Mix Challenge

Hello everybody,

this is my entry for this month's competition: The Sleeping Beast



The .wav is here:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EiEtfp ... drive_link

Imagine you're sleeping in an old Victorian villa. A grandfathers clock is ticking. There are heavy steps on the stairways. You lie paralysed in bed, because you can hear the beast breathing underneath. You know the beast is sleeping now, but if it awakes, it will hurt you and tear your mind apart.

I think most of us have some kind of experience that sleeps like the beast in the back of our minds, waiting to be remembered and awakened, ready to hurt us. Let's hope our mind never wanders where the beast sleeps.

Tools used:
DAW: Ableton Live

Drums: Native Instruments Action Strikes, Taiko Massive Ensemble

"Ticking clock": Cymatics Sample "Can't believe it's not butter"

Bass: Native Instruments Session Strings Pro 2 "Basses Modern", saturated with Native Instruments Driver

Stabbing Violins: Native Instruments Action Strings

Piano: Sonivox EightyEight, doubled, panned about 75% left and right, detuned about 5 cents

Breath of the sleeping beast: MNTRA MNDALA 2, Oracle X default patch, made mono with Ableton Live "Utility", saturated with Softubes SaturationKnob

Metallic background noises: MNTRA MNDALA 2, Oracle X "Metal Azerat" patch

Trumpet: Native Instruments Session Horns Pro "Muted Trumpet", recorded in Ableton and sent through Unfiltered Audio "BYOME", "Simple filtered delay"-preset to make it sound a little more unreal

Master bus:
Hornet ThirtyOneMK2 EQ
TBProAudio Isol8 to check for frequency problems
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
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 HD 681 headphones for mixing

FLAC | MP3

"There is someone outside the window at night, peeking through half-open blinds. Somebody is following you on the dark alley. Some one's eyes watching you from afar in the light of day. Is it all true, or is it just your imagination? You don't feel safe anymore, even at your home. "Persecutory delusion", that's how it is called..."

It's quite funny that mental issues month is followed by a horror themed month. Why not combine both? Phobias, delusions and panic attacks are particularly interesting topics.

Instruments & techniques:

1. "Addictive Drums 2" used for all percussion sounds (Boutique Mallets drum kit);
2. The distorted bass guitar is IK's "Modo Bass";
3. The synth parts are from "K1v" (vox drone, glass pad, flute, strings, breath and gong sound effects), an emulation of Kawai K1 synthesizer. I particularly like it for the creepy lo-fi sound;
4. The synth arpeggio is U-He's "Repro-1";
5. The piano is SampleScience "Pastoral Piano";
6. The "Orchestra Hit" sound comes from FLEX (General MIDI library);
7. Eventide's "Blackhole" used as a main reverb;
8. Some of the sounds passed through Walhalla's "FreqEcho", a frequency shifted delay that creates background soundscapes.

Technical details:

A friendly reminder:
We're in the final 24 hours to submit your production.



Please get your production ready and submitted (through the forum) today.

And to make it easier for me to create the collection post, please update your initial post with the appropriate links (final version), or explicitly mark your entry as "final entry". Thank you.

If I didn't miscount, we have 5 entries so far.

Hi folks,

Unfortunately, I had to miss a few months. I was very sorry, especially for the video game soundtrack competition in July. It was a very good competition, congratulations to Mister Fox for putting together the material, it was a great inspiring pictures and exercise. I was very sorry not to be able to participate.
I hope I won't have to miss so much in the future.

My current "song" isn't really a song, just some dark ambient I put together today.
I used many of the effects from my Phase Plant presets (made for the January 2021 sample challenge). Birds, noise, wind, knocks etc.
I tried to create an atmosphere under an imaginary film scene.

Ghostly
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1D1Gmda ... sp=sharing

VST:
Spitfire BBC Symphony Core
Spitfire Epic Choir
Spitfire LABS
PhasePlant
Kontakt (Vocalise, Oceania, Factory)

FX:
Pro-Q3
UAD 1176 RevA
Blackhole
TaiChi

TDR SlickEQ M
UAD Fairchild 670
Sonnox Inflator
Ozone Maximizer
SPAN
Youlean LM

I am extending the SWC074 submission period until 25-OCT-2023 03:00 UTC+2/CEST. That is about 1:10 hours from now.

We currently have 6 entries. This would result in a slightly more complicating voting mechanic. If we can reach/exceed 7 entries however, things will be simpler to handle due to the "tiered mechanic". If we reach/exceed 9 entries, we even open up the podium to a 3-position one.

Those that submit within this time frame, will not get a points penalty.


Have fun!
See you after the extended deadline!

It is the 25th October 2023, 03:35 UTC+2/CEST - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 06 submissions this month (1 entry less than last month, and also 6 entries less than October 2022)
• We have 0 submissions after the deadline (as of 25-OCT-2023 03:30 UTC+2/CEST)
• We have 0 submissions that has been disqualified (production released outside of the game's timeframe)
• We have 0 submissions that has been withdrawn
• The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply -- but special game mechanics do apply
• "Sole Winners Podium" rule (equal or less than eight participants results in a single winner) does apply (1-position Winners Podium)

How do we go from there?

Over the course of the next (hopefully) 24-48 hours (usually up to 6-12 hours maximum after the game has ended), I'll gather all links into one post and hot-link to that from the first post of the thread. Please, no more changes to your entries, but please do check your links that these entries are accessible and downloadable. We then perform with the final feedback and "public vote" system.


We have 6 official participants. We are adapting the overhauled vote mechanic, as talked about in the following news blog:

Songwriting Competition - game mechanic changes: Voting Process (October 2022 Update)
(Info: I am aware that the Rule Book has not been properly updated yet. Time constraints, apologies for the inconvenience)


Summarized:

!

Bonus Info

Unfortunately, the "tiered mechanic" does not apply this month. Participants can (and must) vote for all entries (this is due to low participation). You're furthermore asked to please reflect on your experience this month (2-3 paragraphs max), what you have learned, what you would like to do different in the future, etc. (personal growth) You are also asked to give feedback to every entry (low participation mechanic) -- things that stood out to you, providing some final thoughts and constructive feedback for possible improvements. This adds to the learning experience of our community. The additional bonus points for more constructive feedback than the minimum (part of the tiered mechanic) does not apply this month. Please still write more than just "I enjoyed this song". The "Voting Process" mechanic is mandatory for all participants, and the only criteria to drop out of the game by not partaking. The overall "Bonus Point" mechanic still applies. Please update your posts with proper production documentation, most notably regarding whom you have collaborated with (as in: proper credits -- not doing so will result in a 2pt deduction on the score sheet at the end of the game). You got until the voting period has ended. Please cast your vote (not the feedback) in collective form through the "spoiler text" bbcode (button on the WYSIWYG editor that features the orange triangle with an exclamation mark in it). Please use the forum username of the participant to make it easier during the score collection to address what vote belongs to whom.

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⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	For transparency: The staff (Mister Fox) will not give feedback to all entries and/or cast a vote this month. (unless there is a tie that can not be broken otherwise)

Feedback from non-participants and/or collaborators is highly encouraged (voting not needed!). The same goes for entries after the deadline, or those that sadly do not count for the current running game (even if you've exceeded the deadline, why not post your entry regardless?). Musicians and Engineers are always after constructive criticism. This is what this forum is about.





Have some general feedback? Please provide that here:
Songwriting Competition - General Gossip Thread, or on Discord.



Please make sure your files are accessible, and please have an eye on this thread!

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Wednesday, 01-NOV-2023 23:59 UTC+1/CET 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.


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A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 15, 2023 22:17 CEST

"Behind The Scenes"

Doc Jon wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 15, 2023 23:51 CEST

"Behind You"

EsteveCorbera wrote: ↑

Mon Oct 16, 2023 23:49 CEST

"Crescendo Terrorific"

KukoBass wrote: ↑

Sat Oct 21, 2023 21:37 CEST

"The Sleeping Beast"



WAV: Google Drive playback and download

VCA-089 wrote: ↑

Sun Oct 22, 2023 17:47 CEST

"Blinds"

FLAC: Google Drive playback and download
MP3: Google Drive playback and download

BONUS VIDEO:

► Show Spoiler

phpBB [media]

becsei_gyorgy wrote: ↑

Tue Oct 24, 2023 20:21 CEST

"Ghostly"

WAV: Google Drive playback and download

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WITHDRAWN (not participating - feel free to give feedback, but you sadly can not vote for these entries)


<no withdrawn entries>
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BONUS ENTRIES (submitted after the deadline - feel free to give feedback, but you sadly can not vote for these entries)


<no bonus entries>
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GAME MECHANIC SUMMARY:

Good luck to all participants!




If you have an idea for a future Songwriting Competition, please post about this in the theme/genre request page or on Discord.


Post updated: 25-OCT-2023 03:45 UTC+2/CEST

Hi all,

I haven't been participating in the songwriting competition, just didn't have inspiration for a song. But I just wanted to say that all of this months entries sound really interesting and reflect the theme very good. I liked listening to them. Good work everybody!

Cheers,

Jeroen

Hello everyone,

first, thanks to Mr. Fox for organizing this competition. I really liked the theme and the picture you chose to inspire us.

My experience this month:
I had a lot of fun writing this month's song because I had a vague idea how to write a dreadful song. I knew I wanted deep bowed Basses as a foundation. Also, I wanted dissonant string stabs like in the "Psycho"-Soundtrack. Drums were not so important for the feeling of the song, so I went with slow but heavy Taiko Drums from Native Instruments' Action Strikes. I added the piano, doubled it and decided to detune it some cents on one side to give it a little "off"-feeling.
For the first time, I experimented with the MNTRA MDALA engine. The user interface is a little strange and needs to get used to. They had two presets that I used as background effects, the monster's breath and the dissonant metallic pad.
What the song was missing was some musical idea. I first experimented with my electric guitar, but it changed the atmosphere of the song too much (think of the guitars on Tom Waits' "Rain Dogs"). I then experimented with the "Trumpet 2" from Native Instruments' "Session Horns Pro" but found it not haunting enough. In the end, I decided to go with the "Mute Trumpet" from "Session Horns Pro" (again) and ran it through Unfiltered Audio's "BYOME" with the "Simple filtered delay"-preset to give it a little of an unearthly feeling. And yes, it is the blues scale again (pentatonic scale + tritonus), so the melody will probably sound familiar. The horror part for me was playing a blues scale on the keyboard starting from c# (in the second part).


Feedback:
I will not comment on the mixes, as they all sounded great to me. The feedback is from a subjective listener's perspective.

A Future in Noise - Behind The Scenes
The song with its different parts sounds like the soundtrack to retro Halloween cartoons or a silent movie like "Nosferatu". The orchestral parts sound very classical.
The singing saw is a great idea for a Halloween theme, and its sounds fit perfectly to the song. It works best with the piano accompaniment.
I'm a little disappointed that the steps and the water drops aren't integrated later in the song.
All in all, a great soundtrack that fires up one's imagination of what is happening behind the scenes.

becsei_gyorgy - Ghostly
The song starts with a mixture of calming and disturbing sounds and noises and builds up tension slowly. The part after the sudden pause around 2:09 introduces a choir and melodic elements which don't really connect to the ambience before. I imagine someone slowly exploring an abandoned sawmill (metallic sounds) or an old church (choir) in the middle of dark woods.

Doc John - Behind You
Spooky! I like how you integrated the Foley sounds into the musical structure of the song. The hovering guitar sounds otherworldly. The combination of dissonant and harmonic sounds is masterful. I'd imagine it being the soundtrack of a ghost film with jump scares or a slasher movie like "Chucky" or "Scream".

Esteve Corbera - Crescendo Terrorific
Haunting! I like how the Foley sounds are integrated in the song. I like the glockenspiel melody against the dooming background drones. The upwards going chords increase the tension. The ending keeps me hanging in my chair: Will there be a loud effect at the end? I kind of expect it even after the song ended, which is good; it keeps the listener tense and engaged even after the end of the song.
I think of it as a soundtrack to a "murdered girl haunting the house she was murdered in" type of film.

VCA-089 aka Infravolt - Blinds
Unnerving! It builds up tension in the first part. I really like the masterful drone sounds and the drums and percussion. My main concern is that to me, the harmonies are meandering a bit around without leading somewhere. Partly that builds tension, but when the chords repeat, they leave the listener hanging.
I think the distorted bass sounds quite industrial together with the drums. Therefore, this song would be a great soundtrack for a horror game, a slasher flick or especially a Sci-Fi-Horror movie like the "Alien" films.


My Top 5:
Again, the songs were very close in quality and I liked them all, so it is difficult to rank them. The ranking is based on my gut feeling.

Things I have learned during this month’s competition:
This month I learned that a good DAW template is always worth saving as you never know when it may be required again. I made my entire track using the same template that I had created for a Halloween themed Songwriting Challenge from several years ago, using the same synth patches and samples to construct a brand new track in less than half the time it would have taken to start from nothing.
I also learned that it is difficult to create a convincing choral chant using samples alone, so burying it in the back of the mix is the best way to disguise its faults!


A Future In Noise: Behind The Scenes
Nice use of foley sounds in the intro. I would have panned the breathing along with the footsteps as it remained in the centre while the footsteps panned left to right. Your use of the saw as an instrument sound source is inspired and it fitted well with the idea of a soundtrack accompanying a cartoon. I could tell that the track was trying to tell a story but without the cartoon to watch at the same time it was difficult to tell where it was going in some parts

EsteveCorbera: Crescendo Terrorific
You have used an interesting selection of instruments in this track, including some that I had not heard of before, and got some impressive patches from them. The atmosphere is definitely one of fear and dread, enhanced by the spooky bells and the dissonant synth scales. Great arrangement overall with a building sense of anticipation as the track progressed. My only complaint with the mix would be the bells were too loud for my taste and would have been better pushed back in the mix but otherwise excellent track, well done

KukoBass: The Sleeping Beast
A very convincing sound for the monster breathing, very impressed that this came from a VST. I liked the arrangement and the instrumentation, The muted trumpet gave it an interesting ‘film noir’ horror feel. I would have preferred a little more reverb in the mix as most of the instruments sounded quite ‘dry’. The bass sound also seemed slightly panned to the right which I suspect is the default position for orchestral basses but in this instance where they are not part of a full orchestral mix I would probably have put them in the centre

VCA-089: Blinds
Very atmospheric track with impressive use of percussion and reverb spread throughout the whole stereo field. In fact I thought all the percussive elements were the strongest part of this production, I really liked the low pass filtered drum beat too. Ah, nostalgia, some of those synth patches reminded me very much of my old Kawai K1 which I sold on eBay about 25 years ago! The distorted bass which comes after 3:00 really adds to the sense of foreboding and menace in the track building to a suitably impressive finale with those final percussion flourishes. Nice track

Becsei Gyorgy: Ghostly
Another very atmospheric track which was particularly impressive considering the short time frame in which you put it together. That deep opening drone sound immediately conjures a real sense of dread. Some very impressive synth patches used too, impressive enough to make me go off to investigate Phase Plant which up until now had not really been on my radar. The sudden crescendo-stop was effective. Mix was very good, particularly the voices and strings which were placed perfectly in the mix


Voting
All of this month’s tracks were good and fulfilled the brief perfectly. When scoring the tracks I concentrated more on how much ‘dread’ the chosen sounds and arrangement instilled in me while I was listening, rather than the overall technical aspects of the mix