Advertise on podcast: Cities and Memory - remixing the world

"The presence of science is a huge part of Oxford, but one that's often overlooked in favour of the more traditional side of Oxford University and of the city more widely, but science is hugely important to the city. This piece is a tribute to the scientific side of Oxford, as a reimagined take on the fascinating, huge tanks of liquid nitrogen that sit hissing away between the Department of Earth Sciences and the Pitt Rivers Museum, provoking many a "what if?" fantasy conversation.  "The hissing of the tanks forms the underbelly of the track, accompanied by a "sister" sound of the same recording manipulated via a Torso S-4 sampler. Over the top of this, huge waves of distorted, ambient guitars represent clouds of gas and condensation. From here, drum beats and arpeggios make a lively introduction, and represent (and form a tribute) to all the scientific discoveries and innovations coming out of the city, as professors and boffins work all night in the very same labs that neighbour these liquid nitrogen towers." "The title is the chemical formula for liquid nitrogen, and the postcode of the location. There is a sister composition to go along with this one, which takes a purely ambient approach to the sound. You can decide which you prefer." Liquid nitrogen tanks in Oxford reimagined by Cities and Memory.

On 17 June 2026, the Oxford Union debating society invited extreme right wing agitators Tommy Robinson and Laurence Fox to take part in an inflammatory debate titled "This house believe the West is right to be suspicious of Islam". The response was mass protests in the city centre, with up to 1,000 anti-fascist demonstrators surrounding the Oxford Union (and about 30 pro-Tommy Robinson supporters showing up). This recording is from the much smaller group of 25-30 pro-Tommy Robinson supporters, who mostly seem to be there to get drunk - this recording is much quieter than the other protest recordings, with just a few half-hearted chants and shouts from these far right supporters.  Recorded by Cities and Memory.

"I listened to the original recording a few times to pick out some focal points I could use, notable the "Tommy Tommy" chant at the beginning and the "refugees are welcome" chant at the end. I also picked out some profanity used by a member of the protest directed at a female member of the opposition and pitch shifted a few other bits to use more as textures. "It's quite an experimental piece, lots of synths, big reverb drums, metal guitars and hard auto tuned vocals and the song as a whole is a bit tongue in cheek but overall it is meant to be uplifting." Tommy Robinson protest in Oxford reimagined by Gary Pitt.

Cities and Memory: "A special recording like this needed special treatment, so I had a collaboration in mind from the outset when starting on the music. Thinking about that, I set out to create a track that evoked the feeling of the dusk skies and the mellow heat of the African savannah. The field recording was full of different voices and tones, so using it as a bed for the track required some careful splicing and placement so that those voices appeared in the track in the right moments, complementing but not intruding. And of course, there's a buildup towards the entrance of the star of the show, the lion, the track building up towards its appearance near the end. "Having created this ambient track with a collaboration - and specifically with some vocals - in mind, I approached micca, as I've been a huge fan of all her contributions to Cities and Memory so far. Together we worked on the concept of the lion's gate portal as the way into the track. Once the vocals were in place, I remixed and re-edited the track, restructuring it around the words and creating more space and balance for the vocals and field recording to breathe naturally. In the end, it feels like a three-way collaboration in space and time between the moment Rafa experienced when recording this extraordinary soundscape, and our creative responses to it. "This is about mood and meaning - I tried to provide the mood, and micca brought the meaning."  micca: "I often look to nature for inspiration when writing music. While working with a field recording and an ambient piece by two collaborators, the lion's roars immediately caught my attention. It's not a sound you come across very often, and it naturally became the creative spark for the piece. "As I continued writing, I was drawn to the symbolism of the Lion's Gate and its themes of courage, personal power and new beginnings, celebrated each year on 8/8. While it's an important event in astrology, I think its themes can speak to anyone: reconnecting with your own strength, finding your voice, and letting go of what no longer serves you. Those ideas became the intention behind the vocals. "Some of the vocals are spoken, others are sung, so creating them wasn't just about finding the right words. They had to sit naturally with the ambient music, match its key and pace, and become part of the overall sound through recording, processing and mixing. My hope is that the final piece feels like one shared conversation between nature, music and voice." Lions at dusk in Tanzania reimagined by Cities and Memory and micca.

The microphones were set metres away from the lions as the light dropped off and the temperature shifted. The lions are close. This is by far the most dangerous recording I have ever done. Their voices hold weight, spreading slowly across the savannah, overlapping in uneven intervals. There is a sense of space in the gaps between each call. What carries first is distance, low frequency calls moving across open ground, travelling further than expected in the cooling air. This was not a controlled recording. The position was exposed, visibility was low, and movement nearby could not always be placed. The decision was deliberate but dangerous, but the outcome was worth it. If you listen beyond the foreground, there are secondary layers: hyenas further out, thinner and more erratic in pitch, and closer still, intermittent movement from baboons, short, nervous gestures in the mid range. Well, the sound of a savannah at its best. Recorded in Tarangire National Park, Tanzania by Rafael Diogo. Photo by Keyur Nandaniya on Unsplash.

Broadcast 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.

Woodland birds recorded during daytime in Nottinghamshire, England. Blue t**s are very prominent in the recording. Recorded by Tim Hills.

"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.

A 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.

"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.

The 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.

Recorded 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.

This 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.

The siren sounds everyday, randomly. Sometimes twice or three times. The birds are anxious. Recorded in Patton, Pennsylvania, USA by Xanthra DuFrane.

"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.