Following their wonderful London Underground sound project The Next Station last year, we were pleased to hear of a new happening from the folk over at Cities & Memory, who launched the first ever sound map of the world’s sacred, spiritual and religious spaces yesterday as part of a new global collaborative sound project.
With recordings of more than 100 churches, temples, mosques and other spaces, the Sacred Spaces project examines the role sound plays in our spiritual lives, and takes it to a new level, remixing and reimagining the sounds to create a corresponding alternative, imagined sound world. Contributions come from 123 musicians and sound artists from around the world, and range from ambient drones to full-on house and techno tracks; from abstract experiments to constructed vocal narratives.
Some of the world’s most iconic sacred spaces are featured on the map, including Notre-Dame de Paris, Seville Cathedral, the Hagia Sophia in Istanbul, Milan’s Duomo and Wat Pho in Bangkok. The sounds of Quranic recitations, Mexico City bells, organs of varying sizes, calls to prayer, Hare Krishna processions, mausoleums and funeral homes make up just a fraction of the project’s submissions.
You can see/hear the Sacred Spaces sound map here.