QUIET LONDON [2020]
Recorded by Rob Szeliga
Quiet London • Greenwich, London, April 19th 2020
The city is quiet, London in lockdown. An early morning riverside recording. Nothing particularly special, we might think. A few ducks, passing birds, a runner here and there, a bit of traffic, some distant skyline noise, the odd splash of water…
The nearest airport to where this recording was made is London City airport which, according to its website, only operates flights from 12:30pm on Sundays. London Stansted airport however permits normal flight operations to commence on Sundays from 6:30am. This recording was made around 7:00am on Sunday April 19th during the lockdown restrictions on flights and general traffic across the country. I will assume therefore that what I’m hearing here is in fact a quieter space; a soundscape marked by a noticeable lack of audible air traffic over this part of London. I’m assuming this because I don’t possess a recording of this location made before the lockdown to compare this one to. But everything about my lockdown experience so far suggests that I have been in fact experiencing a quieter city.
As lockdown measures have come into effect in urban areas throughout the world, residents have reported a noticeable difference in the sounds they are now hearing around them. In the absence of background traffic both in the air and on the ground, bird song suddenly feels more present and the sounds of our neighbourhood more noticeable - children playing nearby, music, television sets and the weekly cacophony of claps and communal pot banging.
It feels like our listening habits, the way we’re able to focus our auditory attention to extract information from the world around us, is being shaped by the changing sound environment we now find ourselves experiencing. It’s not only that the world outside feels quieter, but that we ourselves are listening in a different way. Birds are not only singing because the quieter atmosphere permits them to, but have been reported to be singing louder - especially the case during the mating months of early spring.
In the absence of background traffic noise greater environmental detail is revealed. At the same time this allows us to attune ourselves to the world in order to listen out for such details.
What we might have here is an example of how the environment can radically alter the way we experience the world around us, and in doing so reveal an opportunity for understanding and knowledge that was previously concealed.