More on this 410th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Op Audio / The Assignment: What does the sonic equivalent of Op Art sound like? — at:

https://disquiet.com/0410/

Thanks to Nate Trier for having suggested a “Shepard tone Junto,” which led to this week’s project.

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

http://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0410-op-audio/

There’s also a Disquiet Junto Slack. Send your email address to twitter.com/disquiet for Slack inclusion.

The image associated with this project is from the Wikipedia entry on the logarithmic spiral:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Logarithmic_spiral

Disquiet Junto Project 0410: Op Audio

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

Un-Ravel

Disquiet Junto| Un-Ravel - disquiet0691

I selected the 4th movement of the quartet, chopped it up and remixed it to a stereo track. Then, by means of many adjustments and various effects, I converted it to a modern atonal/microtonal composition.

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

Ravel Revamped (disquiet0691)

Ravel from the 1920s, timestretched in ableton, then converted to midi and combined, fx etc

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

un-ravel +3 mix [disquiet0691]

Following this week's Disquiet Junto project this track was created using a historic recording of the Ravel string quartet from 1928.
This is the sound of a dream, dissolved beyond recognition, but still present as the conscious cause of this unconscious music.

The audio was transformed using spectral synthesizers and effect chains to create this dreamlike rendition. No other sounds or instruments were employed.

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

rêver  (Disquiet0691)

Edited, mixed & mastered on 28 Mar 2025 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa, USA. 

This piece uses a 1928 recording by the Capet String Quartet of Ravel’s string quartet (Col. D 15057-60).

The original source is the Internet Archive: 

https://archive.org/details/3-capet-sq-col-d-15057-60-ravel-1928-mov-3/

Photography - Jim Lemanowicz, 24 Apr 2009, Massapequa & NYC, NY, USA

©2025 Jim Lemanowicz

---

This original version of “Chowder Spray” was submitted as part of Disquiet Junto Project 0691: Un-Ravel. The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart.

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

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The 
Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

Chowder Spray (disquiet0691)

“Unraveling a revealing Ravel” takes the final twelve seconds of Ravel’s Capet string quartet in F Major (1903) as the material to apply the idea proposed in Disquiet Junto 0691: “it should make the Ravel sound like it is falling apart — that is, like it is unraveling, or un-Ravel-ing”. 
The tripartite microstructure of those final measures has been mapped into the three sections of the track: the first one starts with the clean original audio and quickly derives into a vivacious sequence of micro-editions, gating and spectral smearing; the second section transitions from energico to adagio until the chords seem to be suspended for a while, just to be submitted to different kinds of decimation, downsampling, aliasing, vacuum tube distortion, vinylic noisification, and bitcrushing; the piece closes with an exagerated ritardando, and wild filtering and cutting of excerpts that maybe expose some microfeatures of the final chord before leaving it totally unravelled. 
More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

This piece uses a 1928 recording by the Capet String Quartet of Ravel’s string quartet (Col. D 15057-60).
The original audio source can be found here:
https://archive.org/details/3-capet-sq-col-d-15057-60-ravel-1928-mov-3/

Unraveling a revealing Ravel [disquiet0691]

I was a bit lazy with this one and also pressed for time. I basically ran the original file through a number of granular plug ins, fading and mixing them against each other and towards the end rendering the mix into an ambient wash. Hints of Ravel remain, moving in and out, here and there....

disquiet0691

Disquiet Junto Project 0691: Un-Ravel
The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart.

Step 1: Download the first movement of the Ravel string quartet at this URL: https://bit.ly/un-ravel

The original source is the Internet Archive: https://archive.org/details/3-capet-sq-col-d-15057-60-ravel-1928-mov-3/

Step 2: Listen to the track closely.

Step 3: Create a new piece of music by employing the provided recording as source material. The goal for your piece is that it should make the Ravel sound like it is falling apart — that is, like it is unraveling, or un-Ravel-ing.

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/

unravelling [disquiet0691]

Un-Ravel [disquiet0691]

the end result is not so much a string quartet falling apart as it is a resonator-granular garble, but that's how it is sometimes

--

More on the 691st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Un-Ravel — The Assignment: Make a recording of a string quartet fall apart — at https://disquiet.com/0691/



disquiet0691 - gravel

A vague memory from a trip years ago to the Ontario Science Centre inspired this auditory illusion. With quotes from The Origin of Species (Darwin) and from Report N° 3211000RAE00-A: Hair Volume Measurement(Bolero) - Evaluation of 4 Products.

More on this 410th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Op Audio / The Assignment: What does the sonic equivalent of Op Art sound like? — at: https://disquiet.com/0410/

Thanks to Nate Trier for having suggested a “Shepard tone Junto,” which led to this week’s project.

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

Stress (disquiet0410)

One arpeggio in “Trompe-l’œil” (minor? major?) performed on guitars (electric? acoustic?)
Guitars (3 instruments, 8 tracks) performed by DD Friday November 8th.
Photo by DD (Oslo, Norway, 2018)

For Disquiet Junto Project 0410: Op Audio
https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0410-op-audio/

Op Art Arpeggios (Disquiet0410)

This track is a response to a challenge from the Disquiet Junto: "What does the sonic equivalent of Op Art sound like?" 

In this piece, I first composed a small symphonic riff - and then cut everything up in pieces, like seeing a picture through a grid or a comb, to see if the idea of the original would "peek through" - or maybe even change character. I think it changed quite a bit; some parts gained importance, other disappeared and some got almost too intrusive. But I actually like it better like this... :)

More on this 410th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Op Audio / The Assignment: What does the sonic equivalent of Op Art sound like? — at:

https://disquiet.com/0410/

Thanks to Nate Trier for having suggested a “Shepard tone Junto,” which led to this week’s project.

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

disquiet0410 - broken syncphony

Using an image Jelie sent me from a mountain retreat I loaded it into Photosounder.
I then inverted it to get a more traditional OP black and white image. I then used the black and white tools to draw trees using the tools. 

I then took the inverted image’s sound, duplicated and reversed it. I then took the “drawn” inverted images sound, duplicated and reversed it. Using these 4 sounds I grouped them in Live to a looper and EQ.

I then dialed in some drums on the Roland DJ 808 drum sequencer for the 606, 707,808, 909 drum banks. I then used the MIDI fighter routed to a drum kit with a looper to capture a phrase that I then folded into the group Loop chain. 
More on this 410th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Op Audio / The Assignment: What does the sonic equivalent of Op Art sound like? — at:

https://disquiet.com/0410/

Thanks to Nate Trier for having suggested a “Shepard tone Junto,” which led to this week’s project.

More on the Disquiet Junto at:

https://disquiet.com/junto/

Subscribe to project announcements here:

http://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0410-op-audio/

SnowTree OP disquiet0410

SnowTree OP disquiet0410 (cut down tree)

Step 1: If you aren’t familiar with the concept of Op Art, read up. It employs optical illusions as raw material for artistic expression.

Step 2: Think about what the sonic equivalent of Op Art would be. For example, consider the Shepard tone (the illusion of continually rising or descending pitch).

Step 3. Record a piece of Op Audio resulting from your thinking in Step 2.

Track notes: 

Another really thought/imagination provoking prompt. Thanks to Marc and Nate Trier for the initiative!

Immediately I thought of Bridget Riley's work, which I've always loved; especially her intricate colour works, which started in the 80s/90s onwards with pieces like Achæan (1981) and Nataraja (1993). I've always appreciated the considered selection of colour palette along with the rigid repetition of lines or oblique shapes. Throughout her career, Riley has meticulously studied the use of colour in paintings across history, as well as colour's application in cultures around the world. Her late work - from the 2000's onwards introduced elements of curvature and fluidity, and the semblance of repetition and repeated patterns became less apparent/distinct. 

In a sonic/musical sense, her work from these respective periods suggests a strong correlation to movement/momentum, pulses, repeated motifs, polyrhythm, phase relation and colouration of tone, etc. 

I thought it might be interesting to reference this late development in Riley's work: from the rigid forms and colour palette of Achæan (1981) and Nataraja (1993)through to her more recent works, which pull away from repetition, yet eschew the broad colour palette to only a couple of colours (such as Blue and Pink, 2001). My piece is sort of caught between works such as Nataraja and Blue and Pink.

I used a customised synth patch on my microkorg and routed the output to three effects pedals (an Ooh Wah, DD7 looper and Earthquaker Transmisser). 

The Ooh Wah is a rare bespoke pedal which I'm borrowing from a friend at the moment. It's essentially a series of bandpass filters combined with a sequencer. It adds a nice warbling effect to the synth, whilst pressing out some interesting harmonic characteristics.

The DD7 is, well..a DD7. I'm using it to capture sections of my playing and repeat infinitum, whilst overdubbing additional sections as the piece goes on.

Lastly, the Transmisser is a glorified modulated reverb, which I've employed towards the end of the piece to essentially 'blend' the colours into a homogenous impression.

It's longer than my usual submissions, since I felt a length of at least four minutes was the only way I could get this idea across.

[disquiet0410] Achæan, Nataraja, Blue and Pink

Tristan Louth-Robins is a South Australian artist working principally in the medium of sound art and field recording. Ideas of sound and its signification are key elements in Louth-Robins' practice, traversing the space between the visual and aural his work is realised through the mediums of recordings, installation, visual art and performance. He is interested in sound and its associative implications - including its relationship to objects, technology, urban space, memory and the natural world. 


Since 2005, Louth-Robins has presented work in Australia and internationally as a solo artist, whilst also collaborating with artists, writers, researchers, musicians and performers. 

Working across a vast array of activities encompassing composition, sound design, installation art, field recording and workshops, his work has been featured in events such as the Adelaide Festival of Arts (2006), The National Regional Arts Festival (2012), Mildura-Wentworth Arts Festival (2013), Fairfax Festival (2013) and Adelaide Fringe Festival (2014); and selected works exhibited at galleries including The Australian Experimental Art Foundation (2009), SASA Gallery (2012, 2015), Light Square Gallery (2012) and FELT Space (2015). His audio works have been broadcast on radio including Radio National, Classic FM, The BBC (UK), Acoustic Frontiers (USA) and RBB (Germany).

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.

[disquiet0410] Achæan, Nataraja, Blue and Pink

Tristan Louth-Robins

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