Sounds of the city
A new project is capturing the everyday sounds of Sunderland for an evolving piece of music
A groundbreaking year-long piece of music powered by Sunderland’s own data has been launched to celebrate the city’s new global Music City status.
The project, titled SonOrbitUs, is described as a “musical composition created by the city itself” and will evolve in real time over the next 12 months, using information gathered from Sunderland’s environment and population.
Commissioned by Sunderland Music City and funded by Arts Council England, the piece uses live data on weather, air quality, traffic, pedestrian movement and rainfall to generate sound. It began streaming in October and will continue online until September 2026.
The project is the work of musician Peter Brewis of Field Music and Ivor Novello-nominated composer Ed Carter, working alongside sound artist Tim Shaw and University of Sunderland researcher Becky Allen.
Over the course of the year the changing environment and habits of the city’s population will change the music and anyone can tune in any time - in real time - to hear the latest version.
As well as the live stream, visitors can experiment with SonOrbitUs at The Fire Station, where a “Music Maker” installation allows people to manipulate sounds using hand gestures picked up by a webcam.
Much of the music is rooted in Sunderland’s industrial and coastal character.
“Sunderland has such a strong and historic association with glass, we thought we could build some instruments using Sunderland bottles,” said Ed. Peter Brewis added that listeners might recognise “a seagull, a mast on a boat, a child walking in The Bridges, a coal train rolling across the bridge”.
The project forms part of the Sunderland Year of Music and celebrates the city’s official designation as a Music City in January 2025, joining an international network that includes Berlin, Manchester and Sydney.
SonOrbitUs can be streamed at musiccity.uk throughout the year, offering listeners a living soundtrack to Sunderland’s daily rhythm.