SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC021 May 2019 - Winners announced

[Leonard Bowman]

It was really nice to not feel the need to over-do it this month. The last three have been really heavy and big, so this was a welcome change of pace.

Presenting: "The Last Minute"


Instruments:
I dug out the whole catalog of Full Bucket emulations.
FB-3100
Nabla
Stigma x 4
Deputy
Mono/Fury x 2

Drums:
The Wave Alchemy free LinnDrum tape samples.
One Small Clue Grace x 8
ReaGate x 2, Freeverb3 ProG x 2, ReaComp x 2 (gated reverb for the win)

Vocals:
Yup, that's me. Not my finest singing nor lyric-writing, but hey; I finished.
ReaGate, Airwindows DeEss, VoS Thrillseeker XTC, Stillwell Exciter, Freeverb3 ProG, ReaDelay, ReaComp

Other Effects:
minimal automation
Stillwell 3x3 EQ x 11
Airwindows BitShiftGain x 4
ReaDelay
TAL Chorus-60
ReaEQ
Airwindows MV (this thing was a devil to control but it does have an interesting sound for a reverb)

Mastering:
TDR/VoS SlickEQ
VladG Limiter No6
MLoudness Analyzer and MAnalyzer

Enjoy!

[TheNeverScene]

Hi everyone, here is my submission title Leg Warmers. This was a lot a fun and brought back some great memories.

wav: https://www.dropbox.com/s/etnhbzxmoixe1 ... s.wav?dl=0
mp3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ft5ohx2tz2uf ... s.mp3?dl=0

DAW: Reaper
Guitar: Fender Tele partscaster with dead strings :/, SoftAmp FM (Fender Sim)
Vsti's: VProm, Hexagon '85, Tal Uno LX (80% of the sounds), Dexed, Emulator 1, Tal Sampler (some percussion from the huge KB6 archives), OB-Xd
Mix/FX VST: ReaEQ, PTEq-X, ADHD Leveling Tool, Valhalla Vintage Verb, Valhalla Space Modulator, Tritik EChorus, VoS NastyDLA, DD Reverb, Reelbus 3, Hornet Tape, RadioFX, Izotope 7 Standard

Added a Soundcloud link:

[canese]

Hello guys and girls, here is my upload:

It's one of my firsts attempts to create an original 80's vibe in a song.

I started listening to the references and great tutorials from Espen Kraft.
The song is 83 bpm and in Fm, the chord progression in the verses is: Eb-Bbm-Db-Ab
And in the chorus is: Fm-Db-Ab-Eb

I followed by selecting softsynths, found some good presets and turned down or up some knobs to get it more the way I wanted. I've used NI's massive and kontakt 5 for the bass and drums. Korg's M1 for the high pitch lead and added a flanger and delay. And Fl Studio's Toxic byohazard for pads and Sytrus for solo instruments.
I added some drum samples to compliment the snare and high hat and some SFXs here and there. I don't think I got the kick the correct way, it sounds to EDM to me :/

Overall, I'm happy with the results for a 1 day composition, but, sometimes, I find it hard to capture the feeling or techniques of a genre and not sound like something already done.

[canese]

Hi everyone, here is my submission title Leg Warmers. This was a lot a fun and brought back some great memories.

wav: https://www.dropbox.com/s/etnhbzxmoixe1 ... s.wav?dl=0
mp3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ft5ohx2tz2uf ... s.mp3?dl=0

DAW: Reaper
Guitar: Fender Tele partscaster with dead strings :/, SoftAmp FM (Fender Sim)
Vsti's: VProm, Hexagon '85, Tal Uno LX (80% of the sounds), Dexed, Emulator 1, Tal Sampler (some percussion from the huge KB6 archives), OB-Xd
Mix/FX VST: ReaEQ, PTEq-X, ADHD Leveling Tool, Valhalla Vintage Verb, Valhalla Space Modulator, Tritik EChorus, DD Reverb, Reelbus 3, Hornet Tape, RadioFX, Izotope 7 Standard

awsome track! Great job. I love the percussion in this

[TheNeverScene]

awsome track! Great job. I love the percussion in this

Thanks! I like yours too.....actually all of the tracks I've heard so far are pretty incredible, gonna be a tough vote.

Hey, make sure you add some track info. Not sure how in depth it needs to be.....some are detailed, others not so much, but you probably want to include some on your song post.

[Mister Fox]

It is the 25th April 2019, 1:30am GMT+1/CET - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

Hello and welcome to all new contestants.

We had 10 participants, which is 2 entries less compared to last month (12 entries) - kind of unexpected.
The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply (exception: see below!)
"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 10 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 9 tracks, the staff will notcast a balance vote. (exception to the rule: see below!)

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 20 list (or in this case, your top 9) can look something like this:

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

IMPORTANT:
Due to the "month exclusive sponsorship" (and their value), I (as host) will give feedback and cast a vote, plus my votes will count double in the final results.


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!

[Leonard Bowman]

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

...


Due to the "month exclusive sponsorship", you will get feedback from the staff (me), plus this particular top 10 vote will count double (which can completely shift the endresult)

1) i think you missed a number change there...

2) that sentence was a tad unclear to me: I'm reading this as "there is a staff vote that will count twice as much in the final standings."

I'm okay with the staff vote, thanks for letting us know though!

[Mister Fox]

Thanks for spotting this

1) I'm only human, and most of the text blocks at this point are copy/paste. I still have to edit things manually, but I'll sort it out.

2) I made everyone aware about this on 18th May already, two days after the new sponsorship announcement
viewtopic.php?p=4919#p4919


I'll get to the edits ASAP

[Mister Fox]

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Saturday, 01-JUN-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 - which I can highly recommend this month.


.

"The Lady Vanishes"

MP3: http://www.bennyleeds7.myfreeola.uk/swc ... nishes.mp3

"Psycholove"

Wav: https://www.dropbox.com/s/xsw9eqfnj7ba8 ... e.wav?dl=0

"Happy Journey"

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/uawdc8d56k9ri ... y.wav?dl=0

"Winds of Spring"



FLAC: https://drive.google.com/open?id=150-La ... Fn4K_D39Tk
MP3: https://drive.google.com/open?id=1yGkzp ... YOf4-xJL8E

"Burning Down the Night"

MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/gvo4ybm16x8jn ... t.mp3?dl=0
WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/i5wptvswarup1 ... t.wav?dl=0

"Driveway"

Wav: https://soundcloud.com/user-253743970/s ... t-driveway

"River"

"The Last Minute"

"Leg Warmers"



mp3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/4ft5ohx2tz2uf ... s.mp3?dl=0
wav: https://www.dropbox.com/s/etnhbzxmoixe1 ... s.wav?dl=0

"Masterpopp"

.


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.

SWC021 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) and casting your Top 9 vote is mandatory, else you will be disqualified.


Good luck to all participants!

[canese]

Sorry for my english, but here are my feedbacks:

donkey tugger "The Lady Vanishes"

Excelent arrangement and vocal melody also. I hear gorillaz and I like it. The guitars in this are awsome, loved the delay effect when everything stops and the guitars stays. Very very professional, nothing much I can add here but keep the good work, donkey.

GIANCARLO "Psycholove"

Nice and catchy lyrics. Sounds like a perfect 80s pop song to me. I like the how the bass moves, it keeps every thing flows almost effortless.

MarkS "Happy Journey"

Bass should be more present. It gets repetitive after a while. Maybe changing rhythm keeping the same notes or changing notes.
Drums high hats are a little to present, maybe 3-4 dBs lower and less reverb. And perhaps they are off tune with the song key.
I like the organ sound and the counterpoint it makes with 4/4 drums. There are some volume cuts that are too harsh but i balance in the mix is okay, only lacks a little bit of low end frecuencies.

VCA-089 - Winds Of Spring

Very cool sounds in this song. Drums are nice and steady and all synths are well designed. Only critics is to guitars, its cabinet makes them very chorusy and trapped, I would've opted for a more open and clearer sound. Finally, I feel that when the bass enters with the drums it begins. Intro is long, it's almost like another song.

erictracks "Burning Down the Night"

Great production in general! Sound in the bass is god tier and those arps also! Reminds me a lot of bill wurtz.
I like the harmony, it's so fresh and new.The melodies also captures your ears and guides you. I'm not a fan of the voice melodies in the verse but in the chorus it goes great with the vibe.

SimaGT - Driveway


Great song! Drums are awsome, that toms dance at the end it's very nicely done. Bass maybe needs more decay to fill the low end while the kick is not there.

functionform "River"

Good balance and stereo imaging here. Bass sounds little muddy and sometimes gets lost with arps beeing a little low pitch also. I think the voice is drown in too much reverb, and some times sounds sour with pitch not being autotuned.

Leonard Bowman"The Last Minute"

I loved it from the begining! Nice structure and arrangement. Felt like I was in "metal slug". Great work!

TheNeverScene "Leg Warmers"

Great vibe and composition! Almost like a conversation between synths. I was very entretained by all the different instruments and how they fit each one in the song. And the low end of this song gives it a lot of power. Very well done!

Vote:

► Show Spoiler

01 TheNeverScene - 10pts
02 SigmaGT - 09 pts
03 donkey tugger - 08pts
04 eritracks - 07 pts
05 psycholove - 06 pts
06 VCA-089 - 05 pts
07 Leonard Bowman - 04 pts
08 functionform - 03 pts
09 MarkS - 02 pts