#jamuary2023 by Asher Graieg-Morrison

For those that do not know, #jamuary is a challenge for musicians on social media where one attempts to make a new 'jam' for each day of January.

I do not know exactly when this idea first started, but I heard about it in January 2021. For most of that month I tried posting a small video to my Instagram account each day, most of which were small ORCA (https://hundredrabbits.github.io/Orca/) compositions.

The following year I had just bought an OP-Z, and so I decided to do all of my jams on this device as a way of learning the ins and outs of a new system. I didn't post any videos to social media as I found it a little laborious, but I did release a small album at the end of the month (https://ashergraiegmorrison.bandcamp.com/album/jamuary2022).

At first I wasn't planning on doing anything for 2023, but after getting the new line module for the OP-Z I realised that I could record video and audio straight to my phone (while monitoring) relatively easily. This meant I could focus more on the creative aspect of the challenge, and less on the social media side. The line module also makes sampling via aux cables very easy, which was one of my main reasons for getting it. I then decided to make the theme of this month 'sampling' in an attempt to get a deeper understanding of this aspect of the OP-Z.

When I say sampling, I refer more to using field recordings than existing songs. The copyright hurdles are a little much for me, and I like the challenge of seeing how a seemingly 'ordinary' sound can be used to make a piece of music. I was originally going to dig through my library of voice memos for each daily jam, but instead I started using household objects (often my kid's toys) instead. This was partly because I wanted to try and include a video of the sample in the social media post, and partly because that is my life at the moment and I wanted to honour that. If you would like to see the videos that accompany these tracks, you can find them here https://www.youtube.com/@ashergraiegmorrison/shorts

I hope you enjoy this year's #jamuary tracks.

Thank you again for listening - Asher

Tracklist

1.	Wind Chimes	2:50

2.	Apple Toy	0:26

3.	Tongue Drum	0:53

4.	Vocalisation	0:35

5.	Hang Drum	1:55

6.	Straw	1:53

7.	Router	2:00

8.	Marimba	1:06

9.	Indicator	1:33

10.	Glass	1:11

11.	Cat	0:59

12.	Crosswalk	1:52

13.	Clap	1:25

14.	Toy Piano	1:08

15.	Metallophone	1:31

16.	Wiggles Piano	1:30

17.	Park Chimes	1:09

Credits

released January 26, 2023

Music and art by Asher Graieg-Morrison

Thanks to Kallan for the sample on 'Straw', and Jonno for the sample on 'Hang Drum'

Bonus track 'Pipe' created with the OP-1

License