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.
| 1 | 3 | 4 | ||||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | 2 | 5 | 7 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 4 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 1 | 16 | 6 | 13 | 9 | 5 | 1 | 5 | ||
| 1 | 3 | 5 | 6 | 4 | 12 | 23 | 26 | 9 | 8 | 3 | 3 | 2 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | 6 | 5 | 7 | 9 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 4 | ||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 3 | 1 | 9 | 7 | 1 | 1 | ||||
| 3 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 1 | 3 | 3 | 2 | |||||||
| 6 | 1 | 8 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | |||||||
| 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | ||||||||||
| 1 | 1 |
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: Thames shore Putney
Grid square: Fulham, West Brompton, Putney
Duration: 2:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 15 January 2012
Time of day: 4pm
Location: On the Thames shore at Putney, near Barn Elms, southwest London.
Description: Wash from passing boats curls onto the shore then subsides, a boat crew row past while their coach shouts encouragement from an accompanying motor boat, faint voices of walkers on the towpath above and behind.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: The Wandle Bell Lane Creek
Grid square: Fulham, West Brompton, Putney
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 15 January 2012
Time of day: 3.25pm
Location: Bell Lane Creek, Wandsworth, southwest London.
Description: Constant rush of water over the weir at Bell Lane Creek, a crane at work in the waste depot on the east side of the creek, a train heads towards Putney.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Beverley Brook Barn Elms
Grid square: Fulham, West Brompton, Putney
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 15 January 2012
Time of day: 4.20pm
Location: Beverley Brook by the Thames Path at Barn Elms, southwest London.
Description: Water from a pipe splashes down into Beverley Brook, voices and footsteps as walkers cross an iron footbridge.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Riverbus to Wandsworth Pier
Grid square: Fulham, West Brompton, Putney
Duration: 2:23
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 17 March 2011
Time of day: 7.40am
Location: On the Thames approaching Wandsworth Pier from upstream.
Description: Loud sound of the boat's engine which dies down, something rattles on board, the boat pulls alongside Wandsworth Pier and one of the watermen calls out to people waiting there.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder. EQing in Izotope RX2.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Putney Embankment at dawn
Grid square: Fulham, West Brompton, Putney
Duration: 1:28
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 17 March 2011
Time of day: 6am
Location: Putney Embankment, south-west London
Description: Traffic crossing Putney Bridge, voices of rowing crews preparing to set off, a beachcomber scrapes at gravel on the shore, aeroplane drone, a crow caws.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder. EQing and hum removal in Izotope RX2.
Additional notes: None.
File name: TQ 2439 7688
Grid square: Fulham, West Brompton, Putney
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 30 May 2009
Time of day: 4.00pm
Location: OS grid reference TQ 2439 7688. Junction of Gowan Avenue and Munster Road.
Description: A helicopter clatters overhead somewhere, vehicles pass along Munster Road, a man speaks loudly to his companions, sounds of passersby and of car doors being slammed.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics. Edirol R09-HR 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.