The CNE, otherwise known as the Canadian National Exhibition, runs for a little over two weeks at the end of the summer. The grounds are very near the northern shore of Lake Ontario in Toronto, about one to two kilometres away. One of the highlights of the CNE is the Air Show that features U.S. and Canadian Forces jets and planes. Sitting on the border of downtown and midtown in Toronto gave the neighbourhood a good chance to see the roaring jets flying overhead. Amid the cicadas, birds, insects, and random comments, the jets drowned out nature. Have a listen to the sound scene I captured of the air show overhead on its second to last afternoon, ahead of Labour Day 2023. Best listened in a quiet room with headphones.
Listen Here: 12.1mb 05m05s
https://ninjaradio.files.wordpress.com/2023/09/0034rebelnotion9cneairshow.mp3U.S Navy Blue Angels F18 Super HornetsHardware and Software: Zoom H4 Recorder in 4 channel surround sound, Windows 11, Audacity 3.1.3, Samsung s22 Ultra for photos. Best listened to on headphones.
The garden tour is finally done. Peaceful, but not quiet, the bullfrogs, insects and birds are settling in for the night on June 13, 2023, 9:00 pm.
A Picton Garden, Prince Edward County, OntarioListen Here: After The Garden Show (13mb 5m34s)
https://ninjaradio.files.wordpress.com/2023/06/0033rebelnotion9afterthegardenshow.mp3Hardware and Software: iPhone 12, Windows 11, Audacity 3.3.3. Original recording by L.E.E., postproduction editing by Ninja Notion. Best listened to with headphones.
A Picton Garden, Prince Edward County, Ontario
On October 17, 2021 an International Drumming Festival was held at the Wychwood Barns in heart of what we now call midtown Toronto. Mostly, a cool and windy day, later in the afternoon, it rained which ultimately drove Special K and I home. But before we left I captured soundscene audio of some of the … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0032 – Série Pandémique – International Drumming Festival
A spectacular cacaphony of fireworks heralded in the New Year on Jan 1 2022. We couldn’t watch them in person. But we could certainly hear them as we stood outside with a small collection of other neighbours. Best listened to with headphones. Hardware and Software: Zoom H4 Recorder, Windows 11, Audacity 3.1.0, Canon camera.
There were two families at the falls while we were there. Two of the boys, who had been running back and forth around the lookout point, stopped when they saw me taking pictures. I saw them out of the corner of my eye. They seemed curious about me, but when I turned around to look … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0030 – Série Pandémique – Inglis Falls, Owen Sound
Hanging out on Georgian Bay in Owen Sound. Pulling up some deck chairs, we enjoyed the sunshine, but it was cool and windy. We spotted a colony of gulls overhead. Gulls, though fascinating, will eat anything dead or alive, animal or vegetable. Listen here (3m53s). Best listened to with headphones. I Talk To The Wind … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0029 – Série Pandémique – Sitting on Georgian Bay
Take a walk with me along the rocky coast of Point Petre in Prince Edward County. August 19, 2021 around 13:00. 29.6c (80f) with a humidex of 38c (100f). Listen here: Hardware and Software: Zoom H4 Recorder, Windows 10, Audacity 3.0.2, Hauwei P30 (for photos).
We happened by a fire station on the morning of the 20th Anniversary of 9/11. We were able to see and hear the ceremony. It started at 09:58 and ended around 10:10. Have a listen to the audio (6m16s) :
This winter we only had only about two weeks or so of really cold weather and snow. Enough to use the hill for sledding and build a skating rink in the park. The February day I chose to make this soundscape, was brittle, but sunny. The sky was punctuated by dazzingly white clouds in one … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0026 – Série Pandémique – Socially Distant Winter Park Date
Warm summer thunderstorm. July 19, 2020. Best enjoyed in a quiet place with noise cancelling headphones. Hardware and Software: Zoom H4, Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones, Windows 10, Audacity 2.3.2, Image credit: Smashing Magazine(c) Myriad Advertising(c)
It snowed and the neighbours gave out candy canes. No parties this year, but as an event shared in many places worldwide, we gathered on our front porches to ring bells, make noise, and wish each other a Merry Christmas at 6:00pm. Hardware and Software: Zoom H4, Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones, Windows 10, Audacity 2.3.2, … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0024 – Série Pandémique – A Corona Christmas Eve
November 11, 2020 11:00am. Toronto, Canada. Taps performed by a student from a local school. Fighter jets flying above the city. Two minutes of silence. And a barking squirrel. Hardware and Software: Zoom H4, Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones, Windows 10, Audacity 2.3.2, Hauwei P30 (for photos).
The parents on the street decided to have a short parade, less than 100 metres in fact, with all the children on Halloween. So just before sunset, we walked to the end of the street, with a boombox filling in for the Pied Piper. The party was topped off by a leaf throwing contest. This … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0022 – Série Pandémique – A Corona Halloween
Here is my soundscape of a physically distanced fireworks display on Canada Day July 1 2020 10:30 PM. By physically distanced, I mean, if you wanted to, and if you were still awake hang out on your own stoop, physically distanced. Having walked to the park and further, chasing the sounds of an unpeopled celebration, … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0021 – Série Pandémique – Not With a Bang But A Whimper
This audio piece is a mashup of four different nights between March and April 2020 across two streets. It represents the nightly tribute our particular neighbourhood did for our essential services workers during the pandemic. It’s something many children all over the world will one day remember doing and why. As always, best listened … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0019 – Série Pandémique – 19:30 Nightly Tribute to Our Essential Workers
Soundscape of the Climate Strike rally in Queen’s Park Toronto (Provincial Legislature) and the march on Friday Sep 27 2019. Listen here (5m37s 13mb): Best listened to with headphones. Equipment and software: Zoom H4, Windows 10, Audacity 2.3.2, Hauwei P30 (for photos). A companion to Ninja’s Rebel Matters podcast episode number 228: 1 2 3 … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0018 – Toronto Climate Strike Soundscape Sep 27 2019
Wind chimes in the backyard and strong winds usher in an eventual evening autumn storm. Best listened to in a quiet room with headphones. Listen here (3m55s 7mb): Equipment: Zoom H4
In April 2016, my Aunt sent my siblings and me an email asking if one of us would like to take some of my grandfather’s memorabilia off her hands, since her children were not interested. I was the one that accepted and found myself with approximately 250 cassette tapes spread over about 23 binders. They … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – E0016 – Greatness, Fame, and, perhaps, a little Envy
In February 2015, I visited the National Gallery in Ottawa. At the exhibition called “Canadian Biennial 2014” I wandered into an installation by Kelly Richardson. The sound that went along with the video installation filled the room. I was spellbound. From the following link: http://kellyrichardson.net/?page_id=1229 “As part of Shine a Light, Kelly Richardson’s recently acquired … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0015 – Kelly Richardson Installation – Mariner 9 – Haunting Audio
Spring waterfall over ice and rock #2. By the side of the road – March 23 2015 11:09am Prince Edward County. It was sunny and very very cold -10c. Equipment Used: Zoom H2 Recorder with Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones.
Water rumbles beneath the snow and ice with birds on Lake Ontario March 23 2015 12:13pm Prince Edward County. It was sunny and very very cold – 10c. Equipment Used: Zoom H2 Recorder with Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones
Waterfall Over Ice and Rock by the Side of the Road March 23 2015 11:05am Prince Edward County Ontario. It was very sunny and very very cold -10c. Equipment Used: Zoom H2 Recorder with Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones.
Walking on Spring Snow Over Gravel March 23 2015 11:22am Prince Edward County Ontario. It was sunny and Very Very Cold. -10c. Equipment Used: Zoom H2 Recorder with Roland CS-10EM Binaural Microphones.
How the angels sing to Stanley in heaven (27m54s) : Recorded at the TIFF Lightbox on November 10 2014 at the Kubrick Retrospective. Equipment used: Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones
Audience generated music. Performed on Saturday October 18, 2014 at New Adventures in Sound Art in Toronto. Audience members were given cards with a url to connect to, and were able to send in button presses which formed the basis of the composition. Conductor and Score Meister : Elliot Feinberg Participants : Elliot, David, Sarah, … Continue reading Crowd Scored Audience Generated Composition
New York City Subway – September 18 2014 at around 17:20pm. Travelling from Bleecker Street to 42nd Street Grand Central Station. The audio has been edited and time slightly compressed to emphasize certain audio elements and vocal idiosyncrasies. Listen: (5m36s 10Mb) Equipment used: Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones
A reading of T.S. Eliot’s The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock, one of the greatest poems of the 20th century. Using an Apex Microphone connected to an Alesis 8 channel mixer on an x86 laptop running Ubuntu. Listen: Or Download at Rebel Notion No 9 Ep 0008 JAlfredPrufrock (13mb 6m52s)
This piece uses approximately four minutes of audio from the documentary : Inuit Knowledge and Climate Change. Pangnirtung, Nunavut residents speak in their native tongue about a flash flood that occurred in June 2008. The flash flood caused the collapse of two bridges that connect the north and south end of the community over the … Continue reading Rebel Notion No. 9 – 0007 – As The Permafrost Thaws
Early morning ducks in Akershus Fortress, Olso Norway Saturday April 27 2013 Duration : 3m9s Size : 8mb Equipment used: Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones
Friday April 26 2013 Mid Afternoon Bygdøy Island, Norway. Ninja teases a squeaky gate waiting at the dock for the ferry back to Oslo. Sunny and mild. Listen: Duration: 02:04 Size: 5mb
April 24 8pm Bergen, Norway. Boy’s Marching Band through the city centre by the Atlantic Ocean. Sun has still not set. Fine mist of rain falling around us. Listen : Duration: 1m50s Size: 5mb Equipment used for recording : Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones
Art Institute of Chicago June 21 2012 Equipment used for recording : Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones.
Riding the L in Chicago June 23 2012 Equipment used for recording : Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones.
The Black Solitary Bee that Sarah Found In my fourth and final installment of sound and visual art and artists I recorded at the Toronto Electro-Acoustic Symposium this summer, I end with the bees. After-all I started the series with bees for Hot Fossils and Rebel Matters number 208. In this show I learn a … Continue reading Hot Fossils and Rebel Matters 211 – Let’s End With the Bees
Pink and Purple with Hector Centeno From her website we read that: Alexandra Gelis is a Colombian-Venezuelan visual artist based in Toronto, Canada. She holds an MFA degree from York University, Toronto, Canada. Her work incorporates photography, video, electronics and digital processes…Gelis’ work addresses the use of image relation to topics of displacement, landscape, and … Continue reading Hot Fossils and Rebel Matters 210 – The Pink and The Purple
PluseCubes by Ryo Ikeshiro In this second of a four part series of soundscapes and interviews I did at the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium this August, I share two sound exhibits. PluseCubes by Ryo Ikeshiro. From the program: “is an interactive sound where visitors are invited to become part of an implicit feedback loop whose … Continue reading Hot Fossils and Rebel Matters 209 – Ghost Haunting, Brown Notes, and Vibrations Cubed
It’s hard to decide which piece I loved most on the evening of August 16. It was the second concert night of the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium hosted by New Adventures in Sound Art. The theatre at the Wychwood Barns on Christie Street, where the concert was held, holds a maximum of about a hundred audience … Continue reading Delights of the Toronto Electroacoustic Symposium Aug 16 Concert
Here is the performance by James Partaik that he did on May 26 2012 as part of the NAISA Trans-X Transmission Art Symposium: Right click to download instead: May26James (80 mb) Equipment used for recording : Zoom H2 and Roland – CS-10EM – Binaural Microphones/Earphones.
Inspired by Revolution No. 9, the first sound art piece I ever heard, I will be using this site to publish a new audio podcast that is more experimental in nature. Revolution No. 9 was the longest Beatle composition ever produced at 8 minutes 13 seconds long. Hey Jude, by contrast, is 7 minutes and … Continue reading You Say You’ve Got a Rebel Notion