Page 1 of 7

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Winners announced

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 04:23 CET
by Mister Fox
Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 077 - January 2024



:information_source: BEFORE WE GET STARTED:
  • Please consult the official and very simple "Rules and Guidelines" (TL;DR version) for the Songwriting Competition regarding principles of the game, it's engaging game mechanics (allowed editing/re-submission of your entry until the deadline has been reached) and upload/submission guidelines.
  • The general idea of this game is to "...just make music", to also challenge yourself by stepping a bit out of your comfort zone, and take a dip at realms you've never worked in before. Instrumentals are just as welcome as productions with vocals.
  • The Genre and "Premise" of this months challenge can be found in in post #002
  • Filename Template (Important): SWC077__ArtistName__TrackName.wav or .mp3
    • example: SWC077__MisterFox__ColorOfTheSky.wav
    • example: SWC077__Mister_Fox__Color_of_the_sky.wav
Read more about this month's competition further down below. And if you got any question, please also reach out on Discord.



.
:arrow_right: SONGWRITING COMPETITION THREAD INDEX

Post #001 -- Introduction post and index for the various stages of the Songwriting Competition. Will be updated as we progress
Post #002 -- Submission Period: General Information, Source Material, Sponsors
Post #003 -- Cheat Sheet: A couple of examples / audio demos for this month's challenge (limited if genre is "free to select")
Post #033 -- Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Post #062 -- Results: Results of the Songwriting Competition

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 04:39 CET
by Mister Fox
CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Monday, 01st January 2024 to Wednesday, 24th January 2024 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-JAN-2024, 23:59 UTC+1/CET (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please either consult the Global Countdown (dedicated page), or the countdown on the landing site. There will also be short reminders on Social Media and on Discord. Does the game time frame feel too long? Why not set a personal shorter one of 5-7 days absolute max to push yourself to focus on the essentials, then use the rest of the time to ask for feedback and possible refinements. :bulb:



SONGWRITING THEME: "Community Scramble" (Special Sound Design Challenge / limited sound set challenge)
GENRE: free to select


Image
Image Source: ArtsyBee (background, via Pixabay), released under Creative Commons CC0



A few word about this month's theme:
Staff (Mister Fox) wrote: Hello and welcome to or fifth special challenge on the Mix Challenge audio community - called "Community Scramble". :headphones:



The twist of the current Songwriting Competition:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Create a music production in any genre that you feel like. However, you are only allowed to use the sounds and samples that have been sourced and provided by the Mix Challenge audio community. You can read more about the "Community Scramble" concept in the news post from September 2018.


This year, you get access to 38 new "community sourced" samples, with additional content off of the web for more variety, plus bonus content from my own recordings, and the occasional "recycled" material from previous games (to balance things out). :clap:

You can find the source material for "SWC077 / January 2027 - Community Scramble" here, and again further down below:
SWC077 Source Sound Package - on the Mix Challenge server (248,44 MB, LZMA compressed, zip)



Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This month, you can create a production in any music genre you feel like. Due to the community sourced content, this might be more electronic based. However, since this game's focus is creative sound design, there is zero limitation of which route this could go.


Some Ground Rules:
  • you are only allowed to use the sounds and samples that have been provided for this particular challenge (exceptions apply)
  • you are free to mangle the content as much as you like, in fact, this is highly encouraged
  • you are allowed to use re-sampling, wavetable / sample-based synthesis, granular synthesis, modulation, or whatever else is at your disposal in terms of tools, to this counts:
    • time stretching, pitch shifting, layering, slicing into chunks, reversing, re-sampling, etc - then further treating the material with whatever is at your your disposal, and maybe redo everything again (e.g.: common technique for very stylized Reese Basses)
    • you can use your synths and samplers to their full potential (layering of more samples and/or build in signal generators, spectral editing, granulation, built-in modulation like LFOs and/or ring-modulation, etc), as long as one/the main oscillator/"wavetable" is from the the provided content (please also see "Audio Examples" follow up post, especially Andrew Huang's videos on "make a wavetable out of everything")
  • you are not allowed to add any additional sounds or instruments that have not been created from the available source material in any shape or form (e.g. synthesizer stock lead, pads or drum sounds, acoustic drum kits, pianos, choirs and/or strings from Kontakt samples, etc).
  • you can add vocals and ad-libs (your own voice or a collaborating singer), or sound effects created from your voice (think: breathing, shouts, grunts, robot voice, etc). This material can be as clean or as processed as you want, be creative!
  • if you feel the need that your production really can't do without, you are allowed to record an electric guitar or electric bass. As long as you twist, bend, glitch, warp and/or morph (blend with other sound sources) it in some form or another (the focus is sound design! not just guitar > DI > amp suite preset, see "Audio Examples" follow up post, especially Mick Gordon, Geoffrey Day and David Levy's videos)

:arrow_right: Your creativity will be pushed to the limits this month. This is your chance to try something completely new out of your comfort zone, experiment with synthesis and sound shaping, to get a different perspective on sound design.

I am more than curious about the results. :thinking: :headphones:


Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:
► Show Spoiler

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Source Files:

SWC077 Source Sound Package - on the Mix Challenge server (248,44 MB, LZMA compressed, zip)


The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression (specs from 2015).
File size extracted: 335,33 MB, packed 248,44 MB (ZIP, LZMA)


In order to extract the files, we can recommend these programs / apps:
► Show Spoiler

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


:arrow_right: LICENSE SPONSORS (Bonus Prizes):

A huge thank you goes to our very generous License Sponsors for this month's game. Those being (in alphabetical order):

Cherry Audio, Ghostwave Audio, Hollow Sun, Hornet Plugins, IK Multimedia, JRR Sounds, kv331 audio, Luftrum, Musiclab, Rekkerd Sounds, satyatunes - Sound / Graphic Design, and Tone2.


A detailed list of offerings can be found in the following information block.
► Show Spoiler
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Fri Dec 29, 2023 05:27 CET
by Mister Fox
AUDIO EXAMPLES:
---------------------

Articles and Info Pages:

A great starting point is the "Addendum"/Supplementary thread for the Songwriting Competition
Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Music Maps and BPM Charts

Since the genre this month is "free to select", there are no clear pointers




Difference: Wavetable Synthesis to Sample-based Synthesis (articles on Wikipedia):
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wavetable_synthesis
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sample-based_synthesis
► Show Spoiler


Video Collection -- providing Sound Examples, Synthesis Basics, Tips, Tricks and Tutorials (hours of content!):
► Show Spoiler
.



Please also check in with the following threads in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Places to fuel your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) (the starting point if you're in need of audio tools -- from free to affordable).


if you're new to/need help with songwriting - please check out the following tools:
► Show Spoiler

More tools of the trade
► Show Spoiler

.
UPDATED: 29-DEC-2023 05:25 UTC+1, updated 01-JAN-2024 00:01 UTC+1

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 03:09 CET
by crispy


hi guys! for this comp I gone pretty wild with automations, mainly on reverbs, filters and saturation.

Drums are made with carboard (kick), clap and lightswitch for the hat.

the bass and the synth are made sampling the saw tone in waves CR8.

then there is alot of random stuff provided heavily processed.

I just slapped every sound on the playlist and then picked, cutted, sculpted whatever I felt like, it was really like when I used to paint at school, it was very fun!

One of the sounds I liked the most is "removing dried paint" and you can tell because I slapped it very often during through the track especially on the intro, break and outro you can hear it although it is pitched down. it has really good textures I loved it hahaha

before the drums starts you can hear also "paper cutting machines" I loved the machine sound and I used it just before the drums like a scream before the "drop" and also at the end.

Those 2 sounds were used very often as textures but many times they are very processed with automated reverbs, filters,pitch and also gate-like-gain automation so they are pretty much unrecognizable there.

Then there is "smash wine bottle", you can hear it clearly 2 times through the track.

there is "burst 10000 hz", which I used like the classic beep you hear like in mario kart when the race start,just before the "drop". I thought it would be fun also it fits very well since the track is very robotic/machine-like kind of vibe.

"finger cymbals" was one of the first sounds I picked, love it, it was just the perfect cymbal to slap a very big, long tayl reverb on, you can hear it as the beat starts and then on the other verses I just cutted very suddendly the reverb tail or gated it with some automated saturation to give the listener some funny variation you don't expect.

there is "crash 6" reversed, pitched and so on, "random smacks" which you can hear before break and outro with a nice reverb, oh and also I picked some breaths you can hear in the "random smacks" sample and used them like hats in the break before the second drop starts and in the outro.
another "smack" was used as the clap you can hear come in on the second drop.

there is "mic bass" heavely distorded and gated used for some nice breaks.

"female kiwi scream" reverbered, pitched and delayed just at the end of the 2 parts and "EXP_drum_loop_closed_hat" reversed, pitched and formant-filtered used one time as one of the first little breaks.

I think that's it for the samples :)

The main arrangement focus here was on automations to give the track constant movement, variation and ear candies.

On the mixing side I really wanted to push it to the limit with saturation, especially to open the sides, to give nice color, presence, fullness and stereo goodness.

One thing I learned with this track is: don't rely too much on phase correlation meters!

pushing the sides I noticed the track in certain moments was out of phase so I picked acustica audio spacecontrol, which has a very peculiar phase limiter to keep the track in phase but then when I finished the track I felt like it losed her stereo goodness, so I re-opened the project and reworked the mix withou spacecontrol and using only my ears and than when I was done I A/B-d them and the difference was night and day!

trust me, don't even look at that meter, just trust your ears!


Enjoy and happy new year!

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 04:39 CET
by Mister Fox
Welcome to the Songwriting Competition, @crispy

Great "ice breaker" tune, and I do hear some heavy use of both the "Internet Random" and the "Filler Material" folder. Unless you've used other samples, then please mention those. Maybe even update your post a bit with explaining one particular sound you created/enjoyed sculpting.


I need to point out however, that your link leads to a dead end (error message).

If you edit your post and remove the -14lufs from the link, and even wrap it in the soundcloud tags (mark the link with your mouse, the n press the Soundcloud button), things should work properly. And don't forget the filename template and make your file available to download by the time the deadline has been reached.

Example:

Code: Select all

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/crispysoucemusic/subject-77[/soundcloud]
► Show Spoiler

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Wed Jan 03, 2024 12:13 CET
by crispy
Hi @Mister Fox thanks for the kind welcoming!

I re-edited my post, the reason the link didn't work was because the track is private and I just copied the link of the track but I didn't know with private tracks you have to copy the secret link in the track settings.

The one you listened and posted was the louder verision I posted pubblicly!

Now I posted the right link and it should work, let me know if it does.

Also, I have updated the track since, as you can read on my updated post,I had some issues with stereo imaging and I fixed it, now the track sounds better if you want to take a listen and give me your feedback would be appreciated!

And since here we are all mixers I keeped the original mix loudness, which is at about -22 lufs to aprreciate better the dynamics :)

Oh and let me know if I did everything right!

EDIT: I had to make it public on soundcloud otherwise the link didn't work, if anyone knows how to get provate tracks links work would be appreciated, thanks!

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Thu Jan 04, 2024 20:30 CET
by APi_ZZ
APi_ZZ -- Scrambled Sambles

For this adventures I went my trusted route. I shoved the samples -- per each provider -- into Audacity, picked those interesting me, and and trimmed them as/if needed. In my DAW (Music Maker) a fundamental BPM of 90 was set, and the selected samples got imported. Most of them got some time stretching applied to fit the 90 bpm frame. Groupings for more percussive or more drone/pad characters helped to organise.

I figured a C/G scheme for the first 55 measures, switching to D/A for the remains; pitch shifting got applied as needed.
The track is not adhering to formal song structures ( as verses, chorus, bridges et al ).
The rhythmic constructions underlay the floating of the drones/pads.



These samples were used:
► Show Spoiler

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Wed Jan 10, 2024 15:33 CET
by msgsaltsweet
.

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 05:47 CET
by Lady Incognita
msgsaltsweet wrote:
Wed Jan 10, 2024 15:33 CET
I put every one of the samples from the pack on my Omnisphere, and tried to find if there are nice matches with my idea.
I got these sounds to make a track. It's rather a long one, but I had great time with this.

There have been a lot of tweakings on each of the samples with frequency modulation, waveshaper, ring mode, and unison, harmonizer, bit crusher, granulizer, filter, and omnisphere stock eq, reverb, delay, and so on are used to pull out the sounds I wanted. To get a clean sound I modulated the amp envelopers for hours.
This has been a great adventure.
MSGss, you went to town with those samples! Wow! Very MSGss experimental stylings in there. 🔥
[P.S. "Go to town" means you tackled this with insane levels of enthusiasm 😉]

Ooh, and you've got Omnisphere! Nice! 😀

One thing though. These challenges have a minimum and maximum time limit. See viewtopic.php?p=712#p712
"The final mix must not be shorter than 1:30min, neither exceed 10min of runtime"

Considering all the work you've done, it may be worth it to put up a second version that's just under 10 min for the final submission.

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC077 January 2024 - Submissions until 24-JAN-2024 23:59 UTC+1/CET

Posted: Thu Jan 11, 2024 07:39 CET
by Mister Fox
While I really like that all of you go "all out" on sound design and experimenting... yes, a 14:32min entry is pushing it a bit, @msgsaltsweet.

Maybe a "Radio Edit" if 7:30min would still work :thinking:
You still got 14 days to get that figured out.


And speaking of...