Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

By Cities and MemorySociety & CultureArtsMusicPlaces & Travel
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Cities and Memory - remixing the world episodes

  • Cicadas
    Stazione Le Piagge, Florence, reimagined by Chelidon Frame.

    "This summer I had the pleasure of reading Bernie Krause's The Great Animal Orchestra. One thing that fascinated me was how a natural soundscape can be altered by external noises, such as a plane or a train passing by: sometimes the biome takes a lot of time to restore its perfectly calibrated concert. In the original field recording, I sensed some moments that got me thinking about this phenomenon, and in my track I've explored and enhanced this experience.

    "'Cicadas' is arranged in four parts, divided by the sound of a passing train: at each iteration, the soundscape is increasingly processed and paired by synthesized sounds and glitched elements, until the original equilibrium is restored, when the last train arrives at the station."
    7 min
  • Sound of empty
    Piazza San Marco, Venice reimagined by Cristina Marras.

    "I worked on subtractions, using my recent experience in Piazza San Marco to bring together a past that seems now almost retro-futuristic, with a present that no science fiction could have ever imagined."
    5 min
  • Sound of empty
    Piazza San Marco, Venice reimagined by Cristina Marras.

    "I worked on subtractions, using my recent experience in Piazza San Marco to bring together a past that seems now almost retro-futuristic, with a present that no science fiction could have ever imagined."
    5 min
  • The Bridge of Sighs
    Repairs on Fondamenta della Canonica, Venice reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.

    "I decided to use the field recording of repairing a gate near the Bridge of Sighs Fondamenta della Canonica because the bridge is rich with historic meaning. The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) was built in the year 1600 and connects the Doge's Palace to the historic prison across the canal. Prisoners that were tried in Venice were initially held in the underground prison chambers inside the Doge's Palace. As the number of prisoners grew, the prison was expanded to a building across the canal named the New Prison, and the Bridge of Sighs was constructed to shuttle passengers directly from their trial into their cells. 

    "According to legend, the name of the bridge comes from the sighs of prisoners who crossed the bridge on the way to their prison cells or the execution chamber, catching their last glimpses of Venice through the tiny windows. The arched bridge isn’t open air like many of the bridges in the city, there are just two small rectangular windows with a lattice-like screen. Inside, a stone wall divides the interior into two narrow hallways, so prisoners who were entering and leaving could never cross paths.

    "I was interested in the idea of creating sounds from repairing not just the bridge, but in a larger context, reflections of what the prisoners experienced as they saw this last view. Hopefully my piece “The Bridge of Sighs” helps the listener consider for just a few minutes what it might have been like to see such beauty before being imprisoned underground. I do think that sound can reveal a history all of its own if one listens closely enough. Enjoy."
    7 min
  • The Bridge of Sighs
    Repairs on Fondamenta della Canonica, Venice reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.

    "I decided to use the field recording of repairing a gate near the Bridge of Sighs Fondamenta della Canonica because the bridge is rich with historic meaning. The Bridge of Sighs (Ponte dei Sospiri) was built in the year 1600 and connects the Doge's Palace to the historic prison across the canal. Prisoners that were tried in Venice were initially held in the underground prison chambers inside the Doge's Palace. As the number of prisoners grew, the prison was expanded to a building across the canal named the New Prison, and the Bridge of Sighs was constructed to shuttle passengers directly from their trial into their cells. 

    "According to legend, the name of the bridge comes from the sighs of prisoners who crossed the bridge on the way to their prison cells or the execution chamber, catching their last glimpses of Venice through the tiny windows. The arched bridge isn’t open air like many of the bridges in the city, there are just two small rectangular windows with a lattice-like screen. Inside, a stone wall divides the interior into two narrow hallways, so prisoners who were entering and leaving could never cross paths.

    "I was interested in the idea of creating sounds from repairing not just the bridge, but in a larger context, reflections of what the prisoners experienced as they saw this last view. Hopefully my piece “The Bridge of Sighs” helps the listener consider for just a few minutes what it might have been like to see such beauty before being imprisoned underground. I do think that sound can reveal a history all of its own if one listens closely enough. Enjoy."
    7 min
  • Repairing La Serenissima
    On any normal day in Venice, roadworks are a little different from your average city, with repair boats on the city's canals looking after its unique system that keeps the entire city afloat. Here, we can hear gate repairs taking place on Fondamenta della Canonica, just a short distance from the iconic Bridge of Sighs. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
    6 min
  • Repairing La Serenissima
    On any normal day in Venice, roadworks are a little different from your average city, with repair boats on the city's canals looking after its unique system that keeps the entire city afloat. Here, we can hear gate repairs taking place on Fondamenta della Canonica, just a short distance from the iconic Bridge of Sighs. Recorded by Cities and Memory.
    6 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.