Cities and Memory - remixing the world

"With its concrete sonic materials and spacial panning, Resistance Lovesong explores the friction between animate spirit and mechanical oppression; industrial noise collides with birdsong, evoking the image of a narrow strip of open sky trapped above an alienating factory: the birdsong resounds as a symbol of hope, a lovesong, a fragment of absolute freedom."

Birdsong in Pignotti reimagined by Carlotta Ferrari.

A recording made at 10.30pm next to the Marcus Brunnen fountain in Bremen, Germany - water spouts from the fountain above our recorder, with the night air otherwise punctured solely by the sound of the occasional passer-by. Binaural recording.

Recorded by Cities and Memory. 

I combined the flowing water with a gentle drum beat and occasional sounds from a kazoo.  

Marktplatz fountain in Bremen reimagined by Antje Bothin.

A display of two large Tesla coils, which are capable of playing music, including the sounds of several well-known songs created from electricity during the demonstration. In between these loud sounds, we hear an explanation of how the coil works, mostly in Lithuanian with a sprinkling of English. Recorded in the Museum of Energy and Technology.

Recorded in Vilnius, October 2026 by Cities and Memory. 

" I worked on the sonic behaviour of the source and the noisy and rhythmic texture of the coil became connected through my electronic piece. Processing the behaviour of the Tesla coil gave rise to diverse sonic entities in my electronic piece."

Tesla coil show in Vilnius reimagined by Elnaz Behfar. 

"The field recording was examined at an inn in the west of Sweden, near the border with Norway, and held the quiet of that threshold ground — an apt undercurrent for the piece that formed there. The title is the exact point of the composition's making, which can be found by entering it into What3Words. 

"Four software synths rest upon the recording: a pad, a drone, and two motifs, the higher one in 5/8, bringing a measured, shifting movement through the stillness."

Batan waterfall, Spain reimagined by Trevlad. 

"A melancholic multi-layered ambient piece in A based against the backdrop of Paul Wheeler's recording of Hungerford bridge. My object was to intertwine the percussive character of the sample with the melodiousness of my track."

Hungerford bridge reimagined by Paul Soto.

Image credit: Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Recorded at night beneath this wrought iron railway bridge over the River Thames. The massively loud bangs, clattering and rumbles of trains as they pass overhead contrasts with the sounds of water gently lapping at the bridge supports, and people chatting as they walk along the South Bank.

The bridge, over 160 years old, is currently being refurbished, so these sounds may not last for much longer.

Recorded in October 2026 by Paul Wheeler.

Image credit: Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0>, via Wikimedia Commons