e238 roundtable – sonic research group - low tech

This is a special edition of conscient roundtable featuring Aaron Lui-Rosenbaum, Barry Truax, Jacek Smolicki (for more on Jacek’s work also see conscient e113 part 1 and e133 part 2)  Kathy Kennedy, Lindsey French, Natalie Dusek, Sabine Breitsameter (all see conscient e175) Vincent Andrisani and myself. We are part of the Sonic Research Group out of Simon Fraser University (for more from this group see episodes 157 and 170). This time our topic was ‘low technology’ or low tech in the sense of what do we do when we have less energy and technology, which is coming and how does it relate to our field of acoustic ecology. Being a research group, we pondered 3 questions :  

1. How can we continue our work in acoustic ecology in a world with less energy and in perpetual crisis, including the climate emergency, the depletion of non-renewable resources, loss of biodiversity and so on ?
2. What role can artistic practice in acoustic ecology play in the transition towards sustainability? 
3. What steps can we take now to prepare a better future for generations of acoustic ecologists to come? 

The group shared some convincing answers and some new questions. You’ll find a set of resource links in the episode now (below). 

Resource List

• AI's impact on energy and water usage
• Alexis Zeigler –  Living Without Fossil Fuels: How Living Energy Farm Created a Comfortable Off-Grid Lifestyle
• climate amnesia : canada’s cultural moment and the climate emergency are one and the same
• Decomposed : The Political Ecology of Music
• How to Build a Low-tech Internet
• Music, Soundscape and Acoustic Sustainability
• Peter Strack – 2000-Watt Society: The Realities of Living a Lower Energy Lifestyle
• Regenerative Energy Communities
• Sun Thinking
• Trapped by Industrialism: Civilization's Daily Resource Demands

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END NOTES FOR ALL EPISODES

Note : I'm currently 'pressing pause' and am not producing new content until further notice. 

Hey conscient listeners, 

I’ve been producing the conscient podcast as a learning and unlearning journey since May 2020. It’s my way to give back.

This Indigenous Land Acknowledgement statement was developed by members of the Algonquin community for my former employer the Canada Council for the Arts. I have adapted slightly to make it my own.

• I acknowledge that my studio, located in Ottawa, is on the unceded, unsurrendered Territory of the Anishinaabe Algonquin Nation whose presence here reaches back to time immemorial.
• I recognize the Algonquins as the customary keepers and defenders of the Ottawa River Watershed and its tributaries. I honour their long history of welcoming many Nations to this beautiful territory and uphold and uplift the voice and values of our Host Nation.
• Further, I offer my respect and affirm the inherent and Treaty Rights of all Indigenous Peoples across this land and honour commitments to self-determination and sovereignty that have been made to Indigenous Nations and Peoples.
• I acknowledge the historical oppression of lands, cultures and the original Peoples in what we now know as Canada and fervently believe the Arts contribute to the healing and decolonizing journey we all share together

In parallel with the production of the conscient podcast and its francophone counterpart, balado conscient, I I publish a free ‘a calm presence' monthly Substack see https://acalmpresence.substack.com.  

Your feedback is always welcome at claude [at] conscient [dot] ca and/or on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Linkedin, Threads, BlueSky, Mastodon, Tik Tok, YouTube and Substack.

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I am grateful and accountable to the earth and the human labour that provided me with the privilege of producing this podcast, including the toxic materials and extractive processes behind the computers, recorders, transportation systems and infrastructure that made this production possible. 

Thanks for listening. 

Claude Schryer

Latest update on March 21, 2026