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Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Cities and Memory

Cities and Memory remixes the world, one sound at a time - a global collaboration between artists and sound recordists all over the world.

The project presents an amazingly-diverse array of field recordings from all over the world, but also reimagined, recomposed versions of those recordings as we go on a mission to remix the world.

What you'll hear in the podcast are our latest sounds - either a field recording from somewhere in the world, or a remixed new composition based solely on those sounds. Each podcast description tells you more about what you're hearing, and where it came from.

There are more than 8,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 140 countries and territories. The sounds cover parts of the world as diverse as the hubbub of San Francisco’s main station, traditional fishing women’s songs at Lake Turkana, the sound of computer data centres in Birmingham, spiritual temple chanting in New Taipei City or the hum of the vaporetto engines in Venice. You can explore the project in full at www.citiesandmemory.com

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August 8 · 6 min
The gate opens
Cities and Memory: "A special recording like this needed special treatment, so I had a collaboration in mind from the outset when starting on the music. Thinking about that, I set out to create a track that evoked the feeling of the dusk skies and the mellow heat of the African savannah. The field recording was full of different voices and tones, so using it as a bed for the track required some careful splicing and placement so that those voices appeared in the track in the right moments, complementing but not intruding. And of course, there's a buildup towards the entrance of the star of the show, the lion, the track building up towards its appearance near the end. "Having created this ambient track with a collaboration - and specifically with some vocals - in mind, I approached micca, as I've been a huge fan of all her contributions to Cities and Memory so far. Together we worked on the concept of the lion's gate portal as the way into the track. Once the vocals were in place, I remixed and re-edited the track, restructuring it around the words and creating more space and balance for the vocals and field recording to breathe naturally. In the end, it feels like a three-way collaboration in space and time between the moment Rafa experienced when recording this extraordinary soundscape, and our creative responses to it. "This is about mood and meaning - I tried to provide the mood, and micca brought the meaning." micca: "I often look to nature for inspiration when writing music. While working with a field recording and an ambient piece by two collaborators, the lion's roars immediately caught my attention. It's not a sound you come across very often, and it naturally became the creative spark for the piece. "As I continued writing, I was drawn to the symbolism of the Lion's Gate and its themes of courage, personal power and new beginnings, celebrated each year on 8/8. While it's an important event in astrology, I think its themes can speak to anyone: reconnecting with your own strength, finding your voice, and letting go of what no longer serves you. Those ideas became the intention behind the vocals. "Some of the vocals are spoken, others are sung, so creating them wasn't just about finding the right words. They had to sit naturally with the ambient music, match its key and pace, and become part of the overall sound through recording, processing and mixing. My hope is that the final piece feels like one shared conversation between nature, music and voice." Lions at dusk in Tanzania reimagined by Cities and Memory and micca.
August 8 · 4 min
Lions at dusk, Tanzania
The microphones were set metres away from the lions as the light dropped off and the temperature shifted. The lions are close. This is by far the most dangerous recording I have ever done. Their voices hold weight, spreading slowly across the savannah, overlapping in uneven intervals. There is a sense of space in the gaps between each call. What carries first is distance, low frequency calls moving across open ground, travelling further than expected in the cooling air. This was not a controlled recording. The position was exposed, visibility was low, and movement nearby could not always be placed. The decision was deliberate but dangerous, but the outcome was worth it. If you listen beyond the foreground, there are secondary layers: hyenas further out, thinner and more erratic in pitch, and closer still, intermittent movement from baboons, short, nervous gestures in the mid range. Well, the sound of a savannah at its best. Recorded in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania by Rafael Diogo. Photo by Keyur Nandaniya on Unsplash.
July 27 · 28 min
Cities and Memory interview on BBC 6music Cerys Matthews show
Broadcast on BBC 6music, Sunday 26 July 2026. Cerys Matthews talks to Cities and Memory creator Stuart Fowkes about disappearing and obsolete sounds, and introduces the project. Includes musical selections by Stuart from Can, Broadcast, Stuart Dempster, William Basinski & Janek Schaefer and The For Carnation.
July 27 · 1 min
Bestwood birds
Woodland birds recorded during daytime in Nottinghamshire, England. Blue tits are very prominent in the recording. Recorded by Tim Hills.
July 27 · 3 min
Birdsong in dub
"I took a pice of birdsong I had recorded and played around with the Flextime function in Logic. I added stereo echo and then a couple of synth parts from Alchemy and this is the result.: Birdsong in Bestwood, England reimagined by Tim Hills.
July 23 · 3 min
Playing dice, Bishkek
A few old men play a game of dice at the outskirts of the sprawling Osh Bazaar. They slap down small bills before rolling the dice on a wooden board and chain smoke cheap cigarettes. The smoke drifts into the pharmacy next door. They seemingly sell flooring at some point too. While bustling, the bazaar is more calm here; everyone is relaxed and kind. Recorded by wwjd.
July 23 · 4 min
Tumbling between mountains
"A mix of the casual tumbling dice in their cup and the majestically remote mountains that cover the land outside of Bishkek." Dice game at Osh Bazaar, Bishkek reimagined by wwjd.
July 15 · 5 min
Underscoring the morning
The original recording conjures a restful yet lively ambience that brings to life what early morning in this part of Chisinau must feel like. As the recordist Rafa notes, there is 'a distant sense of the urban world behind them' in the original recording, which in this composition is brought to the forefront not to clash with the birdsong, but to complement it. The response is flavoured with multiple layers of vintage 70s and 80s-inspired synthesiser sounds to build a soundtrack to early morning. The different layers and cadences of synth parts represent the different roles played by diverse bird species in creating this early morning soundscape, as well as harmonising the elements of nature and the city, instead of placing them in opposition. Chisinau morning bird chorus reimagined by Cities and Memory.
July 15 · 3 min
Morning birds at the edge of the city
Recorded early in the morning in a green area on the outskirts of Chișinău, this piece listens to the softer edge of the city. Birds fill the space, with only a distant sense of the urban world behind them. It shows another side of the capital: quieter, greener, more open. The recording feels like a pause from the streets, where nature comes forward and the city almost disappears into the background. Recorded in Chisinau, Moldova by Rafael Diogo.
July 15 · 9 min
Migrant bird crisis
This piece was inspired by a recording of a klaxon in Patton, PA that seemed to warn of nothing on a spring morning but the arrival of migrant birds. Patton klaxon sound reimagined by Xanthra DuFrane.
July 15 · 2 min
Warning siren, Patton, PA
The siren sounds everyday, randomly. Sometimes twice or three times. The birds are anxious. Recorded in Patton, Pennsylvania, USA by Xanthra DuFrane.
June 15 · 8 min
We're still standing
"I retained, without adjustment, the field-recording of chanting on a football terrace. My initial sense was of masculine celebration, the chants serving as a barometer for pride and rivalry. However, with the rhythmic fluctuations, my layered loops and snatches of dialogue shifted the celebratory mood. Repetitive, loopable refrains began to drone and persist with what I perceived as a tense 'possibility of emotional volatility', creating an unpredictable subversion." Horsham FC football chants reimagined by Rachael Adams.
June 15 · 1 min
Lardy Boys singing at Horsham FC
The Lardy Boys, also known as the Lardy Army, is the name of the supporters at Horsham FC. This is a sample of them singing on a match day. Recorded by Pauline Howley.
June 12 · 3 min
Sweet memories of Kawasaki
"I found the idea of candy cutting and the cheerful voices on the original recording very reminiscent of a childhood memory. The fact that I cannot understand the Japanese being spoken makes it further seem like a hazy memory. "I wanted to retain the cheerful, nostalgic tone that I perceived while adding a melodic component on top of the rhythm created naturally by the candy cutting." Candy cutting in Kawasaki reimagined by David Jolly.
June 12 · 3 min
Tontoko: sugar cut on Kawasaki Daishi Street
On the street leading to Kawasaki Daishi, the sharp, percussive sound of hand‑cut sugar candy forms a steady rhythm. Shopkeepers’ voices enter from both sides, calling out “Welcome” and offering tastes of candy just cut moments before. Recorded in Kawasaki, Japan by Miduno.
June 12 · 20 min
Lake Masek night chaos
| A wild night at Lake Masek in Ndutu, Tanzania. Hear hyenas whooping, lions roaring, jackals calling, hippos grunting, zebras barking, and flamingos vocalizing-all in one incredible soundscape. Perfect for immersion, study, sleep, or experiencing the true chaos of the African night. Recorded in Ngorongoro, Arusha, Tanzania by David Joseph.
June 12 · 8 min
The darkness is rising
"I spend a lot of my time leading community choirs and singing protest songs, rousing anthems of freedom and liberty - and now, more than ever, they are needed. This is not a protest song, it is a plea. Ask yourself, which side are you on?" Together Alliance protest in London reimagined by Rebecca Denniff.
June 12 · 6 min
Underland
"This is my second attempt at producing a piece of music using the source sample. The original sample contains a clean, distinct loop of tribal drumming, and at first I constructed a piece based on that loop, with rhythmic and melodic elements stacked, and arranged into an EDM piece. "That was a bit too obvious, so instead I took the loop, deconstructed it, and applied pitch-shifting, filtering and other processing to elements to come up with the low-frequency sounds (at 52s, and later in the track) as well as the various bleeps and glitches that run through the track (the original loop - in a processed form - is also in there, reversed and pushed back in the mix). "The other elements, sections and movements grew out of those treated sounds organically; I didn't plan in any great detail how I wanted it to sound, and serendipity definitely played a part in how it turned out, but it is influenced to a degree by the book Underland by Robert MacFarlane (hence the title) - I wanted to convey some of the imagery and concepts in that work (deep time, and the physical heaviness of the world beneath our feet), and used low-frequency and heavily reverbed sounds, as well as a slow tempo (55bpm) to create a sense of drama, depth and space. "More of my music can be found here: https://filmclub1.bandcamp.com." Drumming in a park in Hannover reimagined by Mark Gordon (Film Club).
June 12 · 3 min
Holding Death Wall
"This is a collaboration with pianist and composer Leah Floyeurs. We worked with sensitivity to honour the vibrational signature of this location in space, the Auschwitz Death Wall, which holds the memory of the Holocaust. The piece uses electronics and piano." Auschwitz Death Wall recording reimagined by Helen Copnall and Leah Floyeurs.
June 12 · 6 min
Lake Masek
"Spend the day at Lake Masek, join The Northern Synthesizer Orchestra on an audio journey from dawn to dusk. Created collaboratively by The NSO which is Becky, Jordan, Dom, Julie and V. " Lake Masek soundscape reimagined by The Northern Synthesizer Orchestra.

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