Moog DFAM & Soma Lyra, live improvisation recording with minimal editing.

Stone Ritual

...an Indian dancer's hands are moving in intricate patterns to tell you her life's story in a hidden sign language...

For this piece I used a single Eurorack module - inspired by the idea of OneInstrument project https://oneinstrument.bandcamp.com/ (check it out!)

All sounds but one come from Mutable Instruments Rings. The additional voice is  modulated reverb from Strymon Starlab, which is fed one of the voices from Rings.

Recorded as a bunch of audio loops with variations in Ableton Live's session view, then after enough material has been recorded, I moved the loops to the Arrangement view to work on the composition.

Playing Rings with a MIDI keyboard with pitch bending allowed for some nice bended licks, reminding of an electric guitar. Or maybe a sitar.

Rimmy's Dance

This time I was inspired by ["Filtered Reality" ](https://soundcloud.com/sliversounds/filtered-realitydisquiet0538) from the last week's Junto. To me, it's about clearly communicating a single, simple idea. And I also wanted to learn how to do it. To find an idea that'd excite me and then find a way of expressing it in sound that I'd be happy with.

After reading the assignment, I went to a coffeeshop  with pen and paper to brainstorm what this idea could be. Lots of ideas, but most of them seemed too complex and diluted, others too difficult to execute well at my skill level. 

The next day I found the one that got me excited.

When co-sleeping, human breathing patterns and heartbeats synchronize. I find it endlessly fascinating and beautiful and I wanted to explore this process in my composition.

I showed how two lovers' breathing rhythms synchronize when they sleep together. At first, they breathe out-of-phase but as they both relax deeper and deeper and eventually fall asleep, theirs breathing and heartbeat cycles align. 

The general idea for the composition was to record me and my partner  breathing in sync with each other in a calm, relaxed manner as if we're sleeping. I'd start the composition with one of us breathing, then the other one fades in, breathing out of phase. Gradually, the phases synchronize and the two sounds reach a sort of harmony.

Developing this idea further, I wanted to somehow highlight this process  and present it in a clearer way. I thought that adding a "signifier" sound at the end of each breath cycle would be kinda neat.  This way, the process of phase alignment of breathing cycles would be much more evident. I decided on a bell-like sound with a long sustain, because it reminds me of meditation bells and associated with deep relaxation, silence and inner focus. 

To highlight the transformation and add more interest to the composition, each voice starts from a different micro-tonal scale, which morph into another scale that's shared by the two voices.

At the end I decided to add a recording of heartbeat to convey an atmosphere of intimacy. Oh yes and a shimmer reverb fades in at some point for the higher voice to add more development.

To sum up - here's how the composition illustrates the process of synchronization between two breathing patterns of co-sleepers:
- aligning phases of the two breathing recordings
- using bell-like signifier sounds to make this alignment process clearer
- harmonizing their(initially different) micro-tonal scales into a common one
- slowing down BPM slightly towards the end

For the bell sound, I used Arturia Pigments soft synth, for playing random notes at the end of each cycle I used Live's Melodic Steps device, and I automated the following:
- delay time of the 2nd breathing and bell voice
- morphing of microtonal scales with Live's default Microtuner device

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This is my submission to the 539th weekly Disquiet Junto project – Control Breath (The Assignment: Let your slow breathing guide a piece of music) – at: https://disquiet.com/0539/

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-0539-control-breath/

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Let's Sync (disquiet0539)

This is a recording of my practice session for DroneDay 2022 (https://droneday.boats/).

The idea of the patch is to use a single sine oscillator playing at a constant frequency as the only sonic material. All other sounds are created by processing this original signal. You'll hear the original oscillator at the very beginning of the recording, then I faded it out.

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Patch notes:
- single oscillator coming from Moog Matriarch playing the constant frequency comes into H9 haromonizer that generates 2 signals: 1 oct below and 2 octaves below (in "Duotonic" pitch mode)
- one of these signals comes into wavefolder and filter, which are modulated to create motion, then into Magneto tape delay emulation in pitch shift mode
- the 2nd voice goes into strymon starlab mod. reverb/delay effect
- all 4 signals are then mixed together to create the resulting drone

One Sine Drone

One Sine Drone (DroneDay 2022 practice)

Making drone music using voice as the only sound source. What makes a drone?  What makes a "good" drone?

Disquiet Junto Project 0548: Drone Vox

The Assignment: Make a drone using just your voice.

Step 1: Think about what constitutes drone music.

Step 2: Make some drone music from nothing other than the sound of your own voice. You can manipulate and layer your voice, but please add no other instrumentation.
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More on this 548th weekly Disquiet Junto project – Drone Vox (The Assignment: Make a drone using just your voice) – at: https://disquiet.com/0548/

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-0548-drone-vox/

Image by Nevit Dilmen used thanks to a Creative Commons license (cropped, text/color added), according to which this reworking is also available for reuse by the same terms:

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/deed.en

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Medical_X-Ray_imaging_EJE04_nevit.jpg

Vocal Drone Study [disquiet0548]

Disquiet Junto Project 0554: Cage Chord
The Assignment: Riff on a chord by John Cage.

This project is the third of three that are being done in collaboration with the 2022 Musikfestival Bern, which will be held in Switzerland from September 7 through 11. The topic this year is “unvermittelt,” which is a little tricky to translate. Literally it’s “unmediated,” but it can also mean “sudden,” “abrupt,” or “immediate.”

We are working at the invitation of Tobias Reber (@TobiasReber), an early Junto participant, who is in charge of the educational activities of the festival. This is the fourth year in a row that the Junto has collaborated with Musikfestival Bern.

Select recordings resulting from these three Disquiet Junto projects will be played and displayed throughout the festival.

Step 1: Consider this chord:

E5
A#4
E4
D#4
Db3
C3

If MIDI is of use to you, here is a link to the chord in a MIDI file:

https://disquiet.com/0554-midi 11

Step 2: You might read up a bit about the source of the chord, the piece “Organ²/ASLSP” by John Cage. Cage desired the piece to be played “As Slow As Possible.” Currently it is being performed in Halberstadt, Germany, on a special organ that will play it for a total of 639 years. It’s been going for 21 years so far, and is at this moment playing the above chord. Read up here:

https://www.latimes.com/opinion/story/2022-02-04/john-cage-organ-slow-as-possible-halberstadt-germany 11

Step 3: Produce a loopable drone (duration between one and three minutes) of your own based on that chord.

Note: Submitted drones will be sequenced into one large drone piece to be played at the Cage Room, a pop-up workshop and exhibition space of the festival at Progr, Bern, Switzerland.

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More on this 554th weekly Disquiet Junto project – Cage Chord (The Assignment: Riff on a chord by John Cage) – at: https://disquiet.com/0554/

Thanks to Tobias Reber and Musikfestival Bern for collaboration on this project. More on the festival at:

https://www.musikfestivalbern.ch/
https://www.instagram.com/musikfestival_bern
https://www.facebook.com/musikfestivalbern

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 1: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0554-cage-chord/

Cage Drone Loop - Disquiet0554

Disquiet Junto Project 0567: Three Meters
The Assignment: Make music in 5/8, 6/8, and 7/8 time signatures.

Thanks to Łukasz Langa (aka RPLKTR) for instigating this project.

Step 1: The week this project is published, the Disquiet Junto will be doing its 567th consecutive weekly project. Think about those digits and how they relate to each other.

Step 2: Record a piece of music that moves between — and perhaps even overlays — 5/8, 6/8, and 7/8 time signatures.

More on this 567th weekly Disquiet Junto project – Three Meters (The Assignment: Make music in 5/8, 6/8, and 7/8 time signatures) – at: https://disquiet.com/0567/ 1

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

"567" for Piano and Lyra 8 (disquiet0567)

This is one of the piano improvisations recorded after a few days of reflecting on my own musical path and all the wonderful people I've met and was influenced by.

I'm especially thankful for that sense of freedom, joy and playfulness in music and life in general that others helped me re-discover.

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The Assignment: Make music inspired by something or someone you’re thankful for

Step 1: Think of something or someone you’re thankful for.

Step 2: Make a piece of music inspired by what came to mind in Step 1.

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More on this 569th weekly Disquiet Junto project – Think Thank (The Assignment: Make music inspired by something or someone you’re thankful for) – at: https://disquiet.com/0569/ 1

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-0569-think-thank/

Thank You - Piano Improvisation #4 [disquiet0569]

The Assignment: Add material atop a pre-existing beat to form a complete track.

Note: This week’s project is the second part of a two-parter, following up last week’s, but you don’t need to have participated last week in order to do this one.

Step 1: You will be adding musical elements atop beats created last week by other members of the Disquiet Junto. Select a beat. There are beats from 30 or so musicians in the SoundCloud playlist:

https://soundcloud.com/disquiet/sets/disquiet-junto-project-0572 8

If you search for the project tag, you’ll find a few extras, I believe, from folks who did more than one:

https://soundcloud.com/search?q=disquiet0572

And there are two Bandcamp and one YouTube tracks in the discussion thread, along with details on many of the other entries:

https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0572-rhythm-kit/

Step 2: Add material to the beat you selected in Step 1. You can rework the beat if you like, even combine beats, but assuming you have limited time, the focus of your effort should be what you add, not what you do with the pre-existing material.

Step 3: When posting your track, be sure to credit which track(s) you employed as the foundation for your work.

melondruie - What are you Doing (disquiet0573)

Disquiet Junto Project 0576: Casual Resolution
The Assignment: Get a musical New Year’s resolution out of the way.

Step 1: Think of something, recording-wise, you want to accomplish musically this year — something you can attempt to accomplish now with the tools you have on hand and a little bit of time.

Step 2: Give the goal you set for yourself a go right now. Take a first stab at something that might, of course, require concerted effort over the remainder of the year to really make progress on. The first step is often the most difficult. Why not get it out of the way now?

FMYHM disquiet0576

Calm, soothing droning layers gradually unfold and slowly pass through you.

Lately, I've been thinking about time, its flow, its pace, how it's perceived. Most likely because I feel the need to learn how to slow myself down, self-regulate, deal and cope with feelings of anxiety that has been a frequent visitor recently. 

And this piece is my honest attempt at creating something that would soothe me and help me to do just that - slow down.

Slow Down

A short study of using sampled material arranged in a single loop for creating and developing a mood. 

Also a prep for my recent performance at TEMOM (March 2023).

Firefigther - TEMOM live prep / Samples study

Bits from our first improvisation with David Sutherland of Canadian Electronic Ensemble - and looking forward to next ones!

--
DS on EMS Synthi AKS
SS on Buchla Music Easel and MN Strega.

Improvisation with David Sutherland, Track 4

Improvisation with David Sutherland, Track 3

Improvisation with David Sutherland, Track 2

Improvisation with David Sutherland, Track 1

Improvisation with David Sutherland, Track 5

This is my submission to Disquiet Junto #0591, a weekly compositional challenge.

. . .

Disquiet Junto Project 0591: The Loneliest Number
The Assignment: Record the first third of a trio.

Please note: While this is the start of a three-part project, you can participate in one, two, or all three of the parts, which will occur over the next three weeks.

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.

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.

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Took a break from Juntos recently to deal with life and trying to re-think my studio practice.

It's so nice to be back. Hoping to get into the "actually finishing creative work" mode again.

Here's a short ambient piece based on this idea I've been developing recently:
-  a few unsynchronized loop layers washing over like waves, endlessly recombining in new ways.

There's plenty of room for new material:
- there's no BPM as such - all sounds are coming as waves from a few unsynced loops
- sound is mostly located in this part of the spectrum, leaving space in the bass and treble parts for new layers
![image|507x500](upload://oh5uoAPjatvNVJtsiDq170Gk0Wh.jpeg)


Key: D minor, 10-15 cents above the reference note.
Tempo: none (multiple unsynced looping waves).
Instrumentation: bowed electric guitar + reverbs + tape emulation.

Enjoy! Can't wait to hear what you add :slight_smile:


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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/ 1

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co 1: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0591-the-loneliest-number/

Eden [disquiet0591]

Deep ambient layers washing over in a space that feels like an ancient secret cave. Music for deep focus and solitude retreats in the depths of the inner space.

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In this piece I continued exploring the technique from my other piece "Eden" - layering a few unsynchronized sonic layers, drawing inspiration from the nature, like ocean waves, or different sounds as they are found in the wild - bird calls, insects, running stream, creaking wood etc.

-- 

Instrumentation:
- fretless bass, Buchla Easel, Eventide reverb spaces

Vernaca - Ambient Meditation

2nd Jam with David Surtherland

Disquiet Junto Project 0593: The Charm
The Assignment: Record the second third of an asynchronous trio.

Please note: While this is the third part of a three-part project sequence, you can participate in one, two, or all three of the parts, which have occurred over the course of three consecutive weeks.

Step 1: This week’s Disquiet Junto project is the third in a sequence that encourages and rewards asynchronous collaboration. This week you will be adding music to a pre-existing track, which you will source from the previous week’s Junto project (disquiet.com/0592 7). Note that you are finishing a trio: you’re creating the third part of what two previous musicians began. Please keep this in mind.

Step 2: The plan is for you to record an original piece of music, on any instrumentation of your choice, as a complement to a pre-existing track. First, however, you must select the piece of music to which you will be adding your own music. There are tracks by numerous musicians to choose from. The majority are in this playlist:

--

It was an interesting balancing act, to add something fresh while still leave enough space for the original material to breathe.

This is my 2nd iteration.
Initially, I wanted to just record a drum part but wasn’t satisfied with the end result.
I wanted something more subtle.

So for the 2nd iteration, I came up with a process that allowed me to explore a few of my current interests at the same time. Probably that’s why I was willing to give this piece so much attention. Hm…

Below is a somewhat detailed description of the process and context.
It’s long & detailed, because I wanted to capture a few thoughts while they’re still fresh.

Context:

earlier this week, I studied interviews with Nils Frahm about his current improvised live concerts (How I Play Live: Nils Frahm | DJMag.com). My take-away for me was that playing all parts by hand (e.g. not relying on quantized sequencers) is a part of his organic sound that I like so much.
That motivated me to play keyboard a lot more - mostly piano & electric piano sounds with a touch of tape delay effect - and discover that this is currently my favorite thing to do, musically.

yesterday, I repaired the broken switch of the audio input preamp on my Buchla Easel, and my mind was naturally wondering about how to employ it in the next projects…

earlier today, I read an interview with Biosphere (In the studio with Biosphere | Headphone Commute) - another artist whose sound I like a lot.
I liked the idea of processing samples of acoustic instruments (he mentions sampling classical music) through synths/filters/etc.

yesterday, I found the perfect reverb effect pairing for the Easel - a modulated space reverb pedal.

All of the above coming together to form the idea for a process.

(continued on https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0593-the-charm/62312/57)

Frugal3ty feat Marc Eisenschink and encym [disquiet0593]

Waterfall recording through a stereo low-pass filter, manually modulated.

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Waterfall recording from Freesound processed by two low-pass filters (one filter for the left ear, one for the right ear), manually modulated with a MIDI controller and a simple VCV patch.

Story behind the process: stereo filtering is inspired by a recent underground noise show I went to.

I didn't quite know how to listen to noise music, and at some point I found a cool trick: I put my fingers to my ears, and varied the pressure to open/close the "filters". 

This way, I could participate in the otherwise mostly static wall of noise music: play with the panning, find my own frequency and loudness sweet spot, make it my own.

One other guy from the crowd tried that too and showed me a big thumbs up a few minutes after.

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More on this 595th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Filter Progression (The Assignment: Make music by processing a static sound), at: https://disquiet.com/0595/

About the Disquiet Junto: https://disquiet.com/junto/ 1

Subscribe to project announcements: Disquiet Junto by Marc Weidenbaum (Disquiet.com)

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0595-filter-progression/

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Disquiet Junto Project 0595: Filter Progression
The Assignment: Make music by processing a static sound.

This project is the second of three that are being done in collaboration with the 2023 Musikfestival Bern, which will be held in Switzerland from September 6 through 10. The topic this year is « √ » — as the organization explains: “the radical, or square root symbol and the power of its symbolism are central to the festival and these will be translated into music in multifarious ways.” All three projects will engage with the work of Éliane Radigue, who is the Composer-in-Residence for the 2023 festival.

We are working at the invitation of Tobias Reber, an early Junto participant, who is in charge of the educational activities of the festival. This is the fifth year in a row that the Junto has collaborated with Musikfestival Bern.

Select recordings resulting from these three Disquiet Junto projects may be played and displayed throughout the festival.

Step 1: Choose a static sound, such as a field recording of a specific place, or a held tone, or a recording of noise.

Step 2: Experiment with animating the static sound selected from Step 1 by slowly, subtly, manually modulating it, using only filter frequency and resonance.

Step 3: Record a track resulting from the techniques you developed in Step 2.

Stereo Waterfall [disquiet0595]

While reviewing & organizing my earlier material, I found this piece from March 2023. Loved the organic quality its sound, with all sounds are coming from the Buchla 208c, including the "birds".

Easel Arp

A few minutes from my practice session with a simple improvisation setup: a portable electric piano through overdrive & compressor through tape delay.

I simply in love with how the stereo phaser & tremolo of the electric piano sound get transformed into that overdriven electric guitar soundscape that is constantly undulating and moving.

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Disquiet Junto Project 0597: Goal Line
The Assignment: Get started on a plan by getting over getting started.

Step 1: For a lot of people right now, it’s around the start of summer. For many of them, it can mean the start of one plan or another. You may very well have musical goals for the next few months. Think of one to focus on.

Step 2: Don’t wait. Record one piece of music that kick-starts whatever goal you’re working toward. Often the first step is the most difficult. Take that step.

This week’s project takes the start of summer as its theme. And if it’s the start of winter where you are, instead, I hope that it can still apply.

Support Your Local Sunrise [disquiet0597]

Ruminations [disquiet0599]

Rumination IV

(Original sound material provided by Marcus Fischer)

Disquiet Junto Project 0600: Reaching Out
The Assignment: This is a shared sample project. Rework a set of seven WAV files provided by Marcus Fischer.

Step 1: The musician Marcus Fischer, long a friend of and participant in the Disquiet Junto, has graciously put together a set of shared samples that will be the source audio for this project. Part of the beauty of a shared sample project is that there will be an underlying quality — a tonality, a texture, a commonality — to all the disparate works that are produced from the foundational material. Listening to the variations as they surface will be its own special source of pleasure. You can access the files here:

https://www.dropbox.com/t/TGexgpq93GPLGFxE 30

Step 2: You can rework the audio from Step 1 in any way that you see fit. You can use all of it, or just one tiny piece, or whatever subset you find strikes your ear. The one stipulation is your finished piece should begin and end with an unadulterated segment of one of the provided tracks for at least two seconds. Please credit Marcus Fischer when posting your track.

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I've had this idea for a long time: turning slowly evolving drones and textures into percussion and pusles and compose around that.

When I listened to the source material, I knew what I wanted to do.

**The process**
I placed all sounds on separate DAW tracks and listened to them. 
I used sends to create 3 different "submixes" that I liked. I recorded these 3 sounds and worked with them, disregarding the other material. 

Then, I processed these 3 voices with Eurorack envelopes and VCAs, coming up with a trigger sequence, envelope timing, levels and EQ that I liked. I spent around an hour on it.

I grouped together all 3 voices and added some space with tape delay and a bit of reverb. Then, I added a fourth sound layer of the metallic stereo percussion, which already had a great reverberation to it, so I put it outside of the group to add a second layer of depth to the overall space of the piece.

I recorded 10 minutes of the resulting material to the DAW (mono).

Then I closed my eyes and recorded volume automation with a MIDI fader controller for the four tracks to introduce the sounds and fade them away, giving the composition its final shape.

Reaching Out [disquiet0600]

Svarka Maté

An experiment in genres cross-over(Ambient, Dub, Shoegaze, Post-Rock, Trip-hop?) reaching outside the realm of my usual creative practices.

Back to my roots - playing electric bass - and exploring baritone guitar, somewhere between floating ambient guitar-scapes soaked in reverb and uplifting dub. Both of which I associate with skies/flying/up.

A shoegaze dub? Ambient dub post-rock? anyway, it’s 4:30am, i need to catch some sleep.


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The Assignment: Record a piece of music that suggests something floating in air.

Step 1: Consider various music techniques you might employ to suggest (or imitate, or insinuate) that something is floating in air.

Step 2: Select one of the techniques you considered in Step 1 and experiment with it a bit.

Step 3: Record a piece of music built around the technique you focused on in Step 2.

Floating - Shoegaze Dub [disquiet0603] [Draft]

Intuitive, improvised electronic music. Soul search in sound.

Sonic Search is a way to explore my interests in art, abstract sound, improvisation and collaborative music practices. A way to connect to the Source. A personal sanctuary and retreat.

A former self-taught bass player, I've had a many-year break from music-making during a time of personal crisis. 

Gradually re-building my music practice, I'm grateful to all my friends who've been helping me along this journey.

Sonic Search

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