https://citiesandmemory.com/obsolete-sounds/

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  * Info
      + What is Cities & Memory?
      + FAQs
      + Latest news
      + Press & media
      + Live events
      + Field recording
      + T-shirts and merch
  * Listen
      + Global sound map
      + Podcast
      + Downloads and albums
      + Types of sound
      + Ambient sounds
      + City sound guides
  * Projects
      + All sound projects
      + A Century of Sounds
      + Migration Sounds
      + Music for Sleep
      + Observatory Station
      + Obsolete Sounds
      + Polar Sounds
      + Protest & Politics
      + Sonic Heritage
      + Sound Photography
      + #StayHomeSounds
      + Ways of Listening
      + Well-Being Cities
  * For artists
      + Submit sounds
      + Join the community
      + Artist Spotlight
      + Contributors
      + Join our email list
  * Work with us
      + How we can work with you
      + Partnerships
      + Contact us

OBSOLETE SOUNDS

Obsolete Sounds is the world's biggest collection of disappearing
sounds and sounds that have become extinct - remixed and reimagined
to create a brand new form of listening.

Explore the sounds below - you can filter by category and hit "info"
to learn more about each pair of sounds. 

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Each sound in the project is recomposed and reimagined by artists, as
they reflect on how the sounds of our world are changing and being
lost every day - bringing a new perspective to how we listen. 

From buzzing modems and the whir of old VHS and cassette tapes to the
changing soundscapes of our urban, cultural, industrial and natural
worlds, the project documents the sounds we've already lost - and
those that we're in danger of losing. 

The sounds of the world are changing faster now than at any stage in
human history and the lifespan of sounds is shorter than it's ever
been before - sounds that only came into existence a few years ago
are already disappearing. 

Obsolete Sounds is designed to draw attention to the world's
disappearing soundscapes, to highlight those sounds that are worth
preserving because they form part of our collective cultural heritage
- and to help us think about how to save those sounds before it's too
late.

OBSOLETE SOUNDS - THE ALBUM

This album compiles some of the highlights from the project - and the
recordings that inspired them - and is available to download for free
/pay what you like:

                Obsolete Sounds by Cities and Memory

[cts_logotype_2-300x130] We're very happy to have worked with the
team at Conserve The Sound, who have kindly provided a selection of
sounds from their archive as part of the project - do check out their
excellent work at www.conservethesound.de.

Obsolete Sounds - image by Vance A. on Unspaslh
[Cities-And] [Cities-And]

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Copyright (c)2026 Cities and Memory, Oxford, UK. All rights reserved.

"As this wave from memories flows in, the city soaks it up like a
sponge and expands. A description of [the city] as it is today should
contain all [the city's] past. The city, however, does not tell its
past, but contains it like the lines of a hand, written in the
corners of the streets, the gratings of the windows, the banisters of
the steps, the antennae of the lightning rods, the poles of the bags,
every segment marked in turn with scratches, indentations, scrolls."

- Italo Calvino, Invisible Cities

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Coup de Coeur winner 2025, Academie Charles Cros

Coup de Coeur winner 2025, Academie Charles Cros