The Disquiet Junto is a group in which musicians respond to weekly, fast-turnaround projects to compose, record, and share new music — and provide feedback to and receive feedback from fellow participants. The idea is to use the constraints inherent in these assignments as a springboard for creativity. The first Junto project began on the first Thursday of January 2012, and the series has continued weekly since then. It was founded by and is moderated by Marc Weidenbaum.  Find out more at https://disquiet.com/2013/04/25/disquiet-junto-faq/

My Disquiet Junto

I recorded throwing ice cubes into the best crystal glass I own. a long stem glass which is the last of a set of six. It makes a beautiful ringing sound no matter how you hit it. All the sounds are made from the ice and the glass, including the ringing, and my voice.

I used a 32 bit float field recorder that I bought recently to test turning up very small sounds, like the glass ringing. Works well. The sounds are treated with Ableton to vary them (played back on a midi keyboard, then mixed and moved around), and for my voice I used, also for the very first time, a Korg Kaoss Pad 3 that I just acquired.

See photo of the glass.

Disquiet0627 ICE NINE

Took an old piece - is is music? Well, I came to “music” from a reverse angle. I was a spoken word radio producer in the 80’s, then got attracted to audio art, moved to Europe, tried installations, and found myself in the experimental music world. So this piece is from about ten years ago, and has been rejigged by me. I did it simply, using Ableton but not enhancing with synth.  Next time.

Disquiet0629DaysAreShort

Response to Junto 0650 - a chance to try out Granulator III in Ableton 12, and my Korg Monolog, which of course has sirens - and to sing crazy

Disquiet0650SheppardsSirens

Singing fridge and fan - and couldn't resist singing along.

More on the 661st weekly Disquiet Junto project, Consumer Drone Product — The Assignment: Record a piece of drone music using sounds from your home — at https://disquiet.com/0661/

Fridge vs Fan (Disquiet0661)

[What I Found on Pluto](https://on.soundcloud.com/2vcNNmGgdCa2ujddA)
I made this track by selecting my favorite little recordings from many years - all recorded by me - many of them are my voice, some are animals, tiny snippets harvested from past field recordings, many accidental - then I did a survey of effects in Ableton that I wanted to explore and treated everything, learning about various parameters until I got the atmosphere I wanted - a great practice opportunity. The photo is one I took of a balloon flight, altering the colors.

What I Found on Pluto (disquiet0671)

I recorded some toys I have (pictured), all featured in the composition..

More on the 677th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Jeux d’enfants — The Assignment: Make music inspired by a children’s toy or game — at https://disquiet.com/0677/

Disquiet0677 Playing Under the Tree

Made for Disquiet Junto 0685 -"Treat a set of sounds like a game of pick up sticks."

More on the 685th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Pick-Me-Up — The Assignment: Treat a set of sounds like a game of pick up sticks — at https://disquiet.com/0685/

STICKSandSTONES(disquiet0685)

A response to Junto creative prompt: compose to a sign. 

I live in France, and once saw a sign on the autoroute that I, as an Anglophone, found funny. It said “Zone d’expérimentation.” I still don’t totally get it - it means they were trying something out, to watch out for debris, or failure, or something like that. They were talking about roads, but I related to it. This sign pictured here is the closest I could find online. Apparently a “voie douce” is a road for bikes, foot traffic - but not motorized vehicles. I take “douce” as soft, sweet or gentle. So I experimented with my new midi controller, Arturia Keyla essential, 49 piano keys, all white. Far from my first midi controller, but quite a fun one. It comes with a software plug in that over 2000 factory settings. I usually stay away from those,  but today we’re on the gentle road of experimentation. Let’s have fun! Included are some odd vocal noises from my collection.

More on the 688th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Sign Up — The Assignment: Interpret a routine public sign as a musical instruction — at https://disquiet.com/0688/

Disquiet0688Creation Voie Douce

My piece, Dry Clean Only, is a version of a former contribution, “The Days Grow Short.” I put it in the wash then the dryer without reading the tag. Oh no! It said Dry Clean Only! I guess that’s why it started to unravel and gathered a lot of weird particles. It’s about 60% synth(thetic) too; I shoulda known better.

Reponse to the Disquiet challenge. The Assignment this time: Put a piece of music through the dryer. 

More on the 695th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Disquiet Junto Project 0695: Clean After Each Use — The Assignment: Put a piece of music through the dryer — at https://disquiet.com/0695/

Disquiet0695 Dry Clean Only

14 electronic layers improvised and handed off. Response to Disquiet Junto: The Assignment: Make music change by altering its layers.

Step 1: Record 10 to 15 layers of continuous sound.

Step 2: Create a piece of music in which you only change the relative presence of those individual layers from Step 1 over time. Some light effects and panning are certainly fine, but the majority of the impact should be how the prominence of the individual layers changes.

More on the 696th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Chain of Layers — The Assignment: Make music change by altering its layers — at https://disquiet.com/0696/

Disquiet0696 electro layer cake

This is a response to Junto 0698. Record a piece of music to mix with another piece of music contributed last week - it's a trio project - next week will be the third part. Mine contributes a simple voice improvisation. 

More on the 698th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Second Third — The Assignment: Record the second third of a trio — at https://disquiet.com/0698/

Disquiet0698 second with Torpid Scorpion

I read about making 8-bit music, watched a couple of videos and found a simple Japanese plug-in called Magical 8-bit, which I used in playing my midi keyboard. It is probably not exactly the assignment, because I added another element: files from a teaching colleague's class on Sonification, meaning that these files are not 8-bit, but they create a kind of hommage to something. 

More on the 704th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Right on Cumulus — The Assignment: Compose 8-bit music inspired by a Cory Arcangel / Super Mario video — at https://disquiet.com/0704/

Disquiet0704 Unforgettable

Response to Disquiet Assignment: What rhythm do you hear in a barcode? The first :30 of the piece consists of the barcode: vocal sounds to represent each size of the lines, and one sounds for the biggest space - followed by improvisational vocal sounds repeats of the barcode. More on the 712th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Zebra Code — — at https://disquiet.com/0712/.



disquiet0712 Al Dente

Brut quartet: Metronome, Me, Me and a couple of comments from a 3-string boxy dulcimer.

More on the 719th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Riding on the Metronome — The Assignment: Play with and against a steady beat — at https://disquiet.com/0719/.

disquiet0719 taktell tak tak

Sound artist and poet - American, living in the North of France. Member of Muzzix Collective.

My Disquiet Junto

Marjorie Van Halteren