Parallax

"The original recording was dense with the buzz of a city; the deeply layered sound of many things heard at the same time - a hum so dense that it is hard to make out any one sound, any one event.

"Asking myself how we might nurture our well-being in such a disorientating acoustic environment I thought about how we are able to isolate one sound and block others out. I atomised the original recording, processing and reprocessing snippets, resampling to turn small snippets into large washes.

"I then set about rearranging these sounds. Placing them precisely I worked towards re-shaping the soundscape into something that might be more articulated. I believe that we may nurture both our own and others' well-being by using creativity to reappraise and reimagine our surroundings; to learn to hear, read and see anew, in such a way that enables us to find more enjoyment, fulfilment and meaning in environments that are at risk of becoming illegible through overwhelming our senses."

Shinjuku station reimagined by de Velden.

Part of the Well-Being Cities project, a unique collaboration between Cities and Memory and C40, a global network of mayors of nearly 100 world-leading cities collaborating to deliver the urgent action needed right now to confront the climate crisis. The project was originally presented at the C40 Cities conference in Buenos Aires in 2022. Explore Well-Being Cities in full at https://citiesandmemory.com/wellbeing-cities/