Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

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Cities and Memory - remixing the world episodes

  • 3019: Garden birds, Oxfordshire
    Witney lockdown sound recorded by Nimmi Naidoo.
    "Early morning foray into the garden. No rush hour traffic from the  bypass, just the birds chatting away to each other."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    6 min
  • 3018: Clap for our NHS, ambisonic recording from London
    London lockdown sound recorded by Brian Gilligan.
    "The most obvious aural change to my local area is much less traffic and more sirens. On the 26th of March I happened to have my microphone pointing out the living room window to capture this changing soundscape without realising this was the day people would be clapping and cheering to show their appreciation for NHS staff.
    "Hearing cheering for miles brought home the seriousness of the situation and made me feel a strong sense of gratitude toward the people working on the front line of this pandemic."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    4 min
  • 3016: Bourg du Finistère, travaux au jardin
    Pont-de-Buis-lès-Quimerc'h, France lockdown sound recorded by Veronique Muzeau. 
    "I'm a radio woman and, since the beginning of the pandemic in France, I work at home; my  family and I love nature and I miss it so! (because we don't have right to get out).
    "Fortunately, nature is becoming more present thanks to humans containment! And we can go to the garden."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    4 min
  • 3015: The island of birdsong
    Greek lockdown sound recorded by Eleni Br.
    "I come from an island, Crete, that is located in north of Greece. As it happens all around the world, we’re also in quarantine and under almost a total lockdown. 
    "Concerning “The island of birdsong”, after a heavy rain last night, the chirping of the birds woke me up this morning. It was such a powerful sound, like waking up from a sweet dream or a bad nightmare. 
    "I think that due to quarantine measures the nature’s sounds are more clear than even before. In addition, one of these days I went out for a walk, everything was so silent and I met only cats and dogs in the streets whereas I could hear crystal clear the birds’ songs or how the leaves of the trees were dancing in the cold breeze. 
    "I believe that the current pandemic crisis is highly alarming and it consists of a great warning as it’s time to re-discover the equilibrium between the humanity and the environment. It’s really up to us… "
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    3 min
  • 3014: Annunciation bird
    Ukraine lockdown sound recorded by Vladlen Mytianski. 
    "This is a recording of a bird singing on a chestnut tree in my backyard. It was recorded today, on the 7th of April. And today is the Annunciation Day in Eastern Orthodox tradition. 
    "There's a church nearby and you can hear a faint sound of church choir's song on the background. Alas all public gatherings of more than two people are forbidden in Ukraine now and the choir is just a recording that is transmitted over loudspeakers from church.
    "Nonetheless it sets the mood for the day. And it may seem that the bird is singing with the choir, nonchalantly oblivious about the things we are worried now.
    "And I'm fine and safe. Working from home, doing yoga, recording sounds and making music. Lots of time, energy and optimism for the things I've never had time in the previous months. Hope you're doing fine too. All the best from Ukraine!"
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    6 min
  • 3013: An encounter in the park
    Philadelphia lockdown sound recorded by Michael Reiley McDermott. 
    "I went for a walk this morning at a nearby park in Philadelphia. Parks seem to be the only place where people see each other socially anymore. 
    "People still say hello, but they keep their distance. I was inspired to go out this morning because the birdsong where I’m staying was very intense when I woke up and I thought it would be a nice soundscape in the nearby forest. 
    "I recorded this walk with binaural microphones to try to give the recordings a very first person perspective while I explored. As with many of these natural in the city recordings, sometimes the din of cars, airplanes and other machines overpower it. 
    "However I felt the birdsong cut through. I also noticed how the tempo of the bird calls affected my gate. 
    "Towards the end of the recording I saw an older man walking his dog in the distance. I thought maybe I would walk closer to him since I liked the look of his dog and I like to say hi to dogs sometimes, even when I’m recording. 
    "Then he started to cough! (around 1:20) I froze. I felt like a wild animal who heard the dangerous sounds of disease; something to fear. I stopped heading towards him and took another path. 
    "Oddly enough after this moment I saw more people on the trail and noticed almost everyone was wearing masks today for the first time."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    4 min
  • 3012: A moment spent alone
    Oxford lockdown sound recorded by Cities and Memory.
    "Each day in the UK, we're currently allowed one form of exercise - in my case, I've taken to cycling, choosing my routes by picking out a church somewhere in the city as a destination and cycling to it. 
    "Today I explored St. Margaret's Church in Binsey, which is home to the "Alice Well", which inspired Lewis Carroll when writing Alice in Wonderland and takes a fantastical form in the book.
    "Inside the deserted church, there's an old pump organ with a polite notice inviting people to play it (and treat it with care of course!). In this recording you can hear me enter the church and play some droning chords with the stops pulled out, the sound completely filling the tiny church and bringing me a moment of really lovely peace. You can also make out the sounds of birdsong from the churchyard and the much fainter but still present sound of traffic on the nearby ring road, a reminder that life is, in fact, still going on." 
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    4 min
  • 3008: A rustling in the park
    Montreal lockdown sound recorded by Martín Eduardo Rodríguez.
    "I was walking by a park in my neighbourhood that at this time of the day and year is usually full of kids playing and having fun. 
    "The sound of the city has drastically changed and "silence" can be heard everywhere one walks. 
    "The fact that there are less people out on the street and less cars on the road has allowed many delicate sounds to seemingly becoming amplified."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    7 min
  • 3007: A stroll around my house
    Texas lockdown sound recorded by Brittany Martinez.
    "With the quarantine put into place, the only places I can be is either inside or outside of my house but I must stay within my fence. 
    "At times I get tired of being inside all day so I go outside with my dogs for a while and just enjoy the sounds of the outside. 
    "I do long await the time that I can go back to my normal life of being with the people that I love but am separated from for the time being so my message to everyone is to stay at home that way we all can lessen the curve and stop the spread of the Virus and we can go back to our daily lives."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    2 min
  • 3011: Studio window, San Francisco
    San Francisco lockdown sound recorded by Cheryl Leonard.
    "Recorded out my studio window on March 25, 2020 starting at 8:24am. A neighbor’s pet pigeons coo a low drone. A raven was hanging out on the top of a backyard tree, then flew to a nearby rooftop. 
    "Distant buoys toll from the Pacific Ocean out near Marin Headlands. Buses and a few cars go by. 
    "Things have changed so quickly. Much of my (former?) life/world has been abruptly stripped away, yet, at the same time we still have so much. However, the options that remain are increasingly disembodied, remote, heavily mediated. 
    "Things that can still be done in person are now imbued with a rawness and intensity that wasn't there before. It's like when I eat dinner on a backpacking trip and cheap macaroni and cheese with a cup of hot cocoa becomes a gourmet banquet. 
    "As a sort of meditation practice I’ve been listening and recording out my window each day, bearing witness to the changes around me. I’m trying not to feel trapped. 
    "Instead, even though my physical movements are limited, I am trying to listen and see more, to envision possibilities."
    Part of the #StayHomeSounds project, documenting the sounds of the global coronavirus lockdown around the world - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds
    5 min

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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.