Cities and Memory - remixing the world

Castel Sant'Angelo busker, Rome, reimagined by Mark Taylor.  "All the music in my reimagined version was created directly from fragments of the original field recording; nothing new has been added. Various snippets of bowed and pizzicato violin were used alongside tiny grains of crowd noise that formed the percussive groove in the central section. To my ears, the original field recording gave the impression of everyone walking past and ignoring this highly talented busker. What if the musician decided to exact revenge in a warped, hypnotic, death-dealing twist to the performance? First of all, my distorted version creates an appropriately dark, disturbing ambience before sliding into a ‘Dance of Death’ section. I used a new editing environment for this one – the synthesis capabilities of Omnisphere 2\. I’ve owned and used it for a few years now, but this project gave me the chance to delve more deeply into its sound design side. The violin, of course has often been associated with Death / the Devil in music - Danse Macabre, and many more compositions. In folk tales, the Devil enjoys wagers - betting his own gold fiddle against the souls of his opponents. He may also bestow musical talent in exchange for a soul - a prominent part of the myth surrounding Tartini’s “Devil’s Trill” Sonata. The great Italian virtuoso Niccolò Paganini was the subject of vicarious rumours that he had sold his soul, and worse: Theosophy founder Madame Helena Blavatsky included Paganini in her story The Ensouled Violin suggesting that the strings of Paganini’s violin were made from human intestine, and that his uncanny ability to mimic the human voice with his playing actually came from a spirit trapped within the instrument. "

A violin busker on the bridge to Castel Sant'Angelo, Rome, recorded by Cities and Memory.

2 June celebrations in Rome reimagined by Cristina Marras. "2018 is the 26th anniversary of the Mafia murder of anti-mafia prosecutors Paolo Borsellino and Giovanni Falcone and of their escorts. They have become symbol of an Italy that fights and does not surrender to organised crime. Cosa Nostra bosses have been condemned for the killings but there is still the shadow of alleged State-mafia talks over the two bomb slayings of Falcone and Borsellino. Sicilian prosecutors called the investigation into the Borsellino killing "the biggest cover-up in Italian history". In my recording I have put together the newsreader breaking the news of Falcone’s killing, together with the voices of people discussing the impact of those killings, as well as pro-mafia protesters at a ceremony for the naming of a public space to their memory. I have also included the voice of Falcone himself saying that the mafia is a human made phenomenon, and as such it’ll pass soon or later. I have distorted the original sound to make it ominous and menacing, highlighting basses and low frequencies. The original recording appears as a contrast of 'joyous patriotism'. I am not implying any relation between the soldiers singing at the parade and the killing of the two magistrates, I have just used the song as a representation of the Italian state, covering up and colluding with the mafia."

Soldiers march past, playing music and singing songs as part of the Festa della Repubblica celebrations in Rome, 2 June 2017\. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Inter Milan vs. Lazio reimagined by Andy Lyon. "The approach I took was to create three live recordings in Sensomusic Usine Hollyhock 3 using parts of the recording processed the joggle sampler and a variety of effects - Mangled Verb and Blackhole;  Octavox, Ultratap, Blackhole, h3000 factory delay;  Palindrome, Blackhole h949 dual harmoniser; Grain cloud sampler, h949 dual harmoniser, groove slicer. The joggle sampler has a speed control (-400% - 400%) and I've used a midi controller to start / stop the sample and alter the speed during the recording. I've then used the start of the original recording layered against orchestration and bass to create a contrast and change the feel. The three live recordings are then substituted for the original recording to create the track."

Crowd chants and noise from Inter Milan 0-0 Lazio in December 2017 at the San Siro stadium, Milan. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Radio City Milano festival reimagined by Serena Ferando.  "I grew up not far from Milan, and through the years have spent time in Milan for research and pleasure. This piece captures the soundscape of my summer on the Navigli (waterw canals) many years ago. Chaos, frenzy, excitement, crowds, mosquitoes, water, love. I sampled and heavily manipulated various sections of the sound file and isolated one word from a conversation as a sort of pause-refrain."

The Radio City Milano festival 2018 in Sempione Park, Milan. Recorded by Toni Dimitrov.

Stromboli port reimagined by Elisabetta Senesi.  "The piece is a brief reimagination of this volcanic island where locals inhabit the space in a cheerful and pleasant manner, as the title evokes, despite the presence of a big and upredictable voice which is over there and fits into an ordinary night at the Stromboli harbour."

Container are unloaded, scooters drive past and night time walkers pass by in the small port on the island of Stromboli, off Sicily. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Traghetto crossing in Venice reimagined by Michael Lilley. "I used my Ipad, volca beats, korg wavestation to make an atypically melodic composition, based on the awesome sound of water. Mastered in audacity."

Piazza della Maddalena reimagined by Andy Billington.  "I built out additional sample packs from social media and YouTube connected with "Piazza della Maddalena" as a search prompt.  Italian Fire Service updates, hand drum players and tourist content provide additional textures and layers. These were then recorded and re -recorded with the original recording well hidden, pitched down and in places reversed. This adds movement, structure and a feeling of architectural space with sounds bouncing off the buildings.  The final track is a section from a longer piece which is around 30 mins in length."

A string quartet performs outside restaurants at Piazza Maddalena in Rome. Recorded by Cities and Memory.

Conversation outside the Al Bottegon bàcaro bar in Venice - recorded by Cities and Memory.

Traghetto oarsmen in conversation as they row across the Grand Canal, Venice. Recorded by Cities and Memory.