“Coronavirus: Nearly 51,000 excess deaths in England and Wales in first five weeks of outbreak: More than 33,000 people in England and Wales died from coronavirus as of early May, according to official data published on Tuesday, though estimations suggest there has been close to 51,000 excess deaths. In the first five weeks of the outbreak, 108,345 deaths were registered by the Office for National Statistics – which is 46,494 more than the five-year average. The ONS figures also showed care homes now account for a third of all Covid-19 deaths in England and Wales.” – @samueljlovett, The Independent.
This piece of music is prompted and inspired by the fact that thousands upon thousands of human lives and their untimely death have been discounted, ignored and whitewashed during this pandemic. They existed. They had lives. They were real. Whitewashing their deaths shows, irrespective of how beautiful, vibrant and alive you mistakenly think this planet is looking in terms of the natural world, what a low, vile and deeply disrespectful entity humanity is towards life itself. Governments are people. When they die their death will be marketed like a global product. When humanity finally treats each and every single life with the equality and respect they so truly deserve then we will step a little bit closer towards being humane and not so inhuman.
1. The Statistical Whitewashing of the Coronavirus Dead. – 8 mins 16 secs.
Genre: Electronic, experimental, noise, ambient and glitch.
Release date 12th May 2020 on Bandcamp.
Audio produced by Sheer Zed.
Photograph: Self portrait 10th April 2020 by Sheer Zed.