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: Bookmakers Bethnal Green Road
Grid square: Islington, Finsbury, Dalston
Duration: 2:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 20 February 2010
Time of day: 3.15pm
Location: Inside a bookmakers on Bethnal Green Road, east London.
Description: Racing commentators' voices from TV channels in the bookmakers, while customers talk among themselves.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Ridley Road market
Grid square: Islington, Finsbury, Dalston
Duration: 6:34
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 28 November 2009
Time of day: 3.30pm
Location: Ridley Road market, Dalston, east London.
Description: Recording made while walking slowly eastwards along the whole length of Ridley Road market. Stallholders' voices and cries, music from stalls and small shops.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Pellici cafe Bethnal Green
Grid square: Islington, Finsbury, Dalston
Duration: 2:23
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 2 October 2009
Time of day: 12:30pm
Location: Inside Pellici's cafe, Bethnal Green Road, east London.
Description: Lively, noisy atmosphere inside this popular traditional cafe. Hollow-sounding drone of the coffee machine, voices of customers and cafe staff, clattering of plates and cups, a member of staff asks an old man what he wants for lunch.
Technical guff: Stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: TQ 3231 8447
Grid square: Islington, Finsbury, Dalston
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 11 July 2009
Time of day: 11.30am
Location: OS grid reference TQ 3231 8447. Arran Walk, Canonbury.
Description: A street in a housing estate. A woman walks past, talking on her mobile phone. A crow caws, distant sounds of a bottle bank being emptied, a man cycles past, footsteps.
Technical guff: Stereo. Audio-Technica BP4025 mic and Fostex FR-2LE 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.
