Tottenham Court Road – the Galactic Railroad
Today we move onto another of the most well-known central London stations, Tottenham Court Road.
Here, we spend some time on one of the Northern Line platforms, listening intently as trains pull in and out of the station, accompanied by announcements and people going about their day – though not too many, as this recording was taken on a fairly sleepy midweek afternoon.
City version:
Marco Maril from Vigo in Spain took on the challenge of creating a danceable track using only sounds from the station, as he explains:
“I’ve tried to convert the soundscape of a London Underground station in a danceable and dynamic pop song.
“My challenge was to use only the sounds of the Underground Station recording, there is nothing added. All sounds have come from there, treated for the occasion.”
Memory version by Marco Maril:
Next up is Iris van Geen from Ghent in Belgium, who writes:
“I used the original track to create atmosphere.
“Of course that is what it already was, but now it is a more controlled and manipulated surrounding sphere. And with the ‘operator’ (= synth on Ableton) a created the ongoing flow with this train-like-rhythm and also the drops and spacey synth to simulate the mind flow one can experience when traveling on the metro or train.
“A movie that inspired me, and also because of the soundtrack was ‘Night on the Galactic Railroad’ by Kenji Miyazawa, music by Haruomi Hosono. I discovered this movie just before I found this project on my way.
“The voice I used in the beginning is Alan Watts’, on his speech ‘Time, The Social Institution’.”
Memory version by Iris van Geen: