Mix Challenge

It is the 25th June 2020, 5:00 UTC+2/CEST - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

Once more a very warm "hello and welcome" to all new participants. I hope you enjoy your stay. We had 9 participants overall, which is 2 entries more compared to last month (7 entries), and 1 more compared to last year (8 entries). I'd love to see an continued upwards trend in the following months

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. (3-position Winners Podium)

There was no (number: 0) production submitted after the deadline
No (number: 0) entry has been disqualified
No (number: 0) entry has been redacted



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. Please, no more changes to your entries, but please do check your links that they're downloadable. We then perform with the "public vote" system.


We have 9 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 8 tracks, the staff will 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 20 list 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) - ...
06 (5 pts) - ...

How your voting could look like, please take a look at these posts (sans the super technical information):
https://mix-challenge.com/forum/viewtop ... 2311#p2311
https://mix-challenge.com/forum/viewtop ... 2478#p2478
https://mix-challenge.com/forum/viewtop ... 2819#p2819
https://mix-challenge.com/forum/viewtop ... 3522#p3522

Please cast your vote in collective form through the "spoiler text" BBcode: Please use the forum 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). Maybe have a bit more focus on giving feedback on how one might improve their songwriting or overall sound.

Feedback from non-participants is highly encouraged (voting not needed!). The same goes for entries after the deadline, or those that do sadly not count for the current running game. Musicians and Engineers are always after constructive criticism. This is what this forum is about.



Have some general feedback? Please voice your feedback/opinion/concerns here:
https://mix-challenge.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=97



Please have an eye on this thread!



In the meantime, why not join the poll regarding a planned "dedicated Rule Book sub-forum"? This will take less than 5 minutes of your time and gives you the rare chance to affect the future look of the forum. You can find the survey here:

Poll: Do you want to see a dedicated "Rule Book" section?

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Wednesday, 01-JUL-2020 23:59 UTC+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.


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bedlamward wrote: ↑

Sun Jun 21, 2020 09:15 CEST

"Climb"

wav: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17MQcVG ... sp=sharing

Alex Van mixland wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 13:26 CEST

"Reboot"

wav: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qW7VNc ... sp=sharing

J I L L I A M wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 15:45 CEST

"Great Destruction"

becsei_gyorgy wrote: ↑

Mon Jun 22, 2020 20:44 CEST

"The day after"

gruskada wrote: ↑

Tue Jun 23, 2020 13:58 CEST

"Power Cycle"

Jack.Olentein wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 24, 2020 01:20 CEST

"Future Rider"

SimaGT wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 24, 2020 09:27 CEST

"Soultribe"

Olli H wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 24, 2020 15:46 CEST

”Reboot”, Olli H

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

Doc Jon wrote: ↑

Wed Jun 24, 2020 19:16 CEST

"World Reboot"

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BONUS ENTRIES (submitted after the deadline - you can not vote for it, but feel free to give feedback)

<no bonus entries available>
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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 forum usernames in your listing. Thank you!

SWC034 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) and casting your vote is mandatory, else you will be disqualified. Please also keep the bonus point game mechanic in mind.


Good luck to all participants!

I just listened to songs and here are my thoughts about:

becsei_gyorgy
You track is good and i like overall. Only thing what i think can be changed is very specific sound which starts at around 1:55- is blowing my mind and ear. Song is good and balanced and i think that easily can be used on commercial videos.

Doc Jon
track is mixed good. Everything sounds organic.

Jack.Olentein
I think that your song is radio ready. Your song has all instruments that song needed and also in terms of mixing also i liked how your instruments works to each other. Good done!

SimaGT - Soultribe
Very specific song but i like it. I think it can be used on ads of energy drinks or on fashion shows. Your song has vibe and color what i like very much. Good Done!

Gruskada
I like your track also. I like not only first part but even more i like second part too - I think you can make very good orchestral music.

Bedlamward
Nice song but i think in another genre then was required. Maybe its a good way who knows.

J I L L I A M
Your song has some vibe what i like, but i think that you could also give a little bit more attention too mixing.

OlliH
I like your song. Its in James Bond style song, what i cool and has some emotions.

As written in the Rules and Guidelines for the Songwriting Competition, and as long as we do not exceed 20 participants, you must(!) give feedback to all entries but your own.

A friendly reminder:
Including today, 3 days left to give feedback and cast your vote

bedlamward - Climb
- doesn't sound like "big beat" to me. I kept thinking that this is going to be so cool once it transforms into big beat, but it never does.
- closest you get is an 80's style snare effect
- interesting song, though
- I like the vocal synth stuff, though it sounds a bit disjointed
- synth effects are nice, too

Alex Van mixland - Reboot
- nice mix. Great separation
- this starts off really strong
- like the tuned percussive effects
- the lead sequence is great
- but, it's way too short.
- you could have kept using the same elements with some vocal samples, a breakdown section, drums breaks, etc., and the song would be pretty good

J I L L I A M - Great Destruction
- Bass is super heavy on good speakers (tolerable, but distracting)
- Bass then sounds underwater later in the song
- the "breaking up" section is too long, and almost gives the feeling that the sound system is messed up, vs. just an effect

becsei_gyorgy - The Day After
- nice, ominous beginning
- the effects sound almost like clipping, though
- great string sound!
- drums front and center, with the iconic Big Beat patten - nice
- vocals work
- nice use of samples. They fit right in to the song, although "welcome" was a bit jarring to hear the first time
- turns into epic music w/ big beat. It works
- nice mix
- gets a little boring about 2/3 of the way through. It's a predictable chord progression, and nothing new is introduced for a while.
- robotic sound at the end is cool

Jack.Olentein - Future Rider
- awesome intro
- nice transition into the beat
- gets boring after a while
- some nice drum breaks, though
- mix too loud for contest?
- new direction at 2:50 is nice
- but then we're back to the played out progression again
- really nice job w/ drums
- great sound overall
- i like the fade out with the lowpass

SimaGT - Soultribe
- This is one of the few that really nails the attitude of big beat, imo
- nice ethnic feel
- nice mix
- cool breakdown section
- good use of samples (no idea what he's saying, though)
- guitars sound good

Olli H - Reboot
- the James Bond progression is maybe a bit too iconic
- like the delay at the end of the vocal lines
- nice synths
- guitar effects are really cool
- 1:09 - now it's full OlliH w/ a big beat behind it
- I like the Mac startup effects
- I feel like Big Beat should have more energy
- interesting song, though

Doc Jon - World Reboot
- this is great. Humorous, and also the most dark song you have done on the subject
- chorus is awesome
- "reboot" vocoder effects is cool
- on cheap speakers, it was difficult to make out the spoken words. On my good listening headphones, it was fine, though
- right on theme
- You've gone "Back to Bird" at the end :-)

I liked the theme this month and it brought out some really interesting tracks, very little to separate the top 4 in my mind with a really strong selection of tracks, making the final choice of winner very difficult indeed

Bedlamward
Climb
This is a nice song with some good production ideas – but I’m not sure whether you noted the theme of the month as I didn’t get any sense of Big Beat in the style
Anyway – I liked the piano line and the impressive use of vocal echoes gave an interesting sense of space and was for me the strongest part of the production. I would have liked a bit of reverb on the main vocal which was a little dry for my taste although I suspect this may have been to accentuate the echoes, but even a little bit of room reverb would have helped
But unfortunately, strong as the song and production were, it missed the theme of this month by some margin and therefore knocked it out of contention for me

Alex Van Mixland
Reboot
A good strong start with that percussive beat, squelchy bassline and sync synth sound, nice intro
By 0:30 I was expecting a vocal to come in – this would work so well as a vocal track!
Great synth toms leading up to the excellent drop and change at 1:05 after which the track really takes off, this section is really very good – but then it ends at 1:30, shame as it was just getting going!!
A really clear mix and great production, I cannot fault you on either of those aspects – a vocal would have really lifted this up to be a winner, and it was much too short, I really wanted more!!

JILLIAM
Great Destruction
A nice building intro, very ominous, and the trashy beat kicks in at just the right time at 0:28
The slightly atonal sound that comes in around 1:10 really adds to the chaotic atmosphere and the following Fx noises really do give a sense of ‘destruction’
When the break comes at 1:55 I would have liked more of a change, perhaps a different beat or different melody in the synth line
The section from 2:24 is particularly strong with the additional bass and guitars and the distortion sound from is 2:53 to the end of the track is brilliant
A good track, but as I have said elsewhere, the competition was very stiff indeed this month

becsei_gyorgy
The Day After
Nice intro, brooding and dark, almost apocalyptic, great build at 0:53 leading to the main theme and beat, really good mix and nicely balanced low end
The vocals at 1:40 fit well with the feel of the track and the female announcement goes perfectly with the theme
The following section is lovely with nice orchestration with the strings contrasting well with the synth bass, this really does sound like a soundtrack to a Hollywood film. The choral vocal adds to the epic feel of it all
The mix sounds perfect, the big beat drum loop did however become a little repetitive in the second half of the track and a little variation might have enhanced things even more
The build and drop at 4:00 came at the right time, listened through the whole track without feeling bored at any point, it kept my attention throughout, and I really enjoyed it. Well done!

gruskada
Power Cycle
Nice chaotic intro
0:28 Wow!!
Some really nice sounds in the following section and the chaotic guitars work well
Nice clean mix ensuring that even through all the chaos everything remains clear and distinguishable
I like the way you play with tempo around 2:08
The end section brings some order from the chaos, although I think I liked the chaos section better!
Great track

Jack Olentein
Future Rider
Great feel to this track, lovely atmos sounds in the intro with great use of the stereo field and a good clean mix
Following a small build at 0:35 the track really kicks off at 0:38 and boy does it kick off in style, really great production and probably the best drum beat this month, creating a really authentic sounding Big Beat track with a genuine ‘pro’ sound
A little bit of variation coming in at 2:22 helps to hold the interest and keep it sounding fresh throughout the middle section with a further change at 2:50 to a more gentle section (more great use of stereo field) then back to the main theme at 3:20 running through to the end where it all disappears in a sea of filtering and reverb, nice ending!
This has video game soundtrack written all over it and would work equally well as a sci-fi soundtrack
When I finished I went straight back and listened to it all over again, a cracking good track, I cannot find fault with it, well done!!

SimaGT
SoulTribe
Great aggressive sounding track, Big Beat meets metal, I definitely feel this one!
I loved the vocal adlibs, the first ‘Huh!’ at 0:33 really made me smile
When I was putting my track together I was thinking that the aim would be to create a track that could be used as a soundtrack to a fight scene in a movie – and this really fits that description well
The Indian vocals fit in with the feel very well and the scratching sounds are the icing on the cake!
We get a welcome drop to a quieter section at 1:53 and when the louder main theme returns at 2:30 it sounds even better than the first time, the additional vocals at 2.48 really enhance the feel even more
Nice tape stop ending, I love a good tape stop effect!
Great mix, great production, and a great track

OlliH
Reboot
That is one funky beat!!
A fairly sparse arrangement, but works effectively with your vocal
Nice motorcycle effect with your guitar at 0:50
I was less keen on the chorus section at 1:09
I loved the ‘reboot’ beeps at 1:27 and 2:58 with the Windows ‘error’ sound following, I don't know if that was intentional but it's brilliant
A nice track – but competition this month was very stiff indeed

Hi guys. We got some very nice tracks this month.


bedlamward "Climb"

Very nice melodic intro, nice chord progression i like it alot. Your voice is very nice, also backing vocals fits very nice to.Snare is little bit weak and to snappy in my opinion lowering the transient and
adding some reverb to it could make this track more interesting, also the ending is totaly unexpected maybe abit longer fade out could help here. Overall this is beautifull track and I like it alot, to bad
it doesn't fit this motnh's theme:(


Alex Van mixland "Reboot"

Ok, this track is very short so i'll be short to. I like retro aestetics here that bass particulary sounds nice. Mix is decent. There's nothing much to say here it is obvious this is not a finished track.


J I L L I A M "Great Destruction"

Wow, really heavy bass here. There is solid dirty rockin' vibe here maybe the guitar is abit muffled maybe bringing in some more higher frequencies could help this track feel more alive.
Also that synth lead that starts from begining never stops looping from the begining to the end. Maybe you should'v cut it somewhere in the middle maybe about 1:30 then bring it back again at the end of track.
Anyway this track is rocks! I feel you are improving from month to month, keep it up!



György Becsei "The Day After"

Very nice track overall. Nice clean and crisp mix. Well maybe that "resting" part that starts about 1:40 and lasts almost a minute is little to long. I would shorten it because i started to lose interest
in that part. So to be short, everything sounds nice, from strings to vocals and percussion i just wanted to hear more dynamics in some parts.


gruskada "Power Cycle"

Hehe i can recognize EastWest stuff at begining, nice intro. Did you performed those strings? Niiiicee snare dude get and shreddage 2 sounds nice. Awesome track ,I just didnt understood that part after "system failure"
very messy part. Then that slow down is cool, but maybe i would find better way to connect it back to main part from begining with some instead of just switching back to it sudenly without break or atleast some reverse
cymball effect.


Jack Olentein "FutureRider"

Nice airy pad at begining i like it. Nice choices of percusion samples, fits very well with the synth sounds. Mix is really solid no complaints there. I've listened this track few times and yes I found some things i would
like to change or add but those are small and subjective detailes small details that I find not worth mentioning. Well done!


Olli H "Reboot"

Awesome drumset. Very simple but effective set of sounds you got there, your vocal is deep and fits the genre which think is more like some garage indie rock. Ending is bit unexpected, then later i realized it is the same
chord from 1:28, veird choice.. but why not it is your song. Overall i think this doesn't fit this months genre but still, it is a very nice homemade rock track. Good job!


Doc Jon "World Reboot"

Nice drum and bass pattern. You got some really nice vocal processing going on, specialy in chorus section, right amount of distortion on it. Overall mix is good. Well done!

I had long walks and listened all the submissions several times. As this months genre was not so much melody orientated, but more riff and sound based - just to help me to make some sort of order for the voting process - I decided to use these evaluation categories: riffs, sounds, song structure with 1-5 points to each.



Jilliam - Great Destruction
This one has the strongest emotion of this month's submissions. That psychedelic main riff is very efficient. But to me it doesn't feel right that it is there behind all the time. I think from the point of view of song structure it would be stronger if it could disappear for some moments and then come back again. That way it could be more haunting. As if the relief was about to come, but then the pain hits back more forcefully. Now, as a constant background, it prevents listening all those nice small details that you've added to this song.

Sounds are not optimal yet. Bass goes sometimes too low. As if it were pitch shifted to one octave too low. It lacks the punch in those notes.
Around 1:00 when hi-hats are replaced with crashes (?), sound feels weirdly suffocated then. Suffocated sound could be also deliberate effect, but I don't think it's currently implemented correctly.
Those sound effects work fine, but there's a weird spatial clash with dark and distant drums + guitars with those clean sound effects. Somehow sonically they don't fit together yet.

With your previous submissions you have proven to have a great skill to create emotional riffs. I'm sure if you continue this way you'll soon will be able to develop them to very powerful songs.

Riffs: 4
Song: 3
Sounds 2





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JackOlentein - FutureRider
Opening very promising. Song starts and develops very nicely, but then the development stops. In the end the song ends up to be experiments around one riff. To me it sounds as an absolutely great start for a forthcoming song, which you haven't had time to finish yet.

Sounds are great all through the song.

Riffs: 4
Song: 3
Sounds 4




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DocJon - WorldReboot
Excellent. The great chorus combined with news-verses work very efficiently.

Music effects and sounds support very nicely vocal part. It never takes a focus away from the story.

Cool guitar riff.

I have nothing to add. Coherent package. After having listened all submissions several times, this is the one I remember best.

Riffs: 5
Song: 5
Sounds 5


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gruskada - PowerCycle
You have shown to be the master of chaos. Very skillful chaotic elements all through the song. As essential feature of chaos is that it doesn't have a structure, so it's afterwards difficult to remember anything of this song, except the chaos. I think it might a more efficient, if you had some sort of stronger melodic structure here and there, something to be smashed by chaos. Now the chaos doesn't break anything, it just dominates.

The way it is now this could be a great music/soundscape to some science fiction movie. Something where music's task would be only to enhance the story telling, but not to be an independent song.

I like those "restarting" computer sounds.

Sound is very coherent with the chaos all through the song.

Riffs: 5
Song: 3
Sounds 4




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bedlamward - Climb song

Very soulful voice. As an old-school member, I prefer human voice singing own words to any synth sounds.

This song already has everything it needs to have, but somehow it doesn't make it yet.

For example those background voices compete with the main vox too much. Somehow they create a weird rhythmical pattern that takes my focus away from the lyrics. I would have given the full focus to singing. Maybe the arrangement could be more simplified. It would give more room to your stronger parts: story telling with great human voice.

About melody: each and every part of song work fine as such, but the overall result is too static, it lacks the hook, and that way a structure. Maybe a different word rhythm to chorus could make a difference. It would be easier for the listener to locate itself within the song structure.

If I were to mix this one, I would take as a reference Bob Dylan's new track "Key West (Philosopher Pirate)". Melody is static, nothing happens in arrangement, song is long (almost 10 minutes), but it's a wonderful listening experience. It's one of my 2020 favorites. It has a musical concept that could fit perfectly your music.

In my mind this song doesn't belong to the genre of this competition, so my chosen evaluation method for this month doesn't do justice for your song.

Riffs: 2
Song: 4
Sounds 2





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becsei_gyorgy - the day after
Great composition. Develops nicely, and keeps listeners attention.

Somehow I feel that this would work perfectly along with images. This would be fine music to some science/nature documentary film. I think you could easily make a career on documentary film music area.

Excellent sounds. Opening sound have a nice dramatic with them. For some reason the drums (0:55-) lessen the atmosphere. After that it feels a bit "academic".

Riffs: 5
Song: 4
Sounds 4



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Alexvanmixland - Reboot

This one has a very cool starting riff. At first it feels like a winner. But the song ends too early. It never goes to the hook, that would make this a complete song. Maybe you run out of time. Now it's half a song, experiments and variations of one theme.

In this month's reference songs there was this "Unafraid". I you could add vocal part with similar effect, you could turn this to hit.

Sounds are cool and very good to my ears.

Riffs: 4
Song: 3
Sounds 5



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SimaGT - Soultribe

This one is very multidimensional. Good job. It brings nicely new elements in right moment.

I wish I could make this kind of energy level changes. Very well done!

Bonuspoints for those huUH! yells. Was it you or samples?

After 2:00 the song don't bring anything new. Somehow the final moment is lacking

Sounds are great

Riffs: 5
Song: 4
Sounds 5


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OlliH - Reboot

Intro starts great, but then, the groove lacks a bit movement imo.
Not sure how to say it, maybe having more presence of hats would give it a driving feel.
Guitar sounds are ok, and fit well into the track, except, for the riser around 0:45 , that sounds a bit off.

Overall sounds good, but I don't feel like you nailed the BigBeat feel like. I think it's mainly the groove.

Alexvanmixland - Reboot

Nice selection of sounds, I think the groove is a bit too "swingy", and I feel it a bit overused, I think it's mainly because the kick drum hits too much.
I liked it, I can imagine it in a videogame of some sort.

Bedlamward - Climb

Ahhhh, the name and the intro reminds me too much of Celeste.
Good recording of the voice and harmony in the intro, really good sound & vibe.
I enjoyed this, good voice & harmony (again).
on the production side, I think mixing could be improved much more, specially in the chorus, maybe bigger drums, or more solid, I can only imagine how much more powerfull it could be.

Now... considering this specifically on the scope of this contest, I don't think your track comes even close to the BigBeat genre, so, I will score this low, but I really enjoyed you track, and would listen to more tracks of you sometime

Richard Watashi - Great destruction.

Sorry if I sound a bit harsh, but I will try my best to give constructive critisism.
ok, so, in the beginning, when the drums hit, they sound too clean, too acoustic among the distorted lead, and the hats sound a bit too loud and bright compared to the snare.
It's like it doesn't hold well together.
And then, later, you got another set of drums, which get along better with the guitars, but then again, the crash cymballs sound too clean, and that makes it sound weird.

I know it's hard to do well, but don't be discouraged! Try to analyze your music in a objective way... and you will start to get better and better with time, if you are decided to put the work & hours and hours of dedication.

Becsei György - The day after.

This started very good, just, the drum groove, I think the snare is too weak, and the hats sound the same every hit... using a dedicated drum plugin which will play different samples for every hit can help to give a more authentic & living feel... otherwise, on the long run it ends up feeling like a old videogame soundtrack (don't be offended pls) I don't know how to explain it well...

Ok, musically I enjoyed it very much, the track takes you on a ride of epicness...
But, now, judging according to the contest, I think it doesn't get much into the BigBeat genre, it's too "broad melodically", I mean, as far as I researched the genre, it's more monotonous & specific on the chords/melodies... I don't know much about music theory to explain my ideas well. sorry.

Gruskada - Power Cycle

The vibe & sounds are very good, but, the drum groove doesn't quite fits for me, I think the overuse of the snare is what's ruining it. I mean, it adds to the movement and energy of the track, but for a beat like BigBeat, the energy comes more from the driving feel of the beat or from the distorted & Agressive bass sounds.
Overall, the selection of sounds & production is of good quality to my ears.

Jack Olentein - Future Rider


Yeah, I'm reviewing my own track after some days of making it, I ended up doing it in a rush and there are some things I would have done different.
Groove kicks in good, synths and all fit well, but it lacks aggresiveness, the change in 1:06 keeps with the momentum, but maybe some acid basslines could have worked better.

it lacks vocals!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The break at 3:00 sounds good, but I think something went bad with the render!!!, I think the synth bubbling thing is a bit off in tempo, Maybe I didn't synchroniced well the plugins.

Ok, so, I think it sounds kinda good, but it's too boring, and not so aggresive. I sended it to a friend and he enjoyed it much, and told me that it doesn't get boring, so I trusted him :') he also suggested the name.

SimaGT - SoulTribe.

Guitar riff is very very good, and drum beat also.
I think you nailed very well the genre, and the twist with the oriental vibe works perfectly.
The combination of asian/middle east music with metal & guitars is something I dreamed of making many years ago, and failed very bad, but I enjoy that combination.

I don't have any complaints on this, so I will just applaud it.

Doc Jon - Reboot

Really well executed.
I don't have much words to say, it got everything, vocals, a good groove (I would maaaaybe just like to have more prominent drums, specially the snare), enough variation.
Mixing is very good (to my ears at least).
Good production!

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