After three months of collecting amazing field recordings from around the world, we’re excited to kick off the new year with the artist call for our first major project of 2025 – Sonic Heritage!
The project explores the sounds of the world’s most famous sights, as we use sound to explore concepts of tourism, heritage and cultural significance through UNESCO World Heritage sites.
We have more than 200 incredible field recordings from World Heritage sites and examples of intangible heritage in more than 60 countries around the world – and we’re looking for artists to reimagine them.
If you’d like to take part, just email us and we’ll send over the details for participants.
What is the project?
The aim is to reimagine one field recording from our database of heritage sounds to create a brand new composition, inspired by your response to the sound and the story behind it, and the issues raised by the project.
Compositions must include the original recording in some form, but otherwise it’s a completely open brief. All compositional styles to reimagine the recordings are equally valid – musical compositions, vocals, electronic or organic music, soundscapes, ambient/drone, sound art, radio art or straight-up techno or pop songs all welcome!
What else do I need to know?
Sounds are allocated on a first come, first served basis, with one field recording per artist.
Compositions must be submitted by Sunday 23 March and the project will launch on World Heritage Day (18 April).
Every field recording and composition will also go out as a podcast episode to thousands of subscribers too. Selected pieces will appear on a highlights album and will be archived by the British Library’s digital archive too.
We hope you’ll be interested in taking part in the project – artists from all styles and disciplines from all over the world are welcome!
