SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC017 January 2019 - Winners announced

[MarkS]

I would love to know what was the intention behind it and which one (if any) of these things I mentioned were done on purpose to better understand what you were going for.

I am trying my best to create some chill out or ambient songs , if i understand your question well.

[Mister Fox]

A friendly reminder:
24 hours left to submit your feedback and vote.


If you didn't do that yet, please do so. It would be a shame to see you disqualified

[VCA-089]

OK, I think it is the time.

10 Pts - Leonard Bowman
9 Pts - TrojakEW
8 Pts - TheNeverScene
7 Pts - FixInTheMix
6 Pts - jonnyhoff
5 Pts - Marks

Leonard Bowman
Well, it is the strongest composition this round. The theme is well thought, has a nice atmosphere and doesn't feels repetitive within a six minutes. I know, it sounds like a MIDI soundtrack for a 90's videogame, but it seems this is exactly what author wanted to do. There is something about this lo-fi sounds, it was quite enogh to sqeeze emotions throughout a second and third listening. The mix lacks dynamics, some weight to the drums and a bit more expression would be nice, but there is good feeling of a stage. Anyway, it is a great entry and within a right context it would shine.

TrojakEW
Great sounds, stage and mix. The most naturally sounding drums and also synths. It is short, but it delivers it's own thing. I should mention that robotic/vocoder vocals sounds funny and cool, but too much "in the face", quite distracting in the first listenings. And I think the theme could be more impactful with a strong synth lead or strings solo instead of it.

TheNeverScene
Great atmosphere throughout the track. Lots of interesting sounds and variations. I should say, there is many ambiences on the background, but the most of melodic and percussion elements are happening in the centre. Because of this, the mix feels a bit... crowded. Some feeling of stage would be nice. Good work anyway.

FixInTheMix
Percussion elements are quite good here. Drums, claps, mallets, manipulation with delays/echoes. The melodies are simple but effective, setting a good vibe to a track. The mix is pretty good, but as with TheNeverScene almost everything placed in the centre. Althrough, it is slightly compensated with wide organ/pads and with the space created by dela/reverb effects.

jonnyhoff
There is a deep and dark atmosphere in this urban soundscape. Simple but effective sound design ideas that works together. Althrough, the low end requires more attention. The subs and kick drum are almost in the same frequency range and conflict for a place in the mix. And perhaps overall dynamics could be better.

Marks
That is a bit strange thing. Some kind of hypnotic soundscape. Some interesting ideas, but most of the sounds are dry and their original nature are exposed. And there is a feeling that some elements are not matching tempo/time signature or perhaps it is what an author wanted to do.

[TrojakEW]

10 Pts - Leonard Bowman

Thank you for this. I do agree that his track have excellent composition a nice theme but I can playback this track in my head in realtime using different instruments and it sound absolutelly different, rather say "epic". This is the reason I gave him only 7pts. He proved already his skills regarding composition in KVR OSC but one must not forget that it is not just composition competition especially in this round. But as I said I'm glad for him somebody give him full points.

[jonnyhoff]

Firstly, thanks to everyone involved and thanks for everyone's great constructive criticism, I'll work on the areas pointed out. This was super fun.

VCA-089_-_Xenoscapes - 10pts
PROS: All-round very good, composition and production.
CONS: Pad sound is a bit too sharp.

TheNeverScene-Crowded Thoughts - 9pts
PROS: The build of the song and your transitions and drops are very nice.
CONS: Too much reverb.

TrojakEW - Journey - 8pts
PROS: Your composition is amazing and sound production is very crisp.
CONS: The alien voice just seems very out of place and the "Hey Mickey your so fine" drums could use some work.

FixInTheMix_-_Adaptation - 7pts
PROS: I like the pad sound and progression of this sound.
CONS: Your song needs more/fatter bass and the flute sound needs to be a bit more mid tone.

Leonard_Bowman_-_Nutritious - 6pts
PROS: I like the fantasy game theme vibe. You have Amazeballs composition!
CONS: whistling sound is too overpowering, I'd to more EQ and reverb on that instrument

MarkS-Someday - 5pts
PROS: I like your bell sound and the chill vibe you're going for.
CONS: The song is too repetitive and needs more intricate drums and melody.

[jonnyhoff]

jonnyhoff
There is a deep and dark atmosphere in this urban soundscape. Simple but effective sound design ideas that works together. Althrough, the low end requires more attention. The subs and kick drum are almost in the same frequency range and conflict for a place in the mix. And perhaps overall dynamics could be better.

I will definitely work on the bass side of things a bit more. I don't have monitor headphones or speakers, just measly JBL extra bass in ear earphones, they're pretty shit . Getting monitor headphones hopefully next week .

[TrojakEW]

CONS: and the "Hey Mickey your so fine" drums could use some work.

Don't have clue what doeas it mean?

[TheNeverScene]

Hi everyone, this has been very enjoyable. I'm a terrible judge, and my top 3 are a toss up that basically came down to which ones I came back to more for a listen.

10 pts: FixInTheMix
the good: very soulful laid back track, crusty but still clean, nice transitions and leads, modern tune that I could hear with some vocals
the almost good: somewhat dry, but that's just taste, a little too much "air" in that one lead

9 pts: TrojakEW
the good: great instrumentation, nice cinematic drums, lots of expression, loved the 9/4 towards the end and the bass riff
the almost good: the drums in the cruising (Tony Basil section seemed a little mushy, bass tone seemed thin and a little honky at times

8 pts: VCA-089
the good: great mix and sound design, very big and full, loved the almost clavinet plucks, sounds like you put the awesome Xenoverb to the test
the almost good: track lacked a melody, just sort of went on without getting anywhere (not really a bad thing if that was what you were going for)

7 pts: Leonard Bowman
the good: nice composition with some great structure and chord changes, very interesting and enjoyable listen
the almost good: some of the melodies seems a little noodly, there was some low mid resonance that was making things fight at times, drums were a bit buried (except the crashes

6 pts: JonnyHoff
the good: dark and atmospheric, cool pads, loved those "hey"s, interesting panning ideas
the almost good: the bass is swallowing up everything, wish it had more melodic content

5 pts: MarkS
the good: weird and dissonant, liked the little wobbly strings chord/pad, definitely growing on me
the almost good: I didn't feel like there was much sample mangling, I could be wrong though

[Mister Fox]

It is the 02nd February 2019, 2:25am GMT+1/CET - the voting and feedback period has officially ended

Everyone has given feedback and cast their vote. Therefore we have no disqualification.
I will be posting the official result ts later tonight (not an automated process!).


In the meantime, SWC018 is in full swing - please spread the word:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=197

[Mister Fox]

Ladies and Gentlemen, here are the results of Songwriting Competition 17

The winners podium consists of:

1. VCA-089 (55 pts)
2. TheNeverScene (53 pts)
3. TrojakEW (50 pts)

<4 participant rule is not in use (staff comments and votes)
We have no disqualifications
"Sole (License) Winner" rule applies




Here are the results as chart in image form:




Thank you so much for your participation.



License selection:

We'll now perform with the usual. Since the "Sole (License) Winner" rule applies, only the top spot can select something from the license pool. Selecting licenses is handled in public, please. After that, please get in touch with me (via PM) with your contact data and what license you picked. In case of the "Bjulin Waves" sponsorship - the winners podium (in case of MC017, the sole winner) can additionally select one "Inspire Me" package on top of the license selection (please mention that in the PM).

As usual - you're not forced to pick up anything. You can pass and therefore offer more to select for the next person in line (if there is a spot existing / not available for "sole winner" mechanic). Just let all participants/winners/the staff know in a timely manner.



Feedback about the "Songwriting Competition" is welcome (please do so here).

See you in in the next challenge!