The haiku was written at work late last year as the temperatures rose. The cicadas in Mountford Park were drowning out my tinnitus, leading me to wonder about using their songs for ambient noise.
My musical response was recorded on Tuesday afternoon in a single take. I used an oscillator for the shrill sound and then improvised using my gated guitar rig. MIDI was later sent to Oddity VST synth. The slow pace and beating rhythm are meant to convey the dry heat of summer as the cicadas song rising with the slight gusts from the west.
Early on I discounted the idea of using cicadas as too literal. The result sticks out like an angry sore thumb in the Naviar playlist but I like the sense that it sounds a bit like a mild migraine. That's what summer is like on the days when the drone is loudest.
