Cities And Memory

Bleach: to lose colour. The recording of the Foxton Beach deforestation is transposed in a process of timbre decolorization. Using the original recording as a musical score, my compositional process puts emphasis on the degradation of the natural ecosystem by degrading sound and timbre elements.  The result is a broken and ruined imaginary landscape where only a few synthetic sound survives.  Foxton Beach forest soundscape reimagined by Nicola Cappelletti.

"When choosing the field recording to work with, I was particularly drawn to a field recording of nocturnal amphibians from Pantuase, Ghana, featuring a species of frog that, until recently, had not been recorded before. The recording was made within a designated natural park, which was established both to protect species from pollution created by local industry and mining, and also to provide a place for tourists to visit. "What interested me most was the sense of nature existing independently of human presence, often unnoticed. I was also interested in the idea that, when human activity fades, nature will very quickly reclaim a space. "The composition is created mainly using modular synthesis and is structured to reflect these themes. The piece begins with the field recording, representing the existence of the natural world before the emergence of human influence. Gradually, the natural soundscape is is distorted and reduced until it becomes inaudible. However, its influence continues via the use of an en

Pantuase is a new wetland location added to two other wetland locations namely Trom and Bonya which were previously recorded in 2021 and 2022. Those tonal frogs heard in the recording have never been acoustically captured so i was amazed by these unique sounds they were making when the recordings were sent to me.  Since then, I keep asking myself how the place would have sounded like had it been left intact. The fate of nature in this place is unknown and can be lost at any point in time, therefore the recordings are being used to monitor/observe as well as archive diverse “remnant” species there and finally, as a tool for raising awareness about fragile ecosystems. Recorded by Emmanuel Baffoe, 13th November 2024. 

At night, in a bamboo grove in Kyoto, the wind threads its way through the tall stalks, bending them until they sway and knock together with hollow tones. The sound is both delicate and immense — a shifting chorus of rattles, sighs, and murmurs that rise and fall like waves. Each gust carries a new texture: sometimes a low, resonant moan as the bamboo bows deeply, sometimes a fine, trembling hiss as leaves brush against one another in countless, shimmering layers.  In the stillness between, silence feels almost physical — a pause that makes each return of the wind seem like a hidden spirit passing through. The grove itself becomes an instrument, played by the night air. Here, the boundary between sound and silence blurs, and the listener can feel the earth breathing in long, slow rhythms through the voice of the wind. Recorded in Kyoto, Japan by Rafael Diogo.

Inside the Klimahaus museum, which is dedicated to telling the stories of climate and the environment. The exhibition called "The Journey" takes you around the world on a line of longitude from Bremerhaven with interactive installations and exhibits that make extensive use of sound to be as immersive as possible. Here we are in Niger, experiencing a video installation based on desert village life.  Recorded by Cities and Memory. 

A recording of Holy Communion taking place in the iconic surroundings of Westminster Abbey, with the service audible both from the priest directly and piped through the surrounding speakers, as tourists pass the worshippers on all sides, and the epic reverb of the space threatens to swallow up everything in the soundscape.  Recorded by Cities and Memory. 

"This raw desert field recording, resonating from the halls of the Klimahaus Bremerhaven in Germany (Climate House Museum Bremerhaven), sparked a vision of musical imagination within me.  "It drew me into a hidden world of untold stories, and from its pulse and breath, I shaped a soundscape I call Meridian. A sonic journey tracing the secret heart of the desert and revealing an oasis born of imagination. "I chose to keep the original field recording largely untouched, aside from a few subtle adjustments to its timeline. Rather than altering it, I composed around the field recording, employing gentle musical techniques, layered resonance, micro-harmonic drifting, and slow spectral unfolding so that the environment itself becomes the primary instrument. "As the piece unfolds, the distant cries of unseen creatures, the soft patter of rain, and the quiet exhalation of wind emerge in deepening layers. From these textures, harmonies and melodic traces seem to arise naturally, weaving through the soundscape until

"I recorded and played all sounds. One of sound is coming from my home town Sapporo, when my grandmother was gone. Some of instrument is bass clarinet, Bb clarinet, tenor sax, handmade instrument, keys. Especially the wind instruments were recorded while I listened to the source sound." Westminster Abbey communion service reimagined by Ayane Sato.

"I was inspired by the beauty in the percussive sound of the bamboo, and how it contrasts with harsher rustling of the wind and rain. I decided to use the recording as the only sound source: everything you hear in the piece is the original recording, manipulated.  "Most of the piece was improvised by running and looping the 5 minute recording of the bamboo forest through my Eurorack modular synthesizer. I tried to focus on making my own storm around the knocks of the bamboo. The other elements in the piece come from running the sample through the filterbanks, granular algorithms, and distortions in Composer's Desktop Project. "I recorded and mixed the piece on a Tascam Model 12, and then mastered with a (sort of crappy) Behringer Tube Composer, a homemade plate reverb, and a Teac 1/4" tape machine."  Kyoto bamboo soundscape reimagined by Josh Yazbeck.

"The Red Sea is a place with such rich history and significance, it felt overwhelming to try and encapsulate it fully. The field recording reflected to me an origin point. I imagined some type of primordial soup. The biodiversity that bubbles up and flourishes in the red sea despite the salinity feels like an overlooked triumph of nature. I wanted to layer the beautiful sounds of life within the red sea with the noise of trade ships, the voice of human history and the fragility of a place that is both crucial to global exchange and a balance of power.  "The title is a nod to the relentless pursuance of something that cannot be controlled or taken, the inherent divinity in nature and the land itself." Red Sea soundscape, Egypt reimagined by Aemi Kato-Cuarezma.

"After being initially drawn to the rhythmic sounds of the sea and the tumbling rocks, I wanted to explore that process of erosion through the slow breakdown and transformation of the original field recording. In my research I learned this type of coastal erosion is called ‘attrition’ - this word is also used in a military context when the strength or effectiveness of a people is slowly reduced through sustained attacks and pressure.  "The response to the original field recording then evolved to become a reflection on the tension between this shared name of a natural process of coastal erosion, and the (in)human-made violence we are bearing witness to today." Waves in Puerto de Valldemossa reimagined by Sian Landau.

A stag vocalises in some woods in the Chiltern Hills, and in this recording you can also hear the distant sounds of shotguns as hunting season has commenced. There's also birdsong, and the sound of an aircraft flying overhead, which is an unfortunate and very common unwanted sound in this otherwise idyllic rural location. Recorded in Turville Heath, England by Cities and Memory. 

"From the title I had imagined a wild open landscape with heather and peat bogs. But no, Turville Heath is more bucolic. So I felt it represents a loss of habitat, and the man made sounds have replaced other sounds except the stag and birds.  "The piece is a lament and I have used the sounds of the jets, the stag and birds and the wind noise. All sounds bar the piano are sampled from the original source."  Stag vocalisations in Turville Heath, England reimagined by Richard Gadd.

"A sonic meditation beneath the Apple Tree. Blossom surrounds you, falling softly from the branches. You are content, the sweet flesh of the apple satisfies the deep hunger within you, sweeter than any from a mortal realm.  "Close your eyes, you are safe beneath the tree, safe in the ring of petals. In the distance, bells are calling. To pull you home? Maybe. But perhaps you should rest here a moment longer..."  Wat Indharaviharn, Bangkok reimagined by Goblin Market. 

As someone who lives in Northern Ireland, one of the most deforested countries in Europe, I was inspired by the forest ambience of Taman Negara in Malaysia, one of the worlds oldest tropical rainforests, and by a particular bird call at the heart of the recording.  The Indian Cuckoo has a beautifully distinctive and musical two tone call, and it was fun to weave orchestral and electronic textures around it, setting it at the heart of what turned out to be an atmospheric and somewhat melancholy piece. For me, the tropical rainforest sounds in the original field recording inspired dreams of the temperate Atlantic rainforests which covered much of Ireland long ago, so I added a field recording of woodland rain collected at Delamont Country Park on the shores of Strangford Lough, near my home.  Taman Negara soundscape reimagined by Neil Foster.

"Immerse yourself in the timeless symphony of Taman Negara, one of the the world’s oldest rainforest, standing tall for 130 million years. As you close your eyes and listen, you’ll be transported to a lush, vibrant world. The gentle rustling of ancient trees swaying in the breeze creates a soothing, whispering backdrop. Birds, with their exotic calls, flit through the canopy, their songs echoing through the stillness. The rhythmic croak of a distant frog and the soft splash of a hidden stream add depth to the tranquil ambiance. Above, the persistent hum of cicadas rises and falls, their resonant calls weaving a pulsating energy through the forest, like nature’s heartbeat. These ancient insects, whose songs have filled the air for millennia, provide a steady and meditative rhythm, blending perfectly with the forest’s natural cadence. The entire soundscape is slow, steady, and serene—ideal for unwinding, relaxing, or helping you drift into a peaceful sleep. Let the sounds of Taman Negara’s ageless rainforest

Outside the towering gold Buddha, the sound of soft clinking of wind chimes swaying in the breeze can be heard mingling with the sounds of the city and water features in the background. Recorded in Bangkok, Thailand by Jake Edwards. 

A group of singers clad in nautical outfits called The Original Fishtown Singers - "Fishtown" is the affectionate nickname given to the port town of Bremerhaven. Here the group change the lyrics of "Sloop John B" to refer to the town of Bremerhaven - a local flavour given to a universally-recognised song. Recorded by Cities and Memory, May 2025.  

This recording illustrates one of the crucial parts of the March of Light demonstration, which is basically a flash mob based on people showing and hiding their phones with flashlights turned on, which is then shared on social media to draw people's attention to the whole event, which is to support Ukraine in its war against its aggressor - the Russian Federation. The video with the results of this flash mob can be found on the Instagram of @mrija_org. The sounds in the recording are people raising and lowering their hands, and also people talking, cheering and chanting the most popular phrase "Slava Ukraini, Heroyam Slava" ("Glory to Ukraine, Glory to Heroes"). Recorded by Tomasz Buga. 

Our piece is inspired by a ‘March of Light’, a field recording from Austria. The rhythmic beat resembles a heartbeat. The voices that call out seem to be either a threat or a cry for help. The original piece has more darkness than light, and we worked to combine this with the tinkling melody of a steel band, which we recorded in London’s Angel Islington.  Woven around this is our field recording of the sounds of Crossbones – a medieval garden of remembrance for outcasts in London’s Borough Market area. The final track that is embedded, is an original song lyric by Stephen Mugford, inspired by a conversation overheard on a bus – a young girl feeling overwhelmed by life’s expectations. Our sound piece is plaintive, and the incessant beat feels as if it is chasing us – a fitting soundtrack to the end of 2025 – a year where it often felt it was hard to ‘even do nothing’. March of Light in Vienna reimagined by Caroline Grimshaw and Stephen Mugford.