Nice banjo! I thought of that instrument for my piece too...

probably there is a similar sounding piece of music hidden on every computermusician's harddrive, the banjo and those "tom toms".. , nice :)

More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — “Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre ‘old-time electronica’″ — at:

http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://disquiet.com/junto

Join the Disquiet Junto at:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

Disquiet Junto general discussion takes place at:

http://disquiet.com/forums/

Photo associated with this track, of a working Babbage Engine, by Larry Johnson, courtesy of a Creative Commons license at:

https://flic.kr/p/8uw1KJ

Disquiet Junto Project 0137: Old-Time Electronica

Depth

3636.TERANA - PALASS BY ZOHRA BAI G.C.4.13191

A pelican, living as a fresco on the facade of a house, far from its natural habitat. He dreams of getting away from the traffic, into nature.

This track has a meaning and a raison d'être of its own - but is intended as first part of an asynchronous trio as proposed by the Disquiet Junto Project 0591:



More on this 591st weekly Disquiet Junto project, The Loneliest Number (The Assignment: Record the first third of a trio), at: https://disquiet.com/0591/

About the Disquiet Junto: https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements: https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/ 1

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co 1: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0591-the-loneliest-number/

The Loneliest Pelican (Disquiet0591)

Really vague about what electronica means but it suggests "pop" to me rather than experimental. "Old-time" brought to mind the Wendy Carlos "Switched on Bach." Disco music also came to mind. 

I used a Kaosillator with 2 patches that sounded retro to me, created 2 tracks and then aligned them in Logic and wrapped it up using a Channel EQ preset called Boombox, a word which for me conjures days of yore.


Rather goofy, was not sure if I should post it, but it is mercifully short.

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More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — “Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre ‘old-time electronica’″ — at:

http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://disquiet.com/junto

Join the Disquiet Junto at:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

Disquiet Junto general discussion takes place at:

http://disquiet.com/forums/


Heckuva Pile  [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

This is a remix of the Edison Concert Band's recording of "Nearer, my God, to Thee" (1902). The original recording was downloaded from archive.org. I did "electronic processing" on this old-time hymn to create something impossible at the time it was created: a time-stretched version with a drone created from part of the recording as well, and a phasing effect created by slightly different stretch lengths. My hope is that this version helps people hear this hymn in a new way. (Apologies that I went over the time-limit guidelines a little.)

More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — "Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre 'old-time electronica'" — at:

http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://disquiet.com/junto

Join the Disquiet Junto at:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

Disquiet Junto general discussion takes place at:

http://disquiet.com/forums/

Nearer, my God, to Thee (remix) [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

Disquiet Junto Project 0137: Old-Time Electronica

Pineal Pionears [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

For me, this means going back to composers like Louis and Bebe Barron and their 1956 magnetic tape soundtrack to “Forbidden Planet” (check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oNKhju6Pryg ), as well as Morton Subotnick, Walter Carlos and all those records from the Princeton University computer music workshops that I got my hands and ears on in the 60s.

Steps taken:

In the spirit of minimalism, I worked only with 2 sine waves and a click track, both generated by Audacity. These were modified using plugins and pitch shifting, with shorter more heavily modified sections used to create a gradually changing soundscape.

(See the whole Forbidden Planet poster here: http://cdn-images.9cloud.us/476/piccit_the_forbidden_planet_poster_1296502960.jpg


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The Assignment: Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre “old-time electronica.”

All Disquiet Junto projects employ constraint as a means to stimulate creativity and productivity. Sometimes this means limiting oneself to specific source material, other times to a conceptual approach, and there’s always the additional constraint of time: the deadline is approximately four days, depending on your time zone.

For this Disquiet Junto project, the constraint is a matter of terminology. This week we’re exploring how the concept of “genre” can itself serve as a restraint, and we’ll accomplish this by pushing back at genre conventions.

The project instructions are straightforward: Record an original piece of music that you feel belongs within the genre of “old-time electronica.”

Restrictions: You can use any source material, any instrumentation, except the human voice.

More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — “Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre ‘old-time electronica’″ — at:

http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/ 

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://disquiet.com/?p=16588


Join the Disquiet Junto at:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/    




Pineal Pionears [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

As a solo parent this weekend, my plans to hook up gear and produce handmade electronica haven't eventuated. So I returned to an earlier idea to work with a MIDI file and honour my introduction to electronic music as a child listening to Wendy Carlos' Switched On Bach.

This piece uses Lokomotiv, Absynth and the Minimojo Reaktor VST synths and was edited for brevity.

More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — “Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre ‘old-time electronica’″ — at:
http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:
http://disquiet.com/junto

Join the Disquiet Junto at:
http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

Disquiet Junto general discussion takes place at:
http://disquiet.com/forums/

Image: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Johann_Sebastian_Bach.jpg

Switched on Joy of Man's Desiring [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

My interpretation of "old time electronica" was to take a song associated with the dawn of pop music and treat it as the raw material for an electronic track. My choice is "Daisy Bell", a public domain song written in 1892 by Harry Dacre, and used in the first computer speech synthesis at Bell Labs in 1961; Arthur C. Clarke saw this demonstration and incorporated it into the screenplay and novelization of 2001: A Space Odyssey.

The first section of the track is the original chorus melody and chord progression played on soft synths in Ableton, with a light percussion track made from samples from Beats & Breaks. For the second run-thru of the chorus melody  the chord progression is replaced with a version made using the Coltrane Changes; John Coltrane pioneered chord substitutions in his performances that used a major third movement to give an odd, airy quality to the harmony. For "Daisy Bell", which is in C major, the original chord progression follows the melody closely, as is the custom for most popular music. In its place I used the Dm7-G7-C progression. 

The jazzy timbre of those chords reminded me of Squarepusher's record Hard Normal Daddy, which used chords and melody combinations usually associated with jazz in conjunction with breakbeats. This track gradually adds more percussion elements, all chopped up from samples from Beats & Breaks.   

Once the new chord progression is introduced, the softsynth playing the melody has a random MIDI note generator, C major scale effect, and Bass-Beat Decoder added to it, with MIDI notes being triggered at the same rhythm as the original melody. The random notes were played & recorded to a separate track, and that MIDI information was placed in the initial softsynth track, with the MIDI effects removed. 


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More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — “Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre ‘old-time electronica’″ — at:

http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://disquiet.com/junto

Join the Disquiet Junto at:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

Disquiet Junto general discussion takes place at:

http://disquiet.com/forums/

Daisy Hell [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

Made with INTUA BeatMaker 2 on my IPad as i don't have acess to acomputer at the moment. started with some banjo to. getsome"ole time" feel. Chose an early sounding drum machine sampled.thought accordian would be oldtime for chords. Then found a bitofan old track of mine to sample for some background. More on this 137th Disquiet Junto project — “Produce an original piece of music that fits the genre ‘old-time electronica’″ — at:  http://disquiet.com/2014/08/14/disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica/  More on the Disquiet Junto at:  http://disquiet.com/junto  Join the Disquiet Junto at:  http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/  Disquiet Junto general discussion takes place at:  http://disquiet.com/forums/

HangDig [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

A groove in Dm @ 104 bpm played on a mahogany guild parlour guitar with a figure overdubbed. A foundation on which to ground your energy for the long struggle ahead.

More on the 697th weekly Disquiet Junto project, First Third — The Assignment: Record the first third of a trio — at https://disquiet.com/0697/

Disquiet0697 - First Third

Solo ronroco, 2 microphones, a great sounding room, some convolution reverb added.

This is  a simple idea I've been practising today, recorded Thursday 8th may 2025 at noon, first and only take.
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later released with an alternate version, multitracked:
https://daniel-diaz-ronroco-lullaby.sbmt.to/
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For this collaborative project:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0697-first-third/

Ronroco Lullaby (disquiet0697)

improvisation with ableton, many sources processed using soundthread for composer's desktop project

Live Set 06/26/2025 @resident_electronicmonthly

This was my contribution for Disquiet Junto Project 0707: Chain of Practice. The Assignment: Make music from how you make music. This project is the third of three that are being done by the Disquiet Junto in collaboration with the 2025 Musikfestival Bern, which will be held in Switzerland from September 3 through 7.

Here’s a copy of my post on the Disquiet Junto 0707 discussion thread on Lines:

Recorded myself speaking the following sentence using a Tascam DR-100mkIII: “I try to create music by mindfully listening to what’s happening around me, as well as to what the subconscious parts of my mind are trying to say”. 

I took the recording and heavily processed it, mainly using Morphagene on the modular and the Fieldtone Weaver effects pedal. Assembled the tracks, as well as the original recording, into Ableton Live. From there – I sliced, sampled, mangled, and added effects till I ended with something I was mostly satisfied with. The repetitive guitar-like sequence was created using a sliced sample transformed in Ableton’s Simpler instrument with some spectral effects. 

Hopefully, this piece reflects that idea stated in the opening sentence. This was challenging and fun. Thank you, I’m glad I was able to participate in these Musikfestival Bern projects again this year.

More on the 707th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Chain of Practice — The Assignment: Make music from how you make music — at https://disquiet.com/0707/

Never Landing [disquiet0707]

More on the 708th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Vocal Chords — The Assignment: Do something with layers of the sound of your voice. — at https://disquiet.com/0708/

Disquiet0708 - Loulou

In spring sunlight
the rows of tea bushes
ripple like waves
 

Tōge Morita (1924-2013) was a Japanese teacher and poet from Osaka. In the early 50s, he started publishing his poems in the Katsuragi 葛城 magazine, later becoming its editor-in-chief and, in 1990, its editor.

Haiku by Tōge Morita: https://www.lucacenisi.net/2023/04/16/cinque-haiku-di-toge-morita/

To find out more and participate, visit https://www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge/

more halF unusuaL

halF cuppA [naviarhaiku604]

While the far-flung Asarian homeworld is the first inhabited system that we've discovered, this is not our first time encountering the intelligent cloud beings of Asar. We've learned that Asarian explorers visited our earth thousands of years ago, touching down somewhere in the Nile river valley. When the gas giants finally departed, the Pharaoh whose hospitality they had enjoyed bestowed two gifts on her alien visitors. The first was a scroll with plans they could use to build their own pyramids back home. But the most remarkable gift was a papyrus describing a peculiar set of frequencies that, when resonated in certain sequences, could reveal spiritual and mathematical truths. We believe the audio captured by our surface drone may be a sacred performance of this ancient harmonic "spell".

This one was a lot of fun to put together! It gave me a great excuse to experiment with microtonal composition, and learn how to configure custom tunings in Logic. I chose the Maqam scale, a traditional scale in Arabic music believed to have originated in ancient Egypt. The scale consists of two "half-flats": in this case, A, B half-flat, C, D, E half-flat, F, G, and A. The main melodic line is typical for the scale, arcing from root to  octave and then descending again. The percussion was inspired by reading about Wahda w-Nuss rhythms. 

More on the 718th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Planet Jam It — The Assignment: Record the sound of an advanced alien civilization — at https://disquiet.com/0718/.

The Asar Sequence (disquiet0718)

My 33 1/3 series book about the Aphex Twin album <i>Selected Ambient Works Volume II</i> was published in 2014. The book was one of the top 5 bestselling titles for the calendar year, and in 2015 was ranked by Pitchfork as one of the "33 best" of the 100-plus books in the 33 1/3 series. It has subsequently been translated into Japanese (2019) and Spanish (2018)

Since 2012 I have moderated the Disquiet Junto group, which began on SoundCloud. More at disquiet.com/junto. 

I've written for Nature, Pitchfork, The Wire, Down Beat, Boing Boing, NewMusicBox, Red Bull Music Academy, Art Practical, the website of The Atlantic, and many other publications. 

I've exhibited sound art at galleries in Los Angeles (Crewest), Manhattan (apex art), and Dubai (DUTAC), and I had a audio-visual installation at the San Jose Museum of Art as part of its 45th anniversary.

And since 1996 I've run the website Disquiet.com about the intersection of sound, art, and technology.

I am a human animal & through my creative practices seek to connect to the flow of life to let my innate intuition guide me before my logical mind controls me. To undo or at least side-step some of my cultural conditioning so the spirits of the place I am in can express through me. This  forest I am in, the rock I sit on beside this stream, the footpath below my feet, this vast planet we all live upon. The natural world so often unconsidered, ignored, I aim to give it some voice.

HangDig [disquiet0137-oldtimeelectronica]

Benn DeMole

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M. Ackerman

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