An award-winning Toronto-based DJ and musician is about to drop an album of sleep sounds with a decidedly ‘Six twist: it’s all sounds found in and around the city.
Local DJ Andrew McDonnell is no stranger to making and mixing music; for as long as he can remember, he’s had a passion for sound.
What began with him making mixtapes as a kid turned into buying turntables and learning how to DJ vinyl. After university, he headed to Toronto’s Harris Institute to study producing and engineering, and the rest, one might say, was history.
From there, he began working on post audio for television shows, which, over the years, have landed him a series of Canadian Screen Awards, Daytime and Children & Family Emmy nominations, all while spinning in Toronto on the side.
He’s played the likes of Coda, Nest, Danforth Music Hall and Velvet Underground, on top of producing his own music, which has caught the attention of a number of international DJs like Hernan Cattaneo and John Digweed, the latter of whom actually played one of Andrew’s tracks at Electric Island in 2023.
Suffice it to say, Andrew knows his way around the city’s sound scene, but now, he’s exploring it in an entirely different way.
Andrew’s latest album is set to drop on April 2, and it contains a series of sleep sounds that “capture the city’s sonic identity like never before.”
Think the subtle sounds of the TTC to hidden-away parks all blended with brown noise to aid relaxation, focus and sleep readiness. As a chronic accidental TTC nod-offer, this album has my name written all over it.
The idea to put out sleep sounds, Andrew tells blogTO, actually came about fairly organically a few years back, as he used white noise and sleep sounds to lull his then-baby daughter to sleep and finally realized he could very well create his own — maybe even do it better.
From there, he began recording sounds while out and about in the world and blending them with white noise in Dolby Atmos for a deeply immersive sound experience.
“My very first trip I took to record was Algonquin Park in the fall,” Andrew tells blogTO. “It rained a lot, which turned out to be a good thing. When I published the album, the response with the Algonquin community was really great.”
From there, he began recording everywhere he went, including family trips to France, Mexico, Italy, Switzerland, New York City and Massachusetts; “but,” Andrew adds, “I always knew I wanted to record an album that was Toronto.”
So, he did exactly that; only, given that the recording was taking place in Andrew’s own hometown, things looked a little different. In Toronto, he had unlimited time to record anything and everything that felt — and sounded — like home.
“I could take my time and record at different times of the year,” Andrew tells blogTO. “So as I slowly started gathering recordings and the closer I got, I started recording more.”
The rumble of the Gardiner, planes landing and water taxis departing at the harbourfront, the buzz of Trinity Bellwoods and the whoosh of the subway are just a handful of the sounds Andrew’s captured during this journey; sounds that, as of April 2, you’ll be able to truly sink into without having to leave the house.
As fulfilling as the process of recording was, Andrew tells blogTO, it wasn’t without its challenges.
“I managed to get a good recording on the subway, but I also really wanted to record the streetcar,” Andrew tells blogTO, recounting one of his less successful recording outings.
“I got off the subway and onto the Dundas car. My previous attempt on the way there had failed because the heater was on and it was too loud. […] I got situated and got everything set up, […] and waited for the streetcar to start the route. Right before we left, someone got on, sat 2 rows behind me, took out a plastic bag with some sort of crunchy snack in it, and that was the end of that.”
The streetcar ride, Andrew concludes, might just have to wait until Volume 2.
In Andrew’s eyes, the uniqueness of the album lies in its being a Toronto-themed album created for Toronto residents. It’s not trying to paint the city as anything it’s not, but rather to capture the essence of its many magical nooks and crannies.
“I think people from Toronto love things that are unique to Toronto,” Andrew says. “You can look at the track list and think like ‘oh I know that,’ or ‘I have been there.’ I think it paints a nice overall picture of the city. It is not full of obvious choices like Dundas Square or Union Station.”
The album will be available for streaming on both Spotify and Apple Music under AM Atmospheres, but if you really want the benefit of Dolby Atmos and spatial audio, Andrew suggests using Apple.
