Cities and Memory - remixing the world

A five minute recording is all it takes to tell what time day and year it is at home. Natural sounds like backyard native birds like Collared Kingfisher, Philippines Pied Fantail, Zebra doves, and Yellow-vented Bulbuls are busy asserting their territory and finding food in the morning before it gets too hot. 

Migratory birds like Gray Wagtail, Arctic Warbler, and Ashy Minivet mean that it's sometime during their busy winter migration. Human sounds also provide great clues. People sweep streets by hand with a local broom called walis tingting before it gets too hot and motorcycles rev past during the busy rush hour.

Recorded in Antipolo City, Philippines by Janina Castro. 

This is the second edition of a recording I've made in the 2024 summer afternoon at the beach. It was made at Praia Vermelha (Red Beach), Urca, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. It was a hot weather, the beach was crowded: children, families, young and elder people, vendors selling drinks and refreshments (water, cold mate, coconut water, popsicle, and so on). People are talking, laughing, shouting. Waves are breaking continuously on the sand. 

Recorded in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil by Marcelo Carneiro de Lima.

"I steered safely around the lions only featuring a loop of a growl buried towards the end of the piece. I was more intrigued by the sound of insects and cracking undergrowth, moving noises. These were sampled and re pitched. I added kalimba played through a granular effects pedal and it skittered around the mix. Percussion shakes were found sounds of beads brushed on a contact mic. 

"Finally I added a free form melody via the tocante phashi. This is a solar powered touch synth that has a very esoteric playing style ( live circuit bending) and strange tuning structure. It added a haunting feel as modular synth emulated insect noises and something prowled just out of sight."

Serengeti soundscape reimagined by Andy Billington.

A powerful night recording from the heart of Serengeti Central. Listen as a lion pride roars close by—their calls echoing across the plains for up to eight kilometers 4 . Hyenas whoop and cackle in response, while insects create a steady rhythm and night birds call softly. This is the African night at its most raw and wild. Perfect for immersion, study, sleep, or experiencing the true voice of the Serengeti.

Recorded in Tanzania by David Joseph.

9.43pm, and by night the Jemaa el-Fnaa square turns into a musical paradise - gone are the grim snake charmers and animal handlers, and in their place circles of musicians fill the south end of the square, playing various forms of amazing Moroccan music. This recording moves back and forth between several groups, enjoying the music. 

Recorded in Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2026 by Cities and Memory. 

"Ambience sounds inside a carpet store in Kabul's famous Ka Faroshi market, people talking in the dampened acoustics of the carpets, shielded from a very busy market outside. Post 45 years of disastrous war. 

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."

Recorded by Anders Vinjar in 2025.

In one of the indoor markets in Marrakesh's medina, olives are being wrapped, packed up and sold to passing customers, as we hear shouting traders, Arabic conversations and background music. 

Recorded in Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2026 by Cities and Memory. 

Mega Huepfbergenland is a fun park for children, with 50 bouncy castles in one place, just being set up with no customers there having fun yet. What this means for sound recordists today is rows and rows of generators along the path by the river, allowing us to get close-up recordings of multiple generators as we walk past - an interesting industrial machinery soundscape coming from a children's play attraction.

Recorded in Bremen, Germany by Cities and Memory. 

Electrical outdoor distribution box. Steady electrical hum, cars passing, car engine.

Recorded in Agios Dimitrios, Greece by Konstantinos Staikos.

"An original composition created from a field recording of an Olive stand in the medina in Marrakech, Morocco.

"I was initially drawn to this recording as Marrakech has been on my “to visit” list for some time and yet I still haven’t made it there. Anyway, I enjoyed the energy of the recording and the fact that there were people having conversations included in it. Usually, when recording, I tend to avoid anthrophony where possible but I do like the rhythm of Arabic language so it felt like a good fit for the project.

"The track itself examines the changes that are happening in Morocco, such as the “Gen Z 212” protests which have focussed on better education and employment opportunities for young people in the country. Symbolically the piece seeks to explore how direct action has repercussions that develop over time but sometimes space is needed for energy to build.

"I approached the composition using my typical workflow when using field recordings, preferring to listen through several times before creating discrete elements with which to build a track. Most of the sounds were processed in some way - often simply by transposing them. However, I tend to create layers of processing as I work and generally have to look back through the various iterations in my DAW if I need to remind myself where the final sound designs originated from. 

"There was some use of granular synthesis within the composition and some external manipulation of some samples with a host of effects pedals."

Olive stands in Marrakesh medina reimagined by Wogglebug.