Amigo

"I've never been to Mexico City or Zócalo de Puebla, but I do know the feeling of sitting in a small city park, in a city full of parks—a brief moment of pause in the midst of a hectic megacity. I think about my day, the week gone by, the month, the year. A rare moment of stillness.

"As I listened to the recording, I wondered how the soundscape of Zócalo de Puebla has changed over the years, just as Delhi’s has. The sparrows from my childhood are long gone, but I still hear peacocks in the distance, their calls drowned out by the sound of grinding stone and the constant hum of construction. Even in the parks, there is little respite. But I am hopeful. Soon I'll be sitting in Puebla, listening to the birds go about their business and children calling out to their friends, as if nothing has changed.

"To create the piece, I ran the field recording through multiple iterations of envelope followers, processing each layer differently. Some layers were then played through a Buchla Music Easel, creating an organic synergy between the birds of Zócalo and my synthesizer here in Delhi. I wanted to link the two cities through memory and sound."

Historic Centre of Puebla reimagined by Songs for a Tired City.

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This sound is part of the Sonic Heritage project, exploring the sounds of the world’s most famous sights.

Find out more and explore the whole project: https://www.citiesandmemory.com/heritage