Disquiet Junto 0056: Half Past Nothing
Description of this weeks assignment: This week’s project requires you to make a field recording to serve as the source audio.
These are the steps:
Step 1: Locate a clock that has an audible, even if very quiet, tick to its second hand. A watch or other timepiece is also appropriate to the task.
Step 2: Record the sound of the clock for at least 30 seconds, and do so in a manner captures the sound in the greatest detail. A contact mic is highly recommended.
Step 3: Adjust and otherwise filter the recording to reveal the various noises that make up its tick. The goal is to get at the nuance of its internal mechanism.
Step 4: Create an original piece of music employing only layered loops of that sound. These layered loops can individually be transformed in any manner you choose, but at least one unaltered version of the original recording should be included in your piece.
My Process: I took a recording of my kitchen clock using the built in mics of my DR-40. I then imported the recording into renoise and cut 3 samples, an 8 second loop, a tick and a tock. I synced the track to the actual rhythm of the clock and tried to use the uncut loop as much as possible. By layering copies of the loop running at different pitches I was able to create many interesting rhythmic and melodic sequences. By running the loop fast enough it would achieve a tone. I then filled in the rest of the rhythm using the individual tick and tock samples. The track makes heavy use of noise gates to try to cut down on room noise and very light use of other effects.