The issue of whether something is “sound” or “music” is in the ear of the beholder, so in posting a track of incipient low-grade constrained cacophony, Kyle TM asks a less qualitative question. He wonders aloud whether his two minutes of bracing, brittle, fierce static is “noise” or “texture.” The answer may, to some degree, be a matter of volume level. Set on quiet, this is noise in the sense of white noise, a constant flux of utter, remote abstraction. Louder, though, the textural element comes to the fore, something like an array of flannel spun from rusted wire. And from within that frame, screeches and train noises and snatches of what might be music from a melodrama sneak through, perhaps illusions, perhaps source material revealing itself. In either case, a rhythm is clear, two even, one a pace-setting rumble, the other a rapid internal combustion. Titled “Terminal,” the track was originally posted for free download at soundcloud.com/kyletm. More from Kyle TM at twitter.com/thekyletm.
Current Activities
Upcoming
• July 28, 2021: This day marks the start of the 500th consecutive weekly project in the Disquiet Junto music community.
• December 13, 2021: This day marks the 25th anniversary of the founding of Disquiet.com.
• January 6, 2021: This day marks the 10th anniversary of the start of the Disquiet Junto music community.Recent
• There are entries on the Disquiet Junto in the forthcoming book The Music Production Cookbook: Ready-made Recipes for the Classroom (Oxford University Press), edited by Adam Patrick Bell. Ethan Hein wrote one, and I did, too.
• A chapter on the Disquiet Junto ("The Disquiet Junto as an Online Community of Practice," by Ethan Hein) appears in the book The Oxford Handbook of Social Media and Music Learning (Oxford University Press), edited by Stephanie Horsley, Janice Waldron, and Kari Veblen. (Details at oup.com.)Ongoing
• The Disquiet Junto series of weekly communal music projects explore constraints as a springboard for creativity and productivity. There is a new project each Thursday afternoon (California time), and it is due the following Monday at 11:59pm: disquiet.com/junto.
• My book on Aphex Twin's landmark 1994 album, Selected Ambient Works Vol. II, was published as part of the 33 1/3 series, an imprint of Bloomsbury. It has been translated into Japanese (2019) and Spanish (2018).
disquiet junto
Background
Since January 2012, the Disquiet Junto has been an ongoing weekly collaborative music-making community that employs creative constraints as a springboard for creativity. Subscribe to the announcement list (each Thursday), listen to tracks by participants from around the world, read the FAQ, and join in.Recent Projects
• 0499 / Out of the Landscape / The Assignment: Record a piece of music in which a sound emerges from a field recording.
• 0498 / Sonic Entomologist / The Assignment: Create a new hybrid insect from the sound of two different insects.
• 0497 / Benjamin's Glass / The Assignment: Pay tribute to Benjamin Franklin and his armonica
• 0496 / Isolation Room / The Assignment: Create new music around one strand of something you made in the past.
• 0495 / Protip Etude / The Assignment: Share a tip for making music or working with sound, and record a track that employs it.Full Index
And there is a complete list of past projects, 499 consecutive weeks to date.
4 Comments
Hey Marc, thank you for featuring my music! Love the work you do here and with Junto.
I like the term ‘noise’ but was reprimanded recently for using it. Apparently a ‘noise’ is an unwanted sound, like something interfering with the fidelity of a recording.
A ‘noise’ is simply a sound, we attach our own meaning or stigma. An unwanted noise may turn out to be more beautiful than the most desired song.
I agree, Kyle. Pointed out that ‘noise’ is a genre, which shows it isn’t unwanted noise. I did think there was some merit in using language clearly though.