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: By the Thames at Crossness

Grid square: Abbey Wood, Thamesmead, Belvedere

Duration: 1:20

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 20 March 2011

Time of day: 5pm

Location: By the Thames at the Crossness Nature Reserve.

Description: Cries of wading birds in a small bay where the nature reserve abuts the Thames. Constant rushing noise from the Crossness sewage works and incinerator immediately to the west.

Technical guff: X-Y stereo. Audio Technica BP4025 mic and Fostex FR-2LE recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: Thames at Dagenham

Grid square: Abbey Wood, Thamesmead, Belvedere

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 4 November 2009

Time of day: 1.45pm

Location: On a path by the Thames just west of Dagenham.

Description: Waves lapping the shoreline, distant hum and clatter of machinery at Barking Riverside to the west.

Technical guff: Stereo. Audio Technica BP4025 mic and Fostex FR-2LE digital recorder.

Additional notes: None.

File name: TQ 4815 8067

Grid square: Abbey Wood, Thamesmead, Belvedere

Duration: 1:00

Recorded by: IM Rawes

Recording date: 20 April 2009

Time of day: 11.20am

Location: Belvedere Road, near the entrance to Crossness waterworks.

Description: Birdsong from hedgerows on each side of Belvedere Road. Traffic noise from the Eastern Way elevated section to the south, and a faint humming sound from Crossness waterworks to the north.

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