Join us at the ALL CAPS! Island Festival August 11-12

Posted on August 6, 2012 by necsys

Tod will be attending the ALL CAPS! Island Festival on August 11^th and 12^th, a festival of Indie music. We have several fun activities planned for Sunday the 12^th, and we hope to see you at the festival so you can be a part of this next step. First, any interested members of the audience or performers will come together to listen to a select few of the submitted Toronto sounds and then begin to reflect these sounds in actual music. Tod will be working with this group to give suggestions, and they will work to get as close as possible to those sounds using instruments in both traditional and non-traditional ways. During this time, the bands will also have a unique opportunity to join in on the project. By setting up a recording studio at the festival, we will be able to collect the one chord, sound, or short phrase that represents each individual band. The idea here is similar to with the sounds in that we hope these clips will be instantly recognizable to any of each bands’ fans. This should be a great weekend to begin to both listen to Toronto music and to take the next steps of the project together; we hope to see you there!

For more information about “A Toronto Symphony: Concerto for Composer and City,” visit http://toronto.media.mit.edu/

For more information about the ALL CAPS! festival, visit http://wavelengthtoronto.com/show/2012/06/all-caps-island-festival-2012

Sounds of Toronto – Midnight

Posted on August 1, 2012 by necsys

Flatiron Building at night

Some of us have gone to bed and rarely hear the city at this hour. But the city never sleeps. What’s your Sound of Toronto at midnight? Surprise us!

Record a few seconds or a minute of your Toronto sound and share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud.

Sounds of Toronto – 9:00 PM

Posted on July 31, 2012 by necsys

Distillery Historic District

Night is falling. Are you heading home for dining out, or on your way out to a club? Or perhaps you work the night shift, with its own unique rhythms? Are the streets or your neighborhood falling silent, or still bustling with activity?

What’s your Sound of Toronto at 9:00PM?

Share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud!

Sounds of Toronto – 6 PM

Posted on July 30, 2012 by necsys

The work day is over for many, the rumble of the homeward commute is crescendoing. Kitchens across the city resound with the sound of vegetables getting chopped, the sizzle of the evening’s meal landing in skillets, the warm-up of the evening’s entertainments…

What’s your sound of Toronto at 6:00 PM?

Grab that sound with your smartphone, digital camera or recorder! Share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud! Deadline: August 9, 2012 – because we will be incorporating your sounds into an exciting activity that takes place August 11-12. Details will be revealed soon! Email Rachel McDermott with technical questions.

Sounds of Toronto – 3:00 PM

Posted on July 26, 2012 by necsys

It’s that time of day when you need that extra shot of caffeine and conversation to help you get through the remains of the afternoon. The screen door slams and the kids are home from camp. Or if you’re a night owl, you’re just becoming fully alert and starting to plan your evening.

What’s your sound of Toronto at 3:00 PM?

Catch that sound with your smartphone, digital camera or recorder. It can be a few seconds or up to a minute, depending on the sound. Share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud! Deadline: August 9, 2012 – because we will be incorporating your sounds into an exciting activity that takes place August 11-12. Details will be revealed soon!

If you need technical help, email Rachel McDermott <rachelmc@mit.edu>. Have fun!

Sounds of Toronto – High Noon

Posted on July 25, 2012 by necsys

Dundas Square

After the relative calm of mid-morning, noon erupts in noise as workers head out to lunch. Public plazas turn into open-air concert spaces. It’s a time for church bells and emergency sirens. What are your sounds of Toronto as morning tips into afternoon?

At 12:00 PM, record the sound that tells you what time it is, using any recording device you have at hand. Share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud.

Sounds of Toronto – 9:00 AM

Posted on July 24, 2012 by necsys

Toronto street car

By now you will have discerned a pattern in this series of tasks! But are the sounds around you as regular and predictable as you might assume? Perhaps your life proceeds every day like clockwork. Then again, it may be peppered with unexpected moments. Whether you’re waiting for a bus, settling into your desk or heading out to your garden with your morning cup of coffee, take a moment to open your ears. What does 9:00 AM sound like?

Capture the sound that catches your ear with your smartphone, digital camera or recorder and share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud. Thank you, and have a lovely day!!

Sounds of Toronto – 6:00 AM

Posted on July 23, 2012 by necsys

We’ve been enjoying the sound recordings that people have been sending in response to our first “task”. The subway chime has been forever burned into our auditory memory. What about the melodic chatter of Chinatown conversations, punctuated by the clink of dinner plates?

Over the next several weeks, we’ll set a “daily task” that we hope will inspire you to think in a more focused way about the sounds in your world. First is a series on sounds associated with different times of the day. Here’s one for early birds:

What is your sound of Toronto at 6:00 AM?

Grab your smartphone, digital camera or recorder and capture the sound. It can be a few seconds or up to a minute, depending on the sound. Save your sound/video file and share it on our Facebook page or Soundcloud! Deadline: August 9, 2012 – because we will be incorporating your sounds into an exciting activity that takes place August 11-12. Details will be revealed soon!

If you need technical help, email Rachel McDermott <rachelmc@mit.edu>. Have fun!

Your Sounds: The Subway Chime

Posted on July 9, 2012 by necsys

What’s your signature Sound of Toronto? Business consultant and visual artist Derek Wong says one sound in particular is most memorable: the three-note melody that plays when the TTC subway doors close. “It actually drives me crazy,” he says. Watch:

Sound Inspirations via NPR

Posted on July 4, 2012 by necsys

We have been receiving some terrific “sounds of Toronto” and suggestions of sounds, so thanks to all of you who have sent things to us. Many others have contacted us to say that they will be sending sounds, so we really look forward to listening to those.

As you are thinking of the most typical Toronto sounds to send or to tell us about, I thought that you might be interested in taking a listen to this short radio piece that – coincidentally – popped up on National Public Radio in the U.S. on Monday.

I nearly drove my car into a tree when I heard it, since it has so much relevance to the kinds of sounds we are trying to collect. Listen here.

What I think is so interesting about this NPR piece is that people identified not only typical but also really unusual sounds from their respective cities, from all over America. For instance, someone identified the signature sound of New Orleans not as music spilling out of jazz clubs, but rather as the sound of the steam calliope on the riverboat Natchez. Never would have thought of that!

Steam calliope on the riverboat Natchez

I hope you enjoy listening to this NPR clip, and also hope that it might give you an idea or two of sounds you know in Toronto that will surprise and delight, and will also allow all of us – from the city and from afar – to listen to Toronto in a new way.

Look forward very much to hearing from – and to hearing – you.

– Tod

P.S. For a reminder of how to send us sounds, or suggestions of sounds, see our Launch post. To subscribe to this blog, click here.