Beat, the German music production magazine, has released Sound of Berlin, a free sample pack containing 4GB of field recordings captured around Berlin.
The pack was created in collaboration with Zoom using the Zoom H5 field recorder. The cool thing is that sign-up isn’t required in any shape or form. Just click the download link below to get the RAR archive.
The Beat team spent 12 hours covering 22 kilometers across the city, recording everything raw with no studio processing. The content is also provided raw, so you’re getting the authentic sounds of this busy city.
The download contains 58 audio files in WAV format. 51 of those are labeled as field recordings, and the rest are audio extracted from six accompanying videos that show how the team went around the city capturing sounds.
In terms of variety, there is all sorts of stuff in there. You will hear traffic, vehicles, city atmosphere, street performers, parties, people, and the general texture of Berlin on a busy day.
Nowadays, I mainly associate Berlin with Superbooth, even though I have been there a few times before the festival started. My most recent visits have all been for Superbooth at the FEZ building, and I have done a lot of exploring around the city.
Berlin is an incredibly lively place. I remember one day when I was free for the entire day, I grabbed an electric scooter and roamed all over town. I think I saw something like ten parties, a dub festival, a synth gathering, street musicians, and many other events all happening at the same time in various locations.
Oh, and Burgermeister. One of the best burgers ever (not a paid ad).
You really cannot get bored in Berlin, and if you are into music or art in any way, it is one of the best places to be in Europe. So Beat’s idea of sampling the city like this makes a lot of sense.
As a sound designer, I highly recommend downloading this for a few reasons.
First, it’s free and instantly available, which is always nice. But more importantly, layering field recordings like these under your electronic sounds is a great way to add atmosphere and depth.
You do not necessarily need a full city ambience in a track, but even mixing something subtle under a pad or a drum loop can give it more character.
And of course, if you work on video projects or need thematic background sounds, this is a useful resource to have on hand. If you enjoy this type of content, I also recommend the free World Sounds pack on 99sounds, where you will find more field recordings like this.
Download: Sound of Berlin by Beat Magazine (FREE)
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Last Updated on March 25, 2026 by Tomislav Zlatic.
