naviarhaiku429 – over the moon

 

The haiku shared by Naviar Records led me to consider beating something, like the crow beats its wings.

So I took two takes on my tongue drum and layered them together.

Disquiet Junto 0534 Transition Capsule


I spoke with my son about the Junto project and he told me they already do this at his high school. 

Apparently there’s music over the school intercom, so it crackles and mostly the selection is ordinary – although my partner said she heard Iron Maiden one time.

naviarhaiku428 – end of rains


The haiku shared by Naviar Records seemed playful, so I've had a jam on my Roland Boutique sound modules.

Nobody can drink and work

 


Disquiet Junto 0533 Numbers Magik

 

The Disquiet Junto this week activity involves remixing material from the trios projects earlier this year.

In the first round of those projects, RPLKTR hailed me as a fellow Youtuber and I'd wanted to respond to his track.

It has a lilting melody in a pop song structure, played on a little synth that sounds like an interpretation of a little Asian stringed instrument.

At the time I was stuck for how to contribute.

Last night, as I was finishing my track, I worried I might've become unstuck!

I'd looped a drum part and bass line, then had the idea to record through Volcas.

The Korg Volca range are fun and cheerful products, but I struggle to make them fit in a track.

When I played my son the recording, he thought it had smothered RPLKTR's track.

Dr Dre has this hardware


 

Memory of Nofi

At Disquiet.com, Marc remembers Jeffrey Melton and it's interesting to me that this memory of Melton's passing arises as we re-approach the Trios Junto projects.

While 'communing with Nofi' in '13, I had the delightful experience of discovering a Junto participant had chosen to jam with my response.

Lee Rosevere's drumming alongside my bass was a rare thrill for a musician.

It was one of those moments where I heard my music elevated by someone more skilful.

So inspiring, even when I think back on it.

That was my first Junto Trio and, in hindsight, I can see it encourages that thing musicians need to do and is central to the Junto's objectives: listening to each other.

My other recollection from the 66th Junto is that I spent a while listening to Nofi’s recordings and appreciating the way Melton sampled.

Nofi’s jams often hung on a well-known riff, such as Michael Jackson’s 'Thriller', but he’d take a bar or so and build a scaffold around it.

The result was like a construction site, where you could see through the mesh hung on the fence and glimpse an outline of the landmark.

naviarhaiku427 – marbled dawn


The haiku shared by Naviar Records this week reminded me of seeing Venus and Mars in the sky before dawn recently.

My track developed from a jam with the Omnichord and my collection of Roland Boutiques.

Disquiet Junto 0532 Other Means


The Disquiet Junto assignment this week is to "Make music about something you find difficult or unproductive to talk about." 

This song is about my online shopping habit.

Naviarhaiku 426 – the long night

 

At first I considered recording the neighbourhood dogs that can be heard barking, as part of a response to the haiku shared by Naviar Records this week. 

That seemed too literal and, after I'd set up my microphone, the little yappers across the street fell silent. 

So I had a jam on my Omnichord, although I ended up reworking the MIDI instruments in Live afterward, so you can't hear any of the devices flashing during the recording.

Straight from the sauce


 

Disquiet Junto 0531 Noise Sculpt

 
The Disquiet Junto project this week is to "Listen for a mirage of your music within white noise." 

At first I wasn't sure I wanted to listen to noise for an extended period, then I considered other sources. 

I settled on one of the recordings I made on my last visit to Valla Beach and worked with Ableton Live to explore the key of the crashing waves. 

After a while, I recorded piano and bass parts to accompany the vocoded synth pads that are hidden in the background noise.