Please join us and welcome our fifth Community Fellow Ed Casabian in this guest post and learn about his Fellowship project and the ways you can get involved.

Who am I?

My name is Ed Casabian, and I’m excited to be a SoundCloud Community Fellow. For the past 15 months I have been the NYC Nomad, which is a project / social experiment in which I live in a different neighborhood, with different people, every week. So far I’ve stayed in 41 neighborhoods in New York City across the five boroughs. I like to give my hosts a chance to use me as an excuse to visit new places in their own neighborhood, and share what it is that they love about the city with me. I’ve always loved traveling, but its been a very unique experience to travel in my own city.

I’ve gained a variety of perspectives during my project both through the people I meet and the places I stay. I’ve stayed with people ranging from the age of 11 months to 80 years old and my commute has included every subway line (there are 22), the bus, a boat, my foldable bike, and walking. I think New York City is a place best seen by many different perspectives, and these perspectives are a lot of what I’ve been searching for throughout my experience.

My Fellowship:

Perhaps the most fascinating thing about my project is all the different people I meet. In fact, I found out about SoundCloud through someone I stayed with during my third week of this project.

For my fellowship, each week I will search for and interview the most interesting person in the neighborhood I’m living in. Here is a recording I captured with 94 year old Bernie in my most recent neighborhood of Stuyvesant Town in Manhattan. He’s lived there since 1949.

An Interview with 94 Year Old Bernie in Stuy Town by thenycnomad

Get Involved!

Even if I am nomadic and moving every week, there is no way I can capture all of the unique stories cities have to offer. So please contribute with an interview using the record feature of the SoundCloud apps for iPhone or Android. It can be the owner of a local business, a friend, or someone who you’ve always wanted to talk to but never had a reason to. And it doesn’t have to be in New York City. I think New Yorkers are some of the most interesting people in the world, but there are stories across the United States and the rest of the world waiting to be told.

To contribute, you can check my Tumblr blog for more information or easily submit to the SoundCloud group City Stories. Please follow me on Twitter @thenycnomad (also look for hashtag #citystories) and like my Facebook page.

Thanks, and I hope to see you in your neighborhood! Oh and check out Betabeat who just published a story about my Fellowship.

Meet the other Fellows:

Alex Stiver and United Sounds

Evan Tenenbaum: Organic City Sounds

Katie Needs and Sounds Of My City

Eduardo Lipe and the Without Walls Project

Photo by guillenperez, found on Flickr

Before the new year starts, we decided to dive into New York City, USA! We picked one artist from each of its five boroughs: Manhattan, The Bronx, Brooklyn, Staten Island, and Queens. Enjoy the picks below!

Kyle Sullivan (Manhattan)
Outside of being a film student, Kyle Sullivan also makes music and does a great job of it. We asked him how he’s been liking SoundCloud and he replied, “I freakin’ love SoundCloud these days! Many of the artists I happen to like have profiles so it’s sort of a treasure trove for me.” We like hearing that!

soundcloud.com/kylesullivan

Cheez Da Producer (The Bronx)
Don’t let Cheez Da Producer’s name fool you. He’s not only a producer but also a songwriter, composer, and instrumentalist. He does it all and does not compromise quality. Another fun fact about him is that he knew what he wanted to do in life before he could even tie his shoes!

soundcloud.com/cheezdaproducer

Black Taxi (Brooklyn)
These guys are apparently the sons of sheep farmers, Mennonites, rail workers and Olympians — interesting, huh? What’s even more interesting is their music, which has been said to have the same characteristics as Daft Punk, The Clash, and Cake. Go on and have a listen.

soundcloud.com/blacktaximusic

Ben Sher (Staten Island)
Ben Sher is a qualified and very experienced musician. After years of studying jazz and classical music, Ben is now a professor who continues to play music on the side. He’s been all over the world and is based in Staten Island now, keeping busy with music and uploading to SoundCloud!

soundcloud.com/ben-sher

Roger Gomez (Queens)
From what we can tell, Roger Gomez is an experimental producer and composer who works on his own. The artwork used with his music is created by his brother and it suits the space-themed, out-of-this-world music that Roger creates. Hear for yourself below!

soundcloud.com/frostbite11368

If you’re a user based in New York City, please join the SoundCloud Local NYC group and submit your tracks — we would love to hear them! Also, keep an eye on Meetup.com!

Looking for some more music from NYC? Check out citysounds.fm/new-york!

Happy New Year to everyone! See you next year with more SoundCloud Local cities and other fun stuff.