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

  • 3661: In the old town - Kotor city sound guide
    Surrounded by fortress walls, the old city area of Kotor was the cultural and trade center of Kotor Bay throughout the centuries. Any walking route will lead you past palaces dating from between the 15th and 18th centuries. 

    Curiously all these paths also lead me to find the unfamous rakija (the local firewater of choice) in one of these many cafes which line the square inside the city wall. Indeed, the Old Town’s a place where every time you turn a corner you’ll find something new to absorb your curiosities. Take your time because it’s not a place to be hurried through. In a cobbled side street in Kotor's fortified Old Town, I sit in one of these traditional bars with a rakija glass on my side, and a sonic story to tell. 

    Recorded by Rafael Diogo as a city sound guide for Cities and Memory - see more at https://citiesandmemory.com/city-sound-guides 
    2 min
  • 3660: Kotor Bay - Kotor city sound guide
    If you are not wandering lost in the labyrinth of the old town, you might just be exploring the vast stunning Bay of Kotor, or Boka for the locals. As you travel its length, the Montenegrin coastline had a great impact on me as it gave me that feeling of the 

    stillness and peace that I was craving. Along the walk alongside the Adriatic Sea, I had the privilege to enjoy the well-preserved medieval towns including Perast, Risan and Tivat. All these tiny little towns rest in between a breathtaking scenery of giant limestone mountains dramatically falling down on to the blue bay. This recording captures a serene moment in which I was sitting on a bench near the port, mindful to hear the still waters of the bay at night. 

    Recorded by Rafael Diogo as a city sound guide for Cities and Memory - see more at https://citiesandmemory.com/city-sound-guides 
    2 min
  • 3658: Kotor clock tower - Kotor city sound guide
    As soon as I enter the city the memorable clock tower greets me as I walk into the old city. This old clock tower is beautifully kept as the focal point of the lower town area and rings every hour as you get a feel on this soundscape. 

    The tower is one of the first things that strikes you as you enter the old town through the main gate and curiously, was carved with the same stone as the city walls in a combination of Baroque and Gothic styles. You’ll see two clock faces on the tower and a small stone pyramid stands in front of it. Apparently, local criminals were tied to the pyramid as a mark of shame. Everything about the town is fairytale-like, even when I was sipping a small cafe cup in one of these picturesque small coffee shops. 

    Recorded by Rafael Diogo as a city sound guide for Cities and Memory - see more at https://citiesandmemory.com/city-sound-guides 

    3 min
  • 3657: Lockdown piano practice: Chopin Nocturne in E-flat major, Op.9, No.2 excerpt
    "I've been practicing this piece through the pandemic. Chopin is my favourite composer so his music brings me much comfort. I finished playing the whole piece when I was 13. Here is just an excerpt of it played now at 24. We're in a third national lockdown and it's almost been a year since lockdowns started. There's been more than 100,000 deaths in the UK and every day I watch the news, that number increases. I'm keeping well though with university studies and music to accompany me. My message to every one of you out there is keep going, this will be over one day and the world will open up again in terms of travel, shops, entertainment venues, education facilities and workplaces."

    Recorded by Elaine Yu in Glasgow, Scotland. 

    Part of the StayHomeSounds project to map and reimagine the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
    2 min
  • 3655: Welcome, welcome
    Saudi traditional music from Jeddah reimagined by Cities and Memory.

    For this, I wanted to convey something of the mesmerising aspect of the original track, which had me interested in the first minute, but by the ninth locked into the groove of the drums and singing. 

    A locked-groove of a drum sample with a lo-pass filter is the rhythmic undercurrent, over which a simple two-note synth line generates head-nodding familiarity. The drones are created by layer upon layer of effected sitar and tambura, with snippets of both the original song's "welcome, welcome" refrain and some inserted synthesised singing, spaced at exact intervals, again to lock the groove in place throughout the duration of the track.
    7 min
  • 3654: Traditional Saudi welcome song, Jeddah
    On a trip to Saudi Arabia, we visited the KAUST university complex, about 90 minutes north of Jeddah. As part of the evening's entertainment, we were greeted by an hour or so of traditional Saudi music, driven principally by multiple drummers and two interacting singers running through a repertoire of what were apparently well-known songs. This, the first track, containing the English words "welcome, welcome" in amongst the lyrics, was a ten-minute song that goes through several movements, but with constant drumming and singing in hypnotic loops that became magnetising and trance-like the longer the piece went on.

    Recorded by Cities and Memory, November 2019.
    10 min
  • 3653: Lockdown in Lille
    Sounds from the lockdown in Lille, France by Olivier Pichard.

    "I'm living in Lille, my house is about 350 meters far from the highway. It's usually very noisy even very early in the morning. At the beginning of lockdown in France, it was very quiet. I've made this recording in April 2020, the 19th around 8 am."

    Part of the StayHomeSounds project to map and reimagine the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdowns.
    6 min
  • 3652: Camacupa
    Traditional community singing in a remote rural village near Camacupa, Angola reimagined by Richard Watts.

    "I wanted to contrast the African singing with something distorted and harsh."
    5 min
  • 3651: Traditional community singing, Camacupa, Angola
    Traditional community singing in a remote rural village near Camacupa, Angola recorded by Mike Bingham.

    "I was fortunate enough to visit Angola with Oxfam in February 2010 on a story gathering trip. Angola was decimated by a 27 year civil war from 1975-2002 which killed over 500,000 people and displaced a further 1 million. Train lines, roads, airports and basic infrastructure were destroyed (including all but 1 bridge) leaving many communities isolated. We were told 6 million landmines still litter the countryside rendering much of the farmland unusable and forcing Angola to import 80% of its food."

    "Despite facing these immense challenges, some rural communities have managed to sustain themselves, and even prosper. As we arrived at this community near Camacupa in central Angola, the villagers burst in to song to welcome us. I was moved to tears but managed to document the moment."
    4 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.