A song in four parts, based on an image by John Cage and a statement by Brian Eno.

More on this 557th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Condensation Is a Form of Change (The Assignment: Interpret a graphic score that depicts four phases) — at: https://disquiet.com/0557/

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0557-condensation-is-a-form-of-change/.

condensation [disquiet0557]

Part one a three part assignment - make a track for someone to add to.

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/

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

five days a week [disquiet0591]

Work on kick-starting a goal that you have had for a song. For this one, it was to introduce some percussion.

More on this 597th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Goal Line (The Assignment: Get started on a plan by getting over getting started), at: https://disquiet.com/0597/

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0597-goal-line/

lending library [disquiet0597]

The assignment this week, create a song that sounds like it's floating.

More on this 603rd weekly Disquiet Junto project, Animated Suspension (The Assignment: Record a piece of music that suggests something floating in air), at: https://disquiet.com/0603/

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0603-animated-suspension/

there it goes [disquiet0603]

The assignment: start a song at 0 volume, then gradually rise to 40%, then gradually back to 0.

More on this 607th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Silence Wave (The Assignment: From close to zero and back again, alter the relative amount of sound to silence in a piece of music), at: https://disquiet.com/0607/

Thanks this week to Jason Richardson and Klaus-Dieter Hilf.

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0607-silence-wave/

send it all back [disquiet0607]

This assignment uses two songs from Disquiet0609 (made to be 60bpm) and combine them while setting the new song at 30bpm. I used Plucks & Pad from Noodle Twister (https://soundcloud.com/noodletwister/plucks-pad-disquiet0609) and combined it with SAMPLAIR's Disquiet 0609 (https://soundcloud.com/user-248104983/disquiet0609-60bpm). I altered the sounds and added LABS piano parts.

More on this 610th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Speed Limit Pt 2 (The Assignment: Combine two or more pre-existing 60 BPM tracks into something new — at half the speed), at: https://disquiet.com/0610/

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0610-speed-limit-pt-2/

air space feat. Noodle Twister & SAMPLAIR [disquiet0610]

The assignment: describe a shadow using sound.

More on this 622nd weekly Disquiet Junto project, Know the Shadow (The Assignment: Use recently discarded material to make something new), at: https://disquiet.com/0622/

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0622-know-the-shadow/

throwing shade [disquiet0622]

Early dawn’s pale light:
A gentle start to the day
Two seagulls gliding

John Hinks, aka FlownBlue, is a prolific and talented composer, and a regular participant in the Haiku challenge. Aside from his solo project, John is also involved in multiple projects: ‘Windfall Light‘ (with Jim Tetlow), ‘Abstract Blue‘ (with Kevin Buckland), ‘Light Fragments‘ (with Steve Escott), Szukanie (with Michał Wojciechowski), and Meadowlight (with Emma Reed).

two seagulls [naviarhaiku517]

dark clouds menacing
– I doubt we shall reach shelter
before the deluge
Raymond Cobley is an experimental composer and regular participant in our Haiku challenge. Now retired, Raymond aims to explore the possibilities afforded by open-source software, which he uses exclusively for creating and editing both sounds & images. All his works are published under a Creative Commons licence, and free for anybody to download or remix.

before the deluge [naviarhaiku518]

My eyes lift to see
A sky that is entirely
magnolia blooms

This is a haiku taken from Kusamakura (or The Three-Cornered World), a novel by Natsume Soseki I'm currently reading.

A book that transcends the plot development of "standard" Western literature, this is a book about the nature of art and beauty, filled with lyrical beauty and internal monologues on what it means to be an artist.

To give you an idea, here's how the book starts:

“If you work by reason, you grow rough-edged; if you choose to dip your oar into sentiment’s stream, it will sweep you away. Demanding your own way only serves to constrain you. However you look at it, the human world is not an easy place to live. And when its difficulties intensify, you find yourself longing to leave that world and dwell in some easier one—and then, when you understand at last that difficulties will dog you wherever you may live, this is when poetry and art are born.”

One of the most influential modern Japanese writers, Natsume Soseki’s literary career started in 1903, with a series of haiku and renga published on various literary magazines.

Between 1900 and 1903 he studied at the UCL in London, but this proved to be quite a dramatic experience for the young Soseki. Despite this, when Soseki returned to Japan, he exploded into prolific writing activity.

magnolia blooms [naviarhaiku523]

The Assignment: Break a piece of your music and put it back together again.

Step 1: Choose a piece of your own music that is already recorded. Keep in mind, you’re about to break it up

Step 2: Break the recording from Step 1 into pieces. You might be inclined to think in terms of bars, but you could break it into notes or phrases, or into random segments of time. You might think about other ways to break it, like by relative volume, or note value, or some other aspect of the sonic spectrum. It’s entirely up to your ear, of course. Experiment until you arrive at a satisfying approach.

Step 3: Construct a new recording that begins with all the pieces that resulted from Step 2, simply played in sequence. Then slowly reassemble the original recording as you go. How you go about the reassembly is the real compositional question at hand.

More on this 629th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Jigsaw Logic — The Assignment: Break a piece of your music and put it back together again — at: https://disquiet.com/0629/

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

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

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0629-jigsaw-logic/

jigsaw [disquiet0629]

vernal seas…
all day long swelling, falling
swelling, falling
 
One of the four great haiku masters, Yosa Buson studied both Japanese and Chinese poetry. He was also an accomplished painter, and most of his poems were accompanied by paintings, resulting in a more diverse and individual set of works than the one by his main historical influence, Basho.

This haiku was translated by Adam L. Kern.
 

Haiku by Yosa Buson

vernal seas [naviarhaiku525]

Turning around,
I see my shadow
in the moonlight

by: Sumitaku Kenshin (Tr. Nakaoka Naomi & Kurose Hiroko)

The deadline for this challenge will coincide with the anniversary of Sumitaku Kenshin’s death, so I thought it’d be appropriate to commemorate this remarkable poet with music from Naviar’s community.

Sumitaku Kenshin was a haiku poet who practiced free-form haiku. He started writing poety after being diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia, and dedicated the last 2 years of his life to haiku, leaving 281 poems, mostly published by the free-form haiku magazine Kaishi.

turning around [naviarhaiku526]

The assignment this week was to utilise the sound of wind in a field recording.

More on this 632nd weekly Disquiet Junto project, Shear Wind — The Assignment: Make the most of the disturbance within a field recording — at: https://disquiet.com/0632/

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

Subscribe to project announcements: https://juntoletter.disquiet.com/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0632-shear-wind/

windshear [disquiet0632]

Haiku by Marco 

What's a month for the sea
as the waves touch my feet
a shiver, endless

For more information visit http://www.naviarrecords.com/about/naviar-haiku

a month for the sea [naviarhaiku528]

A distant mountain
Seen in the sunlight:
A desolate field

Takahama Kyoshi was a Japanese poet active during the Shōwa period of Japan. He was the editor of the haiku magazine Hototogisu (previously edited by Shiki), where he promoted a more traditional style of haiku, as opposed to other popular schools which did not follow the pattern of seventeen syllables at that time.

Kyoshi also highlighted the symbolic function of the kigo (the seasonal reference), even though the more modern trends were already tending towards seasonless haiku.
Haiku by Takahama Kyoshi

desolate field [naviarhaiku529]

This assignment had us use a field recording of a train by Todd "Toaster" Elliott

More on the 635th weekly Disquiet Junto project, ’Round the Bend — The Assignment: You’re in a duo, and your bandmate is a train — at https://disquiet.com/0635/

entrain [disquiet0635]

Step 1: This week’s Junto project is the first in a sequence intended to encourage and reward collaboration. You will be recording something with the understanding that it will remain unfinished for the time being. Your part will be done, but more will happen. Read on.

Step 2: The plan is for you to record a short and original piece of music using any instrumentation of your choice. Conceive the piece as something that leaves room for something else — other instruments, other people — to join in. (Keep in mind that your piece would appear panned to the left in the finished recording, after three weeks.)

Step 3: Record a short piece of music, roughly two to three minutes in length, as described in Step 2.

Step 4: This is important: be sure to make your track downloadable because it may be used by someone else in the next Disquiet Junto project, and then after that.

More on the 636th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Left (1 of 3) — The Assignment: Record the first third of a trio — at https://disquiet.com/0636/

bass flurry [disquiet0636]

The first thunder
Is likely to shake
The tiered doll stand.

Like Santoka and Seisensui, Kawahigashi Hekigoto (1873-1937) was an important advocate of the free verse haiku.
Besides being a writer and critic of haiku, Hekigoto was a literary scholar, noh dancer, art critic, calligrapher, social commentator, and mountain climber.
 

Haiku by Kawahigashi Hekigoto

tiered [naviarhaiku531]

Part 2 of a 3 part assignment.
Incorporating John Wright's Just Percussion for Disquiet0636 (https://on.soundcloud.com/Xtc2d)

More on the 637th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Right (2 of 3) — The Assignment: Record the second third of an eventual trio — at https://disquiet.com/0637/

rightward feat John Wright [disquiet0637]

Wordless
all day long
the shadow of a butterfly
 
Hōsai graduated from the Tokyo Imperial University, where he studied law. He got off to a good start but decided to give up his home, family, and business to jump from one militant religion of Japan to the other.

Just like Taneda Santoka, Hōsai abandoned the traditional verse form of his time and mostly looked at the austere confines of his life for inspiration.

Haiku by Hosai Ozaki

wordless [naviarhaiku532]

Week 3 of a 3 part assignment, adding to disquiet0637 and 0636. 

Incorporating Roughshark by scénický rys (https://soundcloud.com/ackercz/roughshark-with-analoc-disquiet0637) and Left shark by analoc (https://on.soundcloud.com/imRuTwDmAo4eAUiw9)

More on the 638th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Center (3 of 3) — The Assignment: Complete a trio begun by two other musicians — at https://disquiet.com/0638/

shark tank [disquiet0638] with scénický rys & analoc

Pre-dawn inertia
Where do I go
From here?

Marco is the founder of Naviar Records.

Haiku by Marco Sebastiano Alessi

Inertia [naviarhaiku534]

A reworking of an older song - https://soundcloud.com/lazenbeeindustries/sealed-in-disquiet0625

More on the 641st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Re-re-re-re-revise — The Assignment: Take an old track and make it better — at https://disquiet.com/0641/

sealed In redux [disquiet0641]

Deep in the mountains -
falling into my heart
autumn streams

Shinkei (1406-75) was a renowned renga poet and critic, best known for his two-part work "Sasamegoto" (Murmured Conversations). To find out more about this interesting and largely unknown poet-priest, I recommend reading Heart's Flower - The Life and Poetry of Shinkei by Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen.

Haiku by Shinkei

mountains [naviarhaiku537]

Only the moon remains
floating in the memory upon
Kinokawa River
 
There's so little information about this amazing renga poet that I decided to share another poem written by him. This one is part of a longer sequence, written in 1463:

Only the moon remains
floating in the memory upon
Kinokawa River—
pale glistening waves,
the blank wake of drowned men.
 
About this poem, the author said: "Among the hundreds and thousands who have drowned and perished in this river
due to the disorders in this province were those whom I knew in former days. Often I would walk along the river, gazing at the moon."

(Heart's Flower - The Life and Poetry of Shinkei)

Shinkei (1406-75) was a renowned renga poet and critic, best known for his two-part work "Sasamegoto" (Murmured Conversations). To find out more about this interesting and largely unknown poet-priest, I recommend reading Heart's Flower - The Life and Poetry of Shinkei by Esperanza Ramirez-Christensen

moon [naviarhaiku538]

Step 1: This project is inspired by a brief poem by Yoko Ono, in which she wrote, “Take the sound of the stone aging.” Consider that sound.

Step 2: Record your impression of the sound of stone aging.

Background: This week’s project is based on a text by Yoko Ono, originally published in her book Grapefruit 60 years ago, back in 1964.

More on the 643rd weekly Disquiet Junto project, Stone Out of Focus — The Assignment: Make music inspired by a poem — at https://disquiet.com/0643/

This week’s project is based on a text by Yoko Ono, originally published in her book Grapefruit60 years ago, back in 1964.

stone piece [disquiet0643]

The Assignment: Record music for a party of your choosing.

Step 1: Imagine a party you want to attend.

Step 2: Write some music that would be appropriate as background music for that event.

More on the 644th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Event Horizon — The Assignment: Record music for a party of your choosing — at https://disquiet.com/0644/

party music [disquiet0644]

Step 1: Record something to serve as roughly half of a complete track.

Step 2: Slow the result of Step 1 to half its original speed.

Step 3: Record something in addition to the result of Step 2 to complete the track.

More on the 645th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Speed Trap — The Assignment: Record something, slow it down, and then record over it — at https://disquiet.com/0645/

primate song [disquiet0645]

Face of the winter pond
doesn't reflect
even a leaf...

Nakamura Kusatao was born in Xiamen (China) in 1901 and moved to Japan in 1904.

He was influenced by contemporary Western philosophy, mostly Friedrich Nietzsche, and his poetry focused on themes of life and humanity. Together with Shuson Kato and Ishida Hakyo, Nakamura Kusatao was a member of the “Human Exploration School”, a group of poets who used haiku to explore and highlight "how human beings should live".

Nakamura Kusatao launched the magazine Banryoku in 1946, and his major collections include Chōshi, Hi no shima, Biden, and Toki.

doesn't reflect [naviarhaiku540]

The Assignment: Interpret the literal translation of “karaoke.”

Step 1: You may or may not be familiar with the literal meaning of the word “karaoke.” The first two syllables are the Japanese word for “empty.” The final two syllables are an abbreviation of the Japanese word for “orchestra.” Consider how the term “empty orchestra” connects with the idea of karaoke.

Step 2: Think about the term “empty orchestra” on its own, apart from its association with karaoke. Come up with a new meaning for it. What kind of genre or musical form would “empty orchestra” be on its own?

Step 3: Record a piece of music exemplifying the ideas that arose to you during Step 2.

More on the 646th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Empty Orchestra — The Assignment: Interpret the literal translation of “karaoke” — at https://disquiet.com/0646/

indiscreet music [disquiet0646]

heat in waves ̶
in the stones
angry reverberations

Katō Kyōtai was a poet from Nagoya who entered the world of haikai in 1759. His work shares with Buson a careful observation, not just of nature itself, but also of the complex emotions and reactions that characterize human existence.

haiku by Katō Kyōtai

in the stones [naviarhaiku541]

The Assignment: Make some daylight drones for Drone Day.

Step 1: May 25 each year is Drone Day, more about which at droneday.org. This Junto project begins before Drone Day, on the 23rd, and ends after, on the 27th. So, take Drone Day in spirit if not as a calendrical certainty.  

Step 2: Think about drones, and the tonality they suggest.

Step 3: Think about making drones that suggest daylight instead of, say, darkness.

Step 4: Record a “day drone” in light of the thinking you did in Step 3.

More on the 647th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Day Drone — The Assignment: Make some daylight drones for Drone Day — at https://disquiet.com/0647/

day drone [disquiet0647]

sudden dazzling glare
- the low sun briefly pierces
a veil of dark cloud

Raymond Cobley is an experimental composer and regular participant in our Haiku challenge. Now retired, Raymond aims to explore the possibilities afforded by open-source software, which he uses exclusively for creating and editing both sounds & images. All his works are published ​under a Creative Commons licence, and free for anybody to download or remix.

haiku by Raymond Cobley

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