I think all of you stepped-up and came up with very interesting stuff. As always, since interpretation of themes/genres is clearly very subjective, please also take my comments with a grain of salt. But I'd like to say that I put in a lot of effort in studying about the new themes/genres to understand and learn about their nuances and "rules" whenever I compose something or try to 'judge' anyone.
So anyway, here's my feedback for what it's worth:
Jilliam - Ok Kill Me
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Firstly, drums are too distorted right from the start and I think you could’ve filtered those in during the intro. I quite like the synths and the dark mood you are aiming for. People have highlighted that this is big beat, not D&B and I agree. But it somehow works very well as a racing game soundtrack, especially one that is set in a dystopian environment with a lot of combat. I still feel you could’ve dialed the distortion down a bit during some sections as this would create a lot of contrast and make the impact of those drums a lot more. I do like your distorted synth sounds and they work well with the style you’ve chosen. I don’t understand why you slowed it down towards the end, since the end should have the highest impact and energy as the race approaches its climax or at least maintain the energy. The mix is also a bit too hot, but I think this suits the style of the track. All in all a decent track but not in the D&B genre intended by the brief so would be unfair to rank it higher. But well done and welcome back, it was good to hear some music from you.
Doc Jon - Gridlock
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Really cool usage of the car sounds across the track making it very clear that this is a racing soundtrack. However, I feel that those should not have been used if this is actually intended to be a racing soundtrack and to be used by a customer, but I totally get the creative intent. It does seem a little like that this track is already playing in the background of a race. I like your main theme and the melodic ideas work well. Very nice chiptune-ish and other synth sounds, do give the track a very retro vibe that works well for a futuristic arcade racing game. I like your basses, although the low-end is a bit weak. Otherwise the mix is decent and I don’t find anything that sticks out. I think this fits the brief fairly well in terms of the genre and game environment. The driving melodic rhythm works well. Well done!
Jorgeelalto - Afterburner
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Immediately starts very much like a liquid D&B intro, also very cool percussion work. Nice ambience and a very good buildup to the neuro section. Your basses totally fit the brief and drum programming is very good. I really liked those reso rising basses. I have one gripe though that this track slides in to liquid DnB territory which I find a bit odd. I’m not talking about the atmospheric breakdown, but the part that starts around 1:30. I quite like the half-time B section right before the energetic section as this gives the track more groove. Mix is nice in terms of tonal balance but I agree with Trojak that the mix sounds very centered. I’m not talking about stereo width, but stereo placement. You have such cool percussion work and a decent ambient section, I’d have loved some more creative stereo placement to widen the sound-stage. But I think you were short on time so it’s okay, but overall this turned out very well as a futuristic racing game soundtrack I think. Well done!
TrojakEW - Not fast enough
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Umm, firstly I’d like to congratulate you on making a very commercial sounding soundtrack in terms of the production quality and composition. It has that Matrix Reloaded vibe and works well overall. But, and a big but is that in my opinion, this track doesn’t quite fit the brief/genre - a futuristic/dystopian racing video-game soundtrack. It’s not really drum and bass, more like symphonic big beat. I understand that you like experimentation but I think some basic genre specific rules should be adhered to. That said, I think this would work extremely well in an action sequence or some parkour montage or some physical training commercial. It somewhat lacks that driving feeling and intensity required for racing in terms of both the drums as well as the basses. I don’t really have any other feedback mix/production/composition wise as this track seems good on all those aspects, just that this track was produced for the wrong brief/genre. But mad respect for your production skills!
Gyorgy Becse - Mightnight Run
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Nice intro. Interesting usage of those Mario sfx and that quack-quack bass is very cute. Those 2010 dubstep basses work kinda okay I think. I like the melodic theme you’ve got going but I think that artificial guitar sounding synth (or is that a real guitar made to sound like that?) is a bit too weak. In your feedback you wrote that you’ve tried to dirty up your sounds, but they sound a bit think, especially the basses. I think you should have added a distorted sub to the mix and that guitar thing definitely needs a lot of heft. The main riff is really cool though. Mix wise it sounds good, just that the low-end is a bit weak for this genre/style. Very interesting use of those vocals, I think it’s cool as well as a bit funny (in a goofy way since they don’t really sound serious in this mix somehow). I understand that you were aiming for a longer track as per the brief, but I think it gets a bit too monotonous somehow. If you aim for longer tracks you probably need more variety, let’s say a key change, or some half-time section or an ambient breakdown or something like that. All in all a decent attempt. Overall I think this can work very well in a retro/arcade racing futuristic video game which requires intensity, but not aggressiveness.
J.Ruegg - HyperBoost
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Very cinematic start. I really like that you don’t waste any time on a purely ambient intro and get right to those beefy drums. Lovely sound design, I loved each and every bass you designed/used in this track. Text-book neurofunk. I do think that the snare could’ve been different? It sounds more like a dubstep snare than a neurofunk snare to me. Very ominous and dystopian theme, loved it! Energy right from the start. I read that people have complained that the track doesn’t climax well enough. I partly agree with that since I think that these soundtracks usually don’t need to have a build and a drop, since you’re driving all the time and the intensity needs to always be up. But that said, I think the finale should have had some variation in terms of the drums/rides or some white-noise layered basses to give it more grit somehow, if you know what I mean. Also probably a slightly different riff/theme right before the main theme takes over in the finale. I think production is very good, although you should ideally never have true peaks above 0 dB irrespective of your targeted LUFS. That said, this is more like the club mix than a streaming mix, so I don’t really mind the loudness. Overall great work and I think you pretty much nailed it!
Olli - Gatekeeper
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I quite like your 1st chorus, very nice sounds there (although a bit unbalanced levels-wise). I think the section between 0:54 and 1:20 and other similar sections are well done regarding certain aspects of the brief – nice intense riffs, good drums. Only during those sections does it have that driving intensity suitable for a racing track. However, I don’t find anything futuristic/dystopian in your sounds, neither do I find much of “bass” play in your track. It’s primarily a guitar (synth guitar?) driven track which I think works well in the context of racing. The mix is fairly unbalanced, some sounds are way too loud in the mix which is quite annoying. Also, that synth/bass stab has uncomfortable highs, you should probably EQ it suitably. Your melodic sections, although fairly nice, are kind of unsuitable for this style of music. I could not really recollect any hooks, although I have a good memory. A decent attempt, but I really think you should watch the music/videos shared by Mister Fox, to educate yourself more on the briefs going forward. Because he does spend a lot of time curating those videos. It also makes for an educated and enjoyable experience while listening to the submissions.
Double Tap - Amen, Brake
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Welcome to the community! I had actually read your feedback before listening to your track and saw that you are are a D&B fan. So when I heard the intro, it got me very excited! It’s probably the best intro in this round. Also, I quite liked your usage of the classic break when the track picks up pace. I was very interested in your track up until you have this momentary buildup/transition of sorts around 1:00. Things kind of go downhill from there for me. The track’s bass game is quite weak, if you know what I mean. I think you said that D&B should be just that, Drums and Basses so I find that pretty odd. It does have a cinematic feeling due to the strings and those choirs, but I don’t think it has the intensity required as per the brief. Not sure how suitable it is for racing music - simply having 160-170 bpm breaks is probably not good enough. Your use of glitching effects does add a certain interest to the track so I guess you could call it ‘futuristic’ in a way. Mix sounds okay. Overall a decent effort and looking forward to hearing more of your stuff in the future!
Clueless - Insideout Upsidedown
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Interesting intro! Quite like the use of the vocal sample at the start. Although I didn’t like the outro SFX as much. Your sound selection/design is quite good on this track overall. I like the slap bass sample that you’ve used, adds a nice little touch. Bass design is decent but it lacks intensity and a bit of aggressive drive. Rhythm is good, I think works well enough as a racing game soundtrack with a slightly laid-back feel. Theme wise, does sound like it’s set in a dystopian setting. I really like your arrangement and layering and how you’ve managed to make the loops evolve over time. Those intricate layers ensure that the track stays interesting all throughout. Good job.
wishoff - Ready Set Glow
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Firstly, welcome to the community. Your percussion work on this track is very nice. I also like the pulsating synths and some of the basses but in general, the bass play is a bit weak. The snare is also a bit weak for the style. I agree with JR that the hats clash with your snare making it sound even weaker. The groove is great! But, it somehow doesn’t have that D&B feel for me. I think production wise this is quite nice, has a nice suspenseful, tense feel and similar to Trojak’s track, would work very well for a different brief say a fugitive chase scene or say a heist scene maybe, just not a car chase/race. I do understand that you didn’t read the brief properly as you said, but that’s okay. You’ve done a fine job production/composition wise in the claimed 3 hours, so well done for that!
Canese - Deutner
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It sure is futuristic sounding. I think this would sound very good in a retro/arcade racing/shooter game. That build with the snares around 0:50 sounds off tempo to me. The snare is a bit weak for the style though. You have some nice melodic lines in this track. It screams retro video game music. I think you’ve made a very decent effort in this style – the basses are decent, the rhythm is good, nice futuristic sound sounds. I think the intensity is also there, but the drums and basses need to be a bit more punchier and aggressive in my opinion. Great effort though! Mix wise I think it’s good, nothing sticks out to me as such.
Functionform - Arrival
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Your ambient sections are the best in this round in my opinion. The atmospheric drones/pads are very well done. The drums really hit hard but I don’t quite like that snare too much. Sound-stage is really good and I like those little embellishments using delays. Very nice metallic and donk basses. I think it’s a hybrid between Neurofunk and Liquid D&B and the intense sections work very well as per the brief. Very futuristic sounding racing track. Well done man!
Scoreboard:
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Even if there are a few elements that may be a bit "too melodic", I think you nailed the melodic DnB vibe (stadium DnB as it is called sometimes, with the big trance synths). Also, it looks like you blend it a bit with 8 bit music, it gives it a nice spin.
). The overall mix is a bit dark and empty. In the drums section, I think it lacks more percussion to make it fuller. The "guitars" (distorted synths) section is nice, but then I don't hear much of a bass sound, so half of the genre is missing.
The winners podium consists of:
, thank you all!
, it's very nice.