I’ve been trying out different sketches with music from my travels in the background as I’m always very drawn to people busking on the streets and any music that helps to create an atmosphere. I’ve paired different photos on my camera roll with different audio recordings I have from various places I’ve been and I really like the way they’ve turned out. I’d like to continue doing the same thing but somehow combine the separate recordings and create one long video showing all my illustrations with their paired soundtracks.

Louisa Thomson, 2021, ‘Double Bassist In Pencil’, Charles Bridge,Prague.

Louisa Thomson, 2021, ‘The Dancers’, dance class next to some buskers in Girona, Spain.

Louisa Thomson, 2021, ‘The Colourful Saxophonist’, buskers outside the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin.

Since I’ve decided to work with remembered sounds from places I cannot longer visit due to the pandemic, I’ve been piecing together old video and audio recordings to recreate the places that I remember so vividly. Through listening to videos I’ve taken in the past of the places I’ve been, I’ve noticed that most of them are of music, from buskers to staged performances, I’d like to explore this further and see if I can put across the understated role music plays in creating an atmosphere and soundscape.

I’ve included a video I’ve put together using different audio recording from a range of locations and times to recreate the sounds of the James Simon park in Berlin which was one of my original locations to map the soundscape of. I’ve also recorded myself drawing a bicycle with an audio recording of the sounds of my friends and I riding bikes in Copenhagen. I’d like to do more of this, combining remembered and recorded sounds with illustrations of the sounds or my memories from that particular place.

‘Recreated Memories’, Louisa Thomson, 2021.

‘A Cycle Through Copenhagen’, Louisa Thomson, 2021.

To begin this project, I’ve thought of the places in the world that mean the most to me and the places I have the nicest memories of. I think it’s particularly interesting to do this project during our third, and hopefully final, lockdown. Simply because the places I have chosen to revisit through remembered sounds, are places that I can no longer visit, at least for the time being. I am able to cherish the memories I have of these places through photographs, but this project is a chance for me to travel back in time to snapshots of happiness in my life while truly appreciating the sounds that bring these places to life and makes them real.

My first memory to dissect is that of Neal’s Yard in London. I have lovely memories of this spot purely because of it’s vibrant colours and bustling atmosphere, something I’d never thought of as a thing to take for granted. Neal’s Yard is fascinating as it’s a fairly quiet courtyard in the centre the capital of the UK, so the sounds from outside the walls can be heard in the distance, but Neal’s Yard somehow remains guarded from the hectic buzz of London. I think this would be an interesting soundscape to map for this reason, I’d like to see how I could map the idea of sound almost breaking in to an almost secluded place.

~ coffee shop noises, cups clinking, machines whirring ~ bustling ~ vibrant colours echoing busy atmosphere ~ indistinct chatter ~ creaking of shop doors ~ chatter growing louder as you enter the courtyard ~ trees swaying ~ shoes clacking on the ground ~

The second place I’d like to explore is the James Simon Park in Berlin. I went interrailing with my friends almost two years ago and this park remains one of my favourite memories from the trip. It’s central spot in the city didn’t take away from its stillness, something I found confusing due to the number of people sitting on the grass near us. The general atmosphere was the thing that made it peaceful, lots of groups of people playing cards, listening to nearby buskers and enjoying each other’s company.

~ busker playing the saxophone ~ occasional above ground trains driving past ~ indistinct chatter ~ laughter ~ noises from boats passing on the river ~ sound of moving water ~ berlin cathedral bells ~ bike bells, sound of bike tyres on the road ~

The final place I’ve chosen to map the sounds of is the home of family friends in Barcelona. They live in a fifth floor apartment very close to the centre of Barcelona, but due to it’s height, the bustle of the city can be only be heard in the distance and is more of a quiet buzz. Sounds of traffic can be heard below, occasional car horns and alike, but only when the windows are open. At night, the distant hum of Barcelona’s nightlife can be heard, along with the sound of air conditioning units on the outsides of other buildings. Inside, the sounds of cooking are always in the background, chopping and simmering and sizzling, along with the quiet rotation of the Getz/Gilberto lp in the background, traveling from the far end of the open plan living room/kitchen. The intermittent rustle of the leaves of houseplants when a breeze come through the window.

~ sound of records spinning ~ cooking sounds ~ cat’s paws tapping on the floor ~ air conditioning units ~ distant traffic ~ distant city buzz ~ warm breezes ~