The project:  Make a phase composition based on the sounds of three switches.

Record the audio of three objects in your home or workplace that have on/off switches. Capture the unique sound of them being turned on and off. For each of the switches, record several seconds of this on/off action so you can create loops of a steady pace. Then create an original piece of music that employs phase shifts — that is, in which the tiny distinctions between loops create noticeable patterning as time progresses. You can use some light processing, but the sense of "switch-ness" of the source audio should never be lost.

With this project I'm using Samplr on an iPad Air.  I recorded three different switch samples, all from pull chains.   One was from a troublesome fluorescent light fixture in the deepest storage area of our lower level - that got the most texture.   The second was from a single bulb switch near the laundry.  The third involved two switches for a ceiling fan and it's light, and these were pulled at a faster but uneven tempo.  I used a Zoom H1 mounted on a mic stand on a chair, and recorded each switch for about 20 to 30 seconds.

In the Samplr project I doubled each loop and ensured that loop's twin was not reading the same areas - also, one loop had a slight bit of reverb and the other didn't.

Composition was recorded live, direct to Zoom H1.  It took me a number of attempts to create something I liked.  Ultimately, I started simple, added samples in the middle added a light touch of reverb, and in final third I withdrew different loops until ending abruptly.  There's a bit of hum in the background - I can't tell if that's from the fluorescent sample or a bad cord from the iPad to the H1, possibly both.

After 80 seconds, it gets wildly rhythmic, but a couple of loops keep a more steady pace and seem to punctuate the denser rhythms with a bold presence.  The piece begins to withdraw after 2 minute and 30 seconds.

I can't believe nobody had used "Switched-on" as a title by the time I made my piece.  It was too irresistible.  An alternate title I considered using was "Bad Chain Puller" (after Captain Beefheart), which is probably funnier.

More on this 101st Disquiet Junto project (Make a phase composition based on the sounds of three switches) at:  http://disquiet.com/2013/12/05/disquiet0101-analogbinary/

More details on the Disquiet Junto at:  http://soundcloud.com/groups/disquiet-junto/

Switched-On and Off (disquiet101-analogbinary)

“Linear Bells” is David Teboul, composer and sound artist.
His music is a mix between sound manipulations, field recordings, mainly created with acoustic and analogic instruments.
 



Working in mixed media...fieldrecordings, analog soundgenerators homemade "tossekasser" creating soundscapes, a,bi & non tonal pieces with or without instruments. Graduated with a degree in (electric) guitar from the Carl Nielsen Institute in Odense, Denmark in 2000.
Masters degree in Electronic Music Composition from DIEM, Aarhus Denmark
Work among others with Acustic Laptoist Tore Honore Boe - saxophonist Peter Brem, soprano Ge-Suk Yeo, poet Richard J. Rizzi, Thomas Jakobsen, drums






Switched-On and Off (disquiet101-analogbinary)

Mark Rushton