2024-MAR-01 Info: Check out Songwriting Competition 079 if you're into "Synthwave" music making.

SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Winners announced

Thematic Songwriting Competition - recurrence: monthly
Brunnsqi

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Submissions until 24-12-2020 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#21

Post by Brunnsqi »

Hello!

I´m new around here. This is my little contribution for this contest. I hope you like it :)

https://soundcloud.com/user-335590178/s ... nsqi_theta

DAW:

Cakewalk by Bandlab

INSTRUMENTS:

Krakli Arminator 2
Disco DSP OB-Xd
Full Bucket Tricent mk III
Steven Slate Drums 5
Decomposer Sitala (Musicradar Bodhran samples)

FX:

TDR Molotok
TDR Nova
Ignite Amps PTEq-X
TAL-Chorus-LX
Baby Audio Magic Switch
Sender Spike Modul8
iZotope Ozone 8 Elements
Youlean Loudness Meter 2
Acustica Audio Cerise

-16.1 LUFS (Integrated)

Merry Xmas to all!
Double Tap
Posts: 23
Joined: Sat Aug 01, 2020 12:41 CEST

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Submissions until 24-12-2020 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#22

Post by Double Tap »

Hello everyone, been a bit of a challenge getting anything done this month but here we are.



I've channelled The Orb and The Moody Boys for this:

phpBB [media]


DAW: Ableton Live and Wavelab Elements

Instruments:
Omnisphere
Kontakt instruments
- Xiao flute from Strezov
- Balafon mallets from NI West Africa
- Swirly drums from Karoryfer
- Opera Solo from Orchestral Tools
Shaperbox 2
Valhalla FreqEcho
Valhalla Supermassive
Ableton effects: Delay, Spectral Time, Grain Delay, LFO
Fabfilter: Pro C2, Pro Q3, Pro L2
Youlean loudness meter

LUFS is -15.4 I think.
functionform

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Submissions until 24-12-2020 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#23

Post by functionform »

Hello all, this is my submission! I will fill in details later, I have to run out and buy last minute presents!



Details:
First, I finished my Christmas Eve purchases on time, thanks for asking.

Second. I learned a lot about restraint with this months track - and gist of it is, I have to work on it!
I know Mr. Fox said, no epics, but once you have a loop in there with your flutes, its extremely tempting to hit that 145.
It didn't help that most samples I found in the vein of were within a forte type space, whether its the plucks or singing, so I just went with it.
Seems like a gap in the marketplace to me, that someone could fill there.

After research I ended up going with Diva, Dexed (DX7), and Korg-M1 for most of the synth parts. The main doozy chorus synth is a Juno 106 emulation by TubeOhm. I have the Arturia and TAL Juno varieties, but the TubeOhm is the one that actually reminds me of when I played my old physical unit that I sold years ago.

I used Softube Tape a lot to give the synths a little bit of a worn feel, and then compressed beats I made on d16 909 emulation (Drumazon) for the main beat. The chorus percussion are just selections from Atlas's default sample map that I played with.

Not much else of interest in the track, reverbs are from Relab, and most if not delays are Echoboy (I might have a ReplikaXT in there).

If I could do it all again, I would aim for a quieter Enya style waltz, but I did try that that angle once or twice and it went nowhere for me. I had four starts for this track, it was a tough one to get going for some reason. Enjoy!
Last edited by functionform on Thu Dec 24, 2020 23:40 CET, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
VCA-089
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2019 15:46 CET

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Submissions until 24-12-2020 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#24

Post by VCA-089 »

Well, hello there. Here is my entry...


FLAC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1mR4Ut3 ... sp=sharing
MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1n8sA8c ... sp=sharing

Additional download links are coming soon...

DAW: FL Studio 20.7
Author/composer/producer: VCA-089
Title: Wild Energy
Genre: New Age (Electronica)
Main BPM: 95
Main Key: Bb Major

That was a disastrous year indeed. Not only by the global pandemic. I found that everything I tried to do this year ended up as a complete mess. I can't remember a time I was so unlucky as I was in 2020. The worst thing is, when a lockdown started, instead of sitting home and doing something in my virtual studio I was forced to work. And it's not a necessary work like being a doctor, it's just a typical print this, scan that, move archives around office garbage. Not to mention I also had COVID-19 resently. And as an icing on the cake, my PC just failed this day and I was trying to make it work whole evening.

I wanted to do a calm and chilled song this month, but I found I did too much of this stuff already, so I did something different, something that intended to drag you away. As I remember correctly, listening to new age records in my childhood, they were more about atmosphere, and most of them weren't happy at all. At the end of this year I feel kinda sick of my life, my equipment that tends to stab me in the back, my neighborhood, my day job and humanity in general. One night I had a dream of me being a wolf, running through an endless winter forest, and when I woke up, I thought that this is a great idea for my next production. I found it more interesting to express your own ideas in music rather than copy/pasting some one else's that were used already.

I tried to preserve a mid to late 80's feeling in my production. A few words about my setup:

Most of the sounds are coming from TAL Sampler's factory library, a samples from old school hardware (Shakuhachi from Emulator II for example).

A few patches fro Samplescience's "Vaporwaves 3".

u-He "Repro-1" as my go-to synth for basses and drones.

A steel tongue drum you can hear from time to time is Ample Sound "Cloudrum".

For guitar solo and rythm parts I used Apmle Sound "Guitar LP", it was in the trial mode so I did things a bit too hurry, it may not sound as realistic as it could.

A samples from drum machines like Seqential Drumtracks and LinnDrum were used.

I hope I didn't forget anything. Good luck and happy holidays!

Technical Details:
► Show Spoiler
Last edited by VCA-089 on Fri Dec 25, 2020 11:29 CET, edited 1 time in total.
Shea

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Submissions until 24-12-2020 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#25

Post by Shea »

Hey,
I was looking forward to doing this genre. Enigma caught my ears at a young age as my dad would play it.
For my submission I was wanting a song with some tension but also release. I do like the happy happy sounding songs but tend to vibe more with a little melancholy. I think that's because - that is life.
A goal was a nice build, slow but hopefully not boring. The best music, in my opinion, keeps attention even with a sparse mix. This song begins sparse and journeys into fullness. Going for atmosphere here.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/py3m30xku1hwq ... e.wav?dl=0

I used Kontakt - Vocals, pianos, pads, and plucks, Cello (Chris Hein)
Absynth - Atmosphere, Pluck, Telephone
Massive - Bass, Lead synth
Action Drums (samples)
Global Hand (samples)
Eduardo Tarilante's Forest Kingdom II
Field samples - Farm and water
User avatar
Mister Fox
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 3111
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 16:15 CEST
Location: Berlin, Germany

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - preparation phase

#26

Post by Mister Fox »

It is the 25th December 2020, 1:30 UTC+1/CET - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

A very, very warm welcome to all new faces on the forum, and welcome back to those that didn't join in a while.


If I didn't miscount, we had 12 participants overall, which is 4 entries more compared to last month (8 entries), and 6 more compared to last year (6 entries). Please scroll further down below to read up on an update of the game mechanics this month for the voting process



The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply
"Sole Winners Podium" rule (equal or less than seven participants results in a single winner) does not apply. (3-position Winners Podium)

There was no (number: 0) production submitted after the deadline
No (number: 0) entry has been disqualified (productions released outside of the game's timeframe)
No (number: 0) entry has been redacted



:arrow: How do we go from there?

Over the course of the next (hopefully) 24-48 hours (usually up to 6-12 hours maximum after the game has ended), I'll gather all links into one post and hot-link to that from the first post of the thread. Please, no more changes to your entries, but please do check your links that these entries are downloadable. We then perform with the final feedback and "public vote" system.


We have 12 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 11 tracks, the staff will will not cast a balance vote.

Keep the Rules and Guidelines in mind. As long as we're not exceeding 20 participants, let's give feedback to all participants and(!) cast your vote for all of them.

The Top 11 list can look something like this:
01 (11 pts) - Mr Moon
02 (10 pts) - Mr Sun
03 (09 pts) - Mrs Venus
04 (08 pts) - Mr Mars and his companions
05 (07 pts) - ...
06 (06 pts) - ...

Please take a look at the last two Songwriting Competition for how your feedback and vote could look like (sans the super technical information):
SWC039 - Song Collection and follow-up
SWC038 - Song Collection and follow-up

Please cast your vote in collective form through the "spoiler text" bbcode:

Code: Select all

[spoil]01 participant
02 participant
03 participant[/spoil]
Please use the forum username of the participant to make it easier during the score collection to address what vote belongs to whom.



Please also take note of the Rules and Guidelines on giving feedback (mandatory for all participants, failing to do so results in a disqualification). Even if you already gave feedback prior to the deadline, please offer some final encouraging words, and maybe give some additional tips for improvements on the way.

Feedback from non-participants is highly encouraged (voting not needed!). The same goes for entries after the deadline, or those that sadly do not count for the current running game. Musicians and Engineers are always after constructive criticism. This is what this forum is about.


:arrow: I also need to address an overhaul of the game mechanics, starting with SWC038. You can read up about the new concept here:
viewtopic.php?p=8957#p8957

Basically, disqualifications will only happen from this point forward, if you have submitted a production from outside of the game's timeframe and you're not participating in the feedback process. Everything else is handled through bonus points. This overhauled mechanic has been a test run from September to November and has been taken positive so far. If you don't want your bonus points go to waste, please update your posts with documentation by 3:00 (morning, German Time), and check that your files are properly named / downloadable.





Have some general feedback? Please voice your feedback/opinion/concerns here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=97



Please have an eye on this thread! :tu:
User avatar
Mister Fox
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 3111
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 16:15 CEST
Location: Berlin, Germany

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Voting until 03-JAN-2021 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#27

Post by Mister Fox »

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Sunday, 03-JAN-2021 23:59 UTC+1/CET latest
Info: due to the Winter Holiday season, the "feedback and voting period" has been extended by 2 more days.


There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)



Here is the collection of productions from all participants (in hope that I didn't forget anyone). As usual, if you click on the small upwards-arrow right beside the quoted name, you can jump to the original post and read up on the documentation for this production.


.
Doc Jon wrote:
Tue Dec 15, 2020 17:58 CET
"The Meaning Of Life"

EsteveCorbera wrote:
Sun Dec 20, 2020 16:56 CET
"A New World About Us"

TheVodouQueen wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 07:39 CET
"You Never Know What The Sun Will Bring, Setting Or Rising (feat FutureAnalysis & Eshar)"

Olli H wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 10:19 CET
"I Guess It’s Time To Go Now."

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1LB4Ol6 ... sp=sharing
becsei_gyorgy wrote:
Wed Dec 23, 2020 20:18 CET
"Brave New World"

Blang wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 15:44 CET
"Hold On"

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YAgRA9 ... sp=sharing
Marius L wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 17:05 CET
"Story Teller"

MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/14vex9Z ... sp=sharing
Brunnsqi wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 19:50 CET
"Theta"

Double Tap wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 19:53 CET
"Ambient Dec 2020"

functionform wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 19:59 CET
"Out The Door"

Shea wrote:
Thu Dec 24, 2020 21:32 CET
"KnewAge"

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/py3m30xku1hwq ... e.wav?dl=0
.



BONUS ENTRIES (submitted after the deadline - feel free to give feedback, but you sadly can not vote for these entries)

A Future in Noise wrote:
Fri Dec 25, 2020 17:12 CET
"Unfinished"

.


Please consult the last post of how your vote could look like (which links to more sources). And to make it simple for me for counting the votes - please use the forum usernames in your listing. Thank you!

SWC040 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) is mandatory, else you will be disqualified. Please also keep the bonus point game mechanic in mind.


Good luck to all participants! :tu:
User avatar
Mister Fox
Site Admin
Site Admin
Posts: 3111
Joined: Fri Mar 31, 2017 16:15 CEST
Location: Berlin, Germany

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Voting until 03-JAN-2021 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#28

Post by Mister Fox »

I'm feeling very generous this months, so I'm giving our newcomers a chance to update their forum posts with a bit more documentation, and/or fix their links, else this would result in a loss of precious bonus points.


@TheVodouQueen
I've checked your post and your Bandlab account - there is sadly zero documentation on what tools you used. You don't need to list every FX plugin used, but at bar minimum... what synths and samples (please check in the the "Rule Books"). Additional to that, the filename of your song doesn't go by the known file naming convention (see page 1)


@Brunnsqi
Please make your SoundCloud link downloadable. Thank you.


@Double Tap
You're an old cat. Technically your file-name is just flipped around a bit, people can still associate your production to your Mix Challenge user account and the game in question. Just... something to look out in the future (please)



And a bonus info for everyone using SoundCloud:
I just saw this while collecting all songs. There are bots roaming around yet again, telling you how "awesome" your productions are, and "you should check out XYZ to get more coverage". As nice as this comment was, these are just bots to get you "Involved", they sadly won't help you.


Please enjoy all entries. :phones:
User avatar
VCA-089
Posts: 107
Joined: Wed Jan 23, 2019 15:46 CET

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Voting until 03-JAN-2021 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#29

Post by VCA-089 »

Links for FLAC and mp3 versions added to my submission post...
Brunnsqi

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC040 December 2020 - Voting until 03-JAN-2021 23:59 UTC+1/CET

#30

Post by Brunnsqi »

Sorry Mister Fox. I'm new to Soundcloud. I believe the song is downloadable now.
Post Reply