A soundwalk around some of the 300 stalls that make up this year's Christmas market at La Défense in the far west of Paris.

La Défense Christmas Market 2016

Sounds I recorded at the French Open Tennis Championships at the Stade Roland Garros - Court Philippe Chatrier. It's part of the second round match between Stan Wawrinka and Alexandr Dolgopolov.

French Open Tennis Championships - Stade Roland Garros

A Droit au Logement protest in Boulevard Bourdon near Bastille

Droit Au Logement - Boulevard Bourdon

Surrounded by a hedge and with the statue ‘La messagère’ by Gabriel Forestier (1889-1969) as its centerpiece, the Jardin de la Roseraie provides both relaxation for adults and a playground for small children.

Jardin de La Roseraie

A saxophone player on the Pont d'Arcole close to the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris. First he tunes the saxophone and then he begins to play.

Saxophone on the Pont D'Arcole

I came upon two opera singers performing in Bastille Métro station - high-class buskers!

Opera Singers - Bastille Métro

The quintessential Parisian sound of traffic rolling over the pavé in place Saint-Germain-des-Prés.

Traffic over the Parisian pavé

Who needs a smart digital recorder for instant recording and playback when you can use an Edison Demonstration N°2 Tin Foil recorder from 1878.

Edison Demonstration N°2 Tin Foil recorder from 1878

The sounds of protest: an animal rights demonstration in Paris last summer.

Fermons Les Abbatoirs

Summer sounds of tourists in Place Jean-Paul II outside the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Paris

Summer in Place Jean - Paul II

Hybrid-electric and conventional diesel engine buses leaving the Gare du Nord bus station.

Gare Du Nord Bus Station

I am Des Coulam and I live in Paris.
 
My work involves capturing and archiving the everyday sounds of Paris in, as far as I know, a more comprehensive way than it’s been done before. 
 
I describe myself as a flaneur, endlessly walking the streets of Paris, observing through active listening and, in the words of Robert Doisneau, one of the great twentieth-century Parisian street photographers, capturing “that gratuitous, never-ending show for which no ticket is needed.”  And it is from the late nineteenth and early twentieth-century Parisian street photographers that I take my inspiration to do the 

For most of our history we have used artefacts, architecture, pictures and words to create a vision of our past. It’s only in the last thirty seconds or so on our historical clock that we have been able to capture and record sound. Almost all our sonic heritage has passed by unrecorded. That is why I, and many others, are dedicated to recording and archiving the sounds around us so that future generations will have the sounds of our time to explore, to study and to enjoy.


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