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.
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.