Wednesday 9th September 2009 | Posted by Emily

The BBC World Service is encouraging people to send in their 'sounds' in order to create an interactive map of the world and preserve sounds for future generations. I like that there is little categorisation of sound. You can send in what you like. You are encouraged by the specific sound 'challenges', this week sirens and alarms, as well as a 'desperately seeking' section, but will also have your completely unrelated and non-compartmentalised sounds listened to and added.

This leads to some quite interesting finds whilst travelling around the map. Everything from the hum of a data centre, to bird song, to busy a market place. Some countries have numerous sounds, but I am drawn to the places that have a single entry to date. This means that a wrestling competition in Ulan Bator now represents the whole of Mongolia. Bus engines in central Vilnius sum up Lithuania, whilst the sound of Tanzania is the howl of a male hippo.

I wonder just how much quality control the the producers at the world service have to exercise? Is anybody sending in bizarre content that we will never know about? Looking at entries for near the GS office, all there is to offer is the sound of "birdsong through the open window" whilst somebody takes a bath. Serene, but not exactly the experience I am having today. I may do some recordings and challenge the producers to add to the map the things I can currently hear outside my office... a couple talking about decking, a crappy sound system pumping out generic 'beats' and a man talking very loudly on his phone, about his phone. Instead of inflicting these idiots on the rest of the world I will sit here and wish I lived in Tanzania instead.

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