Listening Soundscape Study 2
In the midst of a global pandemic, countries and cities have become literal ghost towns. Once flustered with sounds from human activities, this has now been overtaken from the subtle industrial, mechanical, and natural environment sounds. After Lockdown 1, which began March 23, 2020, and eased in early June 2020, Belfast entered another lockdown deemed as Lockdown 2 issued for October 16, 2020, at 6pm in which all hospitality sector businesses were to close for a period of one month. This project records the transition prior, during, and after entering this new phase lockdown and highlighting some of the areas or business sectors affected by the closures. Each of the soundscapes lasts two minutes to follow the same project protocol from my first project and how restrictions were in place for daily exercise.
For the Lockdown 2 project, the points of interest are (Hyperlinked to different historical or hospitality information):
- Belfast City Hall
- Cathedral Quarter
- Church Lane (Mentioned in VisitBelfast’s Pub Trail in Belfast)
- Dublin Road (Part of The Golden Mile)
- Laverys Bar Belfast (Mentioned in Disover NI for Food & Drink)
- Queen’s Arcade (Shopping)
- Queen’s University Belfast
Please listen with headphones to enhance the auditory experience.
Columns separate media and text, left to right, October 15 / 16 / 21 of 2020.
October 15, 2020
Pre-Lockdown 2
October 16, 2020
Beginning of Lockdown 2
October 21, 2020
5th day after start of Lockdown 2
Belfast City Hall @ 6:10pm
Recording of locals and visitors passing at the junction that intertwines city centre, daily shopping, and commuters. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Belfast City Hall @ 6:19pm
Recording of more locals and visitors passing at the junction that intertwines city centre, daily shopping, and commuters. There is a lot more chatter in the nearby area as people are heading home due to the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast beginning.
Belfast City Hall @ 7:42pm
Recording of pedestrians and little amount of vehicle traffic in the area. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Cathedral Quarter @ 6:37pm
Recording in front of two bars (Dirty Onion and Thirsty Goat), queues of people waiting to go in, passersby’s, and bar chatter. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Cathedral Quarter @ 6:50pm
Recording in front of two bars which are now closed/closing (Dirty Onion – closed and Thirsty Goat – closing), there is soft music from Thirsty Goat and local pedestrian/vehicle movement. Beginning of Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Cathedral Quarter @ 8:04pm
Recording in front of two bars that are now closed (Dirty Onion and Thirsty Goat), the local area is much quieter, windy, and isolated. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Church Lane @ 6:29pm
Recording in front of two bars (Bullitt and Bootleggers), queues of people waiting to go in, passersby’s, vehicles, and security guard chatter. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Church Lane @ 6:39pm
Recording in front of two bars which are now closed/closing (Bullitt – closed and Bootleggers – closing), at Bootleggers they were removing outdoor terrace fencing, multiple tools being used (hammers, drills, etc…), and a few passersby. Beginning of Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Church Lane @ 7:56pm
Recording in front of two bars which are now closed (Bullitt and Bootleggers), quiet movement from a passerby, chatter, bicycles, and a little bit of wind. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Dublin Road @ 5:56pm
Recording in front of two bars (Filthy’s and The Points), busy street with many passersby and vehicle traffic. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Dublin Road @ 6:01pm
Recording in front of two bars which are closed/closing (Filthy’s – closed and The Points – closing), at The Points they were still people finishing their drinks on the outdoor terrace, staff picking up glassware, groups of people leaving the pub, chatter, passerby, vehicle traffic, at Filthy’s they were boarding up their doors and windows for the closure. Beginning of Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Dublin Road @ 7:24pm
Recording in front of two bars which are now closed (Filthy’s and The Points), a little number of pedestrians and vehicles passing, the sound of a skateboarder, little bit of wind. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Laverys Bar Belfast @ 5:40pm
Recording in front of Laverys Bar, security guard controlling the queue of people entering the bar, security taking the temperature of people before entering, passerby, chatter, opening and closing of the bar doors. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Laverys Bar Belfast @ 5:52pm
Recording in front of Laverys Bar which is closed. Space is much quieter, however, there is still some movement from pedestrians and vehicles. Beginning of Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Laverys Bar Belfast @ 7:12pm
Recording in front of Laverys Bar which is closed. Calmer space, a little bit of wind, less movement from people and vehicles. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Queen’s Arcade @ 6:18pm
Recording in a common space of shoppers, there is a distant violin player (usually performs in this area), a homeless man asking for money, and shoppers exiting stores. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Queen’s Arcade @ 6:25pm
Recording in a common space of shoppers, local buses driving in peak times of traffic, fewer people in the area, and space becomes much quieter. Beginning of Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Queen’s Arcade @ 7:48pm
Recording in a common space of shoppers, there are still buses, much fewer people walking in the space, and essential shops closing for the evening. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Queen’s University Belfast @ 5:34pm
Recording in front of the local university, main road which has much of the pedestrian and vehicle traffic. Few people crossing in front of the main building of Queen’s University Belfast. It resembles a casual moment in this particular area. This is a day before Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Queen’s University Belfast @ 5:39pm
Recording in front of the local university, however, space has begun to be quieter and subtle sounds in the distance. Beginning of Lockdown 2 in Belfast.
Queen’s University Belfast @ 7:02pm
Recording in front of the local university, space is calmer, windy, and less commotion in the area. This is five days after the new Lockdown 2 in Belfast started.
Additional Contributions
1– NI Science Festival: BEHIND THE SOUND | Sounding Belfast During Covid-19
https://nisciencefestival.com/e21430-sounding-belfast-during-covid-19
During a global pandemic, countries and cities have become literal ghost towns. Once flustered with sounds from human activities, it has now been overtaken from the once subtle industrial, urban, and natural sound environments. Recording multiple points during the lockdown, we are able to chronologically experience the differences imposed by Covid-19 restrictions and how these spaces have changed from the start of the global pandemic.
This project reflects through an auditory and sonic art perspective how the city sounds like without the presence of humans or the normal amount of human density in popular areas in public spaces of Belfast.
This project is accessible via Echoes (GPS soundwalks): https://explore.echoes.xyz/collections/QZQN9a10To92iDoM
Or alternatively scan the QR code below…
2- COVID-19 Sound Map
http://www.tinyurl.com/covid19soundmap
COVID-19_Belfast City: Lockdown 2 has now been included on Prof. Pete Stollery’s COVID-19 Sound Map.
Prof. Pete Stollery is a Professor of Composition and Electroacoustic Music at University of Aberdeen in Scotland, UK.
3- Cities and Memory
https://citiesandmemory.com/covid19-sounds/
This sound map is part of Cities and Memory: #StayHomeSounds is a global field recording & sound art work that presents both the present reality of a place and an alternative, reimagined sound world – remixing the world, one sound at at time.
Scroll to Northern Ireland and you will see all files I have recorded.
4- Radio Aporee – Soundscapes in the Pandemic:
https://aporee.org/maps/work/projects.php?project=corona
The platform radio aporee is online since about 2000, the project radio aporee ::: maps has started 2006. it is a global soundmap dedicated to field recording, phonography and the art of listening. it connects sound recordings to its places of origin, in order to create a sonic cartography, publicly accessible as a collaborative project. It contains recordings from numerous urban, rural and natural environments, disclosing their complex shape and sonic conditions, as well as the different perceptions, practices and artistic perspectives of its many contributors. this makes it a valuable resource for art, education and research projects, and for your personal pleasure.
In addition to aspects of collecting, archiving and sound-mapping, the radio aporee platform also invokes experiments at the boundaries of different media and public space. within this notion, radio means both a technology in transition and a narrative. it constitutes a field whose qualities are connectivity, contiguity and exchange. concepts of transmitter/ receiver and performer/ listener may become transparent and reversible.
Georgios Varoutsos 