Vocal Cuts [disquiet0266] by project dirigent

Vocal Cuts [disquiet0266]

Disquiet Junto Project 0266: Vocal Cuts
Use segments of your own held vowel to make music.

I used the sound "urrr" as the source. Recorded a few seconds onto magnetic tape creating a tape strip about 3 feet long. Identified 3 distinct sounds on the tape: beginning attack, middle sustained sound, and ending aspiration. I manually moved the tape across the playback head pulling out bits of the different sounds. I controlled the amplitude and timbre by moving the tape closer or further from the playback head. Ran the tape machine through a long delay with feedback to build up layers of sound.

There are 4 parts to the track: the opening attack sound; long, low sustained sounds with fast fragments (the later created by pulling the tape quickly with no hold-back tension so the tape randomly contacts the head); a fast "scratch" of the opening sound; and the final aspiration. Sounds like feral cats.

Vowel sound recorded on an Otari MX55. Tape strip played on an Ampex 601. Recorded with Audacity.

More on this 266th weekly Disquiet Junto project, “Vocal Cuts: Use segments of your own held vowel to make music”: http://disquiet.com/0266/

Image associated with this track is by Dean Shareski and used thanks to a Creative Commons license:flic.kr/p/95EKhx creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/2.0/. Ampex image thanks to Jordan Audio Consultants.