Cities And Memory

Broadcast on BBC 6music, Sunday 26 July 2026. Cerys Matthews talks to Cities and Memory creator Stuart Fowkes about disappearing and obsolete sounds, and introduces the project.Includes musical selections by Stuart from Can, Broadcast, Stuart Dempster, William Basinski & Janek Schaefer and The For Carnation.  

Woodland birds recorded during daytime in Nottinghamshire, England. Blue tits are very prominent in the recording.Recorded by Tim Hills.

"I took a pice of birdsong I had recorded and played around with the Flextime function in Logic. I added stereo echo and then a couple of synth parts from Alchemy and this is the result.:Birdsong in Bestwood, England reimagined by Tim Hills.

A few old men play a game of dice at the outskirts of the sprawling Osh Bazaar. They slap down small bills before rolling the dice on a wooden board and chain smoke cheap cigarettes. The smoke drifts into the pharmacy next door. They seemingly sell flooring at some point too. While bustling, the bazaar is more calm here; everyone is relaxed and kind.Recorded by wwjd.

"A mix of the casual tumbling dice in their cup and the majestically remote mountains that cover the land outside of Bishkek."Dice game at Osh Bazaar, Bishkek reimagined by wwjd.

The original recording conjures a restful yet lively ambience that brings to life what early morning in this part of Chisinau must feel like.As the recordist Rafa notes, there is 'a distant sense of the urban world behind them' in the original recording, which in this composition is brought to the forefront not to clash with the birdsong, but to complement it.The response is flavoured with multiple layers of vintage 70s and 80s-inspired synthesiser sounds to build a soundtrack to early morning. The different layers and cadences of synth parts represent the different roles played by diverse bird species in creating this early morning soundscape, as well as harmonising the elements of nature and the city, instead of placing them in opposition.Chisinau morning bird chorus reimagined by Cities and Memory.  

Recorded early in the morning in a green area on the outskirts of Chișinău, this piece listens to the softer edge of the city.Birds fill the space, with only a distant sense of the urban world behind them. It shows another side of the capital: quieter, greener, more open. The recording feels like a pause from the streets, where nature comes forward and the city almost disappears into the background.Recorded in Chisinau, Moldova by Rafael Diogo.

This piece was inspired by a recording of a klaxon in Patton, PA that seemed to warn of nothing on a spring morning but the arrival of migrant birds.Patton klaxon sound reimagined by Xanthra DuFrane. 

The siren sounds everyday, randomly. Sometimes twice or three times. The birds are anxious.Recorded in Patton, Pennsylvania, USA by Xanthra DuFrane.

"I retained, without adjustment, the field-recording of chanting on a football terrace. My initial sense was of masculine celebration, the chants serving as a barometer for pride and rivalry. However, with the rhythmic fluctuations, my layered loops and snatches of dialogue shifted the celebratory mood. Repetitive, loopable refrains began to drone and persist with what I perceived as a tense 'possibility of emotional volatility', creating an unpredictable subversion."Horsham FC football chants reimagined by Rachael Adams.

The Lardy Boys, also known as the Lardy Army, is the name of the supporters at Horsham FC. This is a sample of them singing on a match day.Recorded by Pauline Howley.

"I found the idea of candy cutting and the cheerful voices on the original recording very reminiscent of a childhood memory. The fact that I cannot understand the Japanese being spoken makes it further seem like a hazy memory. "I wanted to retain the cheerful, nostalgic tone that I perceived while adding a melodic component on top of the rhythm created naturally by the candy cutting."  Candy cutting in Kawasaki reimagined by David Jolly.

On the street leading to Kawasaki Daishi, the sharp, percussive sound of hand‑cut sugar candy forms a steady rhythm.Shopkeepers’ voices enter from both sides, calling out “Welcome” and offering tastes of candy just cut moments before.Recorded in Kawasaki, Japan by Miduno.

| A wild night at Lake Masek in Ndutu, Tanzania. Hear hyenas whooping, lions roaring, jackals calling, hippos grunting, zebras barking, and flamingos vocalizing-all in one incredible soundscape. Perfect for immersion, study, sleep, or experiencing the true chaos of the African night.Recorded in Ngorongoro, Arusha, Tanzania by David Joseph.

"I spend a lot of my time leading community choirs and singing protest songs, rousing anthems of freedom and liberty - and now, more than ever, they are needed. This is not a protest song, it is a plea. Ask yourself, which side are you on?"Together Alliance protest in London reimagined by Rebecca Denniff.

"This is my second attempt at producing a piece of music using the source sample. The original sample contains a clean, distinct loop of tribal drumming, and at first I constructed a piece based on that loop, with rhythmic and melodic elements stacked, and arranged into an EDM piece. "That was a bit too obvious, so instead I took the loop, deconstructed it, and applied pitch-shifting, filtering and other processing to elements to come up with the low-frequency sounds (at 52s, and later in the track) as well as the various bleeps and glitches that run through the track (the original loop - in a processed form - is also in there, reversed and pushed back in the mix). "The other elements, sections and movements grew out of those treated sounds organically; I didn't plan in any great detail how I wanted it to sound, and serendipity definitely played a part in how it turned out, but it is influenced to a degree by the book Underland by Robert MacFarlane (hence the title) - I wanted to convey some of the imagery a

"This is a collaboration with pianist and composer Leah Floyeurs. We worked with sensitivity to honour the vibrational signature of this location in space, the Auschwitz Death Wall, which holds the memory of the Holocaust. The piece uses electronics and piano." Auschwitz Death Wall recording reimagined by Helen Copnall and Leah Floyeurs.

"Spend the day at Lake Masek, join The Northern Synthesizer Orchestra on an audio journey from dawn to dusk. Created collaboratively by The NSO which is Becky, Jordan, Dom, Julie and V. "Lake Masek soundscape reimagined by The Northern Synthesizer Orchestra.

The very beginning of Together Alliance's march against the right wing. This protest took place in central London in March 2026. I was located in the centre of Piccadilly near the Ritz hotel. The recording consists of chanting, drumming and many voices passing by as they made their way down Piccadilly towards Trafalgar Square. The rig I used to catch this recording was a pair of DPA 4060s into a Zoom H6 Essential. The mic configuration was spaced Omnis, approximately 20cm apart and set at a 45° angle. The only processing has been some compression at a 3:1 ratio and lifted by +10dB.Recorded in London by Ian Rattray.

Tribal drumming heard from a distance in the large Georgengarten park in Hannover, getting louder as we follow our microphone, identify the source of the sound and follow it. The sound stops before we get all the way to the source, but then we hear footsteps on the gravel path and birdsong. Recorded by Cities and Memory.