Sonic Transgressions

Sonic Transgressions is a suite of unique curatorial research-creation projects that explore the sensory and affective experience of the political, ethical, and transgressive dimensions of new, avant-garde, improvisational, sound art, and extreme musics. The goal of this axis of the “Sensing Differently” project is to allow participants to experience musics and soundscapes that challenge conventional music spaces and audience experiences: our curations and performances challenge listeners to sit within contrasting affective time-space atmospheres and invite them to think through such issues as their own conceptions of music, sound, and timbre. The mixing and hybridization of musical genres contributes to the transgressing of affective time-space atmospheres of individual genres and allows for a unique exploration of the possibilities of sonic envelopment and noise in shaping experience. The curatorial aspect of the project draws from a rich diversity of Quebec artists and contrasting conceptions of musical, sonic, spatial, and atmospheric transgressions. The curation and workshop components of the project aim to contribute to the Concordia community and its unique strengths in the sensory, sonic, musical, and multi-media fields and to give exposure to Montreal, Quebec, and Concordia-based musician and sound artists. By inviting the participants to dive into deep listening and soundscape experiences this research creation project seeks to develop a new atmospheric approach to music performance and cultural analyses to explore the relationship between community, sound, aesthetics, and normativity.

The events we have staged prior to 2024 have been supported by the Office of Vice-President Research, Innovation and Impact (OVPRII), the Center for Sensory Studies, the Centre for Interdisciplinary Studies in Society and Culture (CISSC), the Sociology and Anthropology Department at Concordia University, and the Quebec-based legal humanities network, Le Groupe de recherche sur les humanités juridiques, and since 2024 the ”Sensing Differently” project, funded by the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada.