A small collection of recordings made around London during the hours of darkness. So far it includes night-time West End crowds, a few pubs and street scenes, and some festivities in Croydon.
Above: graphic based on a night-time 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. Left: drawing by Kaffe Fassett, 1966.
File name: Barbican foyer
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 2:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 6 October 2010
Time of day: 8pm
Location: Inside the Barbican Centre's main foyer.
Description: Hubbub of voices as people congregate in the foyer.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x MM-HLSO/Sennheiser MKE-2 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Bow Street at night
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 17 October 2010
Time of day: 9pm
Location: Bow Street, outside the Royal Opera.
Description: Night-time ambience with vehicles, voices and laughter of passersby on a night out.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Barbican Highwalk at night
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 3:38
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 6 September 2010
Time of day: 9pm
Location: Barbican Highwalk, City of London
Description: Recorded walking south along the Highwalk from the Baribcan Centre to London Wall. Voices and footsteps of passersby, fountains at the Barbican, occasional traffic.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Gents toilets London Bridge station
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:45
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 18 September 2010
Time of day: 12.15am
Location: Gents toilets, platform 5, London Bridge station.
Description: Toilet ambience with sounds of men urinating, footsteps, a man apologises needlessly then farts a short while later, drone of the hand-drier.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x MM-HLSO/Sennheiser MKE-2 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Sun Street Passage aircon
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:30
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 3 April 2010
Time of day: 10pm
Location: Sun Street Passage, a walkway running alongside Liverpool Street station.
Description: Recorded while walking slowly past an array of air conditioning units belonging to a large office block. Faint sounds from the bus stops at the side of the Liverpool Street station.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics, PA-3SX preamp and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: Many thanks to Mark Peter Wright for telling me about this recording spot. See Mark's blog at http://mpwright.wordpress.com/.
File name: First Capital Connect train journey
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:52
Recorded by: Ben Cripps
Recording date: 15 December 2009
Time of day: Around 6pm
Location: On a northbound First Capital Connect Class 319 train from City Thameslink to Farringdon.
Description: The train makes all sorts of weird sighing, creaking and groaning noises but these are normal!
Technical guff: Stereo. Olympus LS-10 digital recorder using internal mics.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Princess Louise pub High Holborn
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:35
Recorded by: Dave Ackrill
Recording date: 11 November 2009
Time of day: 8.15pm
Location: In the Princess Louise pub, High Holborn, central London.
Description: Busy atmosphere with hubbub of conversation. Dave Ackrill writes: "The Princess Louise has a lot of glass, mirrors and tiles, which probably accentuates the harsher end of audio frequencies."
Technical guff: Stereo. Tascam DR-07 digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Elephant centre night
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:25
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 3 December 2009
Time of day: 8pm
Location: Upper gallery of the Elephant and Castle shopping centre, south London.
Description: The last shop units in the centre are pulling down their shutters. People talk and loiter in the upper gallery, watching the train departure screen for the adjoining railway station. Sounds of sirens from the streets outside.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Leadenhall drinkers
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Waterloo, Borough
Duration: 1:30
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 1 December 2009
Time of day: 7.30pm
Location: Leadenhall market in the City of London.
Description: Sounds of evening drinkers and passersby in Leadenhall covered market in the City.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. 2 x Shure WL-183 mics and Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Hamilton Hall pub
Grid square: City Spitalfields Borough Waterloo
Duration: 1:00
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 26 September 2009
Time of day: 10.30pm
Location: Hamilton Hall pub by Liverpool Street station.
Description: Loud conversation, clapping, occasional shouts and laughter in the Hamilton Hall, a large, very high-ceilinged pub.
Technical guff: Stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.
File name: Platform 5 London Bridge
Grid square: City, Spitalfields, Borough, Waterloo
Duration: 1:18
Recorded by: IM Rawes
Recording date: 15 August 2009
Time of day: 10.30pm
Location: Platform 5, London Bridge railway station.
Description: Footsteps,a hen party shout, laugh and chant as they make their way along the platform, other voices, a train pulls into the station followed by a station announcement.
Technical guff: Head-worn stereo. Sonic Studios DSM-6S/EH mics and PA-3SX preamp, Edirol R09-HR digital recorder.
Additional notes: None.