Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Inside Gare du Nord, an unusual sonic addition - the fake sounds of birdsong piped in from speakers in the ceiling. The intention, I'm sure, is to bring a little nature into the station and to help travellers feel more relaxed. 
However, the combination of the huge station space, the volume of the bird calls and the speaker position leads 90% of travellers to ignore the sounds, 5% to look extremely confused at what's going on, and about another 5% to listen, notice and smile. 
The birdsong also blends into the beeping of the ticket gate - nature and machinery together in sound. 
Recorded in Paris, France in February 2026 by Cities and Memory.

At the famous "animal hole" in Bremen, a drain cover with a difference! Pop a coin in and the sounds of animals from the famous Brothers Grimm fairy tale "The Town Musicians of Bremen" play in turn - first the cockerel, then the cat, then the dog, then the donkey. 
This binaural recording was late at night when the square was deserted, meaning the sound travelled clearly out into the night air, instead of being obscured by the usual bustling sounds of the evening.
Recorded in May 2025 in Bremen, Germany by Cities and Memory.

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 inside an artificial rainforest experience based on Cameroon, with rain, thunder and tropical birdsong. 
Recorded in May 2025 by Cities and Memory.

"‘This is not a simulation?’ - raises the question what is real, am I dreaming, are we in an alternate reality?
"For the Cities and Memory Spring Project I found myself drawn to an audio recording made on the platform of the Gare Du Nord in Paris. Interestingly a key feature of the recording is some fake birdsong perhaps being piped over loudspeakers onto the platform whilst everyday passengers are milling about and passing through the station.
"I wondered what could be fake birdsong? I also thought about train travel and the mesmeric sounds made by a train passing along the tracks. Having recently been on a long journey to New Zealand and back I reflected on the fact that travel itself takes you outside of your normal frame of reference into another reality.
"Philip K. Dick wrote a series of short stories called, Electric Dreams a common thematic is the idea of losing one’s self in another reality. In ‘Exhibit Piece’ the main character finds himself confused having been transported back in time into an earlier reality, into what he thought was a museum exhibit, but he is now experiencing it as his own reality, but simultaneously his memories are from the present day and he tries to grapple with these two conflicting realities.
"The project requires that the original audio is used somewhere, somehow within the new track. There are no other rules other than a minimum / maximum length. You will hear some of the original audio, but I have also taken samples converted to midi as part of the process of creating the rest of the track. Other recorded bird sounds and a recording of a small bell responding to the wind build additional layers.
"This track is not harmonic or built around typical compositional ideas. It is instead a slightly surreal and a glitchy jarring rendering of sounds including percussive elements, are we perhaps hearing what a bird might be able to hear? There is hopefully an idea of going on a journey, departing, passing through some other space or time and then arriving perhaps changed. At some point was it not real? Is this real now or is it a simulation?"
Gare du Nord piped birdsong reimagined by Taylor Nuttall.

"How can humans stay human when we’re far away from our home planet? 
"How does it affect us when there are no familiar animals nearby?
"As the countdown begins, we take off, heading for the moon base. Once there, daily tasks turn routine and we begin to miss the sounds of Earth. But, the engineers of Bremen have hidden a control panel in the habitat with unexpected outcomes.
""Bremen to Moon" is inspired by the city of Bremen's traditions and innovations. It begins with a field recording of the Bremer Loch, an underground charitable donation box. Each donation activates a sound from "The Town Musicians of Bremen" fairy tale.
"Bremen is also home to Airbus, which helped build the European Service Module (ESM) for NASA’s Artemis program. The ESM provides power, oxygen, nitrogen, and water to the astronauts. These life systems are critical to space travel and the ultimate goal of building a permanent moon base."
Bremen's animal hole reimagined by Alexandra Pierschalla.