MIX CHALLENGE - MC095 December 2023 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

Hello and welcome to the Mix Challenge 095 - December 2023

!

Bonus Info

For the last game of the year, you have the chance to work on an "Alternative" (Alternative Pop/Rock) production by "Arvo Kim Noah", kindly provided to us by forum regular @Christoph_K (who is also the producer and mix engineer of this song). The song is called "Home". Some of the bigger twists this month, are the "in-the-moment" recordings. You also have to manage all the small details that add to a bigger picture sound wise (use all provided tracks!), while also trying to invoke an emotional experience for the listener. This will not be an easy task... Are you up to this month's challenge? Then please take special note of the attached TXT files in the Mix Pack. And please read about the details and special requirements for handling this mix further down below.

BEFORE WE GET STARTED:

• Please consult the official "Rules and Guidelines" for the Mix Challenge regarding principles of the game, upload/submission guidelines, the concept of documenting your edits, and maximum allowed loudness values (see Rule Book - post #6)
• The focus of this game is "mixing". Try to create a mix in your own style that complements this production and can stand on it's own, no matter the playback medium. Edit/Mix in such a way, that barely any after-touches other than proper fade in/out and finalizing for distribution (incl. loudness adjustments e.g. for release on Streaming, Vinyl, Tape, CD) is needed for a possible follow-up mastering step.
• The "Mix Pack" and additional information for this months production can be found in in post #002
• Please consult the bundled TXTs for more info -- a sub-300 words TL;DR Rule Set is also part of the "Mix Pack"
• Filename Template: MC095__Arvo_Kim_Noah__Home__ForumUsername.wav

Failing to adhere to the rules will result in disqualification. There will be no additional reminders given.
If you got any question, please also reach out on Discord



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MIX(ING) CHALLENGE 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, License Sponsors
Post #082 -- Mix Round 1 Statistics/Data Sheet: Overview of Submissions - is your entry within given parameters?
Post #090 -- Mix Round 2: Global Feedback and Round 2 Participant Announcement
Post #000 -- Mix Round 3: <optional>/<not happening this game>
Post #121 -- Results: Winner announcement

[Mister Fox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Friday, 01st December 2023 to Friday, 22nd December 2023 (21+1 days, extended timeframe)

Challenge submission will end on 22-DEC-2023, 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.

!	Bonus Info
	IMPORTANT: There will be no deadline extensions this month. You got 21 days to mix and submit your entry. Neither will there be allowed resubmissions / filename edits. Your submission is final -- please pay attention to detail regarding the well established rules (also consult the bundled TL;DR Rules.txt).

Song Provider: Arvo Kim Noah (represented by @Christoph_K )
Song Name and Length: Home, 5:41 min
Song Information: 110 BPM / Signature: 4/4
File Format: WAV, 44kHz, 24bit

GENRE: Alternative (Alternative Pop/Rock)


Preview of the Song (Demo Mix):

phpBB [media]

INFORMATION: This version might sound different from the provided multi-tracks.


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SOURCE FILES:

Main Mix Package - full package (430,70 MB, LZMA compressed, zip)
IMPORTANT NOTE: download window might show a smaller file size, file unavailable after 22-DEC-2023


The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression (specs from 2015).
File size extracted: 3969,27 MB, packed 430,70 MB (ZIP, LZMA)


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

► Show Spoiler

macOS:
The Unarchiver - get it here
Keka (open source) - get it here (please take note of the file extraction guide)

Windows:
7zip - Installation / Portable

If you got problems extracting the files, please make sure that your apps are up-to-date!

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A word from the song provider:

This song stems from a one time collaboration between Arvo Kim Noah and Christoph Kahse which took place 2015 (released 2020) in Studio-30, Pfaffenhofen, Germany.

Based on Arvo's initial ideas, things unfolded in a creative process without any boundaries to a specific genre or sound in mind. We just moved along while the song unfolded in front of us, thus the long buildup and fluid structure of the track. Arvo sung, played nylon guitar and bouzouki. Chris played piano, bass, additional guitars and did the drum and synth programmings. I (Chris) also mixed and mastered the version which is currently online.

As we don’t have a lyrics sheet, I will give you some more information about the song. I think that it is not so important to understand every word he (Arvo) sings. It is more about the emotions in his singing and the arrangement, which supports the feeling.

Nevertheless, this song is about the search of a home, coming from a place of loneliness and despair. It’s about a transformation from feeling lost and lonely ("far home, lightless roads") to being independent and vital ("with or without you, my friend").

The mix should support this development, from the spare and spacious picture in the beginning to a more powerful vision in the end.

The provided tracks are the original tracks of the production so the participants have everything at hand to (re-)create the song. Some critical effects like self oscillating echos are baked into the tracks as part of the production.

Rule Summary:

More technical details are in the Mix Pack bundled TXTs. In there you can find the lyrics of the song (incl. a translation to English), more information about the individual files, possible changes to the time signature, and maybe even additional tips and tricks relevant to this production (by the Mix Challenge staff). Additionally a TL;DR Rule Set and, depending on the song provider's approval, an available "Off-site redistribution agreement" for a possible portfolio presentation.

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). Please pay attention to detail. Failing to adhere to the rules will result in disqualification. There will be no additional reminders given.


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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):
Acon Digital, Audified, Hornet Plugins, IK Multimedia, Kilohearts, Metric Halo, NUGEN Audio and Tone2


A detailed list of offerings can be found in the following information block.

► Show Spoiler

Available Bonus Prizes for Mix Challenge participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prizes on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.



Acon Digital is kind enough to give away either one plugin bundle, or any individual stereo plug-in of winner's choice. (exception: Application Bundles, Immersive plugins)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Acon Digital: https://acondigital.com



Audified is kind enough to give away one license of MixChecker Pro to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Audified: https://audified.com



Hornet Plugins is kind enough to give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: https://www.hornetplugins.com



IK Multimedia is kind enough to give away one license of T-RackS Tape Machine Collection to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



Kilohearts is kind enough to give away a "Sound Design Playground" Bundle, consisting of one license each of Snap Heap and Multipass, which supercharges all freely available Kilohearts Essentials.
License will turn into NFR
More info on Kilohearts: https://www.kilohearts.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: https://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/



NUGEN Audio is kind enough to 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.

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

[scottfitz]

thank god we don't have to mix against Christoph_K this round

very nice track, looking forward to it, thanks for submitting it

[1ktone]

thank god we don't have to mix against Christoph_K this round

very nice track, looking forward to it, thanks for submitting it

Maybe not directly, but he has set a high bar for comparison.

Thanks @Christoph_K for putting this up. It will be a very interesting track to work on.

[againstpower]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Friday, 01st December 2023 to Thursday, 24th December 2023 (21 days)

Challenge submission will end on 21-DEC-2023, 23:59 UTC+1/CET (Germany) - until further notice.

...

I suppose the first date (December 24) is wrong, right?

[Mister Fox]

Corrected the deadline in post #002.

I juggle a lot of text each month. Things can get overlooked. Thanks for pointing that out, @againstpower.
Apologies for the inconvenience.

[kevinh108]

new to the board. how do I upload my mix when done? and listen to others.

[Dodgingrain]

@Christoph_K - Really great production work and great track in general. Is there any particular direction you're looking for? aka are you looking to stay true to the release mix or is there an alternate direction you're looking for?

[Christoph_K]

@Dodgingrain As it would be quite boring listening to lots of recreations of what is already there I’d rather like to hear your perspective on the track

[Mister Fox]

new to the board. how do I upload my mix when done? and listen to others.

Welcome to the community.

Please do check in with the Rule Book (Upload and Submission Guidelines) and/or the "TL;DR Rules.txt" in the Mix Pack (as mentioned in both post #001 and post #002) -- this provides way more detailed information.

Basically: entries are posted "as links" in here. You can listen to the mixes as they arrive, or go through the thread by the end of the game.