SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC020 April 2019 - Winners announced

[Marc Rapture]

What's up Everyone!

Here's my take on the "Big Beat" Electronica genre. I tried to capture some of the sampling and resampling styles of live instruments and chop (edit) up the vocals and drums. Awesome Challenge Mister Fox. It was good to revisit the classics! Anyways, I hope you enjoy my track, thanks!

Good Luck Everybody!


My Track: "NXT Level"
https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6v134hzeuv4u ... l.wav?dl=0


DAW: Ableton Live 10 Suite

Samples Used:
“Next Level” Vocal Sample by Cymatics
“Guitar Heavy Rock Melody” From Ableton Live Beat Tools Sample Pack

VST’s:
NI Reaktor 6
NI FM 8
A1 Trigger Gate

Mastering:
UA Teletronix LA-2A
Ableton Live 10 Multi-band Comp
Youlean Loudness Meter 2

[functionform]

Well this was very fun. It's nice to kick off the shackles of no extreme effects from the OSCs.

Reaper 5.974
Beats: OrganicDrumLoops.com (free!)
Samples: 80s Kung Fu movie (obviously uncleared)
Synths/Instruments: Emily Clean Guitar (via Take 1 sf import), TAL-Bassline, and Atlas Sampler.
Effects: Guitar Rig 5, Soundtoys Decapitator, FabFilter Pro-Q, Soundtoys Echoboy Jr. Lexicon LXP Verbs here and there.

I didn't bother with finding cleared kung fu samples since I found the movie in complete on Youtube and it looks like it's been sitting there for a while. I decided on using a Kung Fu movie when I realized a few tracks from Prodigy actually used Kung Fu samples as percussive elements. That opened the door to gongs, and a few extreme effects.

The main guitar was a free sfz which I distorted resampled etc till I got it. The end prodigy-esque sound was from the TAL-Bassline. The original seemed very SH-101 to me so I thought it was a good candidate to use. It's more an homage to Prodigy there than me using that sound effectively.

Drum loops weren't as jungle as I wanted so I really spent the majority of the time futzing with loops from the organics site and getting the swing I wanted. If I had more time I would have had some more beat variety but I was working towards a better sample workflow during this track, but I'm happy with it. Sounds authentic to the period to my ears which is what I usually go for.

Enjoy! I'll read up on rules and voting etc. Not sure what I need to do by when but I'll figure it out. Thanks for hosting these!

My entry:
https://soundcloud.com/functionform/buddha-be-praised

[Mellow Browne]

My entry:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AB4Yvm ... sp=sharing

VSTs
Battery 4
Alchemy
Sylenth1

FXs
Echoboy Jr.
NI RC 48

I used some old samples I found on my hard drive, I focused on a driving groove so picked this drum loop and added some vocal chops.

Sorry for this late entry

[functionform]

SWC000_ArtistName_TrackName.wav

For file name, can there be spaces in TrackName? Or should it be collapsed?

[Mister Fox]

It is the 25th April 2019, 2:45am GMT+1/CET - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

Hello and welcome to all new contestants.

We had 12 participants, which is 1 entry less compared to last month (13 entries). (if I didn't miscount, that is)
The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply
"Sole Winners Podium" rule (equal or less than seven participants results in a single winner) does not apply. (regular 3-position Winners Podium)

There were no productions submitted after the deadline.



How do we go from there?

Over the course of the next (hopefully) 24-48 hours, I'll gather all links into one post and hot-link to that from the first post of the thread. So please, check your links again. Mistakes and hiccups do happen on the internet. We then perform with the "public vote" system.


We have 12 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 11 tracks, the staff will not cast a balance vote.

Keep in mind of the overhaul of the Rules and Guidelines. As long as we're not exceeding 20 participants, let's give feedback to all participants and(!) cast your vote for all of them.

The Top 25 list (or in this case, your top 11) can look something like this:

01 (11 pts) - Mr Moon
02 (10 pts) - Mr Sun
03 (9 pts) - Mrs Venus
04 (8 pts) - Mr Mars and his companions
05 (7 pts) - Mr Hale-Bopp
06 (6 pts) - The Rings of Saturn
07 (5 pts) - Mrs Gaia
08 (4 pts) - Cassini–Huygens
09 (3 pts) - Mr Pluto (I feel sorry for you)
10 (2 pts) - "Planet Nine"
11 (1 pts) - Alpha Centauri

How your voting could look like, please take a look at these posts (sans the technical information):
viewtopic.php?p=2311#p2311
viewtopic.php?p=2478#p2478
viewtopic.php?p=2819#p2819
viewtopic.php?p=3522#p3522

It is also recommended to cast your vote in collective form through the "Spoiler" tag:

Code: Select all

[spoil]01 participant
02 participant
03 participant[/spoil]

Please use the username of the participant to make it easier during the score collection to address what vote belongs to whom.



Please also take note of the Rules and Guidelines (on giving feedback (mandatory for all participants, failing to do so results in a disqualification).

Feedback from non-participants is highly encouraged (voting not needed!). Musicians and Engineers are always after constructive criticism. This is what this forum is about.



If you have an idea for a theme/genre or want to see a specific theme tackled in the future, please voice your opinion here:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=168

Have some general feedback? Please voice your feedback/opinion/concerns here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=97



Please have an eye on this thread!

[Mister Fox]

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Wednesday, 01-MAY-2019 11:59pm GMT+2/CEST latest


There is a GLOBAL COUNTDOWN to check for deadlines.
Just follow this link: Global Countdown (on homepage)



Here is the collection of productions from all participants (in hope that I didn't forget anyone). As usual, if you click on the small upwards-arrow right beside the quoted name, you can jump to the original post and read up on the documentation for this production.


.

"Heavy Exhale"

"2nd step"

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/5v7jrah4dz6s4 ... p.WAV?dl=0

"Little Racer"

"Assemble"

"Weapon of Choice"

"Experience"

"Sharper Knife"



MP3: https://drive.google.com/open?id=156P1E ... Hpl5_yC5k1
FLAC: https://drive.google.com/open?id=18op1V ... hI2VDWJxiQ

"The Virus"

"I am donkey, you are not donkey"

mp3: http://www.bennyleeds7.myfreeola.uk/swc ... donkey.mp3

"NXT Level"

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/x6v134hzeuv4u ... l.wav?dl=0

"Buddha be praised"

"Flint Eastwood"

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1AB4Yvm ... sp=sharing

.


Please consult the last post of how your vote could look like (which links to more sources). And to make it simple for me for counting the votes - please use the usernames in your listing. Thank you!

To make it easier on yourself, and more helpful for each participant, maybe focus on the overall production value. What you really liked with the song, what you'd like to see improved, etc.

SWC012 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) and casting your Top 11 vote is mandatory, else you will be disqualified.


Good luck to all participants!

[Shiftdelete]

"Heavy Exhale" by JILLIAM
Keep working on your composition. There's nothing that really catches my (the listener's) attention. Writing good melodies and programming intriguing sequences takes time and practice and I encourage you to keep practicing. (Side note: I never liked the sound of FL Slayer, heh)

"2nd step" by MarkS
Lovely pad sound at the beginning. Hearing a bunch of false notes at 0:42 onward. Percussion is pretty dull, lacks energy. The piano notes at 1:44 are off key. I like the little effect noises you've added to the track. In fact most of the melodies in the track are off key. Work on your composition and maybe study music theory.

"Little Racer" by TrojakEW
I like the arpeggio sequence starting at 1:33 and the short voice slices. Nice drum and percussion programming although I question your choice of going with half-time beats, with this supposedly being a big beat/breakbeat competition. You seem to have some years of practice under your belt. Keep practicing and evolving.

"Assemble" by ANTHEMIC
The intro is really nice and the harmonic melody at 3:01 is good. The track leaves me wanting to hear more interesting drum and percussion programming and bass sequencing. As it is, the track works well enough, although it gets dull.

"Weapon of Choice" by Leonard Bowman
Drums and percussion is spastic and cool. The breakdown at 2:18 is all over the place, hah. Work on your song skills. =)

"Experience" by -kx
Now this is proper oldschool biz. Good and simple bassline that drives the track forward, emulated squelchy 303 sounds, riding the cutoff, sick synth FX, slick filter play. This is plain good. I'd say work on your mixing. For example, the low-end in this track should be brought forward in the mix, since right now it's pretty weak.

"Sharper Knife" by toadhjo
Vocals perfectly suited for dark industrial music. Good. All in all pretty good track, I just wish the drum programming was more interesting. Right now it lacks percussion, there's practically only a snare and a kickdrum.

"I am donkey, you are not donkey" by donkey tugger
Very silly track, although probably the most big beat entry in the competition. Very good work, gets a lot of things very right, especially with the choice of sounds. Overall sound could probably be a little less squashed and the high-end could be trimmed, but it sounds pretty good as it is.

"NXT Level" by Marc Rapture
It builds itself into... Barely anything. Was expecting something more at 1:08. The track's alright... But merely alright. There really isn't anything there to catch and hold my attention. Keep practicing.

"Buddha be praised" by functionform
I like the overall sound of this one. I'm hearing a click from the breakbeat sample being retriggered(?). I think this track could definitely be developed into a very cool track. It feels like groundwork, or a sketch.

"Flint Eastwood" by Mellow Browne
The intro drags on a bit. The high-frequency "string" sound is too shrill. Nice effects. Track's dull though. Not much there to keep me interested in hearing how it develops. Keep practicing.

► Show Spoiler

01 (11pts) - "I am donkey, you are not donkey" by donkey tugger
02 (10pts) - "Experience" by -kx
03 (9pts) - "Sharper Knife" by toadhjo
04 (8pts) - "Little Racer" by TrojakEW
05 (7pts) - "Assemble" by ANTHEMIC
06 (6pts) - "Weapon of Choice" by Leonard Bowman
07 (5pts) - "Buddha be praised" by functionform
08 (4pts) - "Heavy Exhale" by JILLIAM
09 (3pts) - "Flint Eastwood" by Mellow Browne
10 (2pts) - "NXT Level" by Marc Rapture
11 (1pts) - "2nd step" by MarkS

[Leonard Bowman]

I've cast my votes, and updated the feedback a little bit.

-kx - Experience:
nice, excellent production, but there was nothing super memorable about this. Some sort of vocal or distinct melodic material would have tied the whole thing together nicely. And maybe a little more bass.

Mellow Browne - Flint Eastwood:
this was fun to listen to! Only thing is that I wish the overall mood of the piece matched the intensity of the opening sample. All in all, i thought this was a good track.

J I L L I A M - Heavy Exhale:
Gets a little too crushed at the end there IMO. It has strength for sure, but a little less distortion and a little more melodic material might have helped it out.

MarkS - 2nd Step:
I personally think this is a neat track with everything going on. I think it could have benefitted from some fills/risers/lead-ins to cue transitions. The beat is also a little on the small side for me. Heavier downbeats throughout and a more consistent structure overall would sell me on this one.
I think there are some good bits but overall the track needs a more defined musical progression between ideas and better mixing to bring the elements together.

TrojakEW - Little Racer:
This makes me SOOOOOOOO happy. The sounds and effects are really well thought out. Even though there is a lot going on here, I can hold on to the beat and at the end I still have parts of it stuck in my head. As weird as the baby samples are, they work really well for me.

Anthemic - Assemble:
I think this is a nice track, but it didn't have the right rhythm to feel "big beat" to me. More syncopation and layers and you'd have it. Also would benefit from a little more variation in the things happening.

Donkey Tugger - I am Donkey, you are not Donkey:
This is great. It's so different, in a good way. I'm not sure what to comment on it. It fits pretty well for me.

Marc Rapture - NXT Level:
I like the width of the percussion groove. I would have liked to see more melodic hooks in the groove, something else to anchor to so that the experimentation with the vocal sample complements the overall feeling better.

toadhjo - Sharper Knife:
Wow. I really got some The Prodigy-ness from this. The vocals work really well for me. all of the little things build to make this a solid track.

ShiftDelete - The Virus:
Loud and intense from the start, all in all really solid. Good sound design and movement. Maybe a tad too repetive for my personal taste but I'm fine with it for the genre.

functionform - Buddha Be Praised:
I like it! The sounds are neat and the groove is good. I would have liked to see a little more happening across the span of the piece (and maybe a slighty longer piece overall) though.

► Show Spoiler

11pts - toadhjo
10pts - shiftdelete
9pts - TrojakEW
8pts - Donkey Tugger
7pts - Mellow Browne
6pts - functionform
5pts - -kx
4pts - Marc Rapture
3pts - J I L L I A M
2pts - ANTHEMIC
1pt - MarkS

Well done, everyone. Hope y'all come back for another round!

[Mellow Browne]

To be honest, this is not my style of music, but I always knew „The Prodigy“ was something special, songs like „Firestarter“, „Breathe“, „Out of Space“ and „No good“ are absolute BANGERS!!!, even for a hip hop head like me. They always had that grimey/gangsta flavor which I still find very cool and exciting, so I took this „emotion“ as a reference.

I am not a fan, but I highly respect their art and music!

So, my aim was to look for that dark/grimey attitude in your productions. „The Prodigy“ is „straight in ya face“ music.

NOTE: please excuse any incorrect sentences/grammar mistakes but english is not my native language.

So, here is my vote (no offense intended, this is just my perception/impression and It might be totally wrong):

1 J I L L I A M „Heavy Exhale“

This composition is very dark and sounds almost just like noise to my ears, especially at the end. I can´t really follow any musical or rhythmical pattern, it feels like randomness to me. Sorry, but this is not what I have in mind when thinking of The Prodigy. The mix is very busy and not transparent, there is too much rumble and mud.

Needs more work, sounds very rough and demo-ish

2 MarkS „2nd step“

This is another example of „random notes“. There is no interesting musical pattern and the song is way too long. There is nothing to say against 1 chord songs, but this chord lacks of tension, it sounds very boring, maybe because there is no groove to it ( i.e. arpeggiated or gated groove) or another key. You tried to bring in some life with the piano chords and the different synth sounds, but I find them more distracting, they don´t really follow the main key of the song/chord.

Needs more musicality/vibe

3 TrojakEW „Little Racer“

You have that recognizable „kid´s toy“ trademark sound at the beginning and throughout the whole production, that seems to be your trademark (you used something similar in a previous SWC if I am right). Those racing car sounds really fit the title „Little Racer“

I really like the first part of the production, it has „that“ drive to it. The transition is nice, my only problem is that it „stays“ in that musical emptiness, a re-transition to the main theme would have been really cool, maybe adding some more synths to really „beef up“. In this case, it ends too abrupt to me.

All in all a good production.

4 ANTHEMIC „Assemble“

Nice ambient intro, I like the pad chords seeking for resolution, and then finally this driving drum groove and bass synth. Catchy main theme, you have a good sense of musicality and also the arrangement is interesting enough, so it´s easy to listen to the whole song.

I find the mix/master has a tiny bit too much low end, but it is still transparent and one can easily differentiate each single instrument.

I like the production, my only problem is it doesn’t sound like „The Prodigy“ to me, I don´t feel that dark vibe, it is too „Pop/Electro Pop“ and shiny to my ears.

All in all a good production

5 Leonard Bowman „Weapon of Choice“

I don´t know what to say here, there is such a huge „cut“ with this long transition, it almost feels like 2 different productions packed together in one. There is a lot of musical „randomness“ in this production, the drum samples sound very cheap and they lack of punch, also the bass synth is too loud compared to the rest.

The „musical gap“ between the main theme and the transition is too much for me, it feels so disconnected to each other.
Ok, there are some „nice“ chords in the transition I sort of like, because they remind me a bit of Neo Soul/R&B, but this transition part is really out of place in this production.

Needs more musical integribilety

6 minuskx „Experience“

This production has a certain „Wipeout/Sim City“ background music character, I´m sure the older guys remember those games back in the days.

It is a solid production, but I don´t really feel the „Prodigy“ vibe in here, it is too wavy and friendly (and I thought my production was too wavy), especially with this chill lounge-ish chord, I am missing the musical aggressivness and tension/drama, I find it to be very boring. Don´t get me wrong, as I said, it works as background music/for entertainment purposes in a game, but it is not a musical pleasure. But I still mean it as a compliment!

All in all a good production

7 toadhjo „Sharper Knife“

This is not really „musical randomness“, but it is stuck between „2 <chords>“ with no huge resolution/tension and the whole production lays in a more insignificant area of musical delight. I know, it´s really hard to create some sort of coolness by simplicity (which, I think, was THE main characteristic of „The Prodigy“ ), but I really find it to be more on the boring side of life. To me, the knife isn´t sharp enough.

Needs more vibe/musicality.

8 Shiftdelete „The Virus“

I´m torn between „Prodigy or not Prodigy“ on this one. The drums do have the energy, but the main theme is a bit in „musical no mans land“, maybe it is because of the glitchy chords you used. Yes, it all makes sense in a musical way, but it doesn’t´ guides me in any specific direction, only the bass gives the whole thing its musicality. Or maybe it is simply because of the key of the song, but I don´t feel that grimey tension.
It has a slight touch of „gaming music“, so take it as a compliment!

All in all a good production

9 donkey tugger „ i am donkey, you are not donkey“

To be honest, I had high expectations when I read your name but I am a bit disappointed on this one, but it is just a personal taste. Don´t get me wrong, you really make great sounding music (at least what I have heard from your entries @ SWC so far) and this makes it really hard to judge, but this song is way too catchy/poppy to my ears. I thought you would „smack my bitch up“ with your entry but she is really missing that „gangsta vibe“ here because it´s too soft. I don´t hear/can´t feel that „grime“ in your production. This one feels more like pop music to me.
If I am allowed to say, I really can hear your skills/talent/potential/musicality etc., you absolutely know what you are doing. But sorry to say, the only thing that convinced me was the technical/conical (is this the correct word?) side in your production. Again, your entry could be a little longer (same case in a previous SWC), it feels like a shorter version of an existing song.

Well done (it´s just not my taste)!

10 Marc Rapture „NXT Level“

Hmm, all I can say is - check your fundamental before going to the next level. What do I mean? A one note bass song can work, but you don´t even have real chords in your song, those are more or less the same notes +/-1 octave but just with different guitar sounds, plus you are in the key of C, if I´m not wrong. Dude, this is really boring, nothing happens here. I´m totally missing any highlight, there is absolutely no tension in this piece of music.

Needs more vibe/musicality

11 functionform „Buddha be praised“

It has some of that dark ambience I was looking for, but I´m missing the „oomph“ and drive, the drum section is very „laid back“, it has no punch plus it sounds very muffled and tiny compared to the other elements. It sounds not finished yet, so I would like to know if you could do it „better“…
It is not really „Prodigy“ to my ears, but it definitly has some of that grime vibe.

In sum, it sounds more like a demo and needs more work.


Ok, so here we go:

11 pts TrojakEW
10 pts: ANTHEMIC
9 pts: Shiftdelete
8 pts: minuskx
7 pts: donkey tugger (because of your production skills)
6 pts: functionform (I can „feel“ the vibe)
5 pts: toadhjo
4 pts: Marc Rapture
3 pts: Leonard Bowman
2 pts: MarkS
1 pt: J I L L I A M

Hope this makes sense. Good luck to all!

[MarkS]

feedback in random order:

Leonard Bowman, your song is pretty catchy but the bass plays alone. so i think you should add a synth in high octave or a pad,
to work with it. to me the track sounds that lacks something.

Marc Rapture, your track sounds like was produced back in the days. i think you need no change to make in the track as a
composition, maybe some effects can be added.

Mellow Browne, the new instrument part that starts at 2:10( i don't understand what it is),i think i should be a bit louder to
have some presence in track.the song is very promising.

Shiftdelete, your song is very loud , i think it will sound good too with some decibels lower than actual volume.
this is your first entry, but in rules says"It is recommended to not go higher than -14LUFS SLk (avg) or K-12v1 (avg) in terms of
perceived loudness''. So please stick to them. Also you song keeps tension for long. i know it is big beat , but a breakdown or a bit longer break will do the work.

donkey tugger, song is good ,but i think maybe it needs some more verses for vocals. as example i think of junkie xl-zerotonine track.
the bass/guitar pattern from start seems like fat boy slim-push the tempo track, but you added some delay to it.

functionform, i think your track too needs a breakdown as the drums make a energy track, but the tension ends only at the end .
seeing your song title i think you wanted to show an ritual drum played by some monk.so i propose to add this gong drum from
start at this breakdown too. and it should play alone the drum pattern of your song. maybe you will not agree, but this way i hear it.

JILLIAM, your second part of song becomes too boring as a matter of synths.a new instrument will make it more interesting. the drums sound a bit distorted especially crash cymbals.

minuskx, the acid bass makes track sound like old days of rave. it sounds very good, but maybe you can add some female vocals,
with some reverb. also to me it sounds a bit like a trance song.

TrojakEW, i think you can start song with these words:''ready, steady, go... '' or ''counting down to start, three, two , one, go...''
and end the song with '' ladies and gentlemans we have a winner...''. Also you can add '' one more turn to go...''.
this is how i hear your track.

ANTHEMIC, your song sounds like a dance/club track. i think you can change drums rhytm, to make it sound a bit more big beat.
Also you can increase your tempo a bit too.

toadhjo, your song fits right to this month theme, i have nothing to add.

the top:

► Show Spoiler

1.toadhjo-11 points.
2.minuskx-10points.
3.donkey tugger-9 points.
4.Mellow Browne-8 points.
5.TrojakEW-7 points.
6.Leonard Bowman-6 points.
7.Marc Rapture-5 points.
8.functionform-4 points.
9.Shiftdelete-3 points.
10.JILLIAM-2 points.
11.ANTHEMIC-1 point.