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: Grand Union Bulls Bridge
Grid square: Goulds Green, Hayes
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 14 August 2011
Time of day: 1pm
Location: East of Bulls Bridge by the Squirrels Trading Estate, near Hayes Town.
Description: Constant droning and other industrial sounds from factories, a blast of steam being released under pressure.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA 2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Grand Union Hayes Town
Grid square: Goulds Green, Hayes
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 14 August 2011
Time of day: 12.45pm
Location: Just east of the Station Road bridge, Hayes Town, west London.
Description: Faint voices from nearby flats overlooking the canal, aircraft drone, distant traffic, a coot calls.
Technical guff: Headworn stereo. 2 x DPA2006C mics, Sound Devices MixPre-D preamp, Sony PCM M10 recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: TQ 0854 8067
Grid square: Goulds Green, Hayes
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 27 June 2009
Time of day: 5.40pm
Location: OS grid reference TQ 0854 8067. Junction of Dawley Road and Botwell Common Road.
Description: Continual and quite loud traffic noise from Dawley Road. Hissing sound from the wind in overhead tree foliage, faint birdsong, and faint and brief sound of distant thunder.
Technical guff: Stereo. Audio Technica BP4025 mic, 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.