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Tag: Michael McDermott

They’ll Miss Me When I’m Gone

“I heard a theory about the music of the south or the blues. It outlined the many influences from all sorts of sources, in particular through the mixing of cultures while the railroads were being built. All these diverse sources blended to make the songs we recognise today. I wanted to disaggregate the history of these sounds and make a piece combining all the originals as part of the reimagining, reflecting all the different peoples who went into the making of the prison song.”

Volcanic sounds from Stromboli

Happy new year! To kick off our 2016 programme of sounds, we’ve got not one but two pieces from the tiny volcanic island of Stromboli – one of the Aeolian Islands close to Sicily. Despite not managing to capture the sounds of Stromboli’s eponymous volcano due to the incredible roaring

Utopia B1: Slavery in Utopia

Today’s Utopian theme is slavery, as explained by featured artist Michael McDermott: Slavery in Utopia by Michael McDermott, Philadelphia, USA “Utopia is a term often used to describe the imaginary perfect society. More’s actual description of Utopia seems like a well organized hierarchical society, that is, in my view, less

Retracing your ancestors’ footsteps through sound

“My family came from Ireland in the late nineteenth century. I was struck by the awe and majesty of the Irish countryside. Near my aunt’s cottage I could see the iconic rolling hills, abandoned castle ruins and the stark limestone landscapes that look like the surface of an alien planet.”

World Listening Day – Sound Waves composition

As part of our overall Sound Waves project, 38 sound artists from around the world have submitted a field recording and reimagining of water somewhere in the world: ocean, river, lake, stream, swimming pool, boiling kettle, splash of a puddle – anything in which water is the defining sound. These reimagined sounds have been recomposed and re-edited by Cities and Memory into this 30-minute mixed sound piece incorporating many of the sounds in a new context.