SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC066 February 2023 - Winners announced

[JeroenZuiderwijk]

Hello, everyone!
That's my submission.
Don't take it too seriously

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DfwoXb ... sp=sharing

That a good track I like the robotic vibe. I think it is original. Well done. If you would like a suggestion, I was listening to your track a second time and couldn't help thinking it could be a cool idea to keep the kick in the beginning of the song to a minimum (now it feels a little bit busy) It could help with the build up of the song.

[JeroenZuiderwijk]

Hey Jeroen,

this is a cool WIP, it has a bit from both worlds, Trap and Crunk. I'm really curious to hear the final version with the lyrics. This goes in a good direction from what I can hear.
Maybe you could sidechain your kick from the 808 bass to get more clarity in the low end? Oh, and don't forget to lower the volume of the stab hits and the vocal samples, they are pretty loud compared to the rest.

I hope I can finish my project within the next two days.

Thank you. It is always good motivation when other people hear potential. I'll do my best to upload some lyrics. Your comments about the sound are helpful. Looking forward to your entry.

Cheers!

Jeroen

[Arelem]

Hi all,
This is the music I wrote for SWC066. It is not finished yet...by far. I'm working on the vocals (I really want vocals to be part of it but I'm not a rap artist.....but I've already wrote the lyrics....a couple of versions already). I'm used to writing songs on guitar with intro, verse, chorus etc. So I decided to go for that approach to see if that would work for me. Here is a first (actualy 100th ;-) ) draft:

https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ahp8xH6KRIfbgTUxADw ... 6?e=hr5mak (music starts at around 7 sec...sorry, forgot to cut the silence before the intro...I'll fix that later on.)

There's some pretty good stuff going on here, and definitely some unique ideas. I would try some different hit sounds in there though. The ones here are a bit hokey to me. Also, during the slower parts of the song, everything is very washed out. If you do add vocals, that could help provide clarity in the mix, but if you don't end up adding vocals, it might be good to get something in there that is a little more upfront in the mix.

[KukoBass]

Here is my entry for this month:



Edit 22.02.2023:
The final Version is this one (different EQ settings on the mallet sound):
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gy9ksK ... share_link

I wanted to write a rap part, too, but I hadn't the time and/or energy to do so, so it is mostly instrumental.
If you listen carefully, you can find some of my samples for last month's community scramble as percussion and sound effects. As I could not finish a song for last month's challenge, I wanted to reuse the Ableton drum rack I built with them.

The Song was done in Ableton Live at 140 bpm. The main drums were programmed in Izotope BreakTweaker.

Here are the plugins I used:

Drums:
Ableton Live's Kit-808 Classic
An Ableton Drum Rack made of last month's samples (different excerpts from "Ruler", "OpenBottle" and "Scraping").
Izotope BreakTweaker, modified "SM-Trapped" preset
All grouped in a drum bus and compressed with the Ableton Live compressor to tame the peaks

Subbass:
KV33Audio SynthmasterOne, "BA About The Saw" preset
Edit: Added a LPF

Strings:
Native Instruments Emotive Strings, "Afterlife 1" preset for the arps. I noodled around on my midi keyboard, captured the midi, re-recorded it as an audio sample in Ableton and cut the samples into the small pieces I used in the song.

Mallet-like-sound:
Applied Acoustic Systems Chromaphone 3, "Magical Tubes" preset
Edit: Hornet ThirtyOne MK2 EQ to enhance the mid range of the mallet sound (200-500 hz) as per @Mellow Browne's suggestion.

Choir-pad:
KV33Audio SynthmasterOne, "AH Temple" preset

Whispering:
Recorded in Ableton Live through my Zoom H4nPro Handy Recorder
Modified through Sounddevice Trap Tune: Transposed two semitones up, second voice enabled, stereo voice on, transposed -12, reverb on
EQed with Ableton's EQ Eight, High-Pass around 100 Hz and Low-Pass around 4.5 kHz.
Hornet Tape plugin for a more analog vibe.

Master Bus:
Hornet ThirtyOne MK2 EQ
TBProAudio Isol8 for mix checking
Audified Mix Checker for mix checking
Brainworx bx_masterdeck True Peak for compression, making <121 Hz mono and widening stereo
LUveler64 for optimizing the loudness to target levels
Mastering The Mix Levels for checking for problems with the mix
Youlean Loudness Meter 2 Free for checking the loudness.

What did I learn from this month's challenge:
- how to build a drum rack in Ableton from samples (ok, that was last month, but I could not finish a song then)
- how "Trap" is defined
- how to use Izotope BreakTweaker
- mixing drums in 3 different instances (BreakTweaker, Ableton drum rack, custom-built Ableton sound effects rack) is difficult
- recording midi instruments as audio inside Ableton and cut and rearrange the samples
- playing around with the different effects in Trap Tune
- starting a rough mix with pink noise
- using Ableton Live's Utility for volume automation instead of the volume fader (Sonic Bloom Tip for mixing)

[The Exponent]

Hey All,

Here's my final submission:

• Vocals - Myself rapping with khs Pitchshifter on
• Drums - Combination of royalty free samples and synthesized stuff
• 808s - Pigments, Samples processed
• Basses/Leads - Vital Pigments
• FX - Vital, royalty free samples with processing
• Orchestral Instruments: Spitfire LABS, BBSO Discover

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

Other info:

• DAW: Tracktion Waveform 12 Pro
• Synth: Pigments, Vital, BBSO Discover, LABS
• FX: SliceEQ, OrilRiver, Supermassive, Compressor, GClip, CocoaDelay, OTT, Loudmax, Panagement, khs Pitchshifter, MUtility
• Mastering Chain: SliceEQ, GClip, Loudmax
• Metering: SPAN, YLM2

[Ronson79]

Hi all, it´s the first time I contribute to this competition as i am usually more mixing oriented. I did a track with a friend who
did the verses. I did the hook. The track is called "Was" in German and is about a friend who got lost in alcohol. It means basically
"What did you do?" in the hook.

Instrumentation is spare to leave room for the ambience and dark vibe. A (royalty free) piano sample pitched, reversed layer,
bassline with pitch slides, vocals with ambience adlibs, a few doubles for a bigger hook and some devil voices ads

I´m not sure about the naming of the track as there are two artists involved.
If it´s not appropriate like I did please tell me and I will change it.

hope someone enjoys it.

Specs: WAV, 24Bit, 44100 Hz, -14,1 LUFS and - 1dBTP

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1exns6m ... sp=sharing

[Mellow Browne]

Hey guys, I just want to give you feedback from a mixing POV of what I can hear:

denny7794:
It has a lot of spicky and clicky sounds, so I would lower the hihat, tambourine and crashes. The robotic voice should therefore become more audible

kukobass:
I think the mallet sound needs a little bit more attention. I would check the attack and release settings on the compressor, I think especially the release settings could be a bit shorter, so the sound doesn’t get squashed too much. And I would also check the mid range of the mallet sound (200-500 hz just a few db, maybe 2-3), this will bring you more separation between the mallet sound and your sub bass.

The Exponent:
First thing I noticed is the delay in the hook, which is very pronounced in the sides because the dry track is already printed with delay.
I would also check the mono compatibility, it collapes and especially the strings are barely audible in mono.
I would recommend you to use something like voxengo correlometer to check any phase issues from the strings or the sample you used. Your production has the power, but it needs more punch.

Arelem:
I can see you edited your entry several times and I think you don’t have a mix problem, it’s an arrangement problem.
The only instrument I can hear in your rap part is that bell synth.
For example a low and deep brass hit every 4 bars with some reverb and your Lufs go up. You need at least one more instrument in the lower register like orch/brass hits, or you could layer the bell sound with another simply played an octave lower. Just a thought if you still have some energy left.

Ronson79:
I have the impression your sub bass is distorting just a little bit sound wise, I don't know, or the compression settings are not ideal. I can definitely hear it after the break in the 2nd verse when the beat comes back, the kick and the bass are fighting heavily for room. Have you tried to duck the sub every time the kick hits? Could help to make you some room in the lows.

I finished my song, I just want to see if I still like the mix tomorrow or if I need to do some little changes. Maybe some of you guys can give me then some feedback, maybe I missed something, so I still have a day or two to react.

[Mellow Browne]

So, here is my entry for this month. The name of the song is "Trap House", the lyrics are in German.

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... share_link

I went for that modern trap sound from artists like Future or Drake. I really wanted to add some lyrics, I haven't recorded a rap song for years. Please don't take the lyrics serious, I just tried to write from an actual "gangsta" rap image/artist view and focused on rhyme techniques, flow pattern and a very theme or topic orientated "story" I can tell hustling in the trap house.
I had to make several beats to finally find a fitting one because I wrote the lyrics on another beat. The next thing was to get an interesting arrangement with some small variations in the beat, so I used some drops or automated filter fx with TAL-Filter for that and some added instruments for the hook part. I started the beat with the main bell arpeggio synth sound, the drums and the 808. I then recorded the vocals to see what the arrangement would need and built the rest around it. I wanted that "in-yo-face" rap sound with prominent vocals, I really like present and clear vocals in rap songs and I used Melda Mautopitch as autotune fx for a small section in the verse. I also wanted the kick and the sub to be clear and not boomy, so I first thought the mix would be too thin but I thinks ok for now. I had to remove some of the low mids on most of the tracks and side chained kick and bass to make both more audible on cell phones. I really wanted a good translation to as many playback devices as possible, and I´m satisfied on most systems I tried (some are better, some are worse).

I recorded the vocals with a Rode NT 2000, which I think is broken btw because it distorts really fast, so the recording is bad to my ears. I used the clean inputs on my UAD Apollo Twin MKII to record and only coloured the vocals later itb with Neve 1073 Preamp. I included some pictures for a more detailed overview. Feel free to ask if you want more information.

I´m open to any feedback.

Things I learned this month (so far):
- how to produce a short play arrangement in the trap genre
- better understanding of sonic concepts of clipping, limiting, compression and saturation
- how to listen to the low mids while mixing and how to hear the relationship between low and high frequencies
- how to rap in a much faster speed and flow than I usually freestyle
- my mic is broken

Lyrics (with translation)

► Show Spoiler

Trap House

HOOK
Hörst du die Stimme?
Sie vernebelt deine Sinne
Du wirst zum Opfer für deine Gewinne
Spring in die offene Klinge, Trap House

Sie ruft Deinen Namen
Plötzlich vergisst du hier all die Gefahren
Und Das ist alles hier wirklich normal
Du bist gefangen hier unten im Trap House

Hörst Du die Stimme?
Sie vernebelt deine Sinne
Du wirst zum Opfer für deine Gewinne
Spring in die offene Klinge, Trap House

Hörst du deinen Namen
Plötzlich vergisst du hier all die Gefahren
Denn das ist alles hier wirklich normal
Du bleibst gefangen hier unten im Trap House

VERSE 1
Rappe von unten im Trap House
Es ändert sich nix weil du wegschaust
Das Leben eine Bitch, ne Drecksau
Miese Schlampe die ich weghau‘
Ich kenne hier nix und mach Profit
Kenne hier jeden im Koksbizz
Habe Connex, ich bin so fit
Vor allem wenn ich meinen Flow spit
Und alle blasen immer mies krass, sie stellen fragen über dies das
Hohle Phrasen weil du Kies hast, sie wollen warten bis der Deal passt
Gerüchte weil alles Geschwätz ist, du hörst diese Sprüche weil du im Geschäft bist
Ich sitz in der Küche im Crackbizz, du rauchst dir zum Frühstück genüsslich den Crackshit, heftig

HOOK

VERSE 2
Ich bin mein eigener Chef, du gehst schaffen für andere denn du bist angestellt
Was du verdienst so als Jahresgehalt hängt bei mir so ganz einfach am Handgelenk
Hater sind am labern, sagen, dass ich mittlerweile nicht mehr wirklich sicher bin
Langeweile, zähle meine Scheine, habe zu viel Zeit sagt meine Richard Mille
Habe Rauch in meiner Lunge, inhaliere diesen Blunt, Shit
Ich schau in’ Lauf von meiner Wumme, ich bring lieber meine Gun mit
Blaow, denn da draußen ist der Dschungel, uh, ich schau den Tieren in ihr Antlitz
Deshalb bin ich jetzt im Trap House hier unten, uh, und meine Triebe voll auf Angriff

HOOK


Translation with Google and added some to get closer to the meaning behind the words

Do you hear the voice
She clouds your senses
You become a victim for your gains
Jump into the open blade, trap house

She calls your name
Suddenly you forget all the dangers here
And it's all really normal here
You're trapped down here in the trap house

Can you hear the voice
She clouds your senses
You become a victim for your gains
Jump into the open blade, trap house

Do you hear your name
Suddenly you forget all the dangers here
Because it's all really normal here
You remain trapped down here in the trap house

VERSE 1
Rap from downstairs in the Trap House
Nothing changes because you look away
Life is a bitch, a bastard
Bad slut that I bang away
I don't give a f*ck and I'm making a profit
I know everyone in the cocaine bizz
Got connections, I´m so fit
Especially when I spit my flow
And everyone's always blowing di*k, they ask questions about this and that
Empty phrases 'cause you got money, they wanna wait till the deal is good
Rumors because it's all gossip, you hear those sayings because you're in the business
I'm sitting in the kitchen cooking that crack, you smoke your pipe with relish for breakfast, damn

HOOK

VERSE 2
I am my own boss, you work for others because you are employed
What you earn as an annual salary simply hangs on my wrist
Haters are babbling, saying I'm not really secure anymore
Boredom, counting my paper, have too much time says my Richard Mille
Got smoke in my lungs, inhale that blunt, shit
I'll look into the barrel of my gun, I'd rather bring my gat
Blaow, because that's the jungle out there, uh, I can see the visage of an animal
That's why I'm in the trap house down here now, uh, and I´m always ready for beef

HOOK

[EsteveCorbera]

Challenge companions and Mister Fox, Good night!!

I present to you my theme for this month. I chose to make a Trap theme, or tried to.
Background: I have to tell you that I was not familiar with the Trap, so this was already my first challenge. I'm sorry to say it, because maybe there are people here who do like it, but I found Trap music to be very uninteresting. While researching to make the theme, what I've been hearing I found horrifying. Not the video clips, not the music, not the voices...

So I tried to make a Trap track but trying really hard.
Another novelty is that this track is the first where I sing. Fatal by the way. But it has been the way to keep experimenting. I wrote the lyrics*, with rhyme, and tried to sing (in Catalan, my native language). Of course, since the Trap vocals are a bit special, I also played the song with a stupid voice.
The voice you can hear is made up of two layers, the dry voice and a manipulated voice. I experimented with 'Auto-tune' type effects but I didn't like the way it turned out at all. Therefore, in the end this second layer only has a pitch change and a bit of manipulation with Reason's Neptune effect (equivalent to an 'Auto-tune'). I tried using the Plugin-alliance Brainworx bx_crispytuner, but I didn't like the result.

Lyrics of the song:

Catalan:
Verse 1:
Despertar-me al sonar l'alarma
Vestir-me sense perdre la calma
Anar a treballar com cada dia
Amb ganes de fer coses amb alegria

Verse 2:
Treballar la jornada sense parar
Fent les tasques sense descansar
Ja arriba l'hora de dinar
Descansar una mica abans de tornar

Verse 3:
Tornar a treballar i fer més hores
Amb més pressa, tot depèn del dia
Arriba el moment que més adores
Deixar el treball, quina alegria

English translation by google translate (No rhyme in English)

Topic: The daily routine

Verse 1:
Wake me up when the alarm goes off
Dressing up without losing my cool
Go to work like every day
Eager to do things with joy

Verse 2:
Work the day without stopping
Doing the tasks without resting
It's time for lunch
Get some rest before coming back

Verse 3:
Go back to work and work more hours
In a hurry, it all depends on the day
It's the moment you love the most
Leaving work, what a joy


The melody parts are 4 synthesizers playing the same notes at the same time but with different sounds, which I mix in an automated way and thus the effect is that the melody is constantly changing in sound.

* To experiment, I tried the famous ChatGPT which has now become fashionable. Part of the lyrics of the song was proposed by ChatGPT, but I later changed it so that there is a rhyme at the end.
I encourage you to ask ChatGPT how to make a Trap topic, and see what he says.


https://drive.google.com/file/d/17sScm6 ... XgKS8rtzW0

Thank you colleagues.

(translated with google)

Equipment:
DAW:
Reason 12.5

Instruments:
Kong Drum Designer

Effects:
RV7000 MkII Advanced Reverb
Master Bus Compressor
Neptune Pitch Adjuster & Voice Synth

Players:
Scales & Chords

Utilities:
Combinator

Reason Rack Extension:
DNA Labs Software Helium
DNA Labs Software Glacius X Hybrid Wave Synthesizer
BASSGRID Mutation Collider
Reveal Sound ReSpire

Othet effects outside of Reason:
Arturia Dist TUBE-CULTURE
Plugin-alliance SPL De-Verb Plus
HoRNet Plugins HoRNet Total EQ
Eventide Quadravox
Cableguys ShaperBox3

Other tools:
iZotope Ozone 9
Plugin Alliance SPL HawEye

Samples:
Cymatics - Trap Starter Pack

[Treyt]

Like most of my music project right now, this one focuses on Ark: Survival Evolved and many of the struggles faced in the game's world and lore. People unfamiliar with Ark probably won't understand half the meaning behind the lyrics, but I hope the production and energy will stand alone.

For this project I used:
FL Studio
Serum for basses and synths
FL's FLEX
3xOSC
various oneshot drum samples
2 creature audio samples from Ark: Survival Evolved
and my own writing and voice for all vocal performances.

This is my first time rapping, as hip hop is one of my least favorite genres, rap even moreso, so I had to learn a bit about lyrical flow and what the human mouth is capable of. This involved rewriting a lot of parts, rearranging lines and whatnot to make it physically rappable, and exploring different rap styles to find one that suited the project. I ended up going with a style heavily influenced by Eminem, if not solely based on it, and was happy that my mouth and vocal cords were able to do at least a good enough job for my inexperienced ears. I've gained an improved appreciation for rap through this experience, though I'm not sure I'll be doing any more any time soon.

Thanks to Mr. Fox for hosting the SWC, and thanks to those of you who drop feedback and listen. Hope you enjoy.

Lyrics:

► Show Spoiler

Old Timey Announcer - “Trapped on a remote island, surrounded by primordial beasts, hundreds of people wash ashore. Naked and afraid, they confront the challenge of survival ahead of them, but their greatest challenge may lie not in the land, but in each other.”

Beach, south, runnin' my mouth
spittin' over boys, tryna drop beach noise
-yeah the issue with a second chance is, you won't change your stance, time advances and

enhances the damage done by romances, wish I knew where my fam is.
Back in Japan, maybe Atlantis? I dunno man, I forgot to plan this
out. -gotta run it back, cuz I gotta couple doubts,
Step one check my whereabouts
-These birds and pegos play’ hot,
-nerds with stegos and pot got

frills, spittin' em
hills, droppin' in the
jungle gimme some
thrills, oop
Bite, head spinnin', lights
out no winnin'
Back on the beach, I'm slack and grinnin'

Redwoods livin’
Bird up driven
Droppin’ out the foliage, above, at 5 o'clock
-Tick tock, arrow nock, takin' time to mock, you got more than rocks?
Walk it to the kill

Box. Is it history, sophistry, a fantasy, mystery? I can't be-
-lieve what they've done to me, give a gun to me and just run from me. I'm-
-changin', estrangin' emotions, got fixations on palpitations AH! -No taxes here, but axes fear and cracks appear, yeah that severe from just

flak n' beer, why can’t I see
What I gotta do to be a man set free
Pen down, fob up, Gen down, bob up
Come ‘n get a crown if you da’ one das’ up

Lost in the mountains I'm soundin' out, drown in doubt, blackin' out, but I gotta get a-
-way from the claws crashin', teeth gnashin', gone in a second rock
Parachute down, but am I the clown, I drop bombs on a fort that I called my hometown
No qualms? Be real, I got no renown so lie down

Trapped in a world where monsters rule, droppin' new rhymes in a time oldschool I-
-think...? Not sure where this time and mine would link but I can't go back, wish I could
click my heels and blink to see my old school track and
Drink but lack of food and water sinkin’ in a world I’m overthinkin’ inter-
-Link

Download:
Download from Google Drive