naviarhaiku609 – revealing in the dark

The haiku shared by Naviar Records caught me in a melancholy mood.

I liked the image of a lonely fisherman inspecting waves and thought it spoke to those moments of introspection and reflection. 

naviarhaiku607 – Winter waterfall

 

Quick recording for the Naviar haiku prompt this week, using my pedal board with two Zoias.

naviarhaiku605 – just inside the fence

naviarhaiku604 – In spring sunlight

One of those recordings when everything has been plugged in and starts without a plan.

naviarhaiku603 – insect tremolo

I liked the idea of an "insect tremolo" in the haiku shared by Naviar Records this week. 

naviarhaiku602 – scent of plum

The poem shared by Naviar Records this week mentioned a mountain path.

I considered how one will often reach a plateau when walking up mountains, incorporating a slower section in the key change of this song. 

Manipulated footage via タンタンポッピング - ミルキーウェイ乗組員 - やってみます。 

naviarhaiku601 – pulling light

There is something optimistic about the haiku shared by Naviar Records. 

Since I'd been rocking out on drums over the weekend, this song was influenced by a guitar riff.

Then when I went looking for a video to pair with my track, the keyword brought up breakdancing by a Chinchin Milkyway.

So I changed the instruments to be more like something he'd be dancing with and made a few edits to suit the pacing. 

naviarhaiku600 – thinking of us

The 600th project from Naviar Records was a milestone that I wanted to recognise. 

Their haiku reminded me there was footage I'd shot of the trees during autumn, which allowed me to go look through my files for a piece of music.

I've tried to incorporate atmosphere and a crunchiness for the leaves.

naviarhaiku596 – spring dream

The poem shared by Naviar Records needed something with spring, then I set about trying to make it more unhinged. 

naviarhaiku592 – slanting sunlight rays

It was the mention of sunlight in the poem shared by Naviar Records that reminded me of this sunrise I filmed at Valla Beach.

The track was produced with Ableton Live, after I recorded takes for different parts and arranged them. I'd listen to this in a forest.

naviarhaiku591 – steady spring rains…

 

naviarhaiku590 – dreadful the stream

 

The dreadful stream in this case is an estuary, and the rain was elusive.

naviarhaiku589 – rising sun

On Easter Sunday I convinced my partner to take a trip to Valla Beach for the sunrise.

There we met a group of people gathered around a fire with guitars to sing medicine songs.

My partner joined them while I took photos, then I sang a little and one of the group offered a jar of "eggs".

The handwritten message on the slip of paper I drew said "Wisdom is crystallised suffering," and the woman who offered it explained she'd heard this from a Buddhist giving a talk.

As we continued to walk among the waves at sunrise I had words form around the scene, which I've drafted into the song here:

First verse:
With each breath to caress the earth
at the start of every day
the seasons have a rhythm
of sunshine and rain
like shifting sands
under the movement of waves
as morning light will break
through clouds in a golden ray

Chorus:
Everything will change
nothing stays the same
all of your wisdom
crystallised from pain

Second verse:
In the rumbling of the ocean
a rhythm as old as time
a melody in the roar
song of ebb and climb
as the storm can leave behind
a peaceful breath of calm
from chaos we make meaning
dance like fire to our song

Bridge:
We crash like the waves and we break
then we rise again and learn from mistake
build a home in the unknown, make peace in the storm
finding strength in lessons we learn from being born

Chorus

Since the haiku shared by Naviar is about the rising sun and the sea, it seems appropriate as a response.

naviarhaiku583 – out of the blue

The haiku shared by Naviar this week left me wondering about paulownia.

Apparently these tress have been introduced in the last 30 years, but require more rainfall a better quality soil than is generally available in our landscape.

However, I know the peachy quality of morning light and often appreciate it in the bathroom, so I made a track to give a sense of that ambience.

naviarhaiku582 – here and there

The haiku shared by Naviar this week led me to reflect on current setbacks and how new opportunities will emerge.

I know that probably looks vague, but the results are still developing and won't be known for a little while yet. 

naviarhaiku581 – plunging my hand

 

A funny thing happened when I decided to film a video for my response to the poem shared by Naviar Records.

I'd misread the poem and planned to film myself blowing bubbles at the pool, then my camera wouldn't record.

It wasn't until I decided to read the poem again that I realised it said "hand" and not "head" as I first thought.

naviarhaiku580 – quiescence!

 

The haiku shared by Naviar left me pondering the meaning of quiescence.

I decided it suited my mood and recorded three instruments in one day, although my family were watching TV when I wanted to record the bass so it wasn't on camera.

naviarhaiku579 – Mount Asama

After finishing an assignment, I started playing guitar and trying different effects.

Recently I've been enjoying Alexander pedals and this is a combination of Space Race and Radical Delay DX with a Coppersound Foxcatcher. 

Something about the decay of the distortion led me to think it was suitable for the haiku shared by Naviar this week:

One of the four great haiku masters, Yosa Buson studied both Japanese and Chinese poetry. He was also an accomplished painter, and most of his poems were accompanied by paintings, resulting in a more diverse and individual set of works than the one by his main historical influence, Basho.

The event Bosun refers to is the eruption of Mount Asama in 1783, which instantly killed over 1,000 people. The toxic ash traveled 100 miles to Edo, making farmland useless and causing many more people to starve.

naviarhaiku578 – one by one

 

The poem shared by Naviar this week prompted me to rearrange this track and withdraw parts, then imagine them reunited inside.

naviarhaiku577 – curve of time

The haiku shared by Naviar Records this week prompted me to consider how to add my own "curve of time" to this track I'd been working on.