Each Thursday in the Disquiet Junto music community, 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 and interest.
Deadline: This project’s deadline is the end of the day Monday, June 19, 2023, at 11:59pm (that is, just before midnight) wherever you are. It was posted on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
Tracks are added to the SoundCloud playlist for the duration of the project. Additional (non-SoundCloud) tracks appear in the lllllll.co discussion thread.
These following instructions went out to the group’s email list (at tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto).
Disquiet Junto Project 0598: Mixmaster Mic
The Assignment: Record the same sound with multiple mics; mix the results.
Step 1: This project will require some preparation. You’re going to need a few different microphones, so consider what’s available — not just a standard mic, but your phone, laptop, maybe even a domestic surveillance device, etc. Maybe you can borrow a few mics from friends.
Step 2: Record a single sound source — an acoustic or electric instrument, a field recording — using all those microphones assembled in Step 1. Optimally you can set everything up and record simultaneously once. Or you can do so in batches — or one at a time. If not recording with all the mics at once, try to re-produce the same source sound each time through, as closely as possible, so the recordings will more or less match up.
Step 3: Make a piece of music that involves switching between and combining all the microphone recordings you made in Step 2. Light processing is allowed.
Eight Important Steps When Your Track Is Done:
Step 1: Include “disquiet0598” (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 “disquiet0598” (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 track in the following discussion thread at llllllll.co:
https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0598-mixmaster-mic/
Step 5: Annotate your track 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.
Step 8: Also join in the discussion on the Disquiet Junto Slack. Send your email address to [email protected] for Slack inclusion.
Note: Please post one track for this weekly Junto project. If you choose to post more than one, and do so on SoundCloud, please let me know which you’d like added to the playlist. Thanks.
Additional Details:
Length: The length is up to you.
Deadline: This project’s deadline is the end of the day Monday, June 19, 2023, at 11:59pm (that is, just before midnight) wherever you are. It was posted on Thursday, June 15, 2023.
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 598th weekly Disquiet Junto project, Mixmaster Mic (The Assignment: Record the same sound with multiple mics; mix the results), at: https://disquiet.com/0598/
The image to the “cover” of this project is from an 1880 U.S. patent.
About the Disquiet Junto: https://disquiet.com/junto/
Subscribe to project announcements: https://tinyletter.com/disquiet-junto/
Project discussion takes place on llllllll.co: https://llllllll.co/t/disquiet-junto-project-0598-mixmaster-mic/