Best Cities And Memory Podcasts (2024)

1
Monarchs 5:46

12h ago5:46

5:46

"I often wondered if I was a migrant, until the day I recorded these monarch butterflies in Mexico in March 2015 for an art project. I was surrounded by thousands of monarchs, known for their long annual migration between Mexico and the United States, and at the same time, I was mourning my grandmother, who had passed away in France, back “home”. "…

1
Gendered street demonstrations 1:17

14h ago1:17

1:17

"We can hear sounds of the March 8 women's day demonstration in Mexico City in which Mexican and migrant women and gender diverse people raised their voices against gendered violence and to foster solidarity and equity. The recording relates to the theme of migration as some of the participants are migrants who face multiple forms of violence acros…

1
Interview with a Syrian rescue worker 9:34

12h ago9:34

9:34

"This is a casual interview recorded with Astoun, a rescue worker with SOS Méditerranée, on board the charity ship the Ocean Viking. "Originally from Syria, Astoun travelled irregularly to Europe in the wake of the Syrian civil war, and after some time in Europe decided he wanted to use his maritime background to assist others in similar situations…

1
Ocean Viking sea rescue 6:28

12h ago6:28

6:28

"This is the sound of three teams on rigid-hull inflatable boats rescuing around 130 people from an overloaded rubber boat in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, around 2 in the morning on the 27th of December, 2022. "The rescuees, almost all of whom were from West Africa, were attempting to reach Europe from Libya - where they had suffered extens…

1
Children on board the Ocean Viking 1:02

12h ago1:02

1:02

"This is a collage of the sound of children between the ages of 3 and 9, speaking in various West African dialects, playing with my radio equipment onboard the charity rescue ship the Ocean Viking on the 28th of December 2022. "The day before, the children along with their guardians had been rescued from a dangerously overcrowded boat in the waters…

1
Monarch butterflies' moonlight symphony 7:00

12h ago7:00

7:00

"I fell in love with the sound of the monarch butterflies – their beating wings – the delicacy and the strength - the very particular frequencies they sound at, the way in which the remarkable field recording allows us to hear individual beating wings, and the potential to both highlight this and to also create a layering thrum. "I read about the m…

1
Forgotten motion 5:09

12h ago5:09

5:09

"The voices of the children in this really spoke to me. Migration can be very challenging but can also be exciting and adventurous. I wanted to convey that by using some melancholic feeling sounds but also in adding the voices of the children and optimistic sounds and patterns." Ocean Viking children recording reimagined by Firephly. Part of the Mi…

1
Tidett 6:27

12h ago6:27

6:27

"How to intensify the chaos, courage, hope, broken life stories, action, deep sorrow, and erratic joy contained in the original soundscape? I decided not to intervene temporally. What you hear is what happened in real-time. There are modulations of rhythm and frequency, which give way to a line of three violins and a cello, a piano, and synthesized…

1
Astoun 16:43

12h ago16:43

16:43

"Astoun’s words are a beautiful, moving, and human story of a remarkable life and sense of purpose. It is a story of direct lived experience. While Astoun speaks gently - what he talks about, about his ‘case’ to help others, is both powerful and the essence of the human spirit of giving. "For the piece we removed most of the interviewer’s questions…

1
Tear/tear 2:58

12h ago2:58

2:58

"Tear/tear is a piece inspired by all the women from the global South who have migrated to the global North, and by the work of the recording’s author, Abril Rios Rivera. As I learned about Abril and her research on migrant women, I started reflecting on my own journey migrating from Colombia to the UK. Her research focuses on understanding what dr…

1
Threads across the sea 5:02

3h ago5:02

5:02

"This piece is a collaboration between composer Sarah Jenkins, sound artist Noah Lawson and poet Shukria Rezaei, and was created for the Odyssey Ensemble. The foundation for the piece is the recording provided by the Cities and Migration Sounds project, in which is heard the celebration of a group of West African migrants who had recently been resc…

1
Mindful of Malta 4:34

3h ago4:34

4:34

"Both of my parents were from Malta. As I child growing up in Brixton in the 1980s, there was a very small Maltese community. I would go to Maltese mass with my parents. There was never an organ being played for people to sing along too, but everyone used to sing in Maltese. My parents migrated to the UK after World War Two as there was no work. I …

1
Leaving Libya 1:12

3h ago1:12

1:12

Three Kenyan women are returning home from Libya through an IOM repatriation scheme. They were forced to abandon their larger suitcases when checking-in, and were attempting to repack their belongings into their carry-ons and an IOM-issued tote bag in the departures lounge. Migrants from other countries were also being repatriated on the same fligh…

1
Ocean Viking celebrations 1:15

3h ago1:15

1:15

This is the sound of asylum seekers, mostly from West Africa, onboard the rescue ship the Ocean Viking in the Mediterranean, on the evening of the 27th of December 2022. Very early that morning, they had been rescued from a perilously overcrowded rubber boat in the middle of the sea, hundreds of kilometres from land and without life jackets or navi…

1
Managing urban transit in a city of migration 2:52

3h ago2:52

2:52

What does urban sprawl sound like in a traffic-choked city? This recording is of a street intersection in a residential part of Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan. The whistle is from a policeman who has been instructed to stand amidst the traffic so as to over-ride the traffic lights, because the traffic lights can't deal with the volume of urban traffic. Bishke…

1
Midday mass 2:55

3h ago2:55

2:55

This is recording of a midday, midweek mass attended by a few elderly women in the cathedral in Victoria, Gozo, and is a sound that is deeply embedded in my memory of place and immediately connects me to the experience of growing up in Malta. I am not religious but lived with my Maltese family and went to church as everyone did, saint or sinner! It…

1
Après l'heure d'or 2:20

3h ago2:20

2:20

"The harrowing journey of these migrants is incredibly powerful and emotional. The field recording is their celebration after being rescued at sea by the Ocean Viking. My musical contribution hopefully speaks to this moment. It's a moment of relief, joy, community, and compassion." Ocean Viking celebration reimagined by Eulipion Corps. Part of the …

1
Reflection 4:10

3h ago4:10

4:10

"When I received the original recording, I’ve noticed this kind of a strange reflection that exist in an environment of recording. All sounds, despite whole noisiness of the space, were somehow reflected almost like a regular delay line. I took this phenomenon as a main subject in composition. "During the work on the material, I’d been trying to "z…

1
Phantomwhere 3:01

3h ago3:01

3:01

"This field recording made me think of different layers of migration - firstly, the population’s general tendency to move to the capital from other parts of the country. Secondly, the people moving between the parts of the city. Thirdly, an internal migration - drifting away from the traffic jam to a dreamlike space where the environmental sounds a…

1
Nomadication 6:17

3h ago6:17

6:17

"The original field recording and story was a testament to home, a sound, a smell, a feeling that takes us back to somewhere we once called home. I wanted to capture some of that in a hazy distant feel of the first part of the track, the distant sounds of church bells in a hazy memory, but I wanted the second part of the track to be powerful, drive…

1
Binario 2 8:18

3h ago8:18

8:18

"This track is composed entirely from samples taken from the original recording. I have worked with the textures, resonances and naturally occurring rhythms in the recording. The sounds of the train moving along the tracks, the mechanical sounds of doors opening and closing, and the movements and voices of people on and off the train, as well as th…

1
Dominic's song 1:32

3h ago1:32

1:32

Dominic is an immigrant from Senegal, West Africa, who has been living in Padova in Italy for a number of years, performing as busker in the same spot every single day. We had been enjoying listening to his beautiful voice and songs from his home every time we visited the city for several years until last year we finally stopped and spoke to him to…

1
Trenitalia: voices of migration 6:53

3h ago6:53

6:53

In the recording, we hear the arrival of Trenitalia 20984, a regional train headed to Trieste Centrale station. As the train comes to a stop, voices of Italians and migrants are audible, suggesting a diverse mix of individuals disembarking. The migrants, predominantly from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and India, among other nationalities, are intercepted…

1
La campana della sera 3:34

3h ago3:34

3:34

This sound comes from the local church of the town in northern Italy where I grew up. It's been a regular, dependable, unchanging part of my life until I left home, and even after I left home, first moving cities, and then countries, and only came back to visit. The "campana della sera" (evening bell) used to ring every night at 21:00 for exactly f…

1
Almaty railway station, main hall and platform 6:32

3h ago6:32

6:32

This recording was made in the midst of my migration from Russia to Uzbekistan, through Kazakhstan. At this moment, I have been in a position of forced exile for a little over a month. If I were to describe my condition, the words would be shock, depression and complete confusion. But at the same time there is hope for the best. At the time of reco…

1
Migration dedication 1:48

3h ago1:48

1:48

"Dear Dominic, "This is dedicated to you: a true inspiration for me. "I am also a musician and sound worker immigrant, Italian in Berlin. Here I am with my flute, trying to weave my celebration of you and your music, now our music. "I am immensely proud of you as an immigrant and a musician, to succeed in changing the landscape of a city by bringin…

1
Eritromea 10:44

3h ago10:44

10:44

"I didn't know much about Eritrea, or its history, so it was interesting to dig deeper in to that history and that of Eritrean culture, the Eritrean diaspora and the church in Rome where the field recording was made. I kept the field recording as it was, and looped it for ten minutes, as I found the recording powerful and wanted to keep that going …

1
In the station 6:57

4h ago6:57

6:57

"The field recording notes really struck me, especially that feeling of shock and confusion. I’m realizing that the sense of a place, the experience of it, those feelings don’t exist in themselves, but they’re a conversation/confrontation with the listener’s sense of self. "I played flute along with the recording, and that maybe acts as the "self,"…

1
Nostalgia from the east 6:11

2h ago6:11

6:11

"Nostalgia from the east" fuses techno beats with Indian sitar, tabla, and Arabic vocals, creating a unique blend of modern and traditional sounds. Inspired by a field recording from the bustling streets of India, the track captures the essence of migration and cultural exchange. The ambient street noises serve as a backdrop, adding depth to the rh…

1
The rhythm of routine: sounds from my street 2:07

2h ago2:07

2:07

This recording captures the vibrant and dynamic sounds of a neighborhood in motion. As we listen, we hear the distinct bark of dogs, a common presence in many communities, signaling either the arrival of their owners or responding to the bustling street life. The intermittent honking of cars weaves through the audio, painting a picture of a busy ro…

1
Promises 10:21

2h ago10:21

10:21

"The recording and the story behind it were so pure and real that I couldn't do much. I used the recording with almost no processing and then a simple melody came out naturally. The drone of a Lyra 8 sustains the entire piece and it blends perfectly with the soundscape of the recording. "Promises" is a statement about leaving, coming back and imagi…

1
Dear Sourya 2:32

2h ago2:32

2:32

"Sourya's recording from the balcony of her grandmother's soon-to-be demolished house in Kolkata struck me sonically as a conversation between the different sounds on the street - crows, cars, bicycles. "It also moved me as a story - at some time in our lives, in some circumstances or other, we all have the experience of saying goodbye to a place f…

1
Promises of home 1:57

2h ago1:57

1:57

This recording was taken with an iPhone-mounted mic in a late spring afternoon, just before the supper time as I was walking along a beautiful narrow pedestrian-only passage along the mountain and the river carving through the mountains in norther Tehran. Along this road many restaurants line-up one after the other on the edge of the mountain and t…

1
The balcony to the world 2:32

2h ago2:32

2:32

Between 1997-2000, me aged 7-10, my mother and I used to live at my grandparents house. For a few years now, this house had been abandoned, with no one living there and the house falling into disrepair. More recently, this house has been sold and slated to be demolished for a new property to be developed there. Before the handing over of the house …

1
Armenian Quarter, Old Jerusalem 2:02

2h ago2:02

2:02

Here, you can listen to an old man playing his accordion in the Armenian quarter of Jerusalem. The Armenian presence in Jerusalem dates back to the 4th century AD, coinciding with Armenia's adoption of Christianity as its national religion, leading to the settlement of Armenian monks in the city. Consequently, this community is recognized as the ol…

1
The radiance is everywhere 18:28

2h ago18:28

18:28

I. Breathing Steps II. Lightwell III. To fight? No, to sing! "In the field recording I chose, a street musician plays and hums the tune of the Kozachok on the accordion, while people are heard passing by in Jerusalem’s Armenian Quarter. I was immediately captivated by the sound of the accordion, but also by the unforced openness with which the musi…

1
Amed sunrise 2:30

2h ago2:30

2:30

David, my diving instructor at Amed in Bali told me that he had moved to Indonesia more than 20 years ago after growing up in West London. David is a lovely guy and clearly adores where he lives - he suggested that his life in Bali had been made possible, alt least in part, by selling his one-bedroomed flat in West London. His small business employ…

1
The ocean's guests 5:01

1d ago5:01

5:01

"Rob tells us about David, a British diving instructor, and Ketut, his Indonesian colleague and friend. While the two men share the sunrise in Amad, Rob notices the stark difference of perspectives between them. One emigrated easily to Indonesia, while the other does not have the resources to make this choice of moving abroad. "The field recording …

1
Moria detention centre riots, 27 April 2016 1:36

4h ago1:36

1:36

A riot breaking out in the old refugee detention centre in Moria on the island of Levos, in Greece. Detainees broke out of the camp after a child was allegedly beaten, setting part of the camp on fire and breaking down the fences. Police eventually intervened, firing tear gas and forcing detainees back into the camp. The riot took place in April 20…

1
Stamping razor wire for border fences in Marianosztra prison 1:02

4h ago1:02

1:02

This recording was made in early 2016, while gathering material for a BBC radio documentary about Hungary's hardline migration policy. Inmates in the prison behind the Marianosztra Monastery were feeding metal tape through stamping machines to make razor wire to fortify Hungary's border fences against migrants and refugees. The razor wire was also …

1
Preparing the sled dogs 4:31

4h ago4:31

4:31

In this recording you have a typical soundscape of Sisimiut’s “dogtown” during winter. Amidst the sound of recreational snowmobilers and dogs howling and pulling at their chains, two Greenlanders are preparing traces and getting their pack of dogs ready to go dogsledding in the backcountry. 4,500 years ago, the Inuit migrated from Canada to Greenla…

1
We have been burning a long time 8:32

4h ago8:32

8:32

This is a poem in Dari about the fire that devastated the Moria refugee camp in September 2020, leaving many thousands without shelter. It's by a young Afghan called Zabi who recorded it on his phone and sent it to me for a radio documentary I was making about the fire's survivors a year later. I never met Zabi, but he kept in touch as he smuggled …

1
The ferry 2:20

4h ago2:20

2:20

This is the sound of a ferry for the island of Chios loading at the port of Piraeus in the spring of 2016. I recorded it standing on the deck looking out at the densely packed tents of refugees and asylum seekers in empty warehouses on the harbour side. Many of them had arrived from the islands on similar ferries, often hidden in the backs of truck…

1
Raven calls 3:10

4h ago3:10

3:10

I moved from Australia to Sisimiut, Greenland in 2021. I’d visited several times before as a tourist and had fallen in love with the place so much that I spent a couple of years positioning myself professionally so that someone would give me a job so I could get a work visa. When most people imagine the animals of Greenland, they immediately think …

1
Displaced every year 10:26

4h ago10:26

10:26

I returned to Empantchá, a neighborhood in Bissau, in 2021 hoping to find the families of the abandoned houses I encountered during the rainy season of 2020. The neighbours told me they would be back for the dry season. In this recording, you can listen to a conversation between the head of the household, my interpreter, and myself. Our discussion …

1
Razor heart wire 3:15

4h ago3:15

3:15

"I am first generation born in Australia. All my ancestors were Hungarian, which also was my first language. I grew up in Australia with migration stories of escape from Soviet Hungary in the 1950s as well as horror stories from WW2. "The only migration sounds from Hungary was ironically the sound of a razor wire machine pressing out bales of letha…

1
Atash/fuego/fire 2:11

4h ago2:11

2:11

"Fire is a very powerful element, and despite the fact that it can devastate everything it touches, it can also provide the warmth and sustenance necessary to survive. We live in times of war, and I believe that Zabi's poem invites us to reflect and be empathetic about the situation experienced not only by him and his family but by thousands of peo…

1
Mória (in journey) 7:07

4h ago7:07

7:07

"In my work, I have extensively explored themes of migration; it is a topic that moves me deeply. The field recording, I must admit, is challenging and intense, given its source: a riot at a refugee detention centre in Greece. I wanted to construct a piece that transmitted the build-up and reasons for the riot and gave way to other viable possibili…

1
Aegean buds 3:20

4h ago3:20

3:20

"The field recording of the ferry for the island of Chios loading at the port of Piraeus in the spring of 2016 moves and inspires me because of its background story and the picture that comes to my mind while listening and reading about it, followed by a taste of anger and injustice. The vivid dichotomy between the densely packed tents in empty war…

1
Katabatic dogs 3:12

4h ago3:12

3:12

"Scientists think that humans migrated north of the Arctic Circle with their dogs about 25,000 years ago and began using them to pull sleds roughly 3,000 years ago. So, the Greenland dog is a very old breed of man’s best friend. For thousands of years, they have been used by Innuits and Greenlanders for travel and survival in the Arctic. It was als…

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