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: Grand Union Canal Kensal Green
Grid square: Willesden, Kilburn, West Hampstead
Duration: 1:34
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 6 February 2010
Time of day: 1.30pm
Location: By the Grand Union Canal, opposite Kensal Green cemetery.
Description: Brief aircraft noise, birdsong from trees flanking the canal, occasional calls from ducks, distant traffic.
Technical guff: Stereo. Audio Technical BP4025 mic and Fostex FR-2LE digital recorder.
Additional notes: Thanks to Ed Lawrenson.
File name: TQ 2439 8447
Grid square: Willesden, Kilburn, West Hampstead
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 17 February 2009
Time of day: 2.00pm
Location: OS reference TQ 2439 8447. Church Avenue, near Brondesbury station.
Description: Traffic rumble, a train sounds its horn, roadworks, two women pass by, one speaks.
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.
