jan 01 prompt: "Begin with a sound or idea you don’t like. Try to shape it into something beautiful.

I'm always nostalgic about those plucky FM synths that sound straight out of a Sega Genesis, but never stick with them because they sound "cheesy". but I figured I would embrace that vibe. all synths are Ableton Operator.

1st - Jamuary 2026

jan 02 prompt: "Let ambient room sounds, hiss, or mic bleed be part of the texture."

my process isn't inherently very noisy (sitting on my laptop with headphones after the kids go to bed, producing entirely in the box). but this prompt inspired me to dig through my sample folders and find some nostalgic noise textures to get inspired by.

2nd - Jamuary 2026

jan 03 prompt: "Write a melody and divide it into 3 parts, each played by a different instrument/sound."

dialed it back today to just focus on composition and sound selection. I didn't strictly adhere to the rule of 3, but it inspired me to find a palette of instruments and figure out how they can bounce off each other within the same few melodies.

3rd - Jamuary 2026

jan 04 prompt: "Make your jam with only 4 elements — one rhythm, one bass, one melody, one texture."

this one came together pretty quickly. in the end I added a fifth track - it needed a kick (the claps were baked into the percussion loop but chopped out in the intro). thickening the lead by doubling it within the midi for the chords is a great trick to keep things full but minimal.

4th - Jamuary 2026

jan 05 prompt: "Write music in 5/4 time."

this was very fun! it felt like all of my normal melodic instincts ran into trouble with 5/4 time, so it was a journey feeling this out and making it exciting while not tripping over itself.

5th - Jamuary 2026

jan 06 prompt: "Write music in 6/8 time."

this one came out pretty different. i didn't originally set out to make a more ambient or cinematic track, but something about the 6/8 composition I was writing lead me down that road and I decided to follow the inspiration.

6th - Jamuary 2026

jan 07 prompt: "Write music in 7/4 time."
[prompts by Brian Funk, brianfunk.com/mpc]

got this one out of the way, not sure what this tune wants to be lol



7th - Jamuary 2026

jan 08 prompt: "Write music using simple 8-bit sounds (square waves, triangle waves, white noise)."
[prompts by Brian Funk, brianfunk.com/mpc]

chiptune is a happy place



8th (Bit) - Jamuary 2026

jan 09 prompt: "Play or record a loop without quantizing. Let the human timing shape the groove."
[prompts by Brian Funk, brianfunk.com/mpc]

this prompt inspired me to get out the guitar and the loop pedal - which I haven't used for creating in ages. I tried not to do too many takes, so it's not perfect, but that's kind of the point? (I blame the latency :) )


Clay Era

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