CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION
Time Frame: Wednesday, 01st December 2021 to Tuesday, 21st December 2021 (21 days)
Challenge submission will end on 21-12-2021, 23:59 UTC+1/CET (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. There will also be short reminders on Social Media.
Song Provider: John Henderson (
@Johnny_Fingers )
Song Name and Length: Sun Returns, 3:38 min
Song Information: 75 BPM / Signature: 4/4
File Format: WAV, 44kHz, 24bit
GENRE: Contemporary Singer-Songwriter, Acoustic
Preview of the Song (Demo Mix):
INFORMATION: This version is a demo. please also consult the mixdown in the multi-track package, which features an additional bass.
A word from the song provider:
John Henderson wrote:I wrote this song on a trip to San Diego to visit my 13 month old nephew, who I had not seen in over a year. Visiting with him felt like hope coming back into the world along with the COVID vaccines. In this song I tried to capture the feeling of returning to the world after a long hibernation. Like the return of the sun in the springtime after a long dark winter.
The style of the song falls somewhere within contemporary singer-songwriter and contemporary Indie Folk. Artists who have influenced this style of song in my songwriting include Iron and Wine, Sam Beam and Jesca Hoop, Jose Gonzalez, Sufjan Stevens, Bon Iver, and extending to The National, Fleet Foxes, and Lord Huron.
For the mix, I would like the mix to bring out the emotional immediacy of the song, and also to achieve a sound that is generally in the same sonic universe as the artists above.
Feel free to re-amp, double, slightly shift tracks in time to increase or decrease alignment, add effects, or whatever else you have in your toolbox to reach the desired sound. Beyond that, please flex your creative juices to bring out the emotion of the song.
(more technical details in the Mix Pack bundled TXTs)
A few words by the Mix Challenge staff:
Mister Fox wrote:This is a very minimalist production with merely 7 tracks. Paying attention to detail is therefore of upmost importance as there are many intricate details that can add, or take away from the emotional impact of the story.
Aside from reading the lyrics and checking out some of the provided references for inspiration, I once more highly recommend to listen to each individual track first, clean them up (e.g. the vocals have many side-noises and slight repeated syllables). Time aligning of the performance (in this case, chorus vocals) is allowed - but keep a natural performance in mind.
Another focus should be the bass. This is a fretless electric bass. Due to the way how you handle such a bass, a slight offset pitch is normal. It is also played like an "upright bass". So you will have buzzing, double stops, slides, etc. You can try re-amping, but you can't go "distorted rock bass". (hint: check the frequency spectrum!).
Also important: the original mix features a fade out - please create a suitable one as well!
Such a production definitely offers a "the sky is the limit" type deal. This can go various way: 1960s type sound (more reverb and openness), to modern singer-songwriter (more dry).
Tip: take frequent breaks, re-evaluate your creation, does it "get a certain feel across?", "is it still intimate?", etc. As usual, do not add anything that wasn't there/subtract what originally belongs.
Enjoy mixing!
Possible additional references: Steely Dan, Creedence Clearwater Revival (their more acoustic material).
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/add/move/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 (MC083 / December => 44/24)
- ADD-ON RULES - PRODUCTION RELATED:
- Filename Template: MC083__John_Henderson__Sun_Returns__ForumUsername.wav
- create a suitable fade out (get inspired by the original mix)
- use all available tracks of this production (see bundled TXTs, but also posts from 03-DEC-2021 and 06-DEC-2021)
- 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 (137,31 MB, LZMA compressed, zip - not a typo!)
IMPORTANT NOTE: download window might show a smaller file size, file unavailable after 21-NOV-2021
The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression.
File size extracted: 275,39 MB, packed 137,31 MB (ZIP, LZMA, not a typo!)
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!