"The recording is of a tornado warning siren with howling wind and rain.
Although we don't get tornadoes in my part of the world, I do enjoy stormy weather- from the comfort of my own cozy home. This is what I imagined when creating this piece: a warm cozy home where you can ignore the chaos going on around you.
"The title, "Placid island" is from a H. P. Lovecraft- Call of Cthulhu quote, "We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity, and it was not meant that we should voyage far"."
Fisherville tornado warning siren reimagined by Lynn Findlay.
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Calm before the storm: Kentucky tornado
There have been talks of a large storm moving in after many tornadoes had already touched down in the western part of the state earlier that day. Just before midnight, the rain calms down as the clouds lower, and the tornado sirens begin.
I sit outside recording the dissonant yet beautiful cacophony of the overlapping sirens while neighbours step outside to asses the situation before the storm picks up and everyone makes their way to take shelter as the tornado touches down nearby. Sheltering in the basement as the tornado touches down, your ears pop as if an airplane is taking off due to the rapid change in pressure.
The tornado passed by, leaving my childhood home unscathed, but others in the state were not so lucky. Days after these storms, the City of Louisville experienced one of the worst floods in its history.
Recorded by Andrew Ramsey.
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Irreversible change
"Irreversible Change is an ambient track built around a field recording captured at the Pryvoz Market. The natural bustle of the environment is anchored by a sparse, glitchy beat created withthe Air DrumSynth. The rest of the soundscape is shaped by a piano-like Sonic Charge Synplant 2 patch, which floats over the glitchy percussion and the chaotic market noise."
Pryvoz market, Ukraine reimagined by Karhide.
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Red earth, white paint
This recording was made during a Kathakali performance — a traditional Indian theatre art form native to the Malayalam-speaking state of Kerala. It captures a 9-minute percussive piece performed by an ensemble featuring the Chenda and Maddalam, two prominent drums of the tradition, accompanied by the echoing tones of Chengila (gong) and Elathalam (cymbals).
Recorded from the audience’s perspective, the audio reflects not just the instruments themselves but also the layered soundscape projected through nearby speakers, with occasional murmurs that ground the recording in the real-life atmosphere of the performance.
Recorded in Ettumanoor, India by Manu Krishnakumar.
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Pryvoz market, Odessa
Recording at Pryvoz Market in Odessa was a mix of emotions. The market buzzed with life, as vendors sold goods and people clung to everyday routines despite the ongoing conflict. There was a sense of resilience in the air, but beneath the bustle, a quiet sadness lingered.
It reflected the uncertainty of the war between Ukraine and Russia, casting a shadow over the moments of normalcy that still persisted.
Recorded by Rafael Diogo.
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 7,000 sounds featured on our sound map, spread over more than 130 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
UK