SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC082 June 2024 - Winners announced

[Mister Fox]

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 082 - June 2024



BEFORE WE GET STARTED:

• Please consult the official and very simple "Rules and Guidelines" (TL;DR version) for the Songwriting Competition regarding principles of the game, it's engaging game mechanics (allowed editing/re-submission of your entry until the deadline has been reached) and upload/submission guidelines.
• The general idea of this game is to "...just make music", to also challenge yourself by stepping a bit out of your comfort zone, and take a dip at realms you've never worked in before. Instrumentals are just as welcome as productions with vocals.
• The Genre and "Premise" of this months challenge can be found in in post #002
• Filename Template (Important): SWC082__ArtistName__TrackName.wav or .mp3
  • example: SWC082__MisterFox__ColorOfTheSky.wav
  • example: SWC082__Mister_Fox__Color_of_the_sky.wav

Read more about this month's competition further down below. And if you got any question, please also reach out on Discord.



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SONGWRITING COMPETITION 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, Sponsors
Post #003 -- Cheat Sheet: A couple of examples / audio demos for this month's challenge (limited if genre is "free to select")
Post #030 -- Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Post #053 -- Results: Results of the Songwriting Competition

[Mister Fox]

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Saturday, 01st June 2024 to Monday, 24th June 2024 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-JUN-2024, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (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. Does the game time frame feel too long? Why not set a personal shorter one of 5-7 days absolute max to push yourself to focus on the essentials, then use the rest of the time to ask for feedback and possible refinements.



SONGWRITING THEME: "Summer Dreams" (Picture Theme)
GENRE: free to select



Image Source: iStock.com, photo by ogeday çelik


A few word about this month's theme:

We're having a "Picture Theme" this month.

There will be no extensive brief with twists and turns. Please have a look, get inspired by the image(s) and the theme. Let your mind wander for a bit. Then start writing.
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Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
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This month, you can create a production in any music genre you feel like.


A short explanation of the concept of this month's game: The general idea is to draw inspiration from the picture(s). However do not solely fixate on that particular photo and it's details alone. Rather focus on the "overarching concept". The picture and possible provided key words can have many different meanings. How you interpret it, is up to you.

You set your own parameters and limitations, e.g. style and genre, melodic questions and counter arguments. As long as you don't exceed 10 minutes of runtime, neither have endless padded out repetition. Please keep us listeners engaged. And as usual - vocals are optional. Don't feel pressured to provide any.


Just make music and have fun!

I'm curious about what you come up with!

Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:

► Show Spoiler

• create a production fitting to the given theme, genre and general premise
• you can use any tool that is at your disposal (samples, virtual instruments and/or real instruments), exceptions apply regarding vocal sample usage)
• IMPORTANT: if you use non-licensed material (as in: non royalty free material from sample CDs, etc), give full credit to the source material
• for newcomers: no finished productions that have already been released outside of the time frame of the current Songwriting Competition (Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, etc), no cover versions or remixes of other artists, no ripped acapella's -- please only showcase your own new and original content (you are allowed to "remix yourself", recreate an old project, etc)
• do not go higher than -14,0 LUFS ILk/-1,00 dBTP in terms of perceived loudness (mastering). Music doesn't have to be squashed to bits in order to be impactful
• name your files properly prior to uploading and make the production downloadable. If you opt to present your entry through SoundCloud, the forum can also convert your links into a Soundcloud player through the [soundcloud] BBCode from the text editor (orange square with a white cloud in it)
• ADD-ON RULES:
  • Filename Template: SWC082__ArtistName__TrackName.wav or .mp3
  • <no (additional) add-on rules specified>

For a full set of rules, please consult the Official Rules and Guidelines (most notably Rule Book - post #6). If you got any questions regarding the game mechanics or similar, please either utilize the SWC - Gossip and Discussion thread, or reach out through Discord.

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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):

Cherry Audio, Ghostwave Audio, Hollow Sun, Hornet Plugins, IK Multimedia, JRR Sounds, kv331 audio, Luftrum, Musiclab, Rekkerd Sounds, satyatunes - Sound / Graphic Design, and Tone2.


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

► Show Spoiler

Available Bonus Prizes for Songwriting 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.


RECURRING LICENSE SPONSORSHIP:


Cherry Audio is kind enough to give away one license of Voltage Modular Ignite, plus either a license of "Year One Collection" or "Year Two Collection"
Licenses will turn into NFR
More info on Cherry Audio: https://cherryaudio.com



IK Multimedia is kind enough to give away one license of MODO BASS 2 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



Musiclab is kind enough to donate any 1 guitar of your choice to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Musiclab: https://www.musiclab.com



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Saurus4 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



kv331 audio is kind enough to either give away a SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
Licenses will not turn into NFR, you need to have a kv311 audio user account in order to pick up Expansions
More info on kv331 audio: https://www.kv331audio.com



JRR Sounds is kind enough to give away any-1 sound sets or sample set of winner's choice (exception: Bundles)
More info on JRR Sounds: https://www.jrrshop.com/jrr-sounds



Luftrum is kind enough to give away either a license of Lunaris 2, a license of Bioscape, or any two sound sets of winner's choice
License will turn into NFR
More info on Luftrum: https://www.luftrum.com/



Rekkerd Sounds is kind enough to give away 1 sound set of winners choice (exception: Krezie EDM and Neurofunk Vol. 1)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Rekkerd Sounds: https://sounds.rekkerd.org/



Ghostwave Audio (Vincent Bastiat) is kind enough to donate any 2 sound sets to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Ghostwave Audio: https://ghostwaveaudio.com



Hollow Sun is kind to donate one license of "Music Laboratory Machines - The Suite I" to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hollow Sun: http://www.hollowsun.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



Sound / Graphic Designer, and honorary Mix Challenge staff satYatunes is donating one commercial product of winner's choice (until further notice)
More info on satYatune's page: https://satyatunes.com/



THANKS FOR THE 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!

[Mister Fox]

AUDIO EXAMPLES:
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Articles and Info Pages:

A great starting point is the "Addendum"/Supplementary thread for the Songwriting Competition
Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Music Maps and BPM Charts

Since the genre this month is "free to select", there are no clear pointers




Music examples (selection for inspiration, 00 videos):

No music examples available this month. But I can always recommend to enter random genre search words either into Youtube, Spotify or whatever music streaming services you prefer using.
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Please also check in with the following threads in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Places to fuel your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) (the starting point if you're in need of audio tools -- from free to affordable).


if you're new to/need help with songwriting - please check out the following tools:

► Show Spoiler

Harmony Theory and Chord Progression tools:
ScalerPlugin Pty Ltd - Scaler 2 (collaboration w/Plugin Boutique, currently the most comprehensive chord/harmony tool out there)
Xfer Records - Cthulhu
W.A. Production - InstaChord and InstaScale
CodeFN42 - Chordz (Transition is also recommended, if you want more experimental/generative MIDI, free, Windows only)
trackbout - Ripchord (free/open-source MIDI chord generator, think Xfer Records Cthulhu, but simplified)
Fabrizio Poce / J74 - Progressive ("Max4Life" is needed, Ableton Live bound)

For pattern and generative sequencing:
OMG Instruments - BlueARP (a free comprehensive arpeggiator and pattern sequencer)
Surge Synth Team - Stochas (free/open-source MIDI probabilistic polyrhythmic sequencer)
2Rule - TugMidiSeq (polyphonic arp and seq creator MIDI plugin, free, cross-platform, mostly VST3 only)
Axart Software - AutoBeat (12-track MIDI beat generator, free version is without MIDI drag and drop)
Rose Hill Tribe - BabyDrummer (MIDI drum pattern sequencer, inspired by FL Studio's Step Sequencer, free, Windows only)


Please note, that a lot of DAW also have Harmony Theory and/or Chord Generation tools built in. VCV Rack and DISTRHO Cardinal also have various step and pattern sequencers that you can use to control other synths with. Please consult the manual of your go-to software for more information.

More tools of the trade

► Show Spoiler

Need a good starter kit of free instruments?

Instruments:
AKAI - MPC Beats (limited to 1 instance, 8 MIDI + 2 Audio tracks, but can be used as VSTi in any other DAW)
Apisonic Labs - Speedrum (a "spiritual successor" to One Small Clue POISE, Lite version available)
Big Fish Audio - Momentum (a free and powerful WAV/AIFF loop mangler)
IK Multimedia - MODO DRUM CS (one drum kit)
Rayzoon - Jamstix (an amazing drummer brain)
IK Multimedia - MODO BASS 2 CS (one e-bass)
Spitfire Audio - LABS
Spitfire Audio - BBC Symphonic Orchestra Discover
Pianobook - started by Spitfire Audio's co-founder Christian Henson, offers many free/affordable sample sets in various formats
Decent Samples - project started by David Hilowitz as alternative to NI Kontakt (Full), offers many free/affordable sample sets
Orchestral Tools - SINEfactory
Vienna Symphonic Library - the "HELLO Free Instruments" series (offering an Orchestra, Piano, Small Percussion and more)
Project Sam - Free Orchestra 1 and Free Orchestra 2 (the latter has just been released, Kontakt Player license included)
Soundpaint - started by 8dio's CEO Troels Folman as more advanced sample player engine to NI Kontakt (Full), offers many free sample sets
Sound Props - "Free Series" (offering a synth, guitars, bass and drum sample sets for free/small donation, needs Kontakt 6+ Full)
kv331 audio - Synthmaster Player (the free version comes with over 600 presets!)
Cherry Audio - Voltage Modular Nucleus ("entry level" to Modular Synthesis), Synthesizer Expander Module and Surrealistic MG-1 Plus
DISTRHO - Cardinal (a proper open-source variant of VCV Rack, plugin variants available)
Surge Synth Team - Surge-XT (a free and open source hybrid synthesizer)
Matt Tytel - Vital (spectral warping wavetable synth, a free "basic" version is available)
Blaukraut / Dominique Wurtz - Charlatan 3 (free virtual analog/VA synthesizer with OSC morphing techniques, Windows/Linux only)
thewavewarden - Odin II (a free and open source hybrid synthesizer that was heavily inspired by Reason Studios' Thor)
TAL Software - among offering outstanding and affordable studio tools, their free synth/plugin selection is nothing to scoff at
Full Bucket (freeware synths covering: Korg, Crumar and ARP Instruments)
Nils Schneider Kawai K1 (freeware emulation project of the Kawai K1)
Phuturetone - offering various interesting synthesizers (also check out the Plugins4Free backup for even more VST plugins)
nakst Audio Plugins - offering various interesting synthesizers (e.g. 3-OSC subtractive, "hybrid"/Wavetable, FM, and Phase Distortion -- IMPORTANT: only CLAP/AU/FL Studio Native version available, no VSTi)
Sonic Charge - Cyclone (Yamaha TX16W/Typhoon sampler)
CWItech - TX16Wx Software Sampler (If you want a highly powerful Soundfont2 loader / sampler)

Please do remember, our kind License Provider Musiclab also offer 14 day trial versions of their virtual guitar range.


In need for presets for your synthesizers, or even more samples?
Soundpacks - an information page highlighting sample sets and preset packs that have been released for free
PresetShare - a free synth presets exchange platform (account signup needed)
Tom Wolfe's Synth Vault - the free Monthly Preset Club (account signup needed)
VSTBuzz - Freebie Collection page, plenty of good material to find there (often Native Instrument Kontakt bound)


More recommendation for free/affordable tools can be found at the #audio-tech-deals section on our Discord server.

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UPDATED: 31-MAY-2024 23:00 UTC+2, updated 25-JUN-2024 08:30 UTC+2

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 14 days left to submit your production.

Unfortunately, we have no entry so far.



If you want to access the extended game mechanics of the Songwriting Competition (asking for feedback during production), please try to release your first edits within the next 7 days to have enough time to get possible feedback (if needed/wanted) and continue to work on your song.

To those sitting on the fence - please don't feel scared off and think "the bar is set too high, I will never make it" - set yourself a shorter private deadline. Just make music, submit your entry, join the conversation. See where this goes.

By joining, you're already a winner. The rest is bonus.

[Arelem]

Hello All,

When thinking of what summer dreams meant to me, I thought more of my youth. Back when summer was a time of no school, hanging out with friends, and just having a good time. I started writing something energetic and uplifting. I found myself leaning a bit towards a sort of hyperpop sounding pop song and so I wrote some summer 'party' lyrics for it. I played a lot with automation to get the glitchy-ness that goes on in the track as well as the in and out of the different elements. I've made some weird and/or glitchy stuff before but this one I put a fair bit of time into. If I learned anything, it's that sometimes there are no shortcuts. In order to get the track to do what I wanted, I had to manually draw in the automation. Sometimes that included automating, bouncing to WAV and then automating again. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it!



Details:

► Show Spoiler

The drums are just various samples however the kick is layered with a custom sub I made in Vital and then sidechained to the kick.
The glich/main rhythm is made with Flex and is being effected with Infiltrator twice, Gross Beat, and Fruity Love Philter. They are being automated to change their effect throughout the track.
There isn't much else going on apart from the vocals which were sung by me and then converted to a female vocal using Audimee. In the chorus, my vocals are layered in as well. The vocals are being effected by VocalSynth 2 and Origin, as well as some compression and limiting. Other instances of vocals are using Megaphone, Fruity Limiter, Gain Reduction, ComebackKid, and SpacedOut.

[TrojakEW]

Hi again.

There is never enough time for everything we want to do, but I was able to do short track for this round. We will se how much often I will be able to join but I will do my best. As same as my CPU struggled a lot, my head struggled too. But it was fun. I do like the name of this round theme so I decided to use it not just as inspiration but also as name for the track. The picture provided for theme was also direct inspiration for my track, mood and whole composition. I wanted to have as much dynamics as possible so I added only very gentle compression to master. Also most of effects used were included on board of Kontakt instruments so not much in the list of used effects. I'm sure I will not do any changes to it because of the lack of time. So consider the track as finished. Lots of crashes in FL studio during production.

► Show Spoiler

Made using FL Studio 20.6
Kontakt Instruments used:
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2x Elements Kepler (Vocal Pedal, Violin Legato)
1x Ethera Gold Atlantis (Elven True Legato)
2x Adachi (Cellos Chamber Legato, Basses Chamber Legato)
1x Metropolis Ark 4 (Xylophone & Piano)
1x Metropolis Ark 5 (Low Strings Staccato)
1x Project Sam Swing More (Cellos and Basses Pizzicato)
1x Symphony Series Percussion (Xylophone)
1x Heavyocity Novo (Bass Section Pizzicato)
1x Heavyocity Vento (Flutes Staccato)
1x Heavyocity Damage 2 (Custom Ensemble)
1x Heavyocity Gravity Pack 01 (Ambience Birds Critters)

Used Effects:
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1x Izotope Ozone 10
1x Izotope Neutron 4 Equalizer
1x Fruity Filter
2x Fruity Convolver
10x zOne.sk Arx One
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Statistics (Izotope RX 10):
Max momentary loudness -7.6 LUFS
Max short-tem loudness -9.6 LUFS
Integrated loudness -14.3 LUFS
Loudness range 12.8 LU
True peak L -1.11dB
True peak R -1.11dB

[TrojakEW]

Hello All,

When thinking of what summer dreams meant to me, I thought more of my youth. Back when summer was a time of no school, hanging out with friends, and just having a good time. I started writing something energetic and uplifting. I found myself leaning a bit towards a sort of hyperpop sounding pop song and so I wrote some summer 'party' lyrics for it.

Quite nice track you here here. Just for information check your loudness otherwise you will loose some bonus points for that. I see there -9.5 LUFS integrated loudness.

I never heard of Audimee. I just checked a youtube video and it looks Interesting and fun.

[Arelem]

Yeah, I know my LUFS are too high. I've decided that I don't care. I've talked to Mr. Fox and others about why the challenge has that limitation and while I can appreciate some of the reasoning, I'm not going to limit myself that way anymore. Some genres may be ok with it, and some specific tracks, but ultimately, I am going to do what I think sounds best for each track. Love it or hate, the industry standard for most music is not going to fit that limitation. There is definitely a skill to keeping within that limit and I appreciate that what I have learned because of it. There is also a skill to mastering loud while sounding good and impactful as well.

@TrojakEW Nice track submission. Some nice linear progression. I like the vocal 'instrument' and all of the elements fit well together. Well done.

[Mister Fox]

Love it or hate, the industry standard for most music is not going to fit that limitation. There is definitely a skill to keeping within that limit and I appreciate that what I have learned because of it. There is also a skill to mastering loud while sounding good and impactful as well.

What the "considered Industry standard" is (as in, people on Youtube and in magazines stating: "master loud, the playback medium loudness normalizes anyway"), is something I do not agree with, and have stated this multiple times over.

Of course it is easier to "press" everything to it's limits. But it is also art to make your entry work at every volume (with suitable mix group handling and summing bus compression) -- "mastering" in such a way, that it translates to every playback medium possible. For example for Tape, for Vinyl, for CD. And funny enough, they all share the same "upper limit" (loudness wise, or rather the "ideal hotspot"), which happens to be the current agreed upon industry standard for streaming platforms of -14 LUFS ILk max (although -14 LUFS is really pushing the vinyl medium, -16 LUFS is actually more safe for cutting).


Then again, you made the conscious decision to forfeit those bonus points. I can and will not try to persuade you to change that.

Maybe some day, you will experiment more in this realm and realize "wait... tracks can still be as punchy at lower loudness". I mean - was music from mid 1990s to early 2000s (the height of CD releases) really that bad at being -16 LUFS ILk to -14 LUFS ILk max as well? Doesn't matter which genre, by the way (electronic, rock, metal, pop, hip-hop, orchestra, etc).



With that said...

A friendly reminder: including today, 8 days left for your submissions

[KukoBass]

This is my entry for this month.

Edit v4:



The Wav-version is here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aOaFgJ ... drive_link
(I accidentally had the kick drum part on solo when exporting version 3)

This month, I tried working with some sample loops. I found the experience quite limiting: I could not write a part B because the instrument samples had no part B. I could not change the dynamics, so I doubled the drum pattern with Modo Drum and put a little variation of volume and timing in there (over 8 bars). I doubled the pads with a string pad and added a little volume automation.

Are there any more tips and tricks how to humanize sample loops?

Edit: I also put some hand-drawn volume automation on the loops over the whole song to make it sound a little more human.

Tools used:

► Show Spoiler

DAW: Ableton Live 12

All loops are from the Roundel Sounds "Summer Vibes" sample pack I bought.

Drums:
Two loops (Kick and Snare) with volume automation to make them sound a little more human.
IK Multimedia Modo Drum: "Jazzy" doubling the Kick and Snare loops to make them sound a little more natural.
Ableton Live's Autofilter was used on the snare loop with the preset "Kick Boom" to give it a little more low end

Percussion:
A 4 bar shaker loop, unedited.

Synth Melody:
A 16 bar loop, first time unedited, second time a little warped with Ableton Live's warp tool and hand-drawn volume automation, third time just the second 8 bars from the loop, unedited.
I used Blue Cat's Flanger to change the sound a little.

E-Piano Melody: (starting around 0:48)
AAS Lounge Lizard EP-MK4, improvised on a APC Key 25 by me.

String Pad:
Two midi loops from the package, slightly edited and with hand-drawn volume automation.
The instrument is Frozen Plain Mirage Phoenix "Old School Strings"

Synth Pad:
Two loops, one 8 bars long, one 4 bars long, unedited

Piano:
Edit for V4: 4-bar loop. I copied the loop twice and warped some of the hits a 32 hit to the front or to the back and exchanged some of the loops for the altered versions. I also used hand-drawn volume automation to make it sound more human.

Synth Arps:
2 4-bar loops, one unedited, one (starting around 1.52) with a little volume automation crescendo.

Bass:
Played by me on my Court Action V and recorded through my ZOOM H4n pro.
Effect chain: Blue Cat's Flanger, Arturia 's Chorus Jun-6, brainworx Ampeg B15N, Ableton Live Brickwall Limiter


Master Chain:
IK Multimedia TR5 Brickwall Limiter
IK Multimedia TR5 Saturation X
Hornet ThirtyOne MK2 Equalizer
brainworx bx_masterdeck True Peak to make the song louder and to make bass frequencies below 120 Hz mono
LUveler to make sure the loudness is below the target of -14 LUFS integrated -1 dB peak


Tools used for mixing:
AYAIC Mix Monolith
Polyverse Wider 2
spl Hawkeye to check for possible sound problems
YouLean Loudness Meter 2 Free to check for loudness problems
Hornet VHS to calibrate the frequencies for my Superlux and Beyerdynamic headphones for mixing