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: Dollis Brook Walmington Fold
Grid square: Mill Hill, East Finchley
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 19 June 2011
Time of day: 4.10pm
Location: Recreation ground by Walmington Fold, Woodside Park, north London.
Description: Birdsong, trickling of the Dollis Brook, shouts and other sounds of a family playing football, a train passes in the distance.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Edirol R09-HR recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Dollis Brook Lovers Walk
Grid square: Mill Hill, East Finchley
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 19 June 2011
Time of day: 3.50pm
Location: Footbridge over the Dollis Brook leading to Lovers' Walk, Finchley Golf Course, north London.
Description: Brief ginding of a metal gate being shut, sound of the Dollis Brook, whack of golf balls being hit, faint voices and aircraft drone.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Edirol R09-HR recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Dollis Brook Claremont Park
Grid square: Mill Hill, East Finchley
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 19 June 2011
Time of day: 3.10pm
Location: By the Dollis Brook near Claremont Park, Church End, north London.
Description: Birdsong, distant traffic, faint sound of the Dollis Brook, someone uses a hammer in a back garden.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Edirol R09-HR recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Dollis Brook Windsor Open Space
Grid square: Mill Hill, East Finchley
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 19 June 2011
Time of day: 2.55pm
Location: Windsor Open Space, near Holders Hill, north London.
Description: Children's voices in the mid-distance, the wind stirs foliage, birdsong, distant traffic.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Edirol R09-HR recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: TQ 2439 9205
Grid square: Mill Hill East, Finchley
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 20 March 2009
Time of day: 3pm
Location: OS reference 2439 9205. Ross Avenue, about 300 feet due west of the grid point due to presence of a building site.
Description: Noises from a building site: construction vehicles and power tools, thumps and bangs. Faint birdsong, aircraft drone towards the end.
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.