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: Mutton Brook Hampstead Garden Suburb
Grid square: Cricklewood, Golders Green
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 3 February 2012
Time of day: 3.30pm
Location: Northway Gardens, Hampsteasd Garden Suburb.
Description: Thr Mutton Brook flows through and over a narrowing in the stream, 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: River Brent Brent Park
Grid square: Cricklewood, Golders Green
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 19 June 2011
Time of day: 2.20pm
Location: Brent Park, off the North Circular Road, north London.
Description: Trickling of the River Brent, birdsong, distant traffic, a car door is slammed, faint aircraft drone.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Edirol R09-HR recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: River Brent Brent Cross
Grid square: Cricklewood, Golders Green
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 19 June 2011
Time of day: 1.45pm
Location: Junction of Hendon Way and the North Circular Road, north London.
Description: Trickling of an outflow into the culverted River Brent, loud constant traffic.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Edirol R09-HR recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Staples Corner traffic
Grid square: Cricklewood, Golders Green
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 24 October 2009
Time of day: 11am
Location: At the Staples Corner interchange, on a walkway above the Edgware Road.
Description: Wall of traffic noise from above and below, road surfaces wet after drizzle lasting much of the morning.
Technical guff: Stereo. Audio Technica BP4025 mic and Fostex FR-2LE digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: TQ 2439 8826
Grid square: Cricklewood, Golders Green
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 16 February 2009
Time of day: 12:45pm
Location: OS reference 2439 8826. Alba Gardens, off Golders Green Road.
Description: A quiet suburban street. Distant traffic noise with siren, bird song, a woman walks by on the opposite side of the road.
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.