Episodes
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"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. -
Missing episodes?
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"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. -
"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. -
"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. -
"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. -
"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. -
"A sleepy harbour at Pepperskär on the island of Järsö, 12km south of Mariehamn, Åland's capital. It's just after 7am on a Sunday. The roe deer on the road vanish into the woods as I arrive, the gulls haven't yet flown in from the rocky havens in the bay.
"A slight breeze stirs the tide to softly lap the the wood-clad harbour walls and the hulls of the handful of boats moored therein. Alongside the rough cawing of early rising crows, and the calls of various smaller birds filling acoustic niches as they rouse, a lone grey heron remains silent."
Recorded in Finland by Julian Weaver.
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. -
"People from across Chiang Mai and the globe training in a Muay Thai gym."
Recorded in Chiang Mai, Thailand by Alex Boyesen.
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. -
"The field recording from the martial arts studio in Thailand is over 20 minutes long, so I initially selected several parts that appealed to me because of their athletic energy, community spirit and sweat.
"I chose sound sections that reflect the general training atmosphere in the room and, of course, the sports activities with rhythmic sequences. Muay Thai is a national sport in Thailand, so I also wanted to incorporate traditional musical elements and instruments of the culture without falling too much into clichés or appropriating them culturally.
"Martial arts is similar to dance choreography, so I instinctively created a danceable piece. My track is intended to show the anticipation and sense of adventure of a Western European who is curious to discover an Asian culture."
Muay Thai gym reimagined by Giant Skeletons.
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. -
"Quite coincidentally, the track "CO-PI-I" was made on the go during my recent travels in late 2023. I believe it happened for a good reason since it serves the purpose of the "Sound of Adventure" project.
"Over the years I made an interesting observation. Before venturing into new territory, two things happen: first - we suddenly are opened to fantasy, meditating on possible/probable experiences and adventures; and second - activate that sleeping inner child in us, eager to play "make believe" and explore uncharted worlds.
"It is a certain kind of excitement and anticipation many of us indulge in before setting foot on a new playground.
"I felt these dynamics and characteristics in the chosen field recording, then built up on the inspiration. Curiosity is a hunger that makes us seek new skies, smell fresh air, and try flavors we've never tasted.
"I find our ability to make up a version of a place apriori intriguing. This version is made of bits and pieces of various knowledge, from previous cultural encounters to tales and the internet, etc. All these elements contribute to our collage of a place, creating a potential for the next journey.
"Often, the real deal drastically differs from the product of imagination. Still, the fantasy is exciting and rewarding.
"'CO-PI-I' is just that, a fantasy about a place never experienced; a puzzle I put together with the field recording in the very center.
"Why did I choose Vietnam? I could've easily picked a country I am familiar with, though, I wanted to create something based out of pure curiosity. A projection of a place never visited, based on all the elements mentioned. Hoping one day to compare fantasy with reality."
"'COPII' incidentally stands for quite a few meaningful things. First, it means children in the Romanian language. Second, an existing organization that helps kids in Vietnam is called COPI, which I accidentally found upon googling.
"Third, COPII is also a protein complex, and fourth - COP stands for Conference of Parties that holds United Nations Climate Change Conferences.
"All things considered, I hope there is enough room left for creating a fantasy, aided by the sounds of Vietnam."
Nature in Vietnam reimagined by Serge Bulat.
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 dense and captivating dawn chorus of Vietnamese wildlife in Huyện Đà Bắc, Hòa Bình, Vietnam. The waking of animals, birds, insects and people on the edge of a lake in the jungle at around 5am."
Recorded in Vietnam by Kit Wilmans Fegradoe.
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. -
"The field recording in this piece inspired me to create a story about how an adventure can begin feeling dark and uncertain but can then open up to an expanse of lightness and magic.
"Often when I have travelled, being in an unknown places it can feel unsettling but often hidden gifts reveal themselves when you immerse yourself in all that it has to offer."
Vermont, USA dawn chorus reimagined by Firephly.
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. - Show more