Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Hong Kong dawn chorus

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 |The recording is made in the night, we hear a chorus of morning birds with some unique vocalisations, the perspective is typical for Hong Kong whic...

Too many Koel calling

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The original soundscape contains the call of the Asian Koel, a bird whose song is highly characteristic of Hong Kong, my hometown. This distinctive, ...

Streets of Cairo tales: The Jinn and Anthony Eden

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The original soundtrack I used from Cities & Memory's archive was recorded on a street in Cairo at sunset, outside the Marriott Hotel and Omar Kh...

The golden hour

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The field recording upon which this piece is based doesn't sound like much, but it represents a huge moment for the Cities and Memory project, and a p...

A special moment in Sofienbergparken

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A special recording for me - the very first recording from outside the UK submitted to Cities and Memory in 2015 was from Sofienbergparken in Oslo. It...

Quiraing sunrise

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Having enjoyed family holidays on Skye in the past I was immediately drawn to this recording as Quiraing is one of those places that makes you really...

Nobuo in the between

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The spacious, off-tempo, off-tune malaise of the Wakimachi field recording creates an in-between space that mirrors Japanese Canadian performance art...

Mirage

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The original field recording had a mesmerising quality that pulled me toward Bamiyan’s complex and fascinating history. I wanted my remix to encaps...

Shahr-e-Gholghola

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Soundscape at Shahr-e-Gholghola - Dari: شهر غلغله - City of Screams, City of Woe, City of Sorrows - in Bamyan, Afghanistan. Completely destroy...

Nighttime, Kichwa territory

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Captured deep within Kichua tribal territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon, this nocturnal soundscape reveals a hidden world that awakens after dusk. Above...

Forgetting will begin with your eyes

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"For reasons I can't fathom when I heard this sound file I instantly thought of Moondog. So this is my attempt at a Moondog type composition - almost ...

Portal Lookout, Blue Mountains

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Cicadas at the Portal Lookout in the Blue Mountains, Australia. Recorded by Richard Watts. 

Lecture of young female student, Hiroshima

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recorded audio of a presentation by a fourth-year female university student in Japan. I became interested in the audio aspects of her power...

Atop the mighty Quiraing

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Atop the famous Quiraing, after a climb of hundreds of metres, we reach the summit, with incredible views on all sides. Here we record the sound of a ...

Indigo wind chimes

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A summer morning walking in Udatsu, Wakimachi, Japan. A piano lesson resonating in the empty street under the heat, wind chimes spell some fresh air. ...

Within Kichwa nights

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Recorded deep inside Kichwa territory in the Ecuadorian Amazon, this nocturnal soundscape draws the listener into the forest’s hidden hours - where...

Blue Monserrate

28 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The field recording I started with was the Blue Mountains Portal Lookout in Australia. What I found inspiring about this recording is the pointillist...

The bookshop under the railway arches

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Inside the Bücherbogen bookshop in Savignyplatz, a fantastic bookshop of art, design and architecture books built under a set of railway arches. A un...

Pontis (2025)

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"In Latin, 'Pontis' not only refers to a physical bridge, but also a metaphorical crossing - a psychological parallel between lived reality and its pa...

Bellemar

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"When I listened to this beautiful recording of the Pharo bells of Marseille, I immediately felt transported to the south of France, which I recently ...

A celebration at Wat Ku Tao

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This recording displays the sounds of a local celebration stumbled upon in the city of Chiang Mai. People of all ages gathered together to play music ...

Daylight, Waorani Indigenous territory

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By day, high atop one of the tallest trees in the Waorani tribal territory of the Ecuadorian Amazon, the forest opens into a vast cathedral of sound. ...

Amazonscape

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Right from the first listen, I was struck by the sheer variety and strangeness of the natural sounds of the Ecuadorian forest. Some of them already s...

Chant d’automne

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"To create this sound piece, I sampled the rhythms from the field recording and turned them into a loop. I detuned it slightly. I isolated a fragment ...

Bells of Le Pharo

24 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recording starting just before 10:00. At 10, the bells of different churches start ringing. Binaural recording with OKM II and Zoom H2n. Recorded in...

Sleeping on a starlit tide

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"As I was browsing the Cities and Memory sound library, I had an LFO patch quietly looping in the background. When the field recording Lonely Beach su...

The bird

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Whenever anyone speaks of Auschwitz, I always picture the iconic Arbeit Macht Frei Gate; an image linked to the atrocities associated with the holoca...

Gentle waves on Lonely Beach

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At Lonely Beach on Koh Rong, the waves reach the shore in soft, unhurried patterns. Each swell rises and falls with calm consistency, a natural rhythm...

Arbeit Macht Frei, Auschwitz

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ambisonics recordings of the sound at the infamous "Arbeit Macht Frei" gate to Auschwitz-I.  This soundscape-composition is part of the HEYR project...

Trains overhead in Berlin

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Trains passing overhead on a overpass at Savignyplatz on a Sunday morning in Berlin, with light rain clearly audible too. Recorded in September 2025 ...

The thoughts between trains

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The trains, from the field recording run, whilst the music represents thoughts of waiting for the next train and run between the train sounds. Some m...

Concrete ghosts

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"In the field recording, there was a conversation that felt like reminiscing. I say it felt that way because I do not speak the language. I loved the ...

Yangzhou, Guqiting Street

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This intriguingly named street runs along a small river, perhaps now demolished and rebuilt. Once likely a standard six-step-wide street, it’s now a...

Oslo bench life

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The original field recording is sparse, with snippets of conversation, people walking, cycling and the occasional jogger passing by. I wondered how t...

Ten minutes on a park bench

21 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ten minutes sitting on a bench in Sofienbergparken in Oslo, just listening to whatever happens and letting the world pass by.  Recorded in September...

Building a cohesive society

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The busy building and streetscape sounds are granulated and diffused into the pulsing patterns of the Moog Subharmonicon, blurring human activity into...

Lush construction noise, NYC

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Lower East Side, Manhattan, NYC. A lively construction site with screaming saws, various impacts and machinery echoing off down the side streets near ...

The hum of Yanchep substation

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This recording is taken with an Open Wave-Receiver, a custom made foxhole radio modded from a Shortwave Collective design. The aerial was strung up to...

Yanchep substation

18 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I heard the electronic hum of the substation and the chat from people near it. I supported the recording with a warm drone and proceeded to extract t...

Senso

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A service at Sensō-ji, Buddhist temple in Tokyo, praying to Avalokiteshvara is a highly revered bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism, known as the embodi...

Tokyo Senso hardcore

17 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I chose this recording because I’ve always been interested in reimagining folk music, and I’ve previously created an album that incorporates elem...

Under true north

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Inspired by the description of the experience by the collector of these sounds, Andrea Lynn, I explored this recording of a cold, mysterious place in...

Beneath the North Pole ice

16 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

In July 2024 at 90° N my acoustic equipment slid into a hole 15 cm in diameter that our team had drilled into the sea ice. Midnight sun tossed shadow...

Coral, stone, shell, water

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Fascinating micro-sounds from Coral Beach, when tiny, slow and quiet waves on this unique beach made of tiny stone, coral and shell fragments creates ...

Inside the wall of a concrete bunker

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recording inside an open air vent inside the two metre-thick wall of the concrete bunker building that forms the Boros Collection. The space has a fas...

Widerhall - piano in the hall

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Taking Brian Eno's chopped tape ambient recordings as inspiration, I chopped up sampled loops of Chopin's 'Nocture C sharp in minor,' creating long a...

Boat engines roar, Loch Coruisk

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Aboard a tourist boat from Loch Coruisk to Elgol, with different tones, speeds and intensity of engine noise blending with the sound of waves. Record...

Village, QinQiang opera and birds

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A quiet and nice village besides Yellow River at Lanzhou City. QinQiang opera from the loud speaker in the village and this is very local sound. Happy...

In passage

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"'In Passage' was inspired by the field recording “Boat engines roar, Loch Coruisk” by Cities and Memory. I love this field recording of a tourist...

All those birds

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I put the original recording through a bit of distortion, listened to it for a while, and then went over it with some text from my phone notes that f...

Two waters distortion (Kymatology 11)

14 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"This six-minute composition combines the Isle of Skye Coral Beach recording with my own field recordings of water and hands passing through shells of...

Autumn ramble

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I've never been to the Dolomites before, but a close friend was recently there. He showed me his photos of the mountain range and told me about the l...

Birdsong in the mountains on a summer afternoon

13 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Taking a break next in a pasture on a hike in the Dolomites, while we admire the view we can hear birdsong in the trees surrounding us and the gentle ...

Geisterbahnhof

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"My first ever autumn was in Berlin and I also worked for a year in German train stations, so this field recording has an emotional weight for me. The...

Walkthrough in Berlin Hauptbahnhof

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A walkthrough of Berlin's main station, with announcements drenched in the huge reverb of the station hall, then the classic sounds of trolley bags, e...

Fog arpeggiation

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"A captivating field recording of fog machines in an outdoor setting was fed into a number of granular synth engines. This resulted in crackles, rever...

Fog installation in the Neue Nationalgalerie

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A remarkable fog installation in the sculpture garden of the Neue Nationalgalerie in Berlin, by Fujiko Nakaya. This site-specific installation activat...

Sound installation by Eliza Douglas, Boros Collection

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Inside the Boros Collection bunker, listening to a sound installation of distorted bells on a speaker suspended by chains, made by Eliza Douglas. The ...

They deconstructed

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I have a long history with Berlin, and this contemporary art bunker represents very well everything the city means for me. It's deep, dark, yet livel...

Call to prayers from the sea

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The sound of calling to prayers from mosques is featured in the original field recording; it's a very vague and distant call accompanied by street so...

Call to prayer, Istanbul

12 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Visiting Istanbul for the purpose of recording was fascinating because one could find locations in the city without too much car sounds. This was in 2...

Impermanence

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I’ve always viewed and listened to the ocean in a special way, and the sounds of the field recording inspired me to create this piece. I called it ...

Sunset shoreline sounds

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The sunsets on Malapascua Island in the Philippines feel like explosions in the sky — wild, breathtaking, and almost unreal. But beneath that blaze...

Just before leaving

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"A woman writes a message during her daily tram commute to work. Seemingly insignificant details, like selling a table or a couch, hide a deeply perso...

Melbourne commute

09 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This recording from 2025 captures a short commute using Melbourne's iconic trams in the city centre. It's not unusual for trams to be packed and this ...

Invisible anchor

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Invisible Anchor is a downtempo ambient track centred around a seismic field recording of an electricity pylon, this served as the primary background...

Inside an electricity pylon

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording made with a seismic microphone attached to an electricity pylon in the English countryside in Wytham Woods, Oxfordshire.  The so...

Caruso climbs

07 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Thinking about the ascent and the vastness of Gran Sasso Park I stretched sounds to hold the sound of the water and this suggested voices so Caruso t...

Yoi Jacon

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Living with an isolated Shipibo indigenous family in the Peruvian Amazon, this recording features an ícaro titled "Yoi Jacon" ("another world") by cu...

Mountain cowbell chorus

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The gentle tinkling of cowbells in a field among the Dolomites at the end of a long summer afternoon. Recorded in Colmean, Italy by Cities and Memory...

Oud paradox (1)

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The field recording is a completed song, sung to the backdrop of a symphony of sounds apparently arising from the Peruvian Amazon setting where the p...

Tonal journey across the Willamette

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I liked the tonal qualities of this recording. There is a constantly varying pattern of sound: the cars, trucks and buses never pass over in the same...

Tyres on steel over Hawthorne Bridge

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Hawthorne Bridge, built in 1910 is the oldest vertical lift bridge in the USA and the oldest highway bridge in Portland, Oregon. I stood beneath i...

DJ choristers with added cowbell

05 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I thought about the cows maybe wanting someone else to jam along with in the Dolomites, and then a bunch of choristers turn up with a wannabe DJ in t...

The creaking dock performs

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Persistent, detailed creaking wood and metal sounds coming from the floating dock structure on Hovedoya island, Oslo, along with gentle wave sounds un...

Hovedoya island (Andy Lyon reimagining)

31 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I really liked the calmness of the sea which contrasted with the harsher sounding creaking wood and metal sounds. I created a track that features and...

Slowing down

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"It is a wonderful and relaxing recording that evokes sitting down and unwinding after a long day. I chose to include a few happy and playful guitar t...

A night next to Mara river

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

It is around 11.00 pm at Malaika camp, Kenya. The sound of the river is always present. Different types of birds are singing. Hippos are aroung the ar...

Inside the sweet making process

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A unique recording in the kitchen at Bremen Bonbon Manufaktur, as sweet-making maestro Luca takes us through the process of making sweets by hand, inc...

Aker Brygge catamaran

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I love port sounds and this had so much more. An untuned bell and a brass band too. I split the recording into four "stems" and then edited it down t...

Catamaran docking at Aker Brygge

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

At Aker Brygge in Oslo, a tourist catamaran docks, we hear its engines throbbing as it manoeuvres into the dock. Passengers disembark under instructio...

Bonty Mojangle's sweet factory

30 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I attached contact microphones to an empty tin of Monty Bojangles chocolates. I used it, together with some kitchen implements, to create the sounds ...

I am the wind that blows across the sea

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This composition is a multi-layered synth improvisation, reacting in real time to the sounds of the breaking waves and calling birds in the field reco...

On the edge of the land

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The rising tide, gently lapping at rocks, with the quieter general sound of the sea in the background. The recording contains many bird sounds – bot...

Murmuration

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The collective murmuring in the original recording filled me with comfort as soon as I heard it. There is something very nurturing about praying toge...

Sunday devotions at Basilica de Santa Luzia

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This recording offers a glimpse into the spiritual heart of Portugal, where tradition and faith come together in a celebration of devotion and praise....

IRCAM in/out

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

A walk outside IRCAM in Paris around the Stravinsky Fountain at noon, a trumpet player performs in public, a quick chat with a colleague, crowd and wa...

Compo — décompo — recompo

25 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I approached the piece by breaking it down into three dimensions: rhythm, texture, and the relationship between inside and outside. What first caught...

Golden hours

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Golden Hours unfolds like a friendly conversation between two friends who truly see each other. What begins as a light exchange - about work, retirem...

Hidden garden

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Hearing the original sample it suggested an idea for an imaginary space accessed that exists inside the birdsong itself - so I used the sample and th...

Teshima night

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Following Terry Riley’s concert at Yokoo House on Teshima Island, I walked through the darkness back to the ryokan when an enigmatic, high-frequency...

Laura

22 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Retired mail carrier Laura returns to her old work place at the post office West Carrier Annex in Oakland. The mail carriers are just leaving to their...

Both sides of the Bosphorus

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The piece involves a sample of the ships horn used as part of the melody along with traditional Turkish instruments played in 9/8 time." Ships on th...

Ships on the Bosphorus

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Ambisonic recordings on the Bosphoros, with the sound of large ships' engines, carrying grains from Ukraine to the world. All accompanied by distant ...

A colossal Sunday morning sound

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Huge pre-communion service bells ring out from the Berliner Dom cathedral across the Mitte district of Berlin.  A solid eight minutes of impressivel...

Endlosigkeit

13 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I wanted to dive inside the sound of the bells and reimagined the drones as a kind of symphony. As a counterpoint to the location, I added waves of s...

Sites of hope

12 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is the sound of a midday call to prayer at the Zangi Ota Memorial Complex. The complex, located just outside Tashkent (20 km), is very popular pi...

A pilgrimage

12 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The recording made me think of a journey through the darkness, trying to find the light, to find the thing that has been searched for. I had the fiel...

Berliner Mauer

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"My composition, titled “Berliner Mauer,” draws inspiration from ambisonics recordings made by Anders Vinjar at the Berlin Wall. "The Berlin Wall...

At the Berlin Wall

08 Oct 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Ambisonics recording at the wall, physically separating Eastern Europe from Western Europe in Berlin during the Cold War in the years 1961 to 1989. T...