Alleys are a defining feature of urban life in Montreal, and during the pandemic I’ve become especially sensitive to the gradual changes that take place. Last summer, I noticed a Palestinian woman would often stop to pluck a few grape leaves from the vine growing on a neighbor’s fence. The activities of the local squirrels and cats became daily entertainment. But the most dominant sound, at least when the weather is nice, is the boombox of the old man who lives across the alley. Forget about the groundhog; once he appears, winter is over. And once he stops wearing his shirt, you know it’s summer. It was about 15 °C that day, almost 10 degrees higher than average, so I cracked open the window and made this recordings. In addition to the common birds (sparrows and grackles, I think), you can hear some loud seagulls towards the end of the recording. A lot of people don’t realize that Montreal is an island and a port city, granted one situated on the St-Lawrence River quite far from the sea. Our apartment is also two blocks from a highway, and in the flight path of the airport, so the low hum of the road is occasionally joined by a plane overhead.

Recorder : Tascam DR-05