Sounds and the city: Artists put Asia's changing urban identity on tape

Malaysian composer Ng Chor Guan records sounds in a local market in Kuala Lumpur. Photo: Thomson Reuters Foundation

When composer Ng Chor Guan started commuting by bicycle in car-obsessed Malaysia a decade ago, he was struck by how quickly his city was changing and the sounds he would not have heard if he had been driving.

It led him to start recording the everyday sounds of Malaysian cities, one of a growing number of artists in Asia from India to Hong Kong who are seeking to preserve audible heritage in the region's fast-changing urban hubs.