Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

By Cities and MemorySociety & CultureArtsMusicPlaces & Travel
Download on the App Store

Cities and Memory - remixing the world episodes

  • New Years' Eve in a global pandemic
    New Year's Eve 2020 in Oxford - the country remained in a state of lockdown, with citizens only allowed out to exercise outdoors in their own local area, with no socialising allowed with others, truly the most bizarre festive season anyone has experienced. We wandered around the centre of our home city in thick fog on a freezing night, and right next to the famous Radcliffe Camera, the bells of St. Margaret's Church chimed for what would be one of the final times of the year. Ringing out through the mist, they symbolised a truly sad end to an unprecedented year. 
    2 min
  • Recycle
    Little Tribune Bay barnacle recording reimagined by Donia Jourabchi.

    "The composition is composed of only one sound, namely the recording made in Canada by Rogalsky: Little Tribune Bay - low tide barnacles. 

    "The sound was processed and synthesized in various ways to accentuate the manipulation of the recycled elements. The rhythms are inspired by the repetitive patterns present in the nature."

    Image credit: Tyler Ingram on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tyleringram
    5 min
  • Barnacles at low tide
    Barnacles at very low tide, July 2015 at Little Tribune Bay, Hornby Island, British Columbia, Canada.

    Recorded with Telinga Stereo MK2 parabolic mic and Tascam DR-680mkII by Matt Rogalsky.

    Image credit: Tyler Ingram on Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/tyleringram
    2 min
  • Street sounds
    Donald Trump motorcade reimagined by Marg Laing.

    "The street sounded frenetic and noisy at first, but the rhythm emerged, as voices pinged back and forth over cars hooting. I like isolating sounds and tones and creating new sequences and finding melodies."

    Image credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.
    2 min
  • Donald Trump motorcade, Hanoi 2019
    Recording from the Trump/Kim Jong Un summit in Hanoi, Vietnam in February 2019 as Trump's motorcade travels across the city. Recorded by Marcel Gnauk.

    "While driving across the city I saw American and North Korean flags all across the capital.

    "I discovered that Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un were having their second meeting in Hanoi.

    "A great opportunity to record convoy, motorcade sound effects, crowds, visitors and reporters!"

    Image credit: Official White House Photo by Shealah Craighead.
    3 min
  • Rhodes Must Fall protest, Oxford, June 2020
    A mass protest held at the height of the global Covid-19 pandemic in Oxford, UK. Following the global Black Lives Matter protests in the summer of 2020, there was renewed pressure to remove the statue of slave trader Cecil Rhodes from Oriel College in Oxford. 

    This translated into a mass protest against the statue and in support of the Black Lives Matter movement in central Oxford. Cities and Memory took part in the protest, and recorded its sounds. 
    12 min
  • The rhythm of Rhodes Must Fall
    Oxford Rhodes Must Fall protest reimagined by Margaret Fischer. 

    "Rhythm is such an interesting force - it creates a sense of unity and community, and yet it is also a weapon of war. In this reimagining, I wanted to highlight how the shared mindset and singular purpose of this group of protestors spontaneously and naturally found its collective rhythm. Midway, you’ll hear the rhythms of pencil on paper and a typewriter, to represent protesting happening via the written word, as well as highlighting the role higher education has in this movement. 

    "Since the Rhodes Must Fall movement had its origins in South Africa, the added percussive rhythms are a nod to rhythms found in South African toyi-toyi, perhaps the epitome of a nonviolent call to arms… rhythm and melody as tools for a revolution. The track ends with the sound of a door opening — opening the door for discussion, for reflection, for future change."
    2 min
  • Breezy Sunday
    Morro Bay sea otters reimagined by Baying Ridges. 

    "This recording immediately took me to a casual Sunday enjoying the sun and the breeze.  So we have a nice relaxing chord progression with the original file coming through in the background and in the underlying pad."
    3 min
  • For the beauty of earth
    Earth God celebration in Taiwan reimagined by Alex Hehir. 

    "This recording sounded loud and celebratory so I wanted to use fairly unprocessed snippets throughout. All of the 'drums' are built from the original as well as some melodic sections. As in some of my previous submissions, I have woven in heavily processed traditional instruments alongside some modular synths."
    5 min

About Cities and Memory - remixing the world

From the publisher's feed

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