The ghosts of protest

"Taksim Square in Istanbul has a history of protests and social activism, most notably the Gezi Park 2013 protests, in which 22 people were killed and more than 8,000 were injured, many critically.

"Listening to the soundscape from Taksim Square, life is going on as normal, with bustling crowds, but periodically we hear a police siren, which echoes through the square almost like a spectral reminder of the police brutality, protest and suffering that the space has been witness to in the past.

"The siren swirls through the composition like a phantasm, reminding us never to forget the social context of the spaces in which we inhabit, while the music is intended to evoke a slightly unsettling sense as it loops, repeats, and builds."

Taksim Square soundscape reimagined by Cities and Memory.

Original recording by Anders Vinjar.