Podcast
Cities and Memory - remixing the world
Hosted by Cities and Memory · EN
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
11episodes
Episodes
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Cities and Memory interview on BBC 6music Cerys Matthews show
1w ago00:28:36Tap to summarizeBroadcast 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.
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Bestwood birds
1w ago00:01:34Tap to summarizeWoodland birds recorded during daytime in Nottinghamshire, England. Blue tits are very prominent in the recording.Recorded by Tim Hills.
Transcribe →Birdsong in dub
1w ago00:03:25Tap to summarize"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.
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Playing dice, Bishkek
2w ago00:03:55Tap to summarizeA 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.
Transcribe →Tumbling between mountains
2w ago00:04:13Tap to summarize"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.
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Underscoring the morning
3w ago00:05:21Tap to summarizeThe 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.
Transcribe →Morning birds at the edge of the city
3w ago00:03:00Tap to summarizeRecorded 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.
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Migrant bird crisis
3w ago00:09:35Tap to summarizeThis 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.
Transcribe →Warning siren, Patton, PA
3w ago00:02:02Tap to summarizeThe siren sounds everyday, randomly. Sometimes twice or three times. The birds are anxious.Recorded in Patton, Pennsylvania, USA by Xanthra DuFrane.
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We're still standing
Jun 1500:08:56Tap to summarize"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.
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