avant-garde, djkaboodle Kaboodle Sound
Slidebird [disquiet0009-avian]

This was another mission for the Disquiet Junto group. This was the mission brief: "Each participant will produce a single track that combines a source recording of bird song and a source recording of acoustic guitar. Four samples are provided: two guitar, two bird song. You will select one of the two guitar samples and one of the two bird-song samples. You will employ only those two samples in the production of your track. You can do whatever you want with those two samples (process, contort, edit, etc.). The goal is to explore the very different origins of these sounds: one human, one avian."

These were the samples I used:
Songthrush:
freesound.org/people/reinsamba...ba/sounds/32480
Slide Guitar:
freesound.org/people/UncleSigm...nd/sounds/40866

I chose these samples from the 4 available because I figured that most people would have gone for the acoustic guitar chord progession, but also because I liked the rhythmic possibilities the slide guitar piece represented. (And also because I always choose the harder option in this kind of scenario...)

I cut up the samples and fed the fragments (mostly single-shot sounds) into a Korg Electribe SX. I used the compressor on a KP3 Kaoss Pad and the internal compressor in the Electribe (along with some distortion). No other effects or processes were used. All of the sounds are only from the two samples (no other instruments or sounds were used). I played around with the samples until I found a rhythm that I liked, then I went a bit nuts with it.

I had originally intended to have the piece evolve and morph from either the guitar to the bird or vice versa, but I ended up enjoying kicking the samples around like Aphex Twin trying to induce a nervous breakdown. I could have made a whole album out of the two samples, so I might go back and re-visit this project at some time and do it closer to my original idea.

I am currently working on a project involving nature sounds (including bird songs!), so I made sure that this piece for the Disquiet Junto was as far removed from my other work as possible.

On reflection, I think this could have worked better with the Nightingale instead of the Thrush, but I ran out of time, so couldn't re-do it.

Side note: my partner just finished reading Daphne du Maurier's 'The Birds' the day before this week's Disquiet mission was announced.

I took the image from here: commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Fil...omelos81_24.jpg
and manipulated it in the GIMP.

More details on the Disquiet Junto at:

Disquiet Junto