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Abstract
"Well, listen. .. "is a sound composition about the acoustic community of Toronto Island and Toronto Harbour. The project explores how people create and experience acoustic community, how perceptions of the soundscape are related to attitudes about nature and culture, and how power relationships are articulated through sound. The project is based in environmental cultural studies and in sound ecology, notably the work of Williams (1973), Schafer (1977), Westerkamp (2002) and Truax (1984), and concludes seven months of soundwalks, interviews, composition, editing and field research. Participants discussed the soundscape of Toronto Island, noise pollution in Toronto Harbour and the relationship between sound, community and ecology. These interviews were edited and re-assembled in a manner inspired by the contrapuntal voice compositions of Glenn Gould. Field recordings reflect the complex mix of natural, social, and industrial sounds that make up the soundscape of the harbour, and document the acts of sound walking and deep listening that are the core methods of soundscape research. The composition creates an imaginary aural space that integrates the voices and reflections of the Island's acoustic community with the contested soundscape of their island home. The project paper outlines the theory and methods that informed the sound composition, and further explores the political economy of noise pollution, especially in relation to the Docks nightclub dispute and to current research in sound ecology.
Highlights
During the course of the project, my focus shifted to a more general exploration of the acoustic community of Toronto Island, in an attempt to capture what is was that islanders felt was being violated by loud noises and urban din
The timely coincidence of the Docks nightclub dispute, my personal connection to the Toronto island community, and my previous academic and creative engagement with sound brought this project to life
I gathered approximately fifteen hours of ambient sound from different parts of Wards Island and Algonquin Island, as well as from the Island ferry terminal and on the ferry itself, on the Leslie Street Spit, at the Docks nightclub parking lot, and underneath the Gardiner expressway. It was during these soundwalks that the subjective nature of "sound communities" became very apparent: I did not make a single recording on Toronto Island that was free of industrial noise seeping in from beyond island space
Summary
Joint Graduate Programme in Communication & Culture Ryerson University - York University Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 7, 2006. Participants discussed the soundscape of Toronto Island, noise pollution in Toronto Harbour and the relationship between sound, community and ecology. These interviews were edited and re-assembled in a manner inspired by the contrapuntal voice compositions of Glenn Gould. I was rarely aware of city noises on those walks; it was not until I started recording soundwalks on the island, and became a more attentive listener, that the broader soundscape emerged At this time I became aware of the Islanders' troubles with loud clubs and party boats in the harbour. During the course of the project, my focus shifted to a more general exploration of the acoustic community of Toronto Island, in an attempt to capture what is was that islanders felt was being violated by loud noises and urban din
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