Cities And Memory

This recording was captured from the second floor of an open window while it was raining in Wales. The listener can feel the rain drops lick the window sill as they slide to meet the muddy grass down below.  Recorded in Nant-Yr-Onnen, Wales by Shaye Thiel.

"My initial listening to the source sound evoked strong feelings of nostalgia, (when I was younger, I spent many months travelling around India and stayed in Chandni Chowk near the Wazirpur Industrial Zone a couple of times.) The hubbub of the crowd and general sense of a 'kinetic buzz' would be familiar to anyone who has spent time on the sub-continent. I recalled the feelings of awe and fascination that accompanied my travels. "My piece attempts to distill something of my emotional reaction to, and the industrial nature of the sounds; as well as capturing something of the atmosphere of excitement and pure human energy in the original recording (including the background din of massed humanity, industrial sounds and the repetitive, amplified voices.) "This piece is another step in my series of works centred around the interrogation of the space between cultural appreciation and appropriation, influence and pastiche."  Wazirpur Industrial area, Delhi reimagined by Dead Kousin.

Wazirpur is one of the 29 industrial areas spread across Delhi – NCR. The place is overrun with hundreds of small-scale factories which have attracted thousands of low-income migrant workers – usually from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Bengal. Scattered among the factories are the jhuggis/ slums which these workers call home.  The recording is made one evening on a busy street in the Wazirpur Industrial Area. Vendors walk by, selling all sorts of things from clothes, slippers, utensils, cosmetics, old radios, meat, vegetables, and bangles. Most vendors have smalls mics or recorded tapes through which they advertise their prices. One such vendor is heard through a mic saying ‘Pyaaz das rupiya kilo’ (Onions 10 rupees per kg), whose sound by the end gets mixed with its own organic delay.  Photo Credits – Jignesh Mistry. Recorded by Bariya.

"I initially wanted to pick a sound from nature to work with, but the Reitaisai Festival grabbed my attention as soon as I came across it. I didn’t want to manipulate the recording too much so I kept the clip I worked with intact and didn’t chop it up to keep to a certain tempo. I wanted to preserve the energy of the recording and for it to feel as if I was joining in spirit, swooping in to play with my friends and then floating away again.  "We sometimes slightly fall away from each other rhythmically and then come together, as you would do if playing and chanting through the streets. I used keyboard, synth, hammered dulcimer and tongue drum to play along from afar.  "At the end I imagine going into a house, running up the stairs and opening a window onto the streets below, getting a last burst of the crowd chanting “Reitaisai” before retreating back through whichever portal I came through." Reitaisei festival, Tokyo reimagined by Jess Bryant. IMAGE: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 <

Immerse yourself in the enchanting soundscape of the Camargue, a region in southern France renowned for its breathtaking landscapes and iconic wildlife. This recording captures the mesmerizing nuptial dances of flamingos during their reproduction period, as they perform an intricate ballet of courtship rituals. The distinctive calls and gentle murmurs of these majestic birds create a symphony that is quintessentially Camargue. The sound is instantly evocative of this unique region, where white horses roam free, black bulls graze in the marshes, and pink flamingos add a touch of vibrant color to the landscape. Recorded by Colin Hunter.

"I used the field recording of the flamingos to inspire my composition. I mimicked their clatter and calls with rattle, whistle and drum. Over the top of this I added one of my older poems, a triolet titled: What Grandmother Taught. "I brought the flamingos recording in at the end, merging the two pieces into one song – as my bit faded the flamingos take over."   Flamingoes in Camargue reimagined by Allis Hamilton.

Reitaisai is an important festival held by Shinto shrines in Japan. People from the town where the shrine is located gather and carry a mikoshi (portable shrine) as they parade through the streets. This is a recording capturing the mikoshi approaching and then moving away. Recorded in November 2024 by Miyu Hosoi. IMAGE: Jean-Pierre Dalbéra from Paris, France, CC BY 2.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

"The natural sounds were highly rhythmic in a complex almost unsettling way. I pulled key elements from the soundscape and highlighted them as percussive and rhythm sections.  "These play along with the entire unaltered original soundscape, as a highlighter to particular aspects of its own patterns. I also added bells and bass to serve as tour guides." Jellybean Pool, Australia reimagined by Heather Spence.

Cicadas at the Jellybean Pool, Blue Mountains, Australia. Recorded by Richard Watts.

The original field recordings is symphonic in its beautiful showcase of nature at its finest, with birds, frogs and insects interweaving in the atmosphere of a spring evening - a perfect recording to choose as part of the annual Spring Project.  Wanting to keep that feeling of the natural soundscape being a live performance, this composition is also a live performance, with various different synth and instrument parts laid down onto a Torso S-4 sampler, then performed live in response to the natural sounds. Its aim is to embellish and sit alongside the natural sounds, and to create an immersive nine-minute experience in which the listener can lose themselves equally in the natural or the synthesised sounds (and their interaction).  The title comes from this wonderful Tomas Transtromer poem:  In February life stood still. The birds refused to fly and the soul grated against the landscape as a boat chafes against the jetty where it’s moored. The trees were turned away. The snow’s depth measured by the stubb

The soundscape captures the vibrant symphony of a late spring evening. The serene ambiance unfolds with the rhythmic calls of frogs resonating across a nearby pond, blending harmoniously with the melodic chirps of evening birds. Crickets add a delicate, persistent undercurrent, enriching the texture of the soundscape.  In the distance, the low, rumbling echoes of an approaching storm introduce a sense of anticipation, subtly intensifying the atmosphere. This recording encapsulates the interplay of nature's voices, evoking a profound connection to the shifting moods of the evening landscape.  Recorded by Martina Testen & Simon Šerc. 

Sound of Jews performing a ritual at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem on a special day during Jewish Easter celebrations. The recording is done in the middle of the crowd of bystanders, mostly children and family of the praying men.  This soundscape-composition is part of the HEYR project, presenting 3-dimensional soundscapes from special locations, connected to special events. Find out more by visiting https://www.heyr.no © Anders Vinjar, 2025 Recorded by Anders Vinjar. 

This recording is the intense sound from a "Bring them home"-protest march in Jerusalem, the crowd shouting, chanting,talking, demanding the Netanyahu-government do what's necessary to "bring home" the Israeli hostages. The microphone is placed right in the centre of the large crowd, recording the extreme intensity and strong presence of frustrated people protesting their Israeli political leaders failing to do whats necessary to get the hostages home. The recording is of the sound of frustration and anger amongst a large part of Israeli people during Israels latest war with Hamas. This protest took place around 9 o'clock in the evening of 27th. April 2024 in Jerusalem. This recording is part of the HEYR project, presenting 3-dimensional soundscapes from special locations, connected to special events. Find out more by visiting https://www.heyr.no © Anders Vinjar, 2025 Recorded by Anders Vinjar. 

Recordings of ambience from Aṭ-Ṭūr (Mount of Olives) overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. The Al Aqsa temple-mount in the distance, the jewish graveyard close by, site of important historic and contemporary events. The recording is from April 2024, while the catastrophic war in Gaza was going on full speed.  This soundscape-composition is part of the HEYR project, presenting 3-dimensional soundscapes from special locations, connected to special events. Find out more by visiting https://www.heyr.no © Anders Vinjar, 2025 Recorded by Anders Vinjar. 

This recording captures the vibrant atmosphere of Ubud's local market, where the sounds, sights, and aromas of Balinese culture come alive. This recording captures the morning bustle of the market, as vendors and shoppers go about their day amidst a kaleidoscope of colors and textures. The air is filled with the lively chatter of locals haggling over prices, the clinking of pots and pans, and the sweet scent of incense wafting through the stalls. The soundscape is a rich tapestry of Balinese dialects, laughter, and music, creating a sense of community and warmth. Recorded in Ubud, Bali by Colin Hunter. 

"The bees swarming and the sound of footsteps in the old street of Shanghai indicate the entrance into a fantasy world.  "The original field recording inspired me to escape into the world of dreams where sharing, friendship and love reign." Sanlin old street, Shanghai reimagined by Cristina Italiani. 

"I jumped at the chance to use audio from a market, thinking that humans gathering together at market must be nearly as old as civilization itself. The rhythm of the audio file inspired me to use its elements exclusively for the percussive parts of the piece, and keep it simple and fun." Market in Ubud, Bali reimagined by Voltij / Paul Clement.

"The subject of the original recording gave me pause. My overwhelming reaction was one of sadness at how little humanity changes, and how painful and disastrous the situation is for all involved. I read about the Mount of Olives - the location where the recording was made - and that it was a place of mourning. "This response tries to express that feeling, but also to try and suggest the passing of things, and the possibility of change and renewal.  "I took some short samples from the recording and looped them, playing multiple copies pitched up and down. A few takes were made, playing with these and some effects to create new tracks, which were then blended together, mixing into a recording that I had made of the rain falling here on my roof. I hadn't originally realised that there were birds audibly singing in amongst that, and though initially I hadn't wanted anything but the sounds of water, it felt like their song provided a symbolic note which was apt." Mount of Olives, Jerusalem reimagined by Sum Cro

"The original field recording is called ‘Jerusalem Palestine Prayer’ and we selected this because of the unity and energy of the voices. These voices, from a location caught up in war, ride above the present and echo the ancient past. Interwoven with this are field recordings made at London’s Union Chapel, where the voices tell their own stories of struggle and the perseverance for freedom.  "To this, we added prayers recorded on 15th June 2025 at the Chapel’s Trinity service, featuring the prayers of the Revd Cathy Bird and voices of the Union Chapel Singers. The piece ends with a mechanical sound which nudges into silence. We placed this here as a punctuation with the present, as we await the future." Wailing Wall, Jerusalem reimagined by Caroline Grimshaw & Stephen Mugford.

"“Echoes of the Wall” is a haunting and deeply evocative musical composition built around a field recording taken at the Wailing Wall (Western Wall) in Jerusalem. The piece carries the raw, ambient sounds of prayer: whispered Hebrew verses, the rustling of bodies in motion, and the quiet weeping of worshippers. These organic, unfiltered audio elements form the emotional and spiritual foundation of the song, grounding it in one of the world’s most contested and sacred spaces. Layered over the recording is a slow, minimalist instrumental arrangement: a droning synth that mimics the tension of held breath, sparse piano chords echoing like footsteps on ancient stone, and electronic pulses that resemble a faltering heartbeat.  "The composition deliberately avoids lyrics, allowing the natural soundscape and instrumentation to carry the emotional weight and ambiguity of the moment. The silence between notes becomes as significant as the notes themselves—a metaphor for voices unheard, lives paused, and hopes suspend