Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

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Cities and Memory - remixing the world episodes

  • Moon station, lonely bus
    Puerto Montt bus station reimagined by Philippe Neau.

    "The dreamy spirit, listening to the sounds of the bus station in Chile, I took the road to the moon to find a dreamy atmosphere where voices, metallic noises, birdsong, the ocean meet, mingle and intertwine endlessly..."

    Image credit.
    5 min
  • 14,704 hours, 882,285 minutes and 52,937,103 seconds
    "It has been 14,704 hours, 882,285 minutes and 52,937,103 seconds since the afternoon of March 11, 2020, when the WHO declared COVID-19 a global pandemic. The world changed in an instant! Inspired by the title and date of this shortwave transmission, I wanted to write a reminder that 22 months later in November 2021 we are still in a global pandemic, a "medical emergency" for COVID-19, to take some time to reflect on the universal trauma we have collectively endured and continue to endure as a result of this pandemic. Headphone listening is highly recommended for this piece of music."

    Composition by Neil Wiernik.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave

    15 min
  • Three planes crashed (9/11)
    "A sound collage in memory of the 9/11/2001 terrorist attacks as they unfolded through the eyes and words of a few of those who experienced it first hand plus additional commentary to augment the Kol Israel Radio news report provided to me for inspiration."

    Composition by Scott Lawrence Whitman.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave

    4 min
  • Act of terror, act of remembrance
    "What you hear is my third attempt at making something that reflects the confusion of 9-11 twenty years on. Once I'd finished processing the BBC radio transmission I found the repetition of short segments throughout gave it a Chicago bass/footwork feel, so that's where this Act of Terror, Act of Remembrance has gone."

    Composition by Michael Lilley.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave
    11 min
  • Volcano Radio: All good things must come to an end
    "Volcano Radio. Ascension Island. The exotic names drew my attention, and Ascension Island especially captured my imagination, as I’d never heard of any such place. I learned that it’s an isolated volcanic island located in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Brazil and Angola. The British used it as a staging ground during the Falklands War; now it hosts a Royal Air Force station, a NASA tracking station, and what’s sometimes called “the worst golf course in the world.” 

    "Volcano Radio began broadcasting in 1958 under the Ascension call sign, ZD8VR, Volcano Radio. Though it was a British station, it was funded for many years by the U.S. Armed Forces Radio Service, enabling it to run around the clock, at least for a time.

    "On May 5, 1979, Gary Deacon, a shortwave enthusiast and DXer in Capetown, South Africa, captured this audio recording of Volcano Radio’s broadcast. As he noted in his Cape DX blog, “It was a surprise to receive the 500 watt station with a remarkable peak from across the South Atlantic, over 4 430 km / 2 754 miles away!”

    "As I listened to Gary’s vintage, staticky recording, I was drawn first to the British radio host’s sign-off announcement, followed by a recording of “God Save The Queen” that stops mid-stream. After all the static, the sudden silence was blissful. I decided to preserve the end of the original audio in my mix. I also decided to flow a brief, heavily processed field recording of molten lava under “God Save The Queen,” because, why not? It’s Volcano Radio!

    "I listened more deeply to the original recording and became fascinated with the jazz show host’s charismatic wrap-up, when he says, “Then there’s the news that the clock on the wall is beginning to strike its magical hour, when all good things must come to an end.” I lifted the phrase “when all good things must come to an end” and seeded it through my mix, processing and transforming it in different ways. 

    "The more I worked with the original audio material, the more it suggested an experimental, noise-music treatment for this remix. I went with it.
    Volcano Radio stopped transmitting in 2009. All good things must come to an end.

    CREDITS:
    Field recording of molten lava by ATG142 on Freesound.org (CC0 license).
    Synth recordings, production, and mixing by Angela Winter.

    THANKS TO:
    Gary Deacon, https://capedx.blogspot.com/, for his original audio recording, historical notes, generosity, and enthusiasm.
    Sarah Boucher and the Ascension Island Heritage Society for historical notes on Volcano Radio and the original audio recording."

    Composition by Angela Winter.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave
    3 min
  • Fratelli Tutti (All Brothers)
    "Composition inspired by the work and words of American musician and soundscape ecologist Bernard L. Krause. Dedicated to Saint Francis of Assisi. Francis calls for a love 'that transcends the barriers of geography and distance'. 

    November 1981, as a 16 year old, I bought a Grundig Satellit 1400 professional World receiver. Long-distance radio transmissions very much became the soundtrack - 'the personal soundscape', if you like - to my middle and late adolescence. 

    Recently I picked up a copy of the November edition of Radio User magazine. Here I read about this callout to remix and reimagine the world of shortwave radio.

    "FRATELLI TUTTI” (All Brothers). With these words, Saint Francis of Assisi addressed his brothers and sisters and proposed to them a way of life marked by the flavour of the Gospel. It is also the title of the third encyclical of Pope Francis, subtitled "on fraternity and social friendship".

    Many of the stories that surround the life of Saint Francis of Assisi say that he had a great love for animals and the environment. Pope John Paul II declared Francis the patron saint of ecology. 

    Alas, "A great silence is spreading over the natural world even as the sound of man is becoming deafening," Bernard Krause wrote in his 2012 book, "The Great Animal Orchestra". "Little by little the vast orchestra of life, the chorus of the natural world, is in the process of being quietened." All of the above got me inspired.

    Digital tools used : VSTHost by Hermann Seib as the Audio Plugin Host for free VST plugins by Tonecarver, Ugo, HG Fortune and Airwindows. 
    Frog calls recorded by my wife on her smartphone at our favourite pond.
    Of the original mp3 file I only kept the intro music... as the intro."

    Composition by Blijlever.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave

    6 min
  • Vatican Radio (Portuguese Language Service): August 17, 2021
    "Carlos Latuff shares the following recording of Vatican Radio made on August 17, 2021, on 13,380 kHz at 18:00 UTC.  Note that Carlos Latuff, is not only a devoted radio enthusiast, but also a prominent political cartoonist in Brazil and throughout the world. Carlos has kindly included his listening report with his original artwork."

    Recorded by Carlos Latuff, courtesy of the Shortwave Radio Archive.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave
    11 min
  • BBC World Service: September 12, 2001
    "BBC World Service (16:49), September 12, 2001 at 0000 UTC on 5975 kHz. Receiver used was a Japan Radio Co. NRD-545 (Sync on and 10 kHz bandwidth). One can hear minor DSP artefacts (burps) mixed in the background, of course a common trait for the NRD-545."

    Recorded by Dave Zantow, courtesy of the Shortwave Radio Archive.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave

    17 min
  • Kol Israel: September 12, 2001
    "Receiver used was a Japan Radio Co. NRD-545 (Sync on and 10 kHz bandwidth). One can hear minor DSP artefacts (burps) mixed in the background, of course a common trait for the NRD-545."

    Recorded by Dave Zantow, courtesy of the Shortwave Radio Archive.

    Part of the Shortwave Transmissions project, documenting and reimagining the sounds of shortwave radio - find out more and see the whole project at https://citiesandmemory.com/shortwave

    16 min

About Cities and Memory - remixing the world

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Cities and Memory remixes the world, one sound at a time - a global collaboration between artists and sound recordists all over the world.