the acoustic imprint of elevation and openness (shaped by geography rather than infrastructure), of a community embedded in place, where sound travels across valley and mountain, retaining its sense of distanc

From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of cassette tape recordings of songs and instruments made by playwright David Mowat across several different states in India during 1987.Recorded by David Mowat.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

"Regional Music of the Republic of China" (Taiwan): a recording of instrumental music and folk songs issued by the Broadcasting Corporation of Taiwan (literally: 'Broadcasting Corporation of China'), performed by its national orchestra and choir.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being one of a small number of recordings issued or released by foreign broadcasting corporations or radio associations.Recorded by Broadcasting Corporation of Taiwan.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

Turkish Folk Songs and Dances about Weddings and Wrestling": a recording of fourteen Turkish folk songs and dances issued by the Turkish Radio and Television Association (with publicity sheet).From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being one of a small number of recordings issued or released by foreign broadcasting corporations or radio associations.Recorded by Turkish Radio and Television Association.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

After several listenings to the beautiful 30-minute music program of Turkish folk songs (I encourage all of you to listen to the original audio in its entirety. It's a wonderful cultural window), I selected my favourite piece. From there, I chopped out the main musical theme and then I dissected that section into even smaller bits. I then played along with in on my piano and came up with the main musical parts which I decided to change from piano to synthesiser to help meld the sounds of the original audio with the new audio. I chose the title "Cezve" after a Turkish long-handled coffee pot since the sound was "brewed" into a deep liquid texture similar to Turkish coffee.Turkish folk songs about weddings and wrestling reimagined by Janae Jean.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

"American researcher discussing vocabulary and translations of various English words": fieldwork recording of anthropologist Roger Gomm discussing with several men and women the language of the coastal Digo people of south-east Kenya, asking his interlocutors for the translation and precise meaning of many different words in the Digo (Chidigo) language.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being one of a number of miscellaneous or individual ethnographic field recordings (rediscovered during a recent research project).Recorded by Roger Gomm.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

I love the rhythm of the exchange between the anthropologist and the Chidigo speaker in the first section of this recording, and at first I thought about building a percussion piece around it. But I chose this piece to work with because of my deep interest in languages, especially marginalised ones, so I decided to work with words in the tradition of the Pitt Rivers collection, which brings together objects related by theme or function rather than place or time. I chose some words in the recording that have resonance for me and asked four friends to record them in their native tongues: Hanna Komar in Belorussian, Krysia Osostowicz in Polish, Darius Paymai in Farsi and Krithika Varagur in Tamil. I used those words as a kind of embroidery on the rough cloth of the field recording, interrupting, counterpointing, enhancing. The 2,000-year-old Tamil poem, "What He Said," is read by Krithika and in A.K. Ramanujan's English translation by Hanna. Languages, too, can mingle "like red earth and pouring rain".Researche

"Bwaidogan kadede": a dance song performed by Biliko, Kwaiago and Wakalubu, a trio from the Bwaidoka district of Goodenough Island.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of wax cylinder recordings of songs and spoken language (principally Bwaidoka) made by anthropologist Diamond Jenness and Methodist missionary Reverend Andrew Ballantyne on Goodenough Island (D'Entrecasteaux Islands) in Papua New Guinea in 1912.Recorded by Diamond Jenness and Rev. Andrew Ballantyne.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

I joined the project late and so this was one of the only remaining sounds - The Bwiadogan Kadede from Goodenough Island chose me, recorded by anthropologist Diamond Jenness. I was delighted because this randomness fits with my experimental approach to creating music. But I became increasingly concerned with the disconnect between this project and the people who live in the place the sound was collected from. Could I, a complete outsider, a person with no knowledge of Goodenough Island, its people, land or culture, use this sound in a way that wouldn’t reproduce Jenness’s racism and hubris?I did some digging in Jenness’s writing, particularly The Northern D’Entrecasteaux and Language, Mythology and Songs of Bwaidoga, to try and get a better understanding of the song’s lyrics and meaning, but all I really know about it is that it’s a dance song where singers are arranged in parallel rows. I joined a Goodenough Islanders Facebook group to ask if anyone knew about the song and to express my gratitude for having

I chose this field recording because I liked that it’s a documentation of someone imitating the music of nature. In that original recording itself there’s so many layers of the art. There’s the birdsong that the person presumably heard many times, then spent time learning how to make the whistling sound, then they made their song, which was recorded onto magnetic tape, and converted into a digital format, which finally reached me. It made me think about at what point something becomes art. In my composition, I featured the field recording mostly untouched, but I added elements that also comment on when something can be considered art. There’s the sound of a flag flapping against a pole, of which I liked the rhythmic and melodic gentle clinking. There’s the sound of a tuning fork, which I usually consider not to be a musical instrument but rather a tool used before the music is made. There’s sounds of me whistling based on my memory of the original field recording, which I felt more comfortable manipulating t

U'wa group chant from the Andes in north-east Colombia.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being from a collection of reel-to-reel recordings of U'wa songs and stories made by anthropologist Ann Osborn in the Northern Andes (Sierra Nevada del Cocuy region) in Colombia between 1969 and 1977.Recorded by Ann Osborn.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

When approaching a project like this I try to come up with a concept quickly - the immediacy of ideas is what makes most sense to me. To me, the sample reminded me of people rapping, and the flow of the original sample seemed to ask for some accompanying electronic instrumentation to give them centre stage. I tried three different approaches and stitched them together - the first part lends itself more to ambient listening, turning the vocals more into an instrument - and the second and third parts would be more at home in a club. I included parts of the sample where the people are also talking/expressing themselves to make it feel like a live jam - that they were also in the room. I think the restriction of not understanding the lyrics can also be an advantage - as the vocals can be used more like an instrument and listeners can focus on the tonality and flow of the words.U'wa group chant reimagined by Richard Corke.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from t

From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being one of a number of miscellaneous individual recordings.Unknown recordist.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds

"Six Records of Gongs and Singing": six phonograph records of drums and singing from Vanuatu, originally recorded on wax cylinders by anthropologist John Layard, later transferred (here) to tape.From the sound collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford, being one of a number of miscellaneous or individual ethnographic field recordings (rediscovered during a recent research project).Recorded by John Willoughby Layard.Copyright Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford.———Part of the project A Century of Sounds, reimagining 100 sounds covering 100 years from the collections of the Pitt Rivers Museum at the University of Oxford. Explore the full project at citiesandmemory.com/century-sounds