All submissions are here: https://www.naviarrecords.com/naviarhaiku596-spring-dream/

To participate in the Haiku Music challenge:

- Make a song in response to the weekly assigned poem (a new poem is published every Wednesday)
- When choosing a title for your piece also include the assignment number, for example “Title of your track (naviarhaiku382)”

To submit your track:

- If you’re a Soundcloud user, upload it on Soundcloud and send me the URL via private message, or tag me in the track.
- If you upload your music on Youtube, Bandcamp or anywhere else, upload your submission and then send me the link by email at marco@naviarrecords.com or contact me on X, Facebook or Instagram
- If you don’t use any music platform, upload it to this Dropbox folder and I’ll include it in the weekly playlist. If you choose this option, make sure you include your name in the track’s title. www.dropbox.com/request/JvKyUfuCSzJ3gRNRocZz

more info here: www.naviarrecords.com/about/naviar-haiku

Your track may be included in Naviar's weekly podcasts and free (pay-what-you-want) compilations. If you can, please set the track as downloadable on Soundcloud and allow others to remix/reuse it by using a Creative Commons License.

Naviar Records store: www.naviarrecords.bandcamp.com

Naviar Records Membership (access to full discography, creative meetups, workshops, and more): https://www.naviarrecords.com/membership-and-services/#membership

haiku #596: spring dream… / not becoming unhinged / is what’s unbearable

spring dream…
not becoming unhinged
is what’s unbearable

Konishi Raizan was a famous haiku poet of the Genroku period (1688-1704). He was a disciple of Nishiyama Sōin, and after his death, his works were anthologized in Imamiyagusa, which was published in 1734. He wrote this poem after the death of his only son.

Haiku by Konishi Raizan: https://www.poemofquotes.com/famoushaiku/raizan.php
 
To find out more and participate, visit https://www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge/

halF unhingeD [naviarhaiku596]

Recorded, mixed & mastered on 04 Jun 2025 by Jim Lemanowicz at Blissville Electro-Magnetic Laboratories of Massapequa. 

Synths, effects.

This original version of "Navigation Problem No. 1" was submitted as part of Naviar Haiku 596: Spring Dream...

spring dream…
not becoming unhinged
is what’s unbearable

by: Konishi Raizan

Konishi Raizan was a famous haiku poet of the Genroku period (1688-1704). He was a disciple of Nishiyama Sōin, and after his death, his works were anthologized in Imamiyagusa, which was published in 1734. He wrote this poem after the death of his only son.

Artwork/Photography - Jim Lemanowicz, 17 Jun 2023, Massapequa, NY, USA & 04 Jun 2025

©2025 Jim Lemanowicz

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

Navigation Problem No. 1 (naviarhaiku596)



Konishi Raizan was a famous haiku poet of the Genroku period (1688-1704). He was a disciple of Nishiyama Sōin, and after his death, his works were anthologized in Imamiyagusa, which was published in 1734. He wrote this poem after the death of his only son.

Haiku by Konishi Raizan

Picture by USGS


spring dream_naviarhaiku596

5Jun25

My naviarhaiku596 track
https://www.naviarrecords.com/naviarhaiku596-spring-dream/
:D

not becoming unhinged [naviarhaiku596]

Here's my musical resonance to this week's haiku from excellent @naviar-records.

spring dream… not becoming unhinged
is what’s unbearable

by: Konishi Raizan

https://www.naviarrecords.com/naviarhaiku596-spring-dream/

Spring dream (naviarhaiku596)

Disquiet Junto Project 0703: That’s How You Got Killed Before

This one’s been sitting on my hard drive for 16 months. It came from a session with my friend and collaborator Bobby Rangell — we had recorded some flutes for a job, then took advantage of being in the studio to jam a bit: bass and flute, sometimes with a drum machine click.
It was a super productive day. I later revisited and shared many of those flute-based tracks… but this one?
Like the others, it was just two tracks: mono flute and stereo bass, with a 2-bar drum machine loop. But I made a patching mistake that day — the bass came out super thin and low, and mixed weirdly with Bobby’s long reverb. So I just… deleted my bass track. Why? No idea.
Months later, I went back to it — and found only Bobby’s flute and a 3-note Roland 707 kick pattern. No idea what I originally played. Worse: Bobby’s blowing was super abstract. I couldn’t even figure out the key. Still can’t.
Then I got Marc’s email this morning and thought, why not try something different?
Instead of trying to remember what we did, I improvised on top of Bobby and the 707 kick playing electric bass, just following my own ideas and added some drum loops that weren’t there when we played, then I played a Fender Rhodes and some synth textures following my new bass, trying to structure what was probably and abstract free impro.
instead of trying to figure out what key were we playing in (I recall in all our impros we just kept one steady key) I introduced chord changes, played around with modulations, and laid down harmonies that don’t necessarily match what Bobby was playing. So now you hear his flute moving freely over harmonies that were never there in the original — sometimes clashing, sometimes strangely aligning. I liked the tension it created.
I spent a full day in the studio doing this. Honestly, I don’t think it’s done, but I’m leaving it here for now.
Side note: if anyone asks “what’s the point of the Junto challenges?” — this is it.
Sure, I could have called Bobby back and spent the same 8 hours creating something much more polished and coherent from scratch. But we never would have ended up with something like this. And without this challenge, I never would’ve bothered digging into a broken, abandoned track like this.


Performed by Daniel DIaz (June 2025) and Bobby Rangell (March 2024)
Photo by DD, Carilo, Argentina. 2025

That’s How You Got Killed Before (disquiet0703)

My good friend https://soundcloud.com/delirium-funk gave me his Bastl Kastle to play with ... and this rainy, ricey ritual little number slowly emerged from that crazy little box! Enjoy! 😁😜

rain rituals -
if the gods are here now
to see the paddies

Takarai Kikaku was one of the most accomplished disciples of Matsuo Bashō, famous also for writing a manuscript describing his master’s final days, and the immediate aftermath of his death.

Haiku by Takarai Kikaku: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Takarai_Kikaku

To find out more and participate, visit https://www.naviarrecords.com/haiku-music-challenge/

more halF unusuaL

halF rituaL [naviarhaiku599]

landing

The first sentence of Zen & the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, by Robert M. Pirsig is, "I can see by my watch, without taking my hand from the left grip of the cycle, that it is eight-thirty in the morning."

More on the 705th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Book Start — The Assignment: Let the beginning of a book help you begin a new piece of music — at https://disquiet.com/0705/. This week’s project was proposed by Neil Stringfellow.

halF icanseebymywatcH [disquiet0705]

it wasn't a binding agreement

This week's Disquiet Junto prompt asked us to use the first line of a favorite book as the inspiration for a piece of music. I selected David Byrne's "How Music Works", with the opening sentence "I had an extremely slow-dawning insight about creation."

I'm traveling this week, so away from my outboard gear, but I did bring along a mini keyboard and headphones so that I could still participate this week! Features several layers of software synths (mainly Alchemy) and a field recording made from the 3rd floor balcony of the flat we're renting while we're here.

I tried to keep this sparse (for me at least), following the idea of the "slow-dawning insight", while still capturing the chaos of the creative act. It's probably still unsettling, but I just can't help that.

More on the 705th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Book Start — The Assignment: Let the beginning of a book help you begin a new piece of music — at https://disquiet.com/0705/. This week’s project was proposed by Neil Stringfellow.


A Slow Dawning Insight About Creation (disquiet0705)

A track produced for the 600th Naviar Records Haiku Challenge; 7 days in which to write and record a piece in response to the haiku posted. The haiku, 'thinking of us, the sound of wind, among the pines' made me think of the 'us' as several voices carried in the wind through the forest, so I used solely voice samples for the track.

Us the Wind Among the Pines (naviarhaiku600)

6:00 minutes of ambient music to celebrate the 600th episode of Naviar Records' haiku music challenge.  

https://www.naviarrecords.com/naviarhaiku600-thinking-of-us/

thinking of us
the sound of wind
among the pines

Andrea Cecon is a hearing aids technician, a traveler, and a haijin published all over the world. His first ebook won 3rd place in the Sharp Writ Book Awards contest in 2011 (category: poetry). Residing in Cividale, Italy, with his wife, Russian haijin Valeria Simonova-Cecon. He finds his inspiration in memories, travels, and everyday life…

Haiku by Andrea Cecon

Picture by Ali Kazal


6:00 [ naviarhaiku600 ]

digital_nonlinear_02

Live improvisation - hardware synths. No AI but pure RHI

In what century?

Naviar is a music community and label. Through regular publications, open projects and events, we explore the connection between experimental music and traditional Japanese poetry.

To join the Haiku challenge, visit https://www.naviarrecords.com/about/naviar-haiku

spring dream_naviarhaiku596

Debroc

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