Auditory Scenes Amsterdam is a field recording project in Amsterdam during May-June 2020; a subjective collection of daily soundscapes from a period in which the city sounds very different than in its usual busy mode.

Auditory Scenes Amsterdam invites people to explore fragile, different and dominant sounds of the city they often might disregard or ignore. Over time, the recordings will form an online audio archive hosted on my website as a reminder of this ‘new normal’. I want to build an archive of sound memories for a time when the city has returned to its previous busy state and we might need a reminder how this time sounded

Click on the images below to play the sound.

Entire playlist: Auditory Scenes Amsterdam


℗+© BJ Nilsen

May 18 | Steiger 18, IJ
May 19 | Cyclists & Walkers – Amsterdamse Bos
May 20 | Parrots & Crows – Spaarndammerdijk
May 21 | Into the night – Nieuwmarkt
May 23 | Radical ideas – Jodenbreestraat
May 22 | Streetsweeper – Dam
May 24 | In between courts – Vondelpark
May 25 | The Jewel – Tweede Kostverlorenkade
May 26 | Alteration – Oudezijds Achterburgwal
May 27 | Additional Chord – Sloterdijk
May 28 | Underpass – Ketelmakerstraat
May 29 | The Stronghold – Jan Van Galenplantsoen
May 30 | Paradisco – Weteringschans
May 31 | YY – Albert Cuypstraat
June 1 | A New Day – Jan Evertsenstraat
June 2 | The Silent – Veemkade
June 3 | A terrace – James Cookstraat
June 4 | Station – Amsterdam Centraal
June 5 | Showers – Vondelpark
June 6 | Curve – Konigsplein
June 7 | Ringing chamber – Oude Kerk
June 8 | Protocol – Stedelijk
June 9 | Ferry – Buiksloterwegveer
June 10 | BLM – Nelson Mandela Park
June 11 | Vlogger – Stadsschouwburg
June 12 | Soaked – Marco Polostraat

Auditory Scenes Amsterdam is supported by the AFK (Amsterdam Fund for the Arts) AFK invests in the arts which enrich the experience of life in the city. AFK encourages the quality, dynamism and diversity of the arts in Amsterdam and contributes to the city’s strong and richly varied cultural climate. AFK is available to artists and cultural organisations, and supports both experimentation and proven quality – within all artistic disciplines, from every district of the city. www.afk.nl