Cities and Memory - remixing the world

"When I first heard the recording of the Tesla coils, I immediately knew it would be my choice for the Autumn project. The sound possessed a remarkable inherent rhythm, making it an ideal foundation for a song built around a beat track. From there, I began thinking about the lyrical theme. Watching footage of active Tesla coils producing their distinctive violet, lightning-like arcs, I was struck by the image of electrical tendrils stretching endlessly towards something just beyond their reach. There was a sense of longing in their constant pursuit of the unattainable. This inspired the idea of writing a love song centred on a personified Tesla coil, waiting by the window for a loved one who never arrives.
"The original field recording remains present throughout 'Sparks', woven into the background of the arrangement. Its ever-shifting clicks, crackles, and low resonant hums provide an additional layer of texture, enriching the instrumentation and reinforcing the song’s connection to its source material."
Tesla coil in Vilnius reimagined by Simon Holmes.

A Tesla coil in the Museum of Energy and Technology in Vilnius. As we turn up the power and frequency dials, the speed and intensity of the sound increases, until the power charge runs out and the coil falls silent. 
Recorded in October 2026 by Cities and Memory.

"The field recording features some nice percussive sounds of market dishes and tools. A specific percussive section caught my ears and I based the piece around it. I transformed the section into a two bar loop and improvised around it on an acoustic piano. 
"This led me into a somewhat melancholic chord progression, upon which the lyrics popped up spontaneously. Various piano tracks were recorder over an analog cassette recorder, some tracks recorded on a higher speed, and then played back in normal speed - yielding a warm and mellow sound space. 
"Additional percussion , bass and harmony was added later to form a meaningful musical progression. The original field recording comes and goes throughout the piece - sometimes it is in the front and sometimes hardly audible, lending itself into a varying emotional atmosphere."
China Town streets sounds in Bangkok reimagined by Tal Yaniv.

"With the exception of some vocalizations by my daughter and myself, all sounds and patterns were derived from the source material - tuned, chopped, inverted.
"As the piece came together, I considered taking the listener from a churning sea from above, to the slow muted silence from below." 
Sea of Cortez soundscape reimagined by Will Hall.

Shoreline ambience recorded at mid-morning from a quiet beach on the Sea of Cortez, Mexico: gentle waves washing over sand and pebbles, soft desert breeze, distant gull and frigate bird calls, and long stretches of crystalline hush. 
Often called “the world’s aquarium,” this UNESCO-listed inner sea harbours exceptional biodiversity where desert meets ocean. Captured May 2025 near Bahía de los Ángeles with a Zoom H5 + ZDM-1 at 48 kHz/24-bit, no post-processing.
Recorded by Maura Isabel Aguayo Alemán.