CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION
Time Frame: Friday, 01st October 2021 to Thursday, 21st October 2021 (21 days)
Challenge submission will end on 21-10-2021, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (Germany) - until further notice.
Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please consult the following options:
The
Global Countdown on it's dedicated page or the countdown on the
home page. You can also consult the World Clock at the top of the forum or alternatively the following tool - in this case please select "Berlin (Germany)" as location 1, and your location as location 2:
Time and Date - World Clock Meeting Planner. We do post reminders via our
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Song Provider: Por Mientras (presented by Salvador Cassis /
@salvadorcassis)
Song Name and Length: Sable, 6:48 min
Song Information: varying BPM / Signature: varying
File Format: WAV, 48kHz, 24bit
GENRE: Math Rock
Preview of the Song (Demo Mix):
A word from the song provider:
salvadorcassis wrote:Hi! I'm Salvador, I'm a music producer from Chile and I've produced this track for "Por Mientras", which is a very interesting young local math rock band. Please pardon my rough English.
Most of the tracks were recorded c. August 2020 and the whole song was produced during the lockdown. The equipment was also a challenge to overcome because most of the guys didn't have the equipment and planning a face-to-face session was not an option. So, long story short, they recorded themselves in different spaces with different equipment and software, and then I mixed it with Logic Pro X.
Sadly I don't exactly remember much of the technical details, since this was produced more than a year ago and I wasn't actually there. I only gave some recommendations recording-wise. I just can say that the drums were the only thing recorded in a professional environment (pre-pandemic). Vocals and guitars were self-recorded by the guys in their houses with borrowed equipment.
Important: There were no click tracks involved during the recording, so there's no tempo. Context: The drums were recorded as a "there's 5 minutes left on the studio, let me try another song" take before the pandemic, then guitars and vocal were added on top, and it worked pretty well so it came to be the official release.
I really hope this doesn't give you much trouble, and you enjoy mixing this fun track.
References:
Palm - Two Toes
Tricot - Potage
This Town Needs Guns - If I Sit Still Maybe I'll Get Out Of Here
Paramore - Misery Business
(more technical details in the Mix Pack bundled TXTs)
A few words by the Mix Challenge staff:
Mister Fox wrote:A very interesting production that doesn't go by any conventional means that you might be used to from pop music. Enter: "Math Rock", where time signatures change constantly, and avant-garde sounds design for guitars are a thing.
And this already introduces the challenge: the overall sound design.
Since this was recorded during the pandemic, and the sounds are "printed to tape", you can't work and/or experiment with clean DI tracks this time around. Doesn't mean you can't still do something. To make the guitars "bigger than life", since it's only two and there is a constant back and forth on sounds due to used foot pedals, you definitely need to be creative with FX usage, panning, etc. You can try "re-amping" in places, who knows where that will get you. (hint)
Take your time with this mix, there is a lot going on. Math metal is all about "feel", throwing out off guard. Also check in with the lyrics, which emphasizes this feeling even more.
Enjoy this challenge!
Possible references:
Math Rock:
Covet - Sea Dragon
Tide;Edit - Aimlessness
LITE - Balloon
Baboon - This Town Needs Guns
Flicker Rate - Grow
Yvette Young - Ares
Please also consult the TXT files that are bundled in the source files package below. There you can find more information about the individual files and changes to the time signature.
Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:
- try to create a mix that complements this production (in your own style)
- the focus of this game is "mixing" - NO MASTERING. Edit/Mix in such a way, that barely any after-touches other than loudness adjustments and final limiting is needed in a possible follow-up mastering step.
- Clean / Alternative versions can be used if you need more flexibility over a certain sound (if present for this production)
- make the best out of the provided audio material (EQ, compression, transient tools, etc), no "drum sample triggering / replacement", neither any changes to the arrangement (copy/move/add/remove parts)!
- please only provide WAV files, files need to be accessible/downloadable from your preferred cloud storage space (no SoundCloud!)
- render the edited material in the same sampling rate and bitrate as originally provided (MC081 / September => 48/24)
- ADD-ON RULES - PRODUCTION RELATED:
- Filename Template: MC081_Por_Mientras__Sable__ForumUsername.wav
- no (more) add-on rules specified
Please consult the official
Rules and Guidelines for a more detailed set of rules, including how to document your edits, maximum loudness values and delivery formats (see
Rule Book - Post #6).
Failing to adhere to the rules will result in disqualification. There will be no additional reminders given.
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Source Files:
Main Mix Package - full package (502,58 MB, LZMA compressed, zip)
IMPORTANT NOTE: download window might show a smaller file size, file unavailable after 21-OCT-2021
The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression.
File size extracted: 860,12 MB, packed 502,58 MB (ZIP, LZMA)
In order to extract the files, we can recommend these programs:
Macintosh:
The Unarchiver -
get it here
Keka (open source) -
get it here
Windows:
7zip -
Installation /
Portable
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Please
take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
Mix Challenge - Official Rules and Guidelines
Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Mix Challenge - Gossip and Discussion
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SPONSORS (Prizes):
Prizes for Mix Challenge participants:
Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.
Acon Digital is kind enough give away a single plugin of winner's choice (exception: Verberate Immersive)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Acon Digital:
http://acondigital.com
Hornet Plugins is kind enough give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins:
http://www.hornetplugins.com
IK Multimedia is kind enough give away one license of T-RackS ONE to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia:
https://www.ikmultimedia.com
Metric Halo is kind enough to give away a single plugin of winner's choice
License will turn into NFR
More info about Metric Halo:
http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/
NOS Audio is kind enough give away one license of NOS Roomer to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on NOS Audio:
http://www.nosaudio.com/
NUGEN Audio is kind enough give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on NUGEN Audio:
https://nugenaudio.com/
Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of
Ultraspace to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2:
https://tone2.com
THANKS FOR THE LICENSE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.
If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on mix plugins, bundles and the likes), please get in touch with the Mix Challenge staff.
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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!