A big thank you to Jo Richter @sonic-textures for offering up this inspiring open collaboration poem! His recording, also quite strange and experimental, can be found here:
https://soundcloud.com/sonic-textures/the-passing-crave-voice-effects

The rhythmic background in my track was created by taking Jo's recording and chopping it up into fragments, then running it through a sample arpeggiator using an app called Samplr. Jo's recording is also used in the backward tape effect at the beginning and end, also created with Samplr. 

To further experiment with tape manipulation effects I did my own reading of the poem, then snipped the vocals into fragments and pitch-shifted them, this time using the Abu Dhabi dynamic loop slicer in Korg Gadget. Of course I also layered on some synth and keys (arturia microfreak, minilogue xd). Quite a different approach for me on this one, but it all came together surprisingly quickly considering the relative complexity. I hope to experiment with similar techniques going forward, I'm finding it fun to work with poetry and spoken word, so am definitely open to more collaborations that go in this direction!

Lyrics copyright Jo Richter (Sonic Structures and Silent Stretches)

the day slopes
down the hill
his residence rests on

the clouds in his gaze
match the clouds in the sky
as the winds gently shape them

he has a slow meal
within shifting structures 
of people who rush by

stopped at a corner
he sees squatters evicted
from ivory lodgings

matching his steps
to the patterns of stones
he rewrites the pavement

past the outskirts of town
he watches a beetle
scuttle along a fencepost

he walks past the tree
he has been dreaming of
for ten years in a row now

in liquified air
this moment freezes
unseeing his life

The Passing: Fragmentary Mix - w/ Sonic Structures and Silent Stretches (Poem by Jo Richter)

Hi friends, I am happy to share with you another deeply experimental work that I've created in collaboration with Jo Richter a.k.a. Sonic Structures and Silent Stretches @sonic-structures and Stonerjazz/Jeff @user-911083679

Jo composed an epic long-form poem called 'Departure' that is broken up into 13 'cantos'. He invited me and Jeff to work with him on converting the poetry into a series of musical soundscapes and this is the first resulting mix from me, that is built on top of a track that Jeff produced and released recently: https://soundcloud.com/user-911083679/canto-vi-jeff-unrulywav

Perhaps fittingly, we decided to start in the middle, with 'Canto VI'. Jeff's version contains a full reading of the poem, which gets somewhat buried in my version of the mix. Layered on top of this, I pulled out key passages from the reading, and used them to continue experimenting with splicing and (software) tape manipulation techniques that I've been developing lately. In addition to Jeff's musical backdrop and Jo's spoken word, the rest of the mix is built upon field recordings taken by Jo that I chopped up to create rhythmic/percussive elements which I think add some interesting color and texture. 

Thanks for joining us on this wild ride! If you find this track interesting, then please keep an eye out for future installments in the series. They will be compiled here: https://soundcloud.com/sonic-textures/sets/departure-a-long-poem-in

Here is the full text of Departure - Canto VI, the inspiration for this track: 

Canto VI

This spire, she continued, is but the lasting remnant
of a cave. The very first one to be adorned with ochre
drawings. The very first one in which olorine bone
was carved to sound a flute. All the surrounding
land has sunken since that golden age – but for this
place. Here, Apollo handed the lyre to Orpheus.
A spire now, it has been maintained by entertaining
visitors ike you and by hosting muses like myself.

Now, she pursed her lips, we live in utter confusion.
The inside protrudes like a lofty spire while
the outside caves in like a poet‘s drawer. It is
the epoch of the common, shared arts withdrawing.
The innards of ideologies chaperoning fervent
industries are digesting all there is, all life, all things. 
Consumption prevails; generation has to retreat
to clandestine niches, obscure, barely beheld.

These are tough times for poets, for artists, for
fragile senses and minds. Still, the spire prevails.
Why, do you think, that is? - He felt his breath soften
as he replied: I do apologize for mistaking you,
the first listener and co-creator of art. You are the one
who heard the song Orpheus sang. It was selfish to
think of you as a muse, relating only to me, my art. 
You have listened to the spire and you did understand.

That is how things used to be, she sighed. The poet served,
as you have learned before, those who live to listen well.
He endured the toil of art, they enjoyed the foils of art.
Then the concept of the muse – all upside-down – was
deviously formed to aid the annihilation of the awkward art.
Now that you are aware of this, you soon will have to
leave, as you well know. You have received the only gifts
that this place has to offer, which are a story and some rest.

Is there a way to stay, he asked? I do not want to
compose mixed-up poems in a jumbled-up world. This is
what you are wont to perform, she insisted. But will
I be able to take to shelter when exhaustion takes
over my senses, he asked? You won‘t, she replied,
this is how you serve and die, as any living poet does.
A matter of trust and choice of environment cannot
be settled by impersuasive evasive manoeuvres

Jumbled-Up World (Departure Mix 1): a reimagining of Jo Richter's Canto VI poem, ft. Stonerjazz

New album Audio/Visual is now available exclusively on SC and BandCamp, featuring my favorite tracks from 2024-25. Soon to be released more widely to Spotify and other platforms.

My genre influences include electronic, downtempo, lofi, experimental, rock, blues, indie, prog, post rock, ambient, synthwave, trip hop, and hip hop. 

My recent tunes are produced using Ableton Live, FabFilter suite plugins, and often feature synths like Pigments, Microfreak, and Minilogue XD. I'm also beginning to incorporate guitar a lot more!
 
Some of my major artist influences include Aphex Twin, Boards of Canada, DJ Shadow, Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem, the Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, M83, Godspeed you Black Emperor!, Mogwai, Animal Collective, Nicolas Jaar, Dirty Projectors, Massive Attack, Björk, Dan the Automator, Del, the Gorillaz, Reggie Watts, Ween, Neon Indian, Tycho, Ott, Shpongle, Danger Mouse, Built to Spill, Yo La Tengo, Velvet Underground, My Bloody Valentine, Pink Floyd, Modest Mouse, the Books, and too many others to list here.

New tracks tagged #JoRichter