The city at night

Manchester city centre is a noisy place, with trams, buses and an endless stream of cars all competing to be heard amongst the bustle of the people filling the streets. But there comes a point in the evening, when the shops have closed, the crowds have dispersed and the traffic has ebbed away, when the city becomes enriched with sonic beauty.

The beat of the Djembe, no longer suffocated, finds space to spread out amongst the heavy night air, soaking into the architecture, its deep thud reverberating into a three dimensional field of all encompassing sonic beauty. The natural filters of the environment drawing you close and then chasing you away, lazily pursuing you as you walk.

Even the lonely trams sound peaceful and tired as they heave themselves along, aching metal creaking gently along the tracks, all the violence of their daily noise subdued and replaced by heavy groans thrown desperately to the wind.

The drone of the crowd is replaced by its components; voices, fabrics, footsteps, air. Textures of sound interacting in space, bringing clarity and understanding to a dense and complex environment.