Cities and Memory - remixing the world

6am in Foret de Tambacounda Nord, Senegal, November 2017\. The calls of hundreds of Vinaceous Doves echoing through the woods.

Recorded by George Vlad. 

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Recorded by Peter Annear. 

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Reimagined by Juan Guillermo Dumay.

"This piece is inspired by some of the sound principles found in nature. Mainly the model of animals' sound signals. Their rhythmic order by call and response, specific to frogs and other animals and insects, as well as the phenomenon of the sensation of spatiality. I wanted to bring out these elements, for example by isolating the voices of frogs from the background sound, through a dynamic computer process. Thanks to the use of "gates", I can then use these signals to trigger other musical elements such as sound samples or textures as pink noise, which generate evolving and unpredictable rhythmic patterns. In this way, I take the opportunity to immerse my composition in a certain logic specific to the elements of Nature as a whole, to the detriment of the logic of musical rhythmic subdivision, specific to the contemporary (mainstream) Culture. I could say that this is the basis of the composition, but in addition I would say that the architecture and sound morphology of the piece respond to additions of sound layers influenced by a certain atmospheric mood, built by a couple of sequences de jeux and some audio samples, which were treated by filters and other process, keeping a sensible dialogue with the repetitive leitmotiv done by the electric guitar."

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Recorded by Michael Gatonska.

"I captured this soundscape during the green frog breeding season at the 4,000-acre White Memorial Foundation located in Litchfield, Connecticut, USA."

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Reimagined by Marco Colocci.

"I close my eyes and I'm lying in a cornfield. Through the senses I can perceive a world made of sounds, sounds that tell stories, sounds that create paths and trajectories.

I stand up and I walk a path in front of me. I am confused, disoriented, the nuances of reality make up a maze through which it is easy to get lost, a maze of symbols that propagate out of time.

The landscape shatters, reveals new textures and colors, showing us many possible interpretations of what we consider to be real, separate and distinct interpretations but coexisting with each other. 

Abandoning yourself to the maze is the only possible way to investigate and understand the existing, to recompose the fragments of a world in disintegration. 

The work was composed using granular synthesis techniques applied on the sample I chose for the composition. The results of this type of processing were then repassed within different types of resonator. The work is the result of an intense and exciting live session."

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Photo by Toby Wong on Unsplash

This is a 7'00"' soundscape made during the afternoon alongside the edge of a cornfield in South Windsor, Connecticut, USA

Recorded by Michael Gatonska. 

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Photo by Toby Wong on Unsplash

Reimagined by Matt Chapman Jones.

"I simply started by extracting elements of the sound and manipulating them into more conventional "instrument" sounds. Every note you hear is the cockerel in my source and a whole load of effects."

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Photo by Kazi Faiz Ahmed Jeem on Unsplash

Reimagined by Matt Rogalsky. 

"I was struck by the high frequency / low frequency stratification of the source recording with its high, piercing band of frog chorus and low bands of other animal and miscellaneous background sounds, so chose to build on that, using a process of spectral sampling at short intervals to sustain instantaneous moments. The result is a composition of sustained sounds that depends entirely on the underlying original recording and has approximately the same duration. It is meant to be played at a fairly low volume."

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Photo by Kal Loftus on Unsplash

Recorded by Marcel Gnauk.

"Imagine you haven’t slept for over 32 hours, you arrive at the Hotel and all that you want is taking a shower and go sleep! I was in a deep sleep until something pulled me out of my dream! It was around 4:45 am and at this time, the night was over! A rooster and his other friend started talking to each other!

But my first thought wasn’t like “Shut Up”! No, it was more like “Where is my sound recorder”? There is just a tiny window when the rooster starts to cry “cock-a-doodle-doo”!"

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Photo by Kazi Faiz Ahmed Jeem on Unsplash

A three-minute field recording of birdsongs. A woodpecker is also audible. Recorded by John Downey. 

Part of the Sounding Nature project - for more information, see http://www.citiesandmemory.com/sounding-nature

Photo by Isaac Wendland on Unsplash