Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory
  • 4.8 (14)
  • ARTS

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 8,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 140 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 www.citiesandmemory.com

  1. 59M AGO

    The same sound from two sides

    At the same time as recording the spiral staircase waterfall at Folie number six in La Villette, Paris, we also took a vibrational recording of the structure with a Geofon at the same time. This piece blends the Geofon structural vibration recording in one channel with the "normal" microphone recording in the other channel. They start on the left and right respectively, and swap sides by the end, meeting in the middle with both sounds centralised. In this way, we can hear what our ears hear, but also experience the "hidden" sounds beyond our human hearing - two sounds from the same space at the same time. Folie number six reimagined by Cities and Memory.

    3 min

  2. 59M AGO

    The waterfall at Folie number six

    The Folies were designed by the architect Bernard Tschumi for the Parc de la Villette in Paris.  These metal structures are placed around the park, and take the form of red metal structures that stand out from a distance. While their square bases are all identical (10.8 metres per side), their shapes vary according to their purpose. Each Folie is identified by a name and a code composed of a combination of letters and numbers.  This is a recording from Folie L6, which features a spiral staircase waterfall - here we can hear the water tumbling down into a pool at ground level, while the sounds of the park continue around us.  Recorded in April 2026 by Cities and Memory.

    3 min
  3. Eulogy for daylight

    2D AGO

    Eulogy for daylight

    "I've long been fascinated by sunsets; no two are alike. Where I live currently (early-2026 as of this writing), we have "The Golden Hour" every evening - named for the color of the sun's waning light as it travels through more of the Earth's atmosphere, making for longer, warmer wavelengths, or a "golden" atmospheric glow that on the best days can be all encompassing.  "I'm also fascinated by how light travels relative to perceived time, and as such, the bent light of a sunset we observe is 8-minutes removed from the true sun's positioning - emphasizing this point, we're quite literally seeing the past inside the present with every day's new sunset, not unlike every star in the night sky thereafter, shown as distant-travelled light from things long past. Every sunset, like every star in the night sky, is a eulogy of distant daylight past and gone, never to be repeated the same again, and only observable by us in that moment.  "This is a composition saying farewell to the day's light, as it travels further into the past for other distant observers, and we continue onward with our perception of time towards our next bit of light in our present moment. Light travels as waves, and the waves of the ocean at sunset in Jake Edwards' field recording spoke deeply to me due to my fascination with the conceptual physics around light, our perception of it, and it's wave-space in the electromagnetic spectrum. All of this observation is bolstered by both the voices of people and the symphony of cicadas present to observe this once-in-a-lifetime, wholly unique fading light on the day Jake was present to document it." Koh Mook beach, Thailand reimagined by Akira Film Script.

    5 min
  4. Sunset On Koh Mook

    2D AGO

    Sunset On Koh Mook

    This recording takes place at Charlie Beach on Koh Mook, Thailand during the sunset hour. Listen to the combination of waves hitting the shore, the chatter of people and cicadas buzzing as the day comes to an end. Recorded by Jake Edwards.

    5 min

  5. 2D AGO

    Delta wind in reeds on the beach

    "For most of my life, I have lived near the sea. The quiet sounds of wind, rustling reeds, and seabirds sit in memory alongside the sound of waves. Even as a boy, I imagined distant sounds, where ships, foghorns, and buoys blended with what was heard. "In this work, I keep my presence quiet and spacious. It remains present without dominating. The original binaural recording stays intact. I have added only a few subtle elements that sit within the existing sound rather than interrupt it." Po Delta beach soundscape reimagined by Paul Beaudoin.

    6 min

  6. 2D AGO

    Wind in the reeds

    Wind blows gently in the reeds on a wild driftwood beach only accessible by boat in the Po Delta, Italy, with periodic bird calls also audible, June 2025. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

    6 min
  7. Coyotes and rain on the eve of the vernal equinox

    2D AGO

    Coyotes and rain on the eve of the vernal equinox

    Coyotes howl on the eve of the vernal equinox, joined by a community of dogs. A car passes along the winding road beneath our apartment window. Raindrops tap the rain gutter, weaving into the sacred sounds of the last night of winter. Recorded in Portland, USA by Bethany Carder and Abram Morphew.

    4 min
  8. Into the twilight

    2D AGO

    Into the twilight

    "Years ago, at Algonquin Provincial Park, we lined up along a dark campground road in total silence along with hundreds of other campers. The Naturalist howled three times, but only received silence in return. Then two Naturalists called together. The forest on both sides of the road erupted in deafening howls from many, many wolves. One of the coolest things I've ever experienced." Coyotes and rain in Portland reimagined by Marc Bernard.

    4 min
See All (725)

4.8
out of 5
14 Ratings

About

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 8,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 140 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 www.citiesandmemory.com

Information

You Might Also Like