Sound of Data Symposium - Online Version

Sound of Data is an all-day, immersive workshop and lecture series hosted on March 14, 2020. It is presented in partnership with Biblioteka Records, Ryerson’s Faculty of Communication and Design, the School of Professional Communication, and the Music Den.

The event features three separate, but related, learning blocks, staggered and organized in an order that makes the most sense for information processing. We start the day with Block A: Modular Synth for Absolute Beginners. A re-visitation of the Modular Synth for Absolute Beginners workshop hosted by Biblioteka Records, Frequency Freaks, and the Ryerson Responsive Ecologies Lab in October 2019, this information session breaks down the information barriers that lie ahead for those wanting to learn more about modular synthesizers, and presents the information and synthesis basics in an easy to understand, fun, and engaging way. 

Block B, Sonification, invites participants to explore Sonification, turning data into sound.We will start with an overview of sonification, and will consider how sound can help us understand data in different ways from established approaches such as data visualization, or the translation of data into sound. We then introduce participants to the E-Rhythms Data Sonifier, the Orpheum, and other tools that can be used to represent and engage with large data sets. Participants are invited to bring in their own data sets and try out tools and techniques that transform data into something we can hear.

Finally, Block C, TouchDesigner for Beginners, is an introduction to visualization software TouchDesigner that will touch on syncing TD to Ableton, using the program as a way to create a small monosynth within itself, and data and sound visualization.

The event is free for students, and $10 per workshop or $25 for the whole day for non-students. Attendees are welcome to attend any panel of their choice, but are encouraged to stick around for the whole day, mingle, and meet other creatives during breaks between blocks, and enjoy the many (healthy) snacks and drinks we’ll have laying around for you.

BLOCK A: Modular Synth for Absolute Beginners

Taught by Paul Stillwell (Toronto Sound Festival, Frequency Freaks) and Heidi Chan (“Bachelard,” Moog)

11:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.

Modular Synth for Absolute Beginners explores the basics of synthesis 101 with Paul Stillwell and Heidi Chan, two experts in the Toronto and North American modular synth scene. Learn about the difference between analogue and digital sound, converting CV to midi, what CV and midi mean, different types of modules and their functions, the basic building blocks required to get started building your own synthesizer and making music with it, and the possibilities within the world of modular synth. This event will feature a small “petting zoo” of various modular and semi-modular synths for curious hands and ears.

BLOCK B: Sonification: Turning Data Into Sound

Taught by Jack Jamieson (Faculty of Information, University of Toronto) and Tom Auger (Art & Science)

1:30 - 3:00 p.m.

Learn how to create sonic and musical works from raw data. Jack will show us how to use the E-Rhythms Sonifier, which he developed in collaboration with Dr. Jeff Boase at the University of Toronto, as well as other sonification software. These tools allow any time-coded data set--  this could be data generated by you or downloaded from one of the many open data initiatives around the world-- to be transformed into sound. This technique allows us to sense and interpret data in new ways and allows our ears to identify patterns and points of interest that might be missed when data is displayed in visual form. Tom will speak on his sonification device

BLOCK C: TouchDesigner For Beginners

Taught by Karl Skene (Untitled, Format) and Aljumaine Gayle (OCAD)

3:30 - 5:30 p.m.

TouchDesinger makes it possible to fluidly convert data between various formats in real time including audio, video, 3D geometry, and input from sensors.  In this presentation, Karl Skene and Aljumaine Gayle will demonstrate some ways to work with audio in TouchDesigner using examples from their own work and that of others.  As this will not be a step-by-step tutorial, it is not necessary for participants to have TouchDesigner installed. Resources and example files will be provided for users to check out at their own pace after the presentation.

The Goal

The goal of Sound of Data Symposium is to have new creators who are curious about data, analog music, and visualization to come together and learn how to combine their interests. The hope is that attendees will leave with new connections to other creatives, new ideas, and new knowledge on sonification, data visualization, and modular synthesizers, and possibly even some new friends and connections with whom new projects and ideas will be made.

About the Speakers

Heidi Chan

Heidi Chan is a sound designer, composer, synth nerd, and multi-instrumentalist based in Toronto.  As an active member in Toronto’s music scene, she has performed as a professional Japanese taiko drummer, produces experimental electronic music under the name Bachelard, and is a member of Japanese folk ensemble Ten Ten.  She is also a sound designer for theatre, and has participated in productions in Hong Kong, England, and Canada (Blyth Festival, Summerworks).  Heidi has recently began teaching music technology and music production in the community, providing consultation and creating music production curriculum for the Toronto Public Library and SOCAN. 

Paul Stillwell

Paul Stillwell is a musician and composer who is fascinated by the darker side of sound. His influences range from Dark Ambient and Berlin School electronica to Musique Concrète and experimental.  The Canadian Electronic Ensemble, of which he is a long-time member (with David Jaeger, Jim Montgomery, John Farah, and David Sutherland), has also had a profound impact on his style. In 2018 he formed Not Your Average Worker Bees with David Sutherland as an improvisatory duo. Jeremy Sykes soon joined the group, contributing his unique blend of analog and digital visuals to their performances.  Paul also performs and records as a solo artist under the name Intrepita.

Jack Jamieson

Jack Jamieson is a PhD candidate at the University of Toronto’s Faculty of Information. His research investigates intersections of digital technologies with culture, with a focus on issues related to values, labour, and interoperability. Specifically, he studies how web developers shape the direction of the Internet by creating, contesting, co-opting and compromising with platforms and standards. His work combines qualitative and quantitative methods such as critical making, analysis of digital trace data, and ethnography.

Additionally, Jack Jamieson is a member of the E-Rhythms project, where he has developed software for data collection and analysis (using sonification) as well as performed other research roles. He was also a research intern at NTT Communication Science laboratories, where he carried out a study of international students to identify ways to support their adaptation to a new country.

Tom Auger

Tom Auger is a musician, composer and digital artist working primarily with light and sound to create interactive experiences at human scale and beyond. Although trained as a classical concert pianist and electronic music composer, Tom’s career has largely centered around digital and commercial art.

 A programmer and developer for 30 years, Tom is currently Chief Technical Officer (CTO) at Art & Science Experience Design in Toronto, where he leads the development team and R&D efforts, and has been instrumental in bringing robust, engaging and delightful physical activations into the world in both commercial and “pure” art contexts. As engineering lead on these experiential activations, Tom routinely solves challenges in fabrication, materiality, durability, reliability and environmental considerations.

When unfettered by commercial constraints, Tom’s artistic vision is largely informed through the lens of his experience and ultimate rejection of the highly elitist and competitive classical music industry. Thus his works aim to “democratize” the acts of musical creation and performance, emphasizing participation, collaboration and consequence-free exploration. Combining form factor, sound design and environmental lighting, Tom’s creations are beautiful visually and acoustically and are intuitive and accessible to everyone by design.

Tom is a former faculty in Ryerson’s Image Arts and New Media programmes, where he taught a number of applied topics from digital imaging to interactive media development in the early 2000’s.

Karl Skene

Karl Skene is a Toronto-based multimedia artist combining various forms of computer-controlled light for real-time experiences.  He works primarily with LEDs, lasers, and video in the context of live music events and interactive installations. His work tends to balance bold minimalistic forms with organic elements, and feature a strong sense of synergy between layered sources.

Since 2014 he has been freelancing for a variety of companies, often collaborating with teams of diverse artists and designers to create rich, multifaceted productions.  With Somewherelse (formerly Young Offenders) he has contributed to numerous creative projects for brands such as Google, RedBull, LIFEWTR and Shiseido. With Artefact Creative he has done 3D projection mapping at Electric Island, and LED programming for Majid Jordan and STACKT Market.  In 2019 he worked for Derivative, using TouchDesigner to develop a weather data visualization system presented by IBM at CES 2019 in Las Vegas. He has also conducted LED-focused TouchDesigner workshops, both in Toronto and at the TouchDesigner 2019 Summit in Montreal.

With a BA in Music at the University of Guelph and years of experience as a DJ and producer, his passion for electronic music keeps him closely tied to the Toronto dance music community as a VJ and lighting designer.  For a long list of promoters such as Promise, Untitled, and Work In Progress, his unique approach to audio-reactive visuals and lighting has accompanied performances by Kevin Saunderson, Paula Temple, and DJ Sprinkles to name a few.

Aljumaine Gayle

Aljumaine Gayle is a queer Jamaican-Canadian Interdisciplinary creative technologist working at the intersections of technology, art, design and data justice. He’s currently enrolled in OCADU’s Digital Futures program and actively co-organizes programming on behalf of IntersectTO. He’s currently an active member of the University of Toronto’s Technoscience Research Unit primarily focusing on research about surveillance technologies and how they affect communities of color. Aljumaine’s artwork work explores othering of blackness in contemporary life and aims to subvert this othering through Afrofuturism and artistic use of technology. His interactive digital art challenges tokenism and trauma narratives that characterize the majority of mainstream black art, film and music. His art practice is rooted in design thinking and centers the forgotten groups that are under-represented in the process of digital product design and art.

About the Organizers

Sonja (Biblioteka Records)

Sonja is a DJ, experimental hardware musician, writer, editor, and speaker based in Toronto. She is the founder and organizer of independent electronic record label Biblioteka Records, an independent record label focused on highlighting and releasing the less common works of experimental, ambient, and avant garde producers and recording artists. Created in 2017, Biblioteka Records now has over 10 artists in over eight different cities, two vinyl releases, and dozens of singles in its repertoire. Sonja is a Polaris Prize juror, a member of the Junos Awards Electronic Album of the Year Committee, and a member of the Toronto Music Advisory Council. She also co-organizes Earbuds, a monthly music education workshop series, alongside Solidarity in Sound and Epilogue Audio Recording and Processing Studio.

John Shiga (Ryerson University) 

John Shiga is an Associate Professor in the School of Professional Communication (ProCom) at Ryerson University where he teaches cross-cultural communication and science communication and conducts research on sound, technology and the environment. Based in the Faculty of Communication & Design, ProCom offers undergraduate and graduate programs that integrate critical thinking, research, and creative technology to address complex communication issues in organizations, industries and communities. 

The Music Den (FCAD, Ryerson University)

Based at Ryerson University's Faculty of Communication and Design, the Music Den develops economic, artistic and social opportunities for entrepreneurs in music. Led by a steering committee of the top music and media executives in the country, the Music Den offers entrepreneurs unique business advice, working partnerships and industry mentorship. The program helps them design a sustainable long term strategy while giving them access coworking space, equipment, pitch competitions, showcase opportunities, and a unique community of like-minded entrepreneurs.

Accessibility Information

The venue is located on the second floor at 110 Bond Street on Ryerson Campus at the Ryerson Music Den. It is accessible via an elevator, and has single staall, gender-neutral washrooms available.