Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Traditional music in Jemaa el-Fnaa Square

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This is a recording from Jemaa el-Fnaa Square in Marrakech, where locals are playing traditional Moroccan instruments. Among them is a special flute k...

Catedral Basílica de Santiago de Compostela

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Within the hallowed expanse of Santiago de Compostela Cathedral, the organ resonates through centuries of devotion and artistry. Heard in this recordi...

Birds of the Jardin de Ayora

08 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This was our last day in Valencia. After an amazing lunch of empanadas and waffles, my girlfriend and I decided to take a walk to the park near the me...

Pierced heart

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Working with a field recording of an air show has been deeply gratifying. On an emotional level, it has allowed for something like sublimation or int...

Take me back to Indonesia

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"This work originates from a field recording captured in Madobag Village on the Mentawai Islands in Indonesia. In the recording, the sounds of childre...

Acoustic vision from beyond - a Vietnamese funeral

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"This composition was created using exclusively a recording of a traditional Vietnamese funeral ceremony. Fragments were taken from the original track...

Red Arrows flypast, Southport air show

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The Red Arrows display team flying over Southport at the annual air show in July 2024, with the sound of spectators in the background. Recorded by St...

Laugther by the ancient well

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Immerse yourself in the joyful ambiance of Madobag village, Mentawai Islands, where children's laughter and playful shouts fill the air. This soundsca...

My grandfather's funeral

07 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

My grandfather's funeral was according to village customs. Recorded in Vietnam by Nhat Vuong Nguyen Trinh.

Portland dreams

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I first visited Portland in the early 2000’s, as part of a DIY west coast tour with a band from my, (at the time) home of Brighton UK. "When I saw...

Multiverse

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I've always enjoyed Leo Villareal's "Multiverse" (2008) which is located between the East Building and the West Building of the National Gallery of Ar...

Amusement park ambience, Shanghai

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

During the Spring Festival, the melodious tunes of traditional Chinese instruments can be heard in many places, serving as festive reminders that it i...

A train passes the Memory Den

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

I'm visiting Portland from the UK. The Memory Den is a large warehouse converted to a vintage shopping Mall in the industrial area of Portland, Oregon...

Ambience of the Chinese spring festival

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I used sections of Chinese instruments from the original recording to create the piece. I used samplers to make the drone sounds; stretched the origi...

A multiverse reimagined

05 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"After selecting a field recording at random, I immediately researched the location… Upon looking at photographs of the location and watching a vide...

One last evening in Kashihara

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I chose this soundscape because I wanted to work with sonic elements far removed from what I’m used to hearing. That led me to explore sounds from ...

Wëeña Rügaü (children of the river)

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Far deep inside the Amazon, after twelve hours on a canoe through green wilderness and mirrored skies, I arrived at a small indigenous Tikuna settlem...

By the river's side

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

By the river’s side in the Amazon, Colombia, the soundscape blends the gentle rush of the water with the rhythmic motion of people washing clothes. ...

Prec-limit

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"I made a number of live jams over a couple of weeks, each around an hour long, all manipulating a snippet of the recording, with some added synths; t...

Hachimanju noir

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

 "When I heard Miyu's recording of cicadas, I was brought back to humid late summers in Japan — where I lived for two years in the mid-aughts — p...

Archipelago of echoes

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The interface of humans and water is celebrated in the recording and composition. I collected bell sounds from the recorded soundscape, and brought t...

Surface obsessions : I

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"This piece starts with the original recording, which consists of lively, beautiful species. However, as we move forward new, unconventional sounds ar...

Tsukutsukuboshi

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Japanese people call the loud cicada sound “Tsukutsukubōshi,” because that’s what it sounds like they’re singing. Don’t you think so when y...

Kokoro no Furusato

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This field recording was made on the embankment of the Yamato River. You can hear the soft flow of the river, distant cars passing by, and the 6:00 p....

Farm life, Kerala

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Farm life" captures the soundscape of an open paddy field in southern India - long after the harvest season, when weeds have reclaimed the land and r...

St. Martin's Church, Warsaw

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Inside St Martin's Church, which was founded in 1356 by the Duke of Mazovia Ziemowit and his wife Euphemia. It has been repeatedly reconstructed in th...

It-Tlett Ibliet

04 Dec 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The recording was made at the harbor of Malta’s Three Cities: Vittoriosa, Senglea, and Cospicua - which sit directly across from the capital city of...

Placid island

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"The recording is of a tornado warning siren with howling wind and rain. Although we don't get tornadoes in my part of the world, I do enjoy stormy we...

Calm before the storm: Kentucky tornado

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

There have been talks of a large storm moving in after many tornadoes had already touched down in the western part of the state earlier that day. Just...

Irreversible change

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Irreversible Change is an ambient track built around a field recording captured at the Pryvoz Market. The natural bustle of the environment is anchor...

Red earth, white paint

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

This recording was made during a Kathakali performance — a traditional Indian theatre art form native to the Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala. It ...

Pryvoz market, Odessa

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Recording at Pryvoz Market in Odessa was a mix of emotions. The market buzzed with life, as vendors sold goods and people clung to everyday routines d...

Dance of the shards

30 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"In reimagining this field recording, I drew upon the raw power of musique concrète by manipulating and deconstructing the layered sounds from the Ka...

The Singing of Basilica di Santa Maria

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

The sound of religious singing in the Basilica di Santa Maria in Rome. A calm evening in February before the Basilica shuts its doors for the night, I...

Closing time

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

"Upon first hearing the Santa Maria field recording, I felt a strong sense of place. It was as if I were right there in Rome. I cut a section of the f...

Cairo streets at night

29 Nov 2025

Contributed by Lukas

Sunset in Cairo, by the Nile River, during evening call to prayers. Recorded by Helen Copnall.

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...