Recordings of background atmospheres and incidental noises from all over London. Many form part of a sound grid series recorded at evenly-spaced points across the city, each marking the centre of a square on the map below.
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Above: graphic based on a daytime satellite image courtesy of the Image Science and Analysis Laboratory, NASA Johnson Space Center. Each red grid square is 2.5 miles or 4 kilometers across.
File name: Ravensbourne Norman Park
Grid square: Bromley, Widmore
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 26 February 2012
Time of day: 12.30pm
Location: Norman Park recreation ground, south Bromley.
Description: Distant rumble of airplanes, faint trickling of the Ravensbourne, a dog barks, birdsong, a man laughs.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Ravensbourne Streamside Close
Grid square: Bromley, Widmore
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 26 February 2012
Time of day: 11.50am
Location: Streamside Close off Sandford Road, south Bromley.
Description: A residential cul-de-sac with birdsong, distant traffic and siren, children's and adults' voices heard faintly.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp and Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Ravensbourne Shortlands
Grid square: Bromley, Widmore
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 24 July 2011
Time of day: 7.50pm
Location: Queensmead recreation ground, Shortlands, Bromley.
Description: Trickling of the Ravensbourne, sounds of footballs being kicked, distant voices and laughter, faint birdsong, background traffic.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Ravensbourne Beckenham Palace Park
Grid square: Bromley, Widmore
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 24 July 2011
Time of day: 7.15pm
Location: Near the Midland Bank sports ground, Beckenham Palace Park.
Description: Faint sound of the Ravensbourne, loud contact calls from ring-necked parakeets, other birdsong, distant traffic.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: TQ 4023 6930
Grid square: Bromley, Widmore
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 20 February
Time of day: 1.15pm
Location: TQ 4023 6927. Outside Primark on Market Square off Bromley High Street.
Description: Lunchtime in a busy pedestrianised street. Hubbub of shoppers' voices and footsteps, girls shouting and laughing, and a street trader's voice in the distance.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics. Olympus LS-10 digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
Sound map recordings fall into two kinds, shown by the filenames they're given.
A sound grid recording has a filename beginning with the letters 'TQ', followed by eight digits. These are the Ordnance Survey co-ordinates for where the recording ought to be made. Each is part of a regularly-spaced series of recordings covering London. More about them, including graphics showing the resulting city-wide patterns of sounds, can be found on this page.
Other recordings have more descriptive filenames and these are simply of curious or distinctive sounds heard in different places.