APOB - Music For Metronomes [disquiet0267] by APOB

Disquiet Junto Project 0267: The Metronomic Society

While I was listening back through some old recordings for inspiration, I found a file titled "CS70M - Needs Metronome". Seemed like a serendipitous find so I decided that I had to use it as the basis for the project irrespective of what it sounded like. It was horrible. It was a few random notes played into the CS70M's sequencer, looping over and over while I was fiddling with the ring mod and filter controls. After a bit I also started playing a few random notes on the upper split, pitch bending and doing some other rubbish. Anyway it sounded pretty naff but I'd decide to use it, so I had to make something of it.

The original file was imported into Logic Pro X, tempo adjusted to match the file (60.6990BPM). The audio was fed into two separate buses, each with a different processing chain consisting of vocoders, reverbs, eq's, delays and dynamics. This created a kind of drones cape based around Eb.

I started to jam around with a bass part, with variations in different sections to try out different ideas. Metronome like analog drum beats for rhythm and various other instruments added. I came up with 6 ideas that seemed to flow into each other. Rather than focus on one idea I kept them all together, ending up with more of a "suite" rather than a theme for the Metronomic Society. :D

If anyones feeling particularly self loathing and wants to endure the original CS70M recording you can hear snippets of the original and how it sounded after being processed here: https://soundcloud.com/klaatuberada/music-for-metronomes-drone/s-r9nJ3

Create a theme song for a fictional organization.

Step 1: There’s a fascinating book from 1988 titled The Metronomic Society. Written by the Michael Young, it is an academic study of the rhythms of human existence, with an emphasis on organization and societal systems. It’s not necessary to read it. It’s just helpful to know where we’re borrowing the term from.

Step 2: Imagine there is an actual group called the Metronomic Society. You might also imagine what they’re up to. Maybe it’s a Man Ray fan club, or a bunch of disgruntled piano tuners, or maybe they explore arcane theories about quantum mechanics. Who knows?

Step 3: Now compose and record a short piece of music — a sound cue, a theme, a sound logo, a jingle — for the Metronomic Society.