5km from home is a sonic response to the COVID-19 outbreak in Ireland in 2020. The recordings were made during the ‘lockdown’ period, where all but the most essential services and activities were severely curtailed in order to identify, isolate and treat carriers of the virus. The full lockdown period was from 27th March to May 5th, following a ‘delay’ phase that saw the closure of schools and universities on the 12th of March. Initial easing was from May 5th to 18th, phase 1 of reopening was from 18th of May to June 8th, and phase 2+ from was from June 8th to 29th. The constraints on recording during this time included an initial limit on travel to 2km which was eased to 5km, and then movement within the county. Most of the recordings however, were taken between 0-3km from home.

The piece is in four parts. Part 1 opens with the strained, muted sound of a blackbird. This was recorded by placing the microphones up the chimney of the house while the blackbird sang on the chimney pots above. The muted, muffled tones evoke a sense of constraint experienced at the time. These sounds are quickly broken by harsh, jarring sounds of electro-magnetic noise. These sounds were recorded using a contact mic moved around a ‘smart’ speaker as the broadcast news was providing headlines and stories about the outbreak. The first part is therefore a response to the initial constraints and anxious, uncomfortable emotional responses experienced towards the media reports of the outbreak.

The second part briefly opens with a different blackbird motif, quickly followed by other birdsong, ducks flying overhead, a barking dog, a distant siren, and the sounds of domestic activity, such as plates being prepared for an outdoor meal in a nearby garden. Some brief snippets of conversation are heard as young girls walk through a nearby laneway, perhaps taking their exercise within the 2km radius from their home. While this activity is taking place, sounds of crowd and magpies are introduced, along with the sounds of the Garda helicopter. In Dublin this was a prominent feature of the early lockdown, adding a mechanical, motorised intrusion into the domestic soundscape, overshadowing the activities below.

The third part provides a slight sense of expansion, having been recorded 3km from home. It is a soundscape of activity, as it was recorded at a popular coastal walking area. The sounds of partial conversations can be heard as walkers traverse the sonic space, but with articulations of reticence in part with an acknowledgement by a member of the public that the space had ‘too many people’. Sounds of cars and bicycles are also heard. In the background, a rhythmic splashing can be heard, panning from left to right as the soundscape progresses. This is the sound of a sea swimmer, far ahead of their companions. The sounds of this swimmer are at once comforting in their rhythms, but also evoke a sense of lonely and laboured progress through the sonic space. Once again this is evocative of the strange, uneasy, separate togetherness being experienced at this time.

The fourth part is a short reprise of the opening part, except this time without the jarring electronic noise. The listener experiences seven sets of vocalisations from the blackbird. This is to evoke a sense of cautious optimism and hope – while the bird continues to sing, the backdrop of potential ecological recovery is implied. Yet the sound is still constrained, not quite right, not quite clear. This echoes reports of recovery of ecosystems throughout the world as human activity was curtailed, only to be reversed once lockdowns were eased, prompting questions about long-term sustainability of human activity, and the impacts of everyday life on ecosystems.