Bassling blog: September 2021

Cicadas waiting to drop

naviarhaiku403 – On the spring equinox

The haiku shared by Naviar Records appealed to me because it described a spring equinox, which is what recently passed in the southern hemisphere.

On Saturday morning I was watching the sunrise through the trees at the end of my streeet, when I realised it formed a frame that drew attention to the glow of light behind stream rising from the nearby rice co-op.

That image seemed similar to the one described in the haiku, so I felt like I should try and record something -- although it doesn't feel fully realised in this recording.

I was performing in theatres

Disquiet Junto 0508 Germane Shepard

The Disquiet Junto project this week is to "Use the Shepard tone to create a piece of music."

I found a MIDI file that purported to give a Shepard tone, although it didn't sound as convincing as Hans Zimmer.

To give the tones some shape I forced them into a scale using one of Live's MIDI effects.

Then I tried a few different instruments, until it started to hold my interest.

Music critics of the Wild West

Disquiet Junto 0507 In DD’s Key of C

The Disquiet Junto project this week involves working with recordings by Daniel Diaz.

His parts were in the same key as a piece I'd recently revisited for the Naviar Virtual event.

That piece was from March 2016, when I'd walked the streets for music from the wi-fi networks.

The app Sniff_Jazzbox interprets wi-fi data as piano notes, which I'd put into the key of C and played through a string orchestra.

Diaz's recordings were in the key of C, so I stretched them to see how they could drone alongside my wi-fi symphony.

I'm just saying

Disquiet Junto 0506 Wipe Out

The Disquiet Junto project this week involves removing half of a track to create a new version.

This track I recorded to experiment with feedback has been on my mind recently, in part because the drums inspired a lovely spoken response from Sam Knot that I recently incorporated into the mix that followed my interview with Naviar Records.

In fact, I used the the original track as a piece for Naviar.

I used to like those guys

Jon Mueller on drums

The sound of drums inspires me. Fancy playing, while impressive and inspiring in its own right, doesn’t cover the whole thing. The sound of a struck drum, cymbal, or gong—its tone peaking and dissipating into silence, or piled into a dense cluster of frequencies and tones—is a thing of wonder. What does it mean, and how can it be used? The quest continues.

Disquiet Junto Project 0505 Open Up

The Disquiet Junto activity this week is to "Share a track, get feedback, and give feedback."

My track has been siting on my computer for a little while.

I can't remember when I made it but I remember why I made it.

There's a plan to make a new toasted sandwich video, but I realised I'd need a piece of music to accompany it.

Then I began playing with saturation and dynamics and maybe that didn't help.