More on the 696th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Chain of Layers — The Assignment: Make music change by altering its layers — at https://disquiet.com/0696/

portales de andros [disquiet0696]

Disquiet Junto 0696's assignment was to record 10 to 15 layers of continuous sound and create a piece of music only by altering their relative presence over time.

I immediately thought of the story of how the iconic 1975 10cc song "I'm Not In Love" was created. The backing vocals are lush and rich and unearthly. (If you don't know the song, just listen to the first 30 seconds or so to get the gist). The story is that the band recorded themselves each singing a long, sustained note until they had 48 notes on individual 12' tape loops. For the final recording, the tape loops were played simultaneously and mixed into harmonies live on the console, essentially turning the mixer into a musical instrument. 

With this technique as inspiration, I recorded 7 tracks of ebow guitar, each playing a different note in the A harmonic minor scale. Ebow can make dynamics difficult but I managed some good textures I think. I hand-mixed each of the tracks to come in and out in sequence, creating a rising step pattern.

Then I bounced the seven guitar tracks to a single track. This track was duplicated and pitch shifted to create 4 tracks spanning 4 octaves. This essentially multiplied my original 7 tracks by 4 to give me 28 guitars. I applied volume automation to create a primitive Shepard scale out of the result.

Aside from a couple of acousmatic accents and a low-fi kick drum, every sound is from the guitar.

More on the 696th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Chain of Layers — The Assignment: Make music change by altering its layers — at https://disquiet.com/0696/

What Became of Grandfather? (disquiet0696)

Createtd for the Disquiet Junto Project No 696: Chain of Layers

I used a C and 14 overtones in the harmonic series for my layes, and automated them to create chords, textures and rhythms. A touch of reverb on the 2bus to make it a little more enjoyable. 


The Organ Grinder Has Lost His Marbles [disquiet0696]

This was my contribution for Disquiet Junto Project 0696: Chain of Layer. The first of three that are being done by the Disquiet Junto in collaboration with the 2025 Musikfestival Bern.  The Assignment: Make music change by altering its layers.

Here’s a copy of my post on the Disquiet Junto 0696 discussion thread on Lines:

Recorded 11 tracks from my modular synth using Make Noise Telharmonic and Verbos HO modules for the voices. Layered them in Ableton Live in the sequence in which they were recorded – fading one into the next. Also inserted 4 samples from field recordings I had and interspersed them between the synth tracks, and also at the end. So this has a total of 15 layers. Some reverb using Valhalla Room and a bit of auto panning using built in devices were the only effects added. Image by Ruido-98 via Unsplash. It's been altered slightly in Photoshop.

More on the 696th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Chain of Layers — The Assignment: Make music change by altering its layers — at https://disquiet.com/0696/

Fifteen Waveforms [disquiet0696]

The track I prepared probably does not correspond perfectly to the rules of the challenge....anyway.
Nothing experimental, it is a classic tonal track, totally instrumental, without samples and particular sound design.
Simple Euclidean sequencer in B flat/F key that drives percussive instruments (wood, metal).
I found an old piece (only the final master) in which each independent cell of the sequencer generates a new pattern and each pattern represents a different channel/layer (12 in total).
The variations of the layers are therefore given by the score.
This creates a game of interlocking pieces, in which the alternation/modification of the channels is given by the fragment/channel played.
The various patterns/channels are parallel (Pan and L/R).
For the continuity of the sound I created drones with  organ and double bass (long bow).

Canone XII (disquiet0696)

Chain of Layers [Disquiet0696]

[disquiet0696] cake

This project is the start of a three-part sequence that will unfold over the course of three consecutive weeks. This part will be panned to the left channel and added to by other artists.
More on the 697th weekly Disquiet Junto project, First Third — The Assignment: Record the first third of a trio — at https://disquiet.com/0697/

First Third [Disquiet0697]

"A Brief Love Affair"
Valhjim

Like bright drizzle from above, the day opens with gentle low tones: clouds open in sine waves, bass leisurely strolls about, sound waves echo in the distance. The future is here. Brief encounter that leads to intimacy, where the night opens and the stars appear overhead to eavesdrop on human love. Whispers in the dusk. Tender touch. 

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Valhjim: synthesizers, samplers.

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© 2025 Valhjim. All rights reserved. Original music by Valhjim.

A Brief Love Affair

Season's Change

Down Into The Black Hole

mikey_a is an ambient and soundscape artist living in Melbourne, Australia.
Though now producing mainly in the box with a mix of VST and field recordings he still likes to occasionally crank out some of the physical treasures he's owned since the '80s: a Korg MonoPoly, a Roland TR-606, TB-303, S-10 and D-110 along with a TEAC 3440 reel-to-reel.
He is a frequent contributor to the Naviar Records' Haiku Challenge and Disquiet Junto projects.