Each Thursday in the Disquiet Junto group, a new compositional challenge is set before the group’s members, who then have just over four days to upload a track in response to the assignment. Membership in the Junto is open: just join and participate. (A SoundCloud account is helpful but not required.) There’s no pressure to do every project. It’s weekly so that you know it’s there, every Thursday through Monday, when you have the time.
Deadline: This project’s deadline is the end of the day Monday, March 8, 2021, at 11:59pm (that is, just before midnight) wherever you are. It was posted on Thursday, March 4, 2021.
These are the instructions that went out to the group’s email list (at tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto):
Disquiet Junto Project 0479: Truck Radio Rain The Assignment: Locate three sound sources and make something with them.
Step 1: Locate online (freesound.org, for example) or record by yourself the following three sounds: a vehicle driving speedily, static between radio stations, and rain.
Step 2: Make an original piece of music using those three sounds. Do what you want with them, but only use those three sounds.
Background: “Wherever we are, what we hear is mostly noise. When we ignore it, it disturbs us. When we listen to it, we find it fascinating,” John Cage said in his 1937 lecture, “The Future of Music: Credo.” He continued: “The sound of a truck at fifty miles per hour. Static between the stations. Rain. We want to capture and control these sounds, to use them, not as sound effects, but as musical instruments.” In this week’s Disquiet Junto project, we take the proposition literally.
Seven More Important Steps When Your Track Is Done:
Step 1: Include “disquiet0479” (no spaces or quotation marks) in the name of your tracks.
Step 2: If your audio-hosting platform allows for tags, be sure to also include the project tag “disquiet0479” (no spaces or quotation marks). If you’re posting on SoundCloud in particular, this is essential to subsequent location of tracks for the creation of a project playlist.
Step 3: Upload your tracks. It is helpful but not essential that you use SoundCloud to host your tracks.
Step 4: Post your tracks in the following discussion thread at llllllll.co:
https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0479-truck-radio-rain/
Step 5: Annotate your tracks with a brief explanation of your approach and process.
Step 6: If posting on social media, please consider using the hashtag #disquietjunto so fellow participants are more likely to locate your communication.
Step 7: Then listen to and comment on tracks uploaded by your fellow Disquiet Junto participants.
Additional Details:
Deadline: This project’s deadline is the end of the day Monday, March 8, 2021, at 11:59pm (that is, just before midnight) wherever you are. It was posted on Thursday, March 4, 2021.
Length: The length is up to you. Yes, 4’33” is a not inappropriate length.
Title/Tag: When posting your tracks, please include “disquiet0479” in the title of the tracks, and where applicable (on SoundCloud, for example) as a tag.
Upload: When participating in this project, be sure to include a description of your process in planning, composing, and recording it. This description is an essential element of the communicative process inherent in the Disquiet Junto. Photos, video, and lists of equipment are always appreciated.
Download: It is always best to set your track as downloadable and allowing for attributed remixing (i.e., a Creative Commons license permitting non-commercial sharing with attribution, allowing for derivatives).
For context, when posting the track online, please be sure to include this following information:
More on this 479th weekly Disquiet Junto project — Truck Radio Rain (The Assignment: Locate three sound sources and make something with them) — at:
More on the Disquiet Junto at:
Subscribe to project announcements here:
https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/
Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co:
https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0479-truck-radio-rain/
There’s also a Disquiet Junto Slack. Send your email address to twitter.com/disquiet for Slack inclusion.
Image associated with this project is by janwillemsen, and used thanks to Flickr and a Creative Commons license allowing editing (cropped with text added) for non-commercial purposes: