COVID-19 Sound Map

The COVID-19 Sound Map is a crowd-sourced project where the public was invited to consider everyday aural environments which changed as a result of restrictions put in place around the world during the various periods of lockdown following the COVID-19 outbreak. The main aim of the project was to capture the sounds of a particular period of time, to document these sounds and preserve them on a Google Earth Web-based sound map which would be available in perpetuity, so that these sounds could be (re-)listened to at any point in the future as a sonic memory of this unique period in our history.

Those submitting sounds were required to provide reflective text to accompany their sound which details the change in the soundscape as well as any effects that change had on the person submitting. This was a crucial part of the project as reflection on sound is not easy and, in these strange, quieter times we are allowed more time for contemplation. The sound map provides a rich database of captured sound and text from around the world which will be relevant for many years to come.

Pandemonium

Pandemonium is made entirely from sounds from the COVID-19 Sound Map and I wanted to reflect the many changes that had taken place to our everyday sonic environments, whilst playing with connections that might be discovered between sound references and sound types…

…a train pulling into a deserted station in New Jersey almost apologetically sounds it horn, whilst the birds in the background are joined by others from all over the world; the metallic, bird-like squeaks of a swinging pub sign gradually flock and morph into the creak of a swing in a garden…

…badly sung Bob Marley and Lipps Inc. battle each other from Spanish balconies, joined by a variety of sonic thankyous to front-line workers around the world with the Belper Moo suddenly interrupted as we hear a sick motorbike out for its first run for a while fading into the distributed heterophony of the Lord’s Prayer over Zoom…

I imagine a “pandemonium” to be some kind of instrument which emits sounds recorded during a pandemic, but which also has the power to transform them and create new sounds.

With grateful thanks to the following for their sounds:

Anon, Chris Barlas, Caroline Boe, Duncan Chapman, Michael Competielle, Phillip Cooke, Tim Cooper, Andrew Davidson, Liz Dobson, Kerstin Ergenzinger, Val Forsyth, Rob Godman, Hanja Hains, Jonty Harrison, Angus Hawkins, Jo Hinson, Ian Macilwain, Alistair MacDonald, Andy Moore, Martina Sabariego, Daniel Simpson, Donna Smith, Chris Whitty and Ross Whyte.