For this challenge, Type Set, I used the sound of a keyboard typing the first two stanza's of Edgar Allan Poe's, 'The Raven' .  The typing was performed and recorded by my close collaborator, JC Petkovich, who used a JD40 which he built and dropped into a CNC'ed aluminum case. JC also added foam between the PCB and case to dampen the noise, the switches are Aqua Zilent switches which are also very quiet. The keyboard recording was then processed using Supercollider to "tune" the key sounds using a band pass filter. In addition,  recordings of raindrops as well ravens were also similarly processed and used in the final piece. The work was assembled and mixed in Ableton Live 10 and some software instruments were added.

TY PO(disquiet0483)

For Carillon Quotidian, I used a MHK 8040 mic and MixPre-6 to record an electric razor. I then generated a track in which playback speed and pan was manipulated for multiple loops the recording as generated in Supercollider.  The higher speed of playback (between 1.7 and 4.8x) of the recording of the razor gave a surprising flute like timbre and I added some delay to achieve the final sound on the razor track.  I added a piano and bass track using software instruments from Spitfire, but everything else is from the recorded sound of  the razor.  Thanks to everyone for participating in this prompt.

Close Shave(disquiet0487)

"Bus to Tsukiji", starts with a martian landscape comprised of some of the sounds previously generated for the disquiet prompt on stone processing sounds (Metamorphica).  Layered on top of these sounds is a range of synths from NI, Output and Spitfire Audio. The field recording  of the Tsukiji fish market a stopping bus were obtained from Soundsnap and the headphone disco pan was synthesized in Ableton Live.

Bus to Tsukiji

Transition Capsule - from one meeting to another must (at least in my case)involve coffee.  So in this piece, I tried to find a combination of darkness and lightness that brings the components of a Cortado together.  Piano, some synths along with trumpet and bass clarinet, the latter 2 representing espresso and milk in equal measure.

Cortado(disquiet0534)

Once when I was trying to drive through a traffic node in Toulouse intersecting 6 or 7 different streets, I stopped in the middle, confused as to which lane/road I should enter.  The driver opposite watched me in frustration as I was blocking his progress forward. Then cacophony of horns erupted as I jammed the intersection.  After a brief chorus, the driver opposite started to give me the slow clap.  I guess it was quite a performance.  Nonetheless, in this piece - Fanfare for the common van- I have tried to capture a fanfare of horns and squealing brakes in traffic edging along at a slow pace. Soft woodwinds and horns from SA.  It's a little longer than necessary, but I guess traffic is  like that.  Composition in C major.

Fanfare For The Common Van(disquiet0537)

For the Control Breath project, I recorded breaths holding the mics close to give that breathing-into-a-comm-unit-in-an-enclosed-helmet sound.  It always sounds very close and isolated.  Accordingly, I composed sounds around it including woodwind and bellows sounds to keep with the "breath focus".  I had the radio on in the background for added helmet noise which I reversed to remove distracting language information.

Oxygenation(disquiet0539)

This is a simple study combining a steady 5/4 time with string parts in both 5/4 and 4/4.  I started with a piano part keeping a beat on 1 and 3 counts and added other parts as the piece progresses.  It is rather short but I am thinking about expanding this into a longer piece.  I found it very inspiring to shake up the time signature a little but Ableton does not like it very much!  Thanks again Marc for a fun and interesting challenge.

5 To 4(disquiet0540)

In this little sketch entitled "HZ So Bad", I used Massive in Ableton to generate a note, which I tuned to 2600hz and then truncated and looped to sound like a rhythmic bell which the piece starts with.  I then added various tracks - simple guitars and soft bassoon to fill it out.

Hz So Bad(disquiet0542)

This track was inspired by this great prompt and two outdoor lounge chairs covered with lichen - I can't seem to bring myself to get rid of them, they really have developed a beautiful covering that continues to grow - apparently, species of all types are entitled to lounge in the sun.  A series of instruments make up this drone piece, some software from Spitfire and guitar pedalled through Hors d'Oeuvre?, Meet Maude and Mercury7.

Apothecia(disquiet0566)

I really like the track that was produced by @glitcher, Nobody's Home.  And then the atmosphere added perfectly from @Sinny made Somebody's Home an irresistible track to add to.  So I tried to add some guitar on the left channel and some synth on top without drowning out the clicks and buzzing that makes a home a home and called it Never Alone.  Some compression was required for this, however and I hope the result is satisfactory to the two artists I have borrowed from.

Never Alone(disquiet0593)

This track was the product of 2 excellent tracks, Acrostic Speed Limit by Xang Hung and Refactured Drift by Tristan Louth-Robins.  I was surprised to find that when I lined these two pieces together, they complemented each other very well.  This made an easy task for me to bring them together once I had dropped their tempos to 30bpm. I tried to pull out different tones at different points in the piece and added some reverb and delay in parts where needed for interest.  I greatly appreciate the nice work that Hang Hung and Tristan Louth-Robins put into their tracks.

Acrostic Drift(disquiet0610)

The task of making music that listens to itself was approached by starting with a soft piano using Noire Felt which has a function that with desired probability feeds back the note played at 1 or two octaves lower.  So this was a piano that listens to itself.  Additionally, the core piano notes played were provided to another piece of software called Borderlands which allows one to take small segments of the track and loop them as a singlet or multiples (in the form of micro samplers) whilst applying treatments to alter length, rate (forward and back), pitch, etc.  Four such micro samplers were used to provide atmosphere to the track.  Finally, some background tones were added using a monome ARC 4 device to drive Electric Dharma Wheels in Ableton Live.

Just Deserted(disquiet0611)

I make the same mistake when making pizza, "less is more", I keep telling myself, but I can't stop myself from adding more. Same goes for this piece. So much for silence! In any case, Piano Silence are the two "quiet" words that inspired this piece. My approach was to create a large empty space like an abandoned factory.  I used the soft felt piano which was accompanied with sprinkles of guitar.  For the background, I employed the monome arc driving Electric Kharma Wheels in Ableton to generate a recurring pulse which like other components of piece, was pushed through some serious UA reverb.  The flugle horn is from Spitfire's British Drama Kit which adds some spicy atmosphere. I will work on exercising restraint  - to paraphrase, Pascal Blaise, Mark Twain and a few others - If I would have had more time, I would have composed less.

Piano Silence(disquiet0616)

Time Well Bent is a piece composed for the disquiet Junto challenge, Beat Accrual.  I used Tabla software from NI to construct the simple beat heard at the beginning of the piece which evolved into a more complex arrangement thanks to two tape-loops employed to triple the beat density offset by replay times.  The harmonium/bellows were added as some gentle guitar to finish the piece.

Time Well Bent(disquiet0619)

Thanks Marc for this  - it is quite useful to get one to review forgotten files that didn't quite make it anywhere.   I was thinking to name this "No light for the jealous night", but it didn't quite fit the theme, so I named it "Night Leftover".  I found this scrap and realized why I scrapped it.  It was too long, and it is still too long for which I apologize, but shortening it was very difficult.  Nevertheless, I still like it and wanted to get it out there.  The background piano and bits of software instruments here and there provide the atmosphere for the guitar harmonics that I played throughout.More on this 621st weekly Disquiet Junto project, The Leftovers (The Assignment: Use recently discarded material to make something new), at: https://disquiet.com/0621/

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

Subscribe to project announcements: https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/

Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0621-the-leftovers/

Night Leftover(disquiet0621)

The challenge, Soothing Sounds II:  My dog, Joule - the slow and steady cadence of her breathing by the bed at night created a rhythm for sleep unequaled by any lullaby. Soothing, reassuring, protection against what the blackness of night could bring.  Last week, after 14 years, I had to say goodbye to Joule, whose name I had borrowed as my moniker for the Disquiet Junto.   Though she will be profoundly missed and could never be replaced, with this track, I tried to recapitulate the steady cadence and feeling of safety that Joule's bedside presence could bring.   The track comprises a simple chord  progression using strings, glockenspiel and bellows (Spitfire) and street sounds, soft reassuring voices and ocean waves from various sources recorded into Borderlands which was then used to disperse the sounds throughout the track.  The track was processed using Ableton live and UA hardware/software.  I apologize to those bringing babies into this world anew for this sad note, but Joule's passing is an affirmation of the joy that the arc of a life, from beginning to end, can bring to others. Find beauty in every moment, every interaction.
More on the 655th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Soothing Sounds II — The Assignment: Make music for babies — at https://disquiet.com/0655/

Joule(disquiet0655)

Soundtrack for segment 6 of 9 was generated solely from the Malka Older's reading.  Processed in Supercollider and mixed in Ableton Live.

Malka Older The Divided Part6:9 (disquiet0400)

I liked the beautifully restrained solo piano track by @bellyfullofstars and unrestrained it by duplicating it and putting one copy each through two different tape loopers.  I added some choral vocalizations to pick up some of the overtones of the piano.

BFOSThreeLeaves Joule Remix(disquiet0432)

For the Seamless Bridge challenge, I chose to bridge – Dish of Orcas, Track 8. Knot from here, by Tay_ploops with semi auto biO graphical - Track 7, Auto 3, by haLF unusual.  The result is all about being around family during a quarantine.  Thanks (with apologies) to the creative minds of Tay_ploops, and half unusual.

Quarantine(disquiet0448)

I randomly selected the contribution "Comma-Cosmic Duet", from @JochenEdmund and @comma which features the coffee machine at the data center.  With some synths to pull this together, I arrived at Cosmic Java.  I can't guarantee that you will like it but I can promise this piece is better than the coffee at the data center without ever having tasted it!

K Joule

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