"city portraits"An acoustic journey through Europe2005 - 2011 Sibylla Giger Zurich The project Are cities recognizable by their sounds? This was my question when I first started this project in Manchester in 2005. and I soon realized that the answer is yes. Every city has its aural characteristics which are often neglected while travelling.The procedure was always the same: I arrived at the station or airport, got a city map at the tourist information centre, let someone show me the most frequented sights and started recording all the noises and sounds on my way round during the three days in town. At home the sounds were played on the computer, modified and arranged into soundscapes. The portraits are not meant to be truly representative of the town but are my very personal impressions. I wish you a pleasant journey! The artist Sibylla Giger's latest project in the field of music 'city portraits' is an exploration of sound in urban landscapes. Although her background is in classical music, she developed a passion in her late teens for experimental music. She uses computers and synthesisers to compose, creating new and vivid combinations of sound. Her concerts, performance art and visual works of art have been exhibited widely in Europe. See www.sibyllagiger.com. Sibylla composes music for videos of other artists as well as for film and computer games. She is a versatile artist and her compositions are always experimental works in progress taking her and you on a journey of discovery.Erica Wood, London