The haiku prompt for this:

an autumn nightfall
the skeleton of a huge fish
drawn back by the sea.

Naviar haiku challenge 617, details here:  https://www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge

I have my field recording of the sea so I had a starting point; everything else was made with VCV Rack. I started with the sequences then added the synthetic waves, mixed with the real ones towards the end of the track. Wanting to keep the rest quite sparce and minimal I then made a simple chord sequence and a simple self generating melody.   

With a rough plan for the overall form I was going to follow I set up physical controls and multi track recording, hit record and mixed/modulated all the elements in one live take.

While the sea recording is my own it has been uploaded to freesound, find it here: Waves_on_a_Shingle_Beach by Mr_Lamppost -- https://freesound.org/s/800900/ -- License: Creative Commons 0 

Drawn Back By The Sea - (naviarhaiku - 617)



Composition pour le Naviar Haïku Music challenge 617.
Sur un haïku de Saitō Sanki (1900 – 1962):

an autumn nightfall
the skeleton of a huge fish
drawn back by the sea.

www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge/


sea fishbone

Little song for Kjmunro haiku:

"The harp player
moves under cover
market day."

"Mercat" is the word "Market" in my language. This is my market of my little island.

Mercat (naviarhaiku618)

Made in response to this haiku:

the harp player
moves under cover
market day

Naviar haiku challenge 618, details here: https://www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge

I already had the field recordings I needed to frame the track, a combination of a food market in Catania Sicily and Brixton Market south west London. Recordings from this sound pack: https://www.luftrum.com/free-field-recordings Sold in aid of WWF Denmark.

I then used VCV Rack to build an evolving sequence and a self generating melody, the main elements of the track. To these I added minimal background elements also VCV to form a bridge between the sequenced elements and field recordings.  

With all the synthetic elements ready to go I mixed and assembled the field recordings that open the track, having done a "Dry run" to test my mapped physical controls and multi track recordings setup for the VCV elements I took a guess and mixed the field recordings that close the track. When I hit record and did the live mix I found I was wildly wide of the mark so while the opening and all the synth elements are as performed I'll admit to sliding the closing set of field recordings into place after the event. 

The Harp Player - (naviarhaiku - 618)

Little song for Masaoka Shiki haiku:
"Almost black
deepening purple
ripe grapes."

Deepening (naviarhaiku619)

Recorded, mixed & mastered on 16 Nov 2025 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa. 

Synth, effects.

This original version of "If We Met Under Different Chirographs” was submitted as part of Naviar Haiku 619: Almost Black.

almost black
deepening purple
ripe grapes

by: Masaoka Shiki

Regarded as the father of contemporary haiku, Masaoka Shiki was a poet and literary critic during the Meiji period Japan.

He advocated realistic observation by “sketching” (shasei) poems and going out into nature with notebooks, thus abandoning the traditional subjects of haiku of the time. His advice for an aspiring poet was, “Use both imaginary pictures and real ones, but prefer the real ones.”

Photography/Art - Jim Lemanowicz, painting 2017, photography 2021, Massapequa, NY, USA

Music & art © 2017, 2021, 2025 Jim Lemanowicz

For more about the Naviar Haiku Challenge, see www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge

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If We Met Under Different Chirographs (naviarhaiku619)

Composition pour le Naviar Haïku Music challenge 619.
Sur un haïku de Masaoka Shiki:

almost black
deepening purple
ripe grapes

www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge/

Ripe purple

Made in  response to:

almost black
deepening purple
ripe grapes

Naviar haiku challenge 619, details here: https://www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge

This clearly suggests a transition from light to dark but thinking of ripening grapes there's also a transition from harsh to mellow, which I have tried to reflect in the journey from the "Spiky" experimental opening to the more considered and calm conclusion.

I created all the elements using Voltage Modular, set up physical controls and simultaneous multi-track recording, then hit record and let the track evolve. The only extra effect added is a rotary speaker emulation on the central sequence.

Deepening Purple - (Naviarhaiku - 619)

Little song for Kinsha haiku:
"Some starlight
spared from being scooped up
four-handed net."

The title “Llum recollida amb les mans" in my island language is like "Light gathered in the hands” trying to evoke the image of the haiku where light is harvested with a single gesture, as if it were a living substance. The literal translation of haiku takes on another meaning, and the words must be changed so that they have the same poetic meaning.

Llum recollida amb les mans(naviarhaiku620)

Spared Starlight   Naviarhaiku 620 - 11_21_25, 8.15 PM

I'm primarily a visual artist both 2D and 3D, for the last decade I've operated almost exclusively in the digital 3D realm.   since the late 80s I've made periodic forays into the sonic world, MIDI sequencing, minimalism, musique concrète, found sounds  and improvisation. I am seldom happy with anything and seldom consider a piece finished.

My music asks listeners to be like dreamers uncovering hidden patterns in passing clouds. Support me @ patreon.com/blisterpop

Little musician from little island. OST for films, documentary & videogames.

New tracks tagged #naviarhaiku