very original source and execution, love it

lovely, listening to it on headphones while staring at my fishtank - works beautifully!

wonderful, wish it was longer but i see you had a time limitation.

Sensitive treatment of the field recordings and I like how the track evolves.

beautiful drones. thanks for sharing with the smm group!

Very nice! Very majestic and spacey, like a cavern behind the falls :)

A set of tracks from the 29th weekly project from the Disquiet Junto group. 

The Assignment: Make music from running water, inspired by William Gibson's novel Count Zero.

More information on the group at: 

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/info

More on the specific project at:

http://disquiet.com/2012/07/19/disquiet0029-countzero/

Disquiet Junto Project 0029: Count Zero

Geoscope w/ Westov Temple.Unlimited data for introspection.
Listen live - first Sundays, 6-8PM ET at www.greatcircles.net

Special guest ~ Carl Ritger [ @c_ritger ]. 3-hour edition of Geoscope focused on music released between 2005 and 2011.

~Tracklist~
WT
Rafael Anton Irisarri - Reprisal [note: not from 2005-2011 but played intentionally...it's part of the story]
Tstewart - Along Blue Eyed Creek 
Jack Rose - Kensington Blues 
Broadcast - Black Cat
Morgan Packard - I Think I  
Burial - Ghost Hardware 
Move D & Benjamin Brunn - Like A Restless Sea

CR
Seaworthy & M. Rösner - Meroo Sedgeland Pt. 1
Solo Andata - Beneath This Stone Wall
Taylor Deupree - A Fading Found
Savvas Ysatis & Taylor Deupree - Listen to the Morning Sleeping

WT
Mohlao - Ambrose
Andreas Tilleander  - Folded Lines 
MLZ - M-Brane
Sven Weisemann - Amirty
Sascha Dive - Deepest America (Samuel Davis Dark Soul Mix)
Millie and Andrea - Black Hammer 
2562 - Enforcers

CR
Bird Show Band - Quintet One
Valet - Babylon 4 Eva
Ilyas Ahmed - As Those Above
Pan American - Dr. Robert Goddard
Burial - In McDonalds

WT
Shackleton - Bastard Spirit
Isomer Transition - Give Me Your Hand 
Function - Reykjavik
Frozen Border - A1 01
Levon VIncent. - Double Jointed Sex Freak
Shackleton - Next To Nothing [Guilaume & The Coutu Dumonts Remix]
Autechre - Tankakern

CR
Alva Noto & Ryuichi Sakamoto - Moon
Emeralds - Damaged Kids
Trouble Books & Mark McGuire - Strelka Update
The Caretaker - Past Life Regression

Geoscope

Geoscope w/ Westov Temple & Carl Ritger - 07Jan2024

Composer and sound artist Carl Ritger [ @c_ritger ] presents a monthly exploration of music – and non-music – from around the world, channeling deep drone zones, environmental recordings, and experimental vibrations. Listen live - 4th Thursdays, 8-10PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
Chihei Hatakeyama, “Swaying Curtain in the Window”
Lawrence English, “Complimentary Cicada”
Opitope, “An White Drop of Morning Dew”
Tomoyoshi Date, “A Supermarket in the Woods”
Asuna & Opitope, “Column of Air”
Lawrence English, “Chamber”
Tetuzi Akiyama / Ken Ikeda / Chihei Hatakeyama, “III”
Illuha, “Mukaemizu”
Illuha, “Vertical Staves of Line Drawings and Pointillism”
Minamo, “Conceal”
Chihei Hatakeyama, “The Distant Sound of a Bustle”
Tomoyoshi Date & Stijn Hüwels, “Ekki”
Chihei Hatakeyama, “Blue Reminder”
Lawrence English, “Bamboo Shinjuku”
Chihei Hatakeyama & Hakobune, “It Is, It Isn’t”

This Green Earth

This Green Earth w/ Carl Ritger - 22Feb2024

Guest mix for @penttt's Lot Radio show 'Synopses'. All ECM late night zones.

Lot Radio 6/12/24 - Synopses ECM special

Moody cacophonies, sonic dispatches from Japan, crystalline breakbeats that are more environment than rhythm: Jake Muir’s 𝒆𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅, described by Muir as a “(re)mixtape,” is a mind-bending deep dive into the enmossed archive. Besides reflecting the history of the label, Muir’s mix is a production in its own right. A Los Angeles native based in Berlin, Muir is a DJ and field recordist who “sees mixes as a vehicle to explore narratives outside of the album format.” 

In 𝑩𝒂𝒕𝒉𝒉𝒐𝒖𝒔𝒆 𝑩𝒍𝒖𝒆𝒔 (2023), where Muir sampled various sources to explore gay cruising culture and sensuality, his more expansive, conceptual approach to the form is illuminated. Mixes are not just a linear succession of tracks with transitions—they’re excavations that also result in the creation of new audio artifacts. Inspired by the psychedelic impulses of illbient, Muir uses DJ and sound engineering techniques to melt down genre distinctions and create alien atmospheres.

From the enmossed community, Muir pulls from artists like bad lsd trips, Angelo Harmsworth, Nick Klein, Tetsuya Nakayama, and Patrick Gallagher to coalesce a super-compendium of the global sonic underground, all viewed through his own unique lens. Muir takes major liberties with processing and effects automation to carve new worlds from the soil of these preexisting works. Some of the tracks and material on 𝒆𝒏𝒎𝒊𝒙𝒆𝒅 are heavily edited, emphasizing specific harmonics or bass frequencies, and some portions contain three or four layers, putting artists in direct conversation with each other. 

This heady approach—using the tools of both mixtape and remix—results in a super textual and dense palimpsest of the enmossed catalog. “Because mixes are more open- source,” Muir says, “it’s easier to express some ideas since there is more material to pull from.”

- Rob Goyanes

---

Berlin based sound artist, DJ and field recordist Jake Muir was infatuated with sound from an early age, surrounded by California's buzzing, whirring sonic landscape and his father's collection of beachfront rock LPs. So it wasn't surprising when, as he developed his ear, Muir was drawn to work that dexterously manipulated these elements, particularly musique concrète, field recording and experimental turntablism. He approaches his practice as a listener first, carefully choosing, layering and processing sounds that help him deconstruct and contextualize his lived experiences and influences. Using investigative software methodologies, DJ techniques and the engineering skills he acquired while studying, Muir makes deeply personal sonic art that fluidly traverses genre membranes, encouraging reflection and sometimes prompting psychedelic states.

---

Artwork source photo by Jake Muir
Design by Glyn Maier
All proceeds to Cadus (Berlin, DE): https://www.cadus.org

enmixed

Jake Muir - enmixed [Side B Excerpt] (ENMX-xb)

Composer and sound artist Carl Ritger [ @c_ritger ] presents a monthly exploration of music – and non-music – from around the world, channeling deep drone zones, environmental recordings, and experimental vibrations. 

Listen live - 4th Thursdays, 8-10PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
Svarte Greiner, “Budeie Med Sigd”
Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet, “There And Back Again”
Joshua Bonnetta & Judith Hamann, “Exteriors / Interiors I”
Clara Levy, “Standing Naked In The Moonlight”
Alexander Rishaug, “Høyblokka, 15. Etasje, kjøkken kl 01-31 21.10.2017”
Stefano Pilia / Valerio Tricoli, “I”
Graham Lambkin / Jason Lescalleet, “Two States”
EKG / Giuseppe Ielasi, “(Providence-Middleton)”
Cleared, “53S”
Kate Carr, “the ribs of the disaster”
Lorenzo Abattoir, “Allegro ma non troppo”
Alexander Rishaug, “Høyblokka, Kulvert II, U. etasje kl 11-11 29.10.2017”
Crys Cole, “Valid ForeverrRrrRRrrr… (pt. 2)”
Fabio Perletta, “DALP 5 [Prepared Guitar No.1]”
Judith Hamann, “Humming Suite II - Fragment I”
Giuseppe Ielasi, “I”
James Plotkin / Jon Mueller, “Rooblivon”
Michael Ranta / Takehisa Kosugi, “Part I”
Svarte Greiner, “Bleeding Lights”

This Green Earth-W/ Carl Ritger - 24Oct2024

Great Circles Presents: Some Of This Is Your Fault
Recorded live at GLOB in Denver, CO, May 31, 2024
Featuring:
i.lind [DJ]
Carl Ritger [LIVE]
Westov Temple [DJ]


i.lind - Some Of This Is Your Fault [DJ set]

Carl Ritger - Some Of This Is Your Fault [Live set]

Westov Temple - Some Of This Is Your Fault [DJ Set]

Composer and sound artist Carl Ritger [ @c_ritger ] presents a monthly exploration of music – and non-music – from around the world, channeling deep drone zones, environmental recordings, and experimental vibrations. Listen live - 4th Thursdays, 8-10PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
U.e., “Drain the House”
Haptic, “In Situ 1”
Asmus Tietchens & Richard Chartier, “fabrication 2.8”
Haptic, “We Too Just”
Tatsuya Nakayama, “Hikihashi”
Manja Ristić & Tomáš Šenkyřík, “Pátek Sobota”
Kevin Drumm, “Gaslight Bill”
Joshua Bonnetta, “The Bay of Broken Things”
Manja Ristić & Murmer, “kaugpääs; antenn”
William Basinski & Richard Chartier, “Divertissement Pt 2”
Alan Lamb, “Meditation On Spring 8”
Ernesto Longobardi & Demetrio Cecchitelli, “21’18””
Tatsuya Nakayama, “Yonakiishi”
U.e., “Song for Hill”

This Green Earth w/ Carl Ritger - 23JAN2025

Composer and sound artist Carl Ritger [ @c_ritger ] presents a monthly exploration of music – and non-music – from around the world, channeling deep drone zones, environmental recordings, and experimental vibrations. Listen live - 4th Thursdays, 8-10PM ET on www.greatcircles.net

~Tracklist~
Andy Guthrie, “Eulogy”
Graham Lambkin & Jason Lescalleet, “Little Glass of Sherry (Little Glass of Wine)”
Clara Levy, “Terril 1”
Olli Aarni, “Suontee, 23112021, osa 5”
Jacob Kierkegaard, “Phantasmagoria”
Soundwalk Collective, “Khandroma”
Marja Ahti & Judith Hamann, “The Smallest Division of a Syllable / Vernal Aspects / Burtin Into / Late Bloom”
Francesco Covarino, “Terra A”
Olli Aarni, “Suontee, 23112021, osa 7”
Catherine Lamb, “tone / noise”
Richard Chartier, “How Things Change”
Will Montgomery, “Heygate”
Fraufraulein, “my left hand, your right hand”
Lawrence English, “Raven Songs”
Susan Alcorn & Tom Carter, “Polaris”
Susan Alcorn, “run run se fue p’al norte”
Susan Alcorn, “Broken Obelisk”
Susan Alcorn, “Amazing Grace”

This Green Earth w/ Carl Ritger - 27Feb2025

I had just the field recording for this.  It was recorded in early 2011 at a garden center / drug store near my house.  The sprinkler was on a timer and was watering trees and shrubs late in the evening, and I heard it while exiting the store so I ran home and got my portable digital audio recorder and got about 8 minutes along with bird and parking lot sounds while sitting in my car.

For this piece, I carved out a little over 2 minutes of the field recording then added some of the rhythm source I used in Disquiet0020 Nodebeat, a looped bit of the train sound I used in Disquiet0002 Duet, along with some background color used in Disquiet0001 Ice.

Had to mix it all so the non-sprinkler rhythms wouldn't overpower the source, as advised.  I think the Nodebeat rhythm is very complimentary even if it and the sprinkler regularly go out of phase but I like it when things go out of phase.

The inspiration for this track came from the opening of chapter 17 of William Gibson's 1986 novel Count Zero.

More on the 29th Disquiet Junto project at:

http://disquiet.com/2012/07/19/disquiet0029-countzero/

More details on the Disquiet Junto at:

http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/info 

Prickly Sprinkler (disquiet0029-countzero)

This is four recordings of rain hitting inverted singing bowls of varying sizes. These were then cut into samples of 15, 13, 11 and 9 seconds and then looped 8 times. After the 4th repetition of each sample, I faded in the hold function on the "Ambient" VST which freezes any sound.  There was also some ping pong delay, overdrive and EQ'ing involved with each sample.

Disquiet Junto Project 0029: Count Zero 

The inspiration for this track came from the opening of chapter 17 of William Gibson's 1986 novel Count Zero.

More on the 29th Disquiet Junto project at:

http://disquiet.com/2012/07/19/disquiet0029-countzero/ ;

More details on the Disquiet Junto at:

Disquiet Junto

Forecast [disquiet0029-countzero]

Disquiet Junto Project 0029: Count Zero

  This week's project is inspired by an aside that occurs at the opening of chapter 17 of William Gibson's classic cyberpunk novel Count Zero, originally published in 1986. The chapter is titled "The Squirrel Wood." It opens as follows:   "The plane had gone to ground near the sound of running water. Turner could hear it, turning in the g-web in his fever or sleep, water down stone, one of the oldest songs."  

This idea of water running down stone, of a gentle but insistent natural stream, being one of the "oldest songs" is explored further in the chapter in various subtle ways. The Disquiet Junto project this week is to explore that idea: that there is music in the natural environment. We'll makes songs from running water.  

Instructions:

  Step 1: Locate and make a field recording of source material that involves running water. It can be a stream, as in the Gibson book, but it needn't be natural. The sink, a toilet, a hose in the backyard — any such source material would be fine.  

Step 2: Extract a segment of the recording. That segment will serve as the basis for your composition, as its foundation. It will provide both rhythmic and melodic material. You can either use one long piece of the recording, or you can create the foundation of the track by combining and looping one or more brief segments of your original field recording.

  Step 3: Add elements and treatments to the foundation recording of running water. Do so with the intention of highlighting the water's internal sense of rhythm and melody. Do not embellish so much that the foundation recording becomes unrecognizable.   

Information:

This was a fairly rushed project as I am on business in Baltimore and New York at the moment. God bless wifi on Amtrak's Acela Express … greetings from Delaware at speed!

The recordings were made with an iPhone and the 4 track app of a dripping faucet/tap in my hotel (I had to make it drip, the plumbing was fine) and the overrun of the shower as it hit the resonant faucet beneath.

From these I was able to take a number of rhythmic, semi-resonant loops that I brought into Ableton Live for processing. If you've listened to many of my Junto projects, you'll know that I try to steer clear of pieces that only contain rhythmic constituents, so I also created a couple of granular patches from the sound waves of the water. This all seemed to give the track a post-rock/ambient feel.

These harmonic tracks were run through various instances of Guitar Rig to give some depth to the sounds. All the while, the rhythmic water sounds were pushed around the stereo field a little and given some glitchy movement.

Conceptually I saw this as pulling melody from rhythm with the latter being almost a cage within which the harmonic character is restrained.  

Credits:

Photo: Faucet in Baltimore @echosonic

  The inspiration for this track came from the opening of chapter 17 of William Gibson's 1986 novel Count Zero.  

More on the 29th Disquiet Junto project at: 

http://disquiet.com/2012/07/19/disquiet0029-countzero/

More details on the Disquiet Junto at: http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/info

A Good Morning in Baltimore [disquiet0029-countzero]

The inspiration for this track came from the opening of chapter 17 of William Gibson's 1986 novel Count Zero. More on the 29th Disquiet Junto project at http://disquiet.com/2012/07/19/disquiet0029-countzero/. More details on the Disquiet Junto at http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/info.

Process:
- take a 30-second excerpt from a field recording I made of the Contoocook River in Peterborough, NH
- time-stretch it 7x in Paul's Extreme Stretch
- in Csound:
-- derive the spectral centroid[1] of each stereo track
-- use the centroid to control the pitch of a pair of sinewave oscillators
-- pass the oscillator tones through some reverb
-- combine the tones with the streatched water sound, crossfading so that the tones increase in amplitude as the water sound decreases
- convert to MP3 in Audacity

Image: "Animated loop of simulated hydrogen line spectra centroid jitter." found at http://tycho.usno.navy.mil/powerfrq.html, no copyright declared.

[1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spectral_centroid

Subsurface Tension [disquiet0029-countzero]

For this week's Junto project, we were asked to build a composition around the natural rhythms of water.

Rather than turning to nature for my foundational samples, I captured the sounds of the aquarium pump in my studio; taking advantage of its mechanical flow to infuse this piece with a subtle pulse. I then fed the raw field recordings through a selection of pedals to create a synthetic texture; over which I improvised a passage of looped guitar figures, mirroring the ebb and flow of the processed layers with interwoven lines of resonant feedback and harmonics. Through it all, the intricacies of the water's quiet gurgling push forward, anchoring the mix to a central element.

The inspiration for this track came from the opening of chapter 17 of William Gibson’s 1986 novel Count Zero.

More on the 29th Disquiet Junto project at: http://disquiet.com/2012/07/19/disquiet0029-countzero/

More details on the Disquiet Junto at: http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/info

Feeding Time [disquiet0029-countzero]

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.

Carl Ritger [FKA Radere; b. 1984] is a composer, field recordist, & instrumentalist from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Currently living and working on Colorado’s Front Range, his work composites entropic sonic environments from acoustic sound sources & electronics.

Feeding Time [disquiet0029-countzero]

Carl Ritger

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