DAY SOUND MAP | NIGHT SOUND MAP | GRID | WATERWAYS | ESTUARY

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: Regents Canal Camden

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 15 July 2011

Time of day: 7.20am

Location: Near the Oval Road bridge, Camden.

Description: Faint cries of seagulls, distant traffic, a train heads north from Euston station.

Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Regents Canal London Zoo

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 15 July 2011

Time of day: 7am

Location: By the Regent's Canal next to the Snowdon aviary, London Zoo.

Description: A magpie chatters, background traffic, calls from birds in the Snowdon aviary.

Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: British Library at 8am

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 1:01

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 25 February 2011

Time of day: 8am

Location: Third floor of the British Library at St Pancras.

Description: Cleaners and kitchen staff tidying up and preparing a coffee machine. Clatter of chairs being moved, descending tone of the coffee machine, air conditioning.

Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x Shure WL183 mics and Edirol R09-HR recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Chalton Street Somerstown

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park. Camden

Duration: 2:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 14 February 2011

Time of day: 2.30pm

Location: Chalton Street near junction with Polygon Road.

Description: Yells of children from a nearby school, a crow caws, workmen pull a trolley along the road, a man talks in a nearby flat.

Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Camley Street Natural Park

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park. Camden

Duration: 1:30

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 14 February 2011

Time of day: 1.30pm

Location: Camley Street Natural Park, overlooking the Regent's Canal.

Description: Rushing of water from the canal locks to the north, traffic, a train passes, faint birdsong and honking of geese.

Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Camden Lock

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 2:29

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 11 December 2010

Time of day: 3pm

Location: By Camden Lock on the Regents Canal, north London.

Description: A pleasure cruiser slows to pass under the footbridge leading to Camden Market, faint of cries of seagulls, bystanders' voices.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Double Six cafe Euston

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 2:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 5 May 2010

Time of day: 11.30am

Location: Double Six cafe, Eversholt Street, Euston.

Description: Hissing of the Still water boiler, sounds of plates and cutlery, customers' voices.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x MM-HLSO/Sennheiser MKE-2 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: For Adrian Maddox.

File name: Swiss Cottage Library

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 2:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 5 May 2010

Time of day: 2pm

Location: Swiss Cottage public library.

Description: Constant, deep humming of air conditioning, faint voices and other sounds inside the library, traffic.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x MM-HLSO/Sennheiser MKE-2 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Camden Town Library

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 2:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 5 May 2010

Time of day: Noon

Location: Camden Town public library, Eversholt Street.

Description: Fairly quiet library ambience with occasional voices of staff, a child's voice, bangs of doors opening and closing, faint air conditioning sound and traffic.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x MM-HLSO/Sennheiser MKE-2 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Stables market Camden

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 2:23

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 13 March 2010

Time of day: 4.15pm

Location: Walking through the Stables market, Camden

Description: Women working at Thai and Vietnamese food stalls try to encourage passersby to sample small trays of noodles and curry, loud music from a CD stall at the market entrance.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Pembroke Arms Primrose Hill

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 13 March 2010

Time of day: 3.30pm

Location: Pembroke Arms pub, Primrose Hill, north London

Description: Saturday afternoon ambience inside the Pembroke Arms pub. Loud conversation from all around in a busy, high-ceilinged pub.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x MM-HLSO mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: At St Pancras International

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 1:22

Recorded by: Ben Cripps

Recording date: 30 December 2009

Time of day: 5.20pm

Location: First Capital Connect platforms, St Pancras International train station.

Description: A train leaves from the First Capital Connect platforms for Bedford at about 17.20 on 30/12/09 and then various announcements are heard - recording ceases abruptly when your recordist realises that he has 3 minutes to race up three stories to the East Midlands Trains platforms to catch his train ...

Technical guff: Stereo. Olympus LS-10 digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Squirrel monkeys London Zoo

Grid square: Hampstead, Camden, Tufnell Park

Duration: 0:35

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 2 November 2009

Time of day: 11am

Location: Inside the monkey enclosure at London Zoo, Regent's Park.

Description: Thin, high-pitched squeals of black-capped squirrel monkeys and some rustling sounds as they climb around a bush to get a better look at the recordist.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: Top tip nature lovers: to get the attention of a troop of squirrel monkeys, try sticking your tongue out at them.

File name: Reptile house London Zoo

Grid square: Hampstead, Camden, Tufnell Park

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 2 November 2009

Time of day: 12 noon

Location: Inside the Reptile House at London Zoo, Regent's Park.

Description: Footsteps and echoing voices of children and adults inside the Reptile House.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Hyacinth macaws London Zoo

Grid square: Hampstead, Camden, Tufnell Park

Duration: 1:11

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 2 November 2009

Time of day: 10.30am

Location: By the Parrot House, London Zoo, Regent's Park.

Description: Throaty squawking and croaking of Hyacinth macaws as they clamber around the wire mesh of their aviary. Deeper, echoing calls of unseen macaws from inside a building to the rear of the aviary, and high-pitched trilling of starlings, which have invaded the parrots' home in large numbers.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: TQ 2835 8447

Grid square: Hampstead, Tufnell Park, Camden

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 17 February 2009

Time of day: 2.30pm

Location: OS reference TQ 2835 8447. Behind Hardington Flats at top of Belmont Street.

Description: Distant traffic, a warehouse door slams, pigeons cooing, a phone rings in a nearby flat.

Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics. Olympus LS-10 digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

ABOUT SOUND MAP RECORDINGS

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.