What does the city sound like?

With this in mind, and a strong sense of excitement for the cultural heritage of the region, we've been exploring the southern Saitama city of Urawa as part of a wider revitalization project to create a new city plan, alongside architect Kengo Kuma.

This has involved taking in 2 of Urawa's most prized and legendary stores - a family-owned senbei rice cracker store called Mansaku which has been in business since 1937, and a leading representative of the City's thriving grilled eel scene, Nakamuraya, which has been exciting visitors since 1953.

We recorded the processes of making their prized foods, and created new site-specific musical works including, and influenced by, these samples to provide a new way for citizens to connect with their environment.

Also, on our travels around the City, armed with the usual diverse array of microphones, we performed a selection of objects - scraping, banging, rubbing, and enjoying the ambience around them through their eyes, to give a sonic landscape impression of how the place is in the 2020's.

The city is probably recently best-known for its Football obsession, and the most committed fans in the country.

So, our sonic explorations took to the stadium of the Woman's team, Urawa Red Diamonds Ladies, for a dive into the sound of a home league game.

All together, these stores, and location form a sound map that encourages exploration and new experiences.