Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Venetian gondolas in the lagoon reimagined by Mary E. Tither.

"I'm very stressed and anxious at the moment (for various reasons) and it feels like I've tried just about everything in an attempt to calm down. I live in a landlocked location these days, so I don't have my main method of calming down to hand - going to stare at, and walk next to, an ocean. I miss the ocean and its sounds a lot... so this sound piece was inspired by those two things - the ocean and my current anxiety levels."

Tomba Brion reimagined by Cristina Marras.

Six months into the covid pandemic and our lives have changed in ways that we wouldn't have thought possible. 

Subdued at the beginning, like the sound of a distant bell reaching across a valley, it has now become clear that it is here to stay. 

And amidst this new normal, remembering the banality of lost activities is enough to make me cry.

Visiting the Carlo Scarpa-designed Tomba Brion, we hear the sound of bells from a nearby town drifting across the fields gently to reach us.

Tomba Brion is a fascinating place: a sloped concrete enclosing wall, two distinct entrances, a small chapel, two covered burial areas, a dense grove of cypresses, a private meditation/viewing pavilion, separated from the main prato by a separate and locked entrance, and a reflecting pool. It's a highly-contemplative space for obvious reasons, which added a new depth to the sound of bells drifting across the sky.

Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Sitting at the northern end of the main island of Venice in Cannaregio, we take a few moments to absorb the flows of passing boat traffic. Because we're facing out into the lagoon as opposed to into one of Venice's internal canals, the sound of the boat traffic is much different, carrying further and having a booming, wide resonance that you only get on the external fondamenti of the the island.

Boat traffic in Cannaregio, at the northern end of Venice, reimagined by Bassling.

"Listening to the sounds of Venice, particularly the boats and the waves, prompted me to think something surf-rock might be appropriate. This track features electric ukulele, flat-wound bass and drums."

"Nothing much to say, just a subway announcement that will be heard quite often, I'm afraid, reminding us to wear a mask or we might get a fine.

"Can the fear of losing money be greater than the fear of getting and/or spreading a virus? Some places at risk right now need more awareness than punishment. Let's take good care of one another. Just a simple thought from an expat living in Berlin."

Berlin Ubahn U5 to Alexanderplatz recorded by Cravune.

Part of the #StayHomeSounds project to map the sounds of the Covid-19 lockdowns.

Seoul's Mullae-dong is a gentrifying area where small industry sits cheek by jowl with bars and shops. This recording was made from the street into an open fronted metal machine workshop. Recorded by Michael N. Meyer. Part of the Future Cities project.

Italian Covid-19 train announcements reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.

"This piece of music is based on a field recording from Italy, of an TrenItalia Covid-19 train announcement. The world of sound created here emphasizes that Covid-19 is everywhere, no matter what the language, even in our subconscious. You can’t escape it, but still escape it we try. Riding on the train as we start to doze off with our mind wondering, grabbing onto thought forms as we go. 

"The rhythm of the tracks is there somewhere, the undercurrent to the background of this newfound reality. Our daydreams have their own rhythm, their own reality, and there is nothing we can do but listen."

Part of the #StayHomeSounds project.

Varanasi river ceremony reimagined by Cities and Memory.

It was fascinating to read the context of this field recording - the ritual prayer of offering to the river. The recording is very beautiful and has a magical, mystical feel to it, as the songs and instruments blend and dance together. 

For the reimagined piece, we've approached the ceremony from the perspective of the Ganges, as if listening from beneath the waves. What if the river could hear the offerings being made to it?

We hear the ceremony going on above the surface of the water, muffled and mysterious, barely able to hear the words of the song. The music and bells tinkle down through the water and penetrate periodically, and the growing bass pulse represents passing boat traffic slowly drowning out the ritual above.

Everything here apart from the bass pulse is made from the field recording, stripping the MIDI from the music to provide most of the sounds, and an a cappella stripping of the vocal providing us with the raw material for the vocal bed in the piece.

Dashashwamedh Ghat is the main ghat in Varanasi on the Ganga River. Ganga Aarti (ritual of offering prayer to the Ganges river) is held daily at dusk.

Several priests perform this ritual by carrying deepam and moving it up and down in a rhythmic tune of bhajans. 

I visited the city in 2012 with 10 others on a journey to Kolkata for a friend's (huge) wedding we were due to perform at. 

Varanasi is a dizzying labyrinth like city that is both deeply spiritual (open cremation is commonly practiced by the riverbank) and overwhelming: colours, smells, sounds and characters leap out at you from every corner.

Recorded by Mike Bingham.