Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory - remixing the world

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Cities and Memory - remixing the world episodes

  • 2855: Back garden, 24 March
    London lockdown recorded by Dave Webb.
    "London, the day after the government announced stricter social measures. Local traffic still busy, extractor fans still whining but excavations continue in 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
    2 min
  • 2854: Crows and wind chimes
    Portland lockdown sounds recorded by Bobb Amidon. 
    "This was recorded from my backyard in North East Portland. You can hear the crows that have gathered around the big trees in my neighborhood, the wind, wind chimes and the occasional car. The recording starts with a single crow cawing in the foreground, and a response from another crow further away. Then both crows meet in our big walnut tree and caw together.
    "North East Portland, Oregon, and Portland in general is feeling pretty quiet. We've only been under an official lockdown for one day so far, though we've been practicing social distancing for a few weeks now. 
    "My wife and I have been able to work from home, and our fortunate in that we don't feel that our jobs are in danger at this time, but many others in Portland aren't so lucky as many shops and restaurants have to layoff the majority of their employees. My heart breaks for them. On the plus side, I see many members of my community reaching out to help others when possible.
    "We have a 7 year old, who is doing her best to stay positive. Each day, we try to give her some educational things to do using a workbook we bought for her, writing letters to her friends, reading, and an educational application that she uses at school. We balance that out with fun activities like crafting, art, and video chats with her friends. She seems to be adjusting pretty well, and we are very proud of her. Though I imagine this would be much harder on older kids and teenagers.
    "I hope you all are staying safe and healthy, and I look forward to hearing what your piece of the world sounds like."
    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
    1 min
  • 2853: Home office in Luebeck, Germany
    Luebeck lockdown sounds recorded by AJ Born.
    "Working at home can be so nice: Today I was working, sitting on an old chair at on an old table with an old clock near by and the birds are singing in the sun through the open window. My daughter is playing with dad. But then something unexpected happened: Where are the ...?"
    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
  • 2852: Stories for socially-distant children
    Lockdown sound recorded by Josephine Hoegaerts.
    "Since I live far away from my nephews and godchildren (and wouldn't be able to see them now anyway), I've been recording stories for them - in an attempt to hopefully also give their parents a moment to themselves. This is a chapter from Roald Dahl's Big Friendly Giant (in Flemish)"
    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
    8 min
  • 2851: Joggers, Helsinki
    Helsinki lockdown sounds recorded by Josephine Hoegaerts.
    "For now, at least, going out in Helsinki is still possible. While most restaurants and shops are quite empty, it's clear that lots of people are going out for fresh air in the more open spaces of the city. 
    "My usual walking spot, a beach bordering on the town cemetery and looking out over the Baltic sea, is perhaps a little bit more crowded than usual, with a number of joggers and cyclists coming to get rid of stress in the breeze."
    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
    1 min
  • 2850: Silence Valley
    Lisbon lockdown sounds recorded by Carlos Santos. 
    "My first day out for a stroll after a one-week quarantine. The sounds (rumble) of the city have become much more quiet, and now you can hear more vividly birds and other natural sounds. 
    "This is a small duration recording of a park known as "Silent Valley", usually filled with traffic sounds."
    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
    9 min
  • 2849: Sounds from my garden (Denmark)
    Danish lockdown sounds recorded by Robert Cole Rizzi. 
    "In Denmark, the government closed the schools, restaurants, pubs, museums, shopping etc. malls beginning around March 12, with further restrictions  for hairdressers, tattoo artist and the like along the way... A lot of people were told to work from home, including school teachers from kindergarten through college and university.
    "I teach electronic music and sound art - so I'm pretty fortunate in terms of being able to teach online from home without to much hassle with bad connections etc. 
    "It's pretty quiet here. Even though I live in a rural area,  I can tell there's a change in the soundscape now. 
    "This recording is part of "What do you hear from your window?" initiated by Gilles Malatray - a form of Sound Walking without leaving your house during the outbreak of Covid19. 
    "Recorded in my garden on Sunday 22 March - the weather was cold and clear, with some wind from the north-east. It's hard to see on the picture, but there's frost on the lawn. The track begins and ends with my footsteps going and coming - I left it in just because...
    "It was pretty quiet, there's birds of course... and a group of ravens - 6 or maybe 8 - they're flying around "talking" or whatever, very funny. You can hear them flying by a couple of times and even hear the wings flapping. 
    "You hear the wind rustling the dead leaves on the hedge, and making the tall trees whisper."
    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
    13 min
  • 2848: Times Square, NYC - locked down
    Times Square, New York, recorded during March 2020 by Geoff Gersh.
    "Times Square, NYC is usually bustling with activity, day and night. Tourists, street performers, food vendors, the homeless, taxis, delivery trucks, etc etc all make up the cacophonous chorus that the makes Times Square what it is. 
    "Since the Covid-19 lockdown, that has all changed. Times Square has become a ghost town and on Monday March 23rd at 1am, I went to document the sound of Times Square at the moment. Absent are the people, the traffic, the energy. Mechanical sounds from the nearby buildings now dominate the soundscape.
    "Aside from law enforcement stationed every few blocks, not many people were in Times Square, at most maybe 10 at one point.
    "The community copes in different ways. Most people are taking this seriously and staying indoors and some go about their lives with little change or adjustment that's within their control. 
    "NYC has over 25,000 cases of the virus at the moment and that number will rise. My message to the the global community... stay safe and stay home."
    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
    21 min
  • 2847: Da Cau, Hanoi
    "From dusk till dawn we can see locals having fun playing an ancient game originally from China called Da Cau, which would translate to foot badminton. 
    Played in most public squares, it is the most popular street sport and most players say they are attracted to the cooperative spirit of the game that helps them to relax after an exhausting day at the office.
    "The soundscape reflects the ongoing practice of keeping the shuttlecock afloat among the number of players as long as possible and also knocking it over a net."
    Recorded in Hanoi, Vietnam by Rafael Diogo.
    Part of the Hanoi city sound guide in our City Sound Guides series - see https://citiesandmemory.com/city-sound-guides/ for more details and to listen to other cities.
    2 min
  • 2841: Traffic knots, Hanoi
    "In Vietnam, traffic noise has become increasingly noticeable and a serious problem in large cities such as Hanoi. It is a crowded city characterized by relatively high noise exposure levels due to the large number of mopeds and harsh horn sounds. ​
    If you can survive rush hour traffic in Hanoi, I bet you can make it anywhere. Hanoi, all in all, is unbearable, chaotic and noisy but at the same time fascinating, interactive and alive.
    "In this recording the listener can perceive how the city becomes alive mainly in rush hour where the main roads are loaded with bicycles, scooters, buses and three-wheelers which hit the city with a couple of decibels."
    Recorded in Hanoi, Vietnam by Rafael Diogo.
    Part of the Hanoi city sound guide in our City Sound Guides series - see https://citiesandmemory.com/city-sound-guides/ for more details and to listen to other cities.
    5 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.