Stuart Fowkes, creator of Cities and Memory, published a call asking artists to re imagine a curated selection of field recordings from 36 countries around the world to develop brand new compositions on the theme of sustainability, equity and well-being in cities. The project launched at the C40 Summit in Buenos Aires in October 2022. I had the honour to be one of those artists.

I started from the idea that the organisation of the city and its meeting spaces have a profound impact on society.

I then collected real and existing examples of hostile architecture, bringing them to the extreme, the worst possible scenario, where no type of aggregation is allowed if not linked to consumption.

"The fight against poverty is won by physically eliminating the poor" this the slogan of the time of terror framed, through a narrative device, in the past, a time as different as possible from a much more harmonious and inclusive present.

Check out all tracks included in the album and check also the C40 Summit: Global & Smart Cities Talk that brought together the mayors of global and regional cities, business leaders, philanthropists, campaigners, youth leaders, scientists and residents, to share bold ideas, showcase innovative solutions and stand together to create a sustainable, prosperous and equitable future.

A woman writes a message during her daily tram commute to work. Seemingly insignificant details, like selling a table or a couch, hide a deeply personal story about love, and the fragility of the hope for new beginnings. In these small, fleeting moments between home and work, she is rewriting her story, while the ordinary tram ride becomes the extraordinary vessel navigating the delicate space between now and tomorrow.

Just before leaving was created for Cities and Memory's Autumn Project, reimagining the sound of a Melbourne tram.

The tension is palpable: the writer furiously pounds the keys of the typewriter searching for the perfect setting for the story she wants to tell, but inspiration is slow to come. Yet with every attempt, the environment becomes vividly clear, if only the phone would stop ringing!

Immerse yourself in a cinematic sound tour de force, and you too will feel as if you are there, on a warm, humid night filled with cicadas, peeking over the shoulder at what the fingers are tapping on the keys of the old typewriter.

Created for Audio Flux 06 [creative tension].

Photo by Sarah Yessenbayeva on Unsplash