Disquiet Junto 0290 Text-to-Beat

The Junto this week asks for a track built on a rhythm created with text-to-speech software.

One of my first considerations was how to show the process in a video, but I soon remembered the V-tech Alphabet Desk that has been used by my kids for about a decade now.

I'm a fan of the V-tech toys, having used another one in an early Ninja Trax recording.



This afternoon I set up my SM7 microphone to record the Alphabet Desk and was surprised at how quiet the level seemed to be, since when the kids use it it seems impossible to ignore the recorded voice.

This evening I started exploring making loops in Ableton Live, adding gates to emphasise rhythms.

The X proved to be a versatile syllable, with the initial "eh' serving as a snare and the 'chs' becoming a hi-hat.

You can also hear a lot of the B.

As the Junto directions suggested 2-3 minutes, I figured it was just enough time to not worry about developing harmonic progression but I did adjust the pitch in parts.

All of the parts come from the V-tech except for the kick, which is an 808 sample.