A Community Attuned to the Outside. Reverberations of the Montreal Balcony Drone

Hubert Gendron-Blais

The recent pandemic has put back to light the position of the home as the privileged site of security and belonging, which explains its establishment as one of the main ontopological enunciations of the nation-state. In such reign of the homely, how can we produce sounds at home without perpetuating a valorization of the appropriation, the establishment, and the safety that excludes the otherness from our lives? This article starts from the hypothesis that in these times of confinement, the singularity of music creation resides more in its capacity to connect with the Outside, understood broadly, following Blanchot, as an experience of strange otherness that escapes representation. The connection of music creation with the Outside will be approached through one inspiring initiative that emerged during these difficult times: the Montreal Balcony Drone. The analysis of this collective practice leads to a whole reflection on homelessness, whiteness and the political and existential closures that characterize this epoch.

1. Introduction

2. Home, Home Again

3. A Community Attuned to the Outside

4. Montreal Balcony Drone

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5. Affective Resonance of the Distant Drone

6. Sounds and Politics of Homelessness

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