Short Waves [disquiet0185-memorymusic]

When I was 10 years old I turned on my father’s shortwave radio. It opened up a whole new world. I spent many nights as a kid listening to broadcasts from around the world imagining what those places were like. 

I created a collage of shortwave broadcast station IDs and interval signals that I’ve listened to for years, some of which no longer exist.

This was a fun project. It brought back a lot of memories. 

Thanks to the following online audio sources: 

The Shortwave Radio Audio Archive
YouTube: BBC World Service idents over the years by shriramvenu
Freesound: kwahmah_02; AlienXXX Radio Cairo; kb7clx Radio España
IntervalSignals.net
W5AM site for picture of Hammarlund HQ-180 receiver. 

Disquiet Junto Project 0185: Memory Music
Step 1: Remember a key moment in your life. It could be anything at any age.

Step 2: Conjure the sound of that moment in your mind, how you remember it, how you have come to remember it.

Step 3: Recreate that sound and feeling through sound design and music.

More on this 185th Disquiet Junto project (“Summon up a memory, and then summarize it in sound”) at:
http://disquiet.com/2015/07/16/disquiet0185-memorymusic/

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


Short Waves [disquiet0185-memorymusic]

Disquiet Junto Project 0199: Space Crickets
Make a field recording of a field recording in a spaceship.

Space ambience with real and abstract sounds of nature. A central, transparent section reflects the isolation of space returning to nature as it is in the emptiness of space. 

Space ambience and abstract sounds of rain, wind, water, crickets and small animals created with Reaktor and Virtual ANS. Nature sounds from Freesound.org and Youtube, thanks to RSilveira_88, ceich93, RHumphries, acclivity, and K-Hawaii ASMR Nature-Relaxation.

Assembled and edited in Audacity. 

More on this 199th Disquiet Junto project (“Make a field recording of a field recording in a spaceship”) at:http://disquiet.com/2015/10/22/disquiet0199-spacecrickets/

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

Creative Commons license granted. 

Aniara [disquiet0199-spacecrickets]

Disquiet Junto Project 0214: Microtonal Errata
The Assignment: Bring to the fore the distinction between two specific microtones.

Created a Pure Data patch that generated random base pitches along with the 2 corresponding microtones. Recorded the results and transferred it to Samplr so I could play the sound. Used that for one of the tracks. 

Created 2 additional tracks consisting of only the 2 microtones panned left and right and again played in Samplr. These tracks, minus the base note, more clearly highlight the interval between the microtones. 

Added a repeating percussive track derived from the original recording to contrast with the random sounds of the other tracks.

Organized into 2 parts. The first uses fast, bell-like attacks, the second moves into more amorphous sounds. 

Created with Pure Data, played in Samplr, assembled and edited in Audacity. 

More on this 214th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“The Assignment: Bring to the fore the distinction between two specific microtones”) at: http://disquiet.com/0214

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

The image associated with this project is from Alain Danielou’s 1958 book Tableau Comparatif des Intervalles Musicaux, found via Kyle Gann. Major thanks to Ethan Hein (ethanhein.com) for helping word the project assignment.

Creative Commons license granted.


Microtonal Errata [disquiet0214-microtonalerrata]

Disquiet Junto Project 0215: Tiny Rhythms [disquiet0215-tinyrhythms]
The Assignment: Make a short track with just pin-prick audio.

This was one of my favorite projects. The exploration of tiny sounds opened up a new world. I was surprised by how expressive they could be. I mostly recorded small sounds but also used a couple of sounds from Freesound. 

Some of the sounds have a natural, repeating rhythm and others are segments that loop creating a longer, slower rhythm. 
 
Sound 1 is a small key chain being lowered onto a board and swept away with my hand. After a few times it developed a natural rhythm. 

Sound 2 is a box of small electronic screws. I gently moved my fingers around in opposite  corners and recorded the sound in stereo. The segment repeats. Long, vague cycles, almost arhthymic.

Sound 3 is a tuning fork waved around in front of 2 microphones. Various rhythms, 440z, cyclical, shifting panning and phasing.

Sound 4 is small shards of glass being moved (thank you jorickhoofd at Freesound.org). Segment repeats 5 times/5 cycles.

Sound 5 is tiny, tinkly wind chimes (thank you Incarnadine at Freesound.org). 4 repetitions/4 cycles.

Creative Commons license granted. 

More on this 215th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“The Assignment: Make a short track with just pin-prick audio”) at: http://disquiet.com/0215 

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

The image associated with this project is by Philippa Willitts, used thanks to a Creative Commons license: https://flic.kr/p/4L37Fm


Tiny Rhythms [disquiet0215-tinyrhythms]

Tiny Sounds, Thin Layers

Disquiet Junto Project 0216: Thin Layers [disquiet0216-thinlayers]
The Assignment: Add a thin foundational bed to beats of pin-prick audio.

I worked with my original Disquiet 0215 track Tiny Rhythms. To create an ambient layer I created 3 additional tracks. First is a time stretched version (3x) of the original, second was created by passing that track through 2 bandpass filters (200z and 6000z), and third is that track pitch shifted down an octave. The three ambient tracks are layered under the original track. 

Creative Commons license granted. 

More on this 216th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“The Assignment: Add a thin foundational bed to beats of pin-prick audio”) at: http://disquiet.com/0216

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

The image associated with this project is by Evelyn Flint, used thanks to a Creative Commons license: https://flic.kr/p/rKoG1i

Tiny Sounds, Thin Layers [disquiet0216-thinlayers]

I Am Sitting In My Studio: Bringing the Outside Inside
Inspired by Alvin Lucier. 

Disquiet Junto Project 0218: Sound Passage
The Assignment: Following the path of artist Kate Carr, explore sounds from a distance.

I was trying to think of a way to capture the change in a sound as it traveled from outside to inside (the effect of the indoor environment on a sound originating outside). I tried hanging a microphone outside the window then one inside but nothing seemed to capture the acoustics of the room.

Settled on setting up my laptop outside and recording the sound of distant road and airport noise (with some friendly birds passing by). Considered how the sounds were affected by the environment: reflections, distance, difussion, interaction. 

Brought it all back into the studio and played the track through monitors while recording the sound with microphones. Did this multiple times, each time the acoustics of the room gradually altered the sound (sound repeatedly traveling through human-built environment progressively changing). 

There are 10 takes, each about 12 seconds. The effect seems to increase logarithmically. It’s most obvious in the first few takes and almost unnoticeable towards the end. I tried adding some additional sounds but it all seemed to detract from the sonic quality.

The sound only traveled a short distance, about 20 feet but the cumulative effect of the room acoustics is striking. It would be interesting to try this on a larger scale, sort of an environmental installation, playing the sound back over long distances and capturing the change (would probably need a permit for that;) 

Recorded, edited and assembled with Audacity. 

More on Alvin Lucier “I Am Sitting In A Room”: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Sitting_in_a_Room

More on this 218th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“Following the path of artist Kate Carr, explore sounds from a distance”) at: http://disquiet.com/0218/

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

The image associated with this project is by Kate Carr, who also guest-crafted the project description.


I Am Sitting In My Studio [disquiet0218-soundpassage]

Disquiet Junto Project 0219: Breath Dance
The Assignment: Working with artist Paolo Salvagione, create the audio backdrop for a piece of choreography utilizing only the sound of soft breaths.

A very late submission. I created most of this with Samplr while traveling. I tried to record a live performance but found it very difficult to perfect the piece. Ended up recording separate tracks into Audacity then carefully editing the results. I’d still like to work more on perfecting the ‘performance’. 

These are all sounds of my breath with the exception of the long pitches which were created with a tuning fork. 

Creative Commons license granted.

More on this 219th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“Working with artist Paolo Salvagione, create the audio backdrop for a piece of choreography utilizing only the sound of soft breaths”) at: http://disquiet.com/0219/

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

The photo associated with this Junto is by dancer Kristen Bell, who is part of this Salvagione project.


Breath Dance [disquiet0219-breathdance]

Disquiet Junto Project 0220: Rhythmic Arrhythmic
The Assignment: Make overtly rhythmic music from short loops of overtly arrhythmic source audio, following instructions from Dennis DeSantis.

I attended a lecture about Louis and Bebe Barron and came up with this. 

I used about 15 seconds of the opening theme from the movie Forbidden Planet which was scored by the Barrons (the soundtrack is entirely electronic; one of the first of its kind). I played it in Samplr using the ‘Slicer’ mode while adding trigger points and reducing the envelope decay which gradually created a beat. Did this for 2 tracks. Added a third track made from Robby the Robot’s voice which has a rhythm of its own created by the delay.

Assembled and edited in Audacity. 

Creative Commons license granted.

More on this 220th weekly Disquiet Junto project (“Make overtly rhythmic music from short loops of overtly arrhythmic source audio, following instructions from Dennis DeSantis”) at: http://disquiet.com/0220/

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



My Forbidden Planet [disquiet0220-rhythmicarrhythmic]

Naviar Haiku 115
Compose a song inspired by the weekly assigned poem (included in the profile picture). 

Created with Thor and Samplr on an iPad. Edited in Audacity.

On the Way [NaviarHaiku 115 - You Know Where You Are?]

Disquiet Junto Project 0221: Morning Music
The Assignment: Compose something — quiet, peaceful, refreshing — you’d want to wake up to.

Took a bit of the opening music from NPR’s Morning Edition. Time stretched various amounts, layered and edited, bit of Borderlands added to create a dreamy soundscape. 

Thanks to BJ Leiderman for the Morning Edition theme music.

I posted a second, extended  version on my other Soundcloud page at:
https://soundcloud.com/project-dirigent/my-morning-edition-extended-version-for-radio-and-very-large-orchestra-disquiet0221-morningmusic

The photo associated with this project is by Alf Eaton, used thanks to a Creative Commons license: https://flic.kr/p/8NUM/

More on this 221st weekly Disquiet Junto project (“Compose something — quiet, peaceful, refreshing — you’d want to wake up to”) at: http://disquiet.com/0221/

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

Creative Commons license granted. 


Dreamscape [disquiet0221-morningmusic]

Disquiet Junto Project 0222: Bounded Foundation
The Assignment: Compose a piece for contemporary dance — with a “soft top” and a “shifting bottom.”

This track grew out of the project ‘Breath Dance’ and is based largely on samples of my voice. 

For the top level I recorded a variety of utterances and played short slices with Borderlands and Samplr creating cloud-like, granular clusters.  In Samplr I used the Bow tool to create very short slices of sound moving them around quickly. 

I included some of the original voice samples (played in Samplr) and distributed them throughout the track. They sound haunting, like ghosts inhabiting the piece.

The shifting bottom and some of the longer sustained pitches were created with samples of a pitch pipe played in Samplr using the Bow and Tape+Scratch tools. 

It ended up sounding very dark and mysterious. There is a vague, recurring semi-tone interval (minor sixth) that gives it a haunting quality. 

More on this 222nd weekly Disquiet Junto project (Compose a piece for contemporary dance — with a “soft top” and a “shifting bottom”) at: http://disquiet.com/0222/

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

Creative Commons license granted.

The image associated with this project is by Tom Gill and is used thanks to a Creative Commons license: https://flic.kr/p/qX8pyN


Bounded Foundation [disquiet0222-boundedfoundation]

Disquiet Junto Project 0255: Capone’s Ghost
What does the banjo music of the fabled criminal sound like?


I went searching for banjo music. I wanted to avoid stereotypical bluegrass banjo sounds and found samattacott's amazing track "tuningABanjo" on Freesound. Thirty minutes of vague, random banjo sounds. 

I selected a few segments and processed them through Borderlands. Added some Alcatraz prison ambience at the opening. 85 was Capone's number at Alcatraz.

Thanks also to: YleArkisto, squashy555, and haldigital97 for their Freesound sounds.  

Banjo sounds processed with Borderlands. Recorded and edited with Audacity.
 
Creative Commons license granted. 

More on this 255th weekly Disquiet Junto project — “Capone’s Ghost: What does the banjo music of the fabled criminal sound like?” — at:http://disquiet.com/0255/

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

dirigent

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