Sounds of the City brought to life

WHAT does the UK sound like? Unfortunately at the moment, howling winds and lots of splashing but outside of that, which noises are quintessentially British? According to the marketing whizzes at VisitBritain the pouring of a cup of tea (surely the whirr of a Nespresso?), a black cab beeping (an electric one, we assume?) and, er, Rudimental’s drum and bass records. 

 

The tourist board’s new £2.5m campaign aims to lure holidaymakers to these shores using sounds, by playing Rudimental’s track “Feel the Love”, over which you can choose English noises to add, before saving your creation. Have a go here.

 

There’s definitely something patriotic about creating your own tune by sampling the sound of English Breakfast hitting a porcelain tea cup. But what about the sounds of the City? 

 

The Capitalist would add the sound of open outcry from the London Metal Exchange, the bells of St Paul’s and the beeping of the Oyster barrier at Canary Wharf station (which one YouTube video expertly links with the “woohoo” bit from Blur’s Song 2). Music to our ears.