Cities and Memory - remixing the world

"The composition is made up of samples cut from the original field recordings. These samples were: Voices, gears, doors, announcements etc. These samples have been mangled in sequencers, wavesynths and any other gear they could be put in. Synths were added to taste." Paris metro line 3 reimagined by Simon Woods.

On the Paris metro, travelling from Pere Lachaise to Parmentier - train noises, platforms, doors opening and closing and announcements in French. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Industrial port noises and drones heard at a distance next to The Great Light, with gentle wave sounds and the occasional seagull. An oppressive, industrial soundscape. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

"The original recording had a nice drone to it which I heightened with resonators. There was also some wind booms which I isolated and looped. I then mixed this down and did some live looping with it, adding dubby delays and reverbs too." Belfast port soundscape reimagined by Wave Debb.

"I wanted to capture the rolling rhythm of a water in the original field recording so I've used a series of pads and synth sounds to create that feeling. I also used a repeating piano melody to mimic the sounds of the water going over rocks etc. I tweaked the original recording to bring up the bird song." Vermont bird soundscape reimagined by Richard Watts.

In this scene in Berkshire, Vermont, a small babbling stream takes center stage as a variety of birds can be heard singing both near and far. Recorded by Chris Ruprecht.

"Inside the church of San Stae, the right wall contains altars with works by Niccolò Bambini, Giuseppe Camerata, and Antonio Balestra. The three chapels on the left house works by Giuseppe Torretto, Pietro Baratta, Francesco Migliori, and Jacopo Amigoni. "There are seven distinct synth sounds within the piece - each representing a different artist whose work can be found within the church, layered on top of one another just as the layers of history sit like a fine sediment running through the city of Venice itself. "For this piece, these synths work together to build an image of relaxing on the banks of Venice's Grand Canal with no real plans and nowhere special to go take centre stage, surrounded by a warm embrace of synthesiser pads intended to envelop the listener in a sense of comfort and belonging." The Grand Canal at San Stae reimagined by Cities and Memory.

The iconic sounds of the Grand Canal in Venice, as heard from outside the Chiesa di San Stae. The low thrum of vaporetto taxis and smaller boats, the lapping of water on the sides of the canal, the conversations of locals zipping up past us on boats, all on a warm, sultry summer afternoon. Reimagined by Cities and Memory.

"A walk through the Spice Market and the surrounding area in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. It's 11 a.m. on September 7, 2019." Recorded by Azadeh Nilchiani.

"My track “Pointe-à-Pitre” is based on a field recording from a spice Market in Pointe-à-Pitre, Guadeloupe. I was drawn to the field recording because it captures the magical atmosphere of the city. I can imagine being taken away by the smell of the spices, fruits and vegetables at the market on this Caribbean paradise. "It is this feeling that I have infused in this reimagined music, of being in the heart of Guadeloupe Islands, soaking up the enjoyment of that Caribbean lifestyle. The sun, the colors, the smells. Walking through the market, listening to the sounds of life stirs my imagination. A variety of unexpected sounds weave in and out of my composition, taking unexpected turns, but at the same time enhancing the listening experience. “Pointe-à-Pitre” was a real joy to create. Enjoy!" Spice market in Guadeloupe reimagined by Jeff Dungfelder.

"Reimagined the streets of Montmartre as haunted from the ghosts of the past." Montmartre street recording reimagined by VVHΛLTHISИEY.

"My recollection of this field recording was standing in Campo San Giacomo di Rialto at 4pm, after an entire day of recording the sounds of Venice - my favourite urban space in the world for sound recording. The sun was warm and mellow, and the campo was unusually quiet and empty considering its proximity to the Rialto Bridge, one of Venice's most popular and crowded tourist spots. "The trickle of water from a small fountain cut through the air, and when the bells chimed the hour, I felt lucky to be alive, and fortunate to be spending time doing what I love in one of the most beautiful places in the world. This piece brings together strings, synths, brass and tape degradation effects in an attempt to encapsulate that feeling - along with the title, obviously inspired by DJ Shadow's midnight." Rialto Bridge walkthrough reimagined by Cities and Memory.

A walkthrough across Venice's iconic Rialto Bridge, through the market at the bottom of the bridge, and out into Campo San Giacomo di Rialto. In this quiet square just away from the hustle and bustle of one of Venice's most popular tourist spots, all we can hear is the gentle trickle of a water fountain, and the bells chiming for 4pm. An unusually contemplative and mellow end to a soundscape of what is often one of the most frantic and crowded destinations in Venice. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

"The sound of the migrating terns is replaced by violins playing a the same rhythm as a short loop of the field recording. This pattern is faded in and out with other orchestral string instruments playing similar tern patterns." Migrating terns reimagined by Simon Woods.

Tern colony at Cemlyn Bay, Anglesey. Sandwich, Common and Arctic tern migrate from Africa or as far as the Antarctic for the Artic tern every spring to breed there and then head back each autumn hopefully with young terns following them. Recorded by Phil Cunliffe.

"I listened and listened to the beautiful recording and played along the best I could on my acoustic guitar to form an idea. I used the recording complete in places and cut up and sampled in others , to creat a kind of vocal line to the piece. "To step outside of times relentless flow is a journey , a holiday if you like. A trip away from the everyday. Music for me is the escape , the trip , the journey. "The voices on the recording filled me full of awe and wonder. Each voice individual and unique in its own right but carried along by the songs never changing flow. "I tried to capture this in the piece. A journey of wonder using repetitive rhythmical forms but changing each and every time whilst cascading towards the journeys crescendo and ultimate end." Masai Mara warriors' song reimagined by Daniel Chudley - Le Corre. Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.

"In my mind, a pier is almost always a busy place, people are coming or going and that alone brings excitement. For those who in fact are on the pier to embark on a voyage it is perhaps even more exciting. Remember the feeling as a child going on your first travel by boat, being in the moment just before embarking, feel the tremble of joy, but also of fear of the unknown. What may happen once out to sea? But then the anticipation overrides and we get on board to sail for the horizon. "The piece is built on the recording by Catherine Boulle in its entirety and some parts of it were used as percussion. For the rest of it the music is composed on a grand piano manipulated with a computer." Cape Town pier reimagined by Stefan Klaverdal. Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.

"A period of time a few minutes long fifty-eight years wide." "This recording gave such a strong sense of a moment in time held still - the way in which the space of a minute in the middle of the night can take on the same qualities as an hour during daylight. "The nighttime rainfall sits as a bed throughout the track, which overall is structured into one section punctuated by the calls of an owl, and a second that highlights the cries of the deer. "The instrumentation chosen - strings, brass and flute for the most part - is intended to evoke something of the sense of wonder of being in such close proximity to the natural world. "The overall feel is inspired by the Tomas Transtromer poem quoted above, from which the title comes: A page of the night book I stepped ashore one May night in the cool moonshine where grass and flowers were grey but the scent green. I glided up the slope in the colour-blind night while white stones signalled to the moon. A period of time a few minutes long fifty-eight years wide. And behind me beyond the lead-shimmering waters was the other shore and those who ruled. People with a future instead of a face. Nighttime nature sounds in France reimagined by Cities and Memory. Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.

"I loved how the field recording provided a really nice atmospheric layer to the song. The interesting thing is that the recording has different moments as in one part you hear the sounds of the waves and in another, human voices combined with other elements that inhabit the place. "This song talks about the wish of feeling nature, of experimenting the outside. I think that the feelings of travel and adventure are reflected in the musical creative process. In this case Giuliana and I embarked on a musical style different from what we usually compose and we enjoyed so much. This song was a new journey for us." Belém Tower reimagined by Maribel Tafur & Giu. Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.

"I used the field recording unedited and throughout the duration of my piece. It inspired me to put myself in the outdoors, listen to the sounds of nature in the recording and transfer how this made me feel into music: peaceful and hopeful, and then adventurous. I started with a piano solo and build instrumentation around it. I also drew inspiration from the classic composition by the Finnish composer Jean Sibelius, hence the name 'Finlandia'." Pepperskär Hamnen, Finland reimagined by Kid Kin. Part of the Sound of Adventure project in partnership with Exodus Travels. To learn more and explore the full collection, visit https://citiesandmemory.com/adventure.