As one of the world's most famous sacred spaces, Notre Dame in Paris has a very particular effect even on the non-religious, perhaps close to Stendhal Syndrome. But it's not just about the space itself, it's about sharing that awe with thousands of other people concurrently, as an endless snaking line of people enters the space, each to have their own significant experience, whether it's of secular beauty or sacred majesty.

The drone of shuffling feet and low conversation, amplified by thousands of people in such a huge space, can be sonically overwhelming, however. In this piece, I wanted to transform that hubbub created by the presence of people into something that did greater justice to the majesty of the location, a kind of ambient sonic offering back to the physical space in Notre Dame.

Here, the background hum of people becomes an ambient pulse that magnifies attention rather than distracting from it, while the periodic reminders to "shhhh" and be silent punctuate the piece as a constant reminder of the presence of control and administration, even as we communally share an all too rare moment of the sacred. The piece is a magnification of the type of attention we only pay when we are shocked out of ourselves by beauty, and by scale.

Notre Dame cathedral soundscape reimagined by Cities and Memory.

A full walkthrough of the restored Notre Dame, with the drone of thousands of tourists, the clattering of machines dispensing memorial coin tokens, and the unexpected "shhhhh!" announcements calling everyone to keep quiet in this space that is both sacred, and one of the most popular tourist spots in the world.

Recorded in Paris, France in February 2026 by Cities and Memory.

"Earth Horns with Electric Drone" (1974), a piece by Yoshi Wada, recorded at the Minimalism exhibition at the Bourse du Commerce, Paris in December 2025.

Recorded by Cities and Memory.

"'Untold Story of the Drone' is my reimagined sound of Yoshi Wada’s piece Earth Horns with Electric Drone. The original sound was recorded at the Minimalism exhibition at the Bourse du Commerce, Paris in December 2025

"My piece is built entirely using granular synthesis. This means that every sound, rhythm, and musical phrase you hear is derived exclusively from micro-samples of the original recording. These micro-samples are brought to life through my modular synthesizer setup.

"I was deeply impressed by the original piece. A long, introspective drone that invites deep listening, through which a wide range of emotions can flow.

"Quite quickly, I chose not to compose over the piece, but to compose with it; treating it as an instrument and rearticulating it to arrive at Untold Story of the Drone. The storytelling unfolds through shifting atmospheres of chaos, short and striking phrases, and a structure built on evolving ambiences. One moment of near silence connects the noise and chaos sections, creating space for listening, imagination, and introspection, and inviting each of us into our own untold story.

"I have great respect for the original piece and for the constraint of reimagining it. No additional instruments are used. The original piece, left intact, quickly reappears to support the whole as a foundation. It also allows me to return to this kind of no-sound state, carried by voices from the Paris audience, reinterpreted as glitches, before giving way to the final chaos.

"There is also experimentation with stereo space through the use of tape cassette delay, along with other automated stereo effects and reverb swaps.

"This was an incredible experience. I am very honored to have been able to compose using this sound, thanks to Cities and Memory. I hope it will invite the listener into a deep and introspective listening experience."

Yoshi Wada's Earth Horns with Electric Drone reimagined by Yimèr.

Thank you: Aemi, Sarah, Anaïs, Dimitri, Stuart. | Yimèr

Ambisonics recording at a freight train car in Auschwitz used to deport people to the extermination camp.

This soundscape-composition is part of the HEYR project, presenting 3-dimensional soundscapes from special locations, connected to special events. Find out more by visiting https://www.heyr.no

Recorded at Auschwitz, Poland by Anders Vinjar.

"The location where the recording I worked with was made, carries an overwhelmingly historical weight.

"Attempting something evocative, reminiscent, or symbolic felt pointless. Inappropiate.

"However, I know that sound can hold historical information encrypted within it.

"As in archaeological work, where stones can provide information about the past, field recordings may contain molecules or grains of sound that reveal something more about that place.

"Using temporal and spectral processing techniques, I attempted to access this latent information in the air and compose a narrative from it.

"I then added some of my own recordings and sounds, which I considered appropriate for giving a sense of coherence."

Train car at Auschwitz reimagined by Patricio Lerma.

"I worked on just one device just sampling and looping for this project, a sort of going back to basics. Da'ira means circle, orbit, or wholeness / unity in Arabic. In terms of timbre, wanted to reimagine the powerful hypnotic and melancholic quality of the call to prayer, something fundamental. This is one of a few recordings I made for this project, the rest are here: https://dtyb.bandcamp.com/album/hubb."

Isha call to prayer in Marrakesh square reimagined by dtyb.

Isha call to prayer at 8pm on a windy, rainy evening in the famous, busy Jemaa el-Fnaa square.

Recorded in Marrakesh, Morocco, January 2026 by Cities and Memory.