Mix Challenge

Hi,

MY SUBMISSION

Olli H: Kiertelen ja kaartelen
https://drive.google.com/file/d/198MVor ... sp=sharing

I've had quite a long break with these competitions.

I just happened to be in the slow process of making an introspective introvert pop song in the key of D. So the theme of this months competition matched quite well my current musical activity. Although the language is some unknown foreign language, I still decided to send it. I thought that by submitting it to here, I'd be able to get rid of it a bit faster.

Hopefully I didn't miss any new rule. (I glanced quickly through the rule book.)


CHORD PROGRESSIONS

Chords in verses
D D7 B7 Em
Em A7 Em A7 D
G D F# B7 Em
Em A7 Em A7 D


(key of D, ionian mode)
I I7 VI7 ii
ii V7 ii V7 I
IV I III VI7 ii
ii V7 ii V7 I

--------------

Chords in choruses
B7 Em A7 D
B7 Em A7 D
B7 Em A7 D

(key of D, ionian mode)
VI7 ii V7 I
VI7 ii V7 I
VI7 ii V7 I

--------------

Chords in C-part
C D7 G Em
C D7 G Em
C D7 G Em
C Em A7 D

(key of G, ionian mode)
IV V7 I vi
IV V7 I vi
IV V7 I vi
(back to key of D, ionian mode)
IV ii V7 I



INSTRUMENTS

Drums: SSD + my own samples of my own drums
Bass: ModoBass
Pedal Steel: Impact Soundworks
Ukulele: real
Electric Guitars: real
Cello: NI
Violin: NI
Placeholder vox that tries to imitate the art of singing: Me


STATISTICS

According to Reaper
Peak: -1.1
Integrated: -14.1 LUFS

According to Youlean
Integrated = -14.11 LUFS


=================
EDIT:

Here's a quick "Google translation" of this song.

The song tells of a progressive memory disorder. Although not so typical subject of the song, but as it's actually quite common disease nowadays, so I guess there's also audience for this kind of topic.

TITLE
I'm just wandering around.

VERSE 1
I'm walking alone. I may be a little lost, but I just keep going.
Everything is moving away, fading away like yesterday.
Well, where is this road going? I don't think about it almost at all.
The weather is rainy, like my state of mind, a bit foggy.

VERSE 2
No one is by my side. Only the gray shadow is my companion.
I look inward. Lately it's been quite empty there.
I'm avoiding something. I guess I'm afraid I'll disturb others?
My strength is disappearing. I guess I'll be quite exhausted when I meet the new day.

CHORUS
I'm just wandering around.
Like an useless empty pledge, I'm just moving on without a goal.
I try not to meet myself.

VERSE 3
I hear a quiet, fragile sound coming from my heart.
Everything will be forgotten little by little. Moment by moment everything feels more distant.
Where do I belong? I am waiting for the answer in vain.
Nevertheless, time is running out and I just continue wandering around.

CHORUS

PART C.
So beautiful and distant is my bygone aspiration.
So far I have drifted away from my dreams.
I have been hiding my feelings for so long.
Well, that's why I'm going.

CHORUS
CHORUS

Key analysis made.
Djay Pro, result: D major
NI Traktor Pro 3, result: D major

Real instrument: Cort AD 810 steel 6 strings.

Plugins: MODO BASS, MODO DRUM, ZynAddSubFX, Konakt Player

FX: Independence Free FX (chorus, delay), Reverberate LE together with IR-files from Samplicity, T-RackS EQ 81, ReaEQ, Lepou Le456 (amp sim), NadIR + IR-files from Kalthallen IRs, Voxengo Tube Amp

Chord progression:
The content between two brackets is always one bar/measure, here:

Intro: [D], [D], [D], [D]

Verse: [D, Dsus4, D], [D7, D7sus4, D7], [G], [Em], [G] [Asus4, A], [D, Dsus4, D], [D, Dsus4, D], [D, Dsus4, D], [D7, D7sus4, D7], [G], [Em], [Asus4, A], [D], [D7]

Chorus: [G], [A], [D], [G], [G], [A], [Bm, A], [Bm, A], [G], [A], [Bm, A], [G], [Em], [Em], [A/E], [A], [D, Dsus4], [D, Dsus4], [D, Dsus4], [D, Dsus4]

Bridge: [Bm], [G], [A], [A], [Bm], [G], [A], [A], [Bm, A], [D], [D], [Em], [#F], [#F]

Outro: [D], [D], [D], [D]

Lyrics:

Verse1:
Caesar is coming
looking so pale
has lost his mind

Verse2:
Caesar is coming
already dead
in terms of love

Chorus:
Just like a
Roman battle
in ancient Italy
this undermines
their own land

so Mister
bullshit talker
here's a clue
you will never
get away with
this

Verse3:
Cabbage and cannons
porridge and pain
what is the point?

Verse4:
Once in a lifetime
you may get a chance
to give your best shot

Chorus2:
Just like a
Roman battle
in ancient Italy
this undermines
their own land

so Mister
bullshit talker
here's to you
you will never
get away with
this

Bridge:
Intruder – begone
for ever
you're not our man

Chorus3:
Just like a
Roman battle
in ancient Italy
this undermines
their own land

so Mister
bullshit talker
here's a clue
in a moment
you will no longer ...

This was an unexpected collab with Lila which started 3 days ago.



It was a very new experience for me, as I never did proper "songwriting", so I learned a lot of new things.
I played a little with Hookpad at the beggining to make a chord progression, and was aiming to make a heavy EDM influenced Pop thing (taking the chainsmokers as inspiration), also watched a lot of tutorials about making pop music (the YT channel MakePopMusic was really helpful), I wasn't expecting to have vocals so I gave up... until 3 days ago when Lila decided to help , and we managed to produce a song in a short time span. was a lot of fun, and I also learned new techniques (like how to layer vocals, mix guitars...).
Mix could still be improved (as always) but time is up, last vocal shots where recorded literally last hour.

Chords used:

Verses
======

bm D G A
bm D G A
bm D G A
bm D G A

Chorus
======

D G D G
D G D A
D G D G
D G D A

bridge
======

D G D A

*******************
* Technical specs *
*******************

* DAW used : Ableton live 10

* Vocals singed & recorded by Lila
* Guitar recorded & performed by Lila

================
Vocal Processing
================

- Izotope RX 7 Essential
- Izotope Nectar 3
- Izotope VocalSynth 2
- Arturia ReverbPlate140
- Fabfilter Saturn 2
- Soundtoys Little Alterboy
- PolyverseWider

============
Samples used (mainly for drums & effects)
============

- Black Octopus Leviathan trilogy (mostly used the 3rd pack tho)
- Cymatics.fm (from various free packs)
- MakePopMusic (from various free packs)

================
Sample libraries (for additional acoustic instruments)
================

- Ableton Orchestral Brass pack
- Scarbee Rickenbacker Bass
- Session String Pro 2
- Session Guitarist Picked Acoustic

======
Synths
======

- Arturia Pigments
- Xfer Serum
- U-he Hive2
- Synapse Audio Dune3
- Reveal-Sound Spire

====================================
Additional mixing & creative effects
====================================

- NI Raum
- NI Replika XT
- NI GuitarRig 6
- NI RC 24
- DS Tantra
- Izotope Ozone 9 Elements
- Fabfilter Pro-C 2
- Fabfilter Pro-Q 3
- Fabfilter Pro-MB
- Fabfilter Timeless 3
- Fabfilter Volcano 3
- Fabfilter Pro-L 2
- Ableton Gate device
- Ableton Multiband Dynamics device
- Soundtoys little plate
- Kilohearts disperser
- Valhalla Vintage Verb

------

I think I submitted in time, homepage shows 30 minutes left

It is the 25th March 2022, 1:45 UTC+1/CET - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 7 submissions this month (2 entries more than last month, but also 4 less than March 2021)
• We have 0 submissions after the deadline (as of 25-MAR-2022 1:45 UTC+1/CET)
• We have 0 submissions that has been disqualified (production released outside of the game's timeframe)
• We have 0 submissions that have been withdrawn (but counts as entry within the deadline)
• The "staff balancing vote" add-on rule does not apply (I might add final words regardless / step in if there are ties)
• "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 downloadable. We then perform with the final feedback and "public vote" system.


We have 7 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 6 tracks, the staff will will not cast a balance vote, unless there is a tie that can't be broken (or if it would add a bit more spin to the game).

Please take note of the Rules and Guidelines (see post #7) on giving feedback (mandatory for all participants). Even if you already gave feedback prior to the deadline, please offer some final encouraging words, and maybe give some additional tips for possible improvements on the way. The only main criteria to drop out of the game, is if you do not participate.

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. To get an idea how this usually works, please take a look at the last two Songwriting Competition for how your feedback and vote could look like:

SWC054 - Song Collection and follow-up
SWC053 - Song Collection and follow-up



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



Please have an eye on this thread!

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Friday, 01-APR-2022 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.


.

Arelem wrote: ↑

Fri Mar 11, 2022 23:56 CET

"Under My Skin"

EsteveCorbera wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 17, 2022 00:14 CET

"ViscaEl80" (translation: "go to the 80")

becsei_gyorgy wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 23, 2022 21:12 CET

"I'm Different"

mobiledrummer wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 24, 2022 07:54 CET

"Another Whirligig"

Olli H wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 24, 2022 20:20 CET

"Kiertelen ja kaartelen" (translation: "I twist and turn")

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/198MVor ... sp=sharing

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 24, 2022 23:05 CET

"Caesar Is Coming"

J.Ruegg wrote: ↑

Thu Mar 24, 2022 23:30 CET

"Runner"

.



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


<no bonus entries>
.


Please consult the Rules and Guidelines (see post #7) on how your vote could look like. And to make it simple for me for counting the votes - please use the forum usernames in your listing. Thank you!

SWC055 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) is mandatory. If you've collaborated with somebody, then only the one doing the main entry needs to give feedback and vote (everything else is bonus). Ideally, please focus on the "overall experience", and what you think could be improved in a future release of this production (technical or even instrumentation), maybe even provide the occasional tip for mixing. Please be open minded, objective and constructive.


INFORMATION: If you've submitted your entry in multiple file formats, the statistic sheet (posted alongside the results) will focus on the uncompressed material first (WAV), then FLAC, then MP3. The higher the quality, the less possible loss on bonus points for "Loudness Specs" due to offsets introduced by a used CODEC.


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.

Hello everyone,

This month was difficult to judge for me because everyone did so good. A lot of my feedback is pretty nit-picky because I was looking for things to make those distinctions between everyone’s songs, so take it with a grain of salt. Also, it’s just my opinion and I’m certainly no one special. With that being said, here is my feedback and vote.

EsteveCorbera – I really like the track overall. The drums get a bit tiring with the hat every ¼ and the kick every ½ note and don’t change until 2:30 into the song. The hats could also maybe benefit from some variation in velocity or something to help them sound less synthetic. The synths get a bit muddy just before the 1 minute mark. They maybe shouldn’t be playing over each other, or you could sidechain 1 to the other to make space. Same for the transition at about the 2 minute mark. I do like the vibe of the song, you definitely nailed 80s. You sound selection all works really well too.

Becsei gyorgy – Your song has a modern-retro feel to it which is pretty common at the moment. The synth bridge after the chorus is a bit out of place in my opinion. That section sounds pretty cheesy in a way that the rest of the song really doesn’t. I really like the bass in the song. It has a good grit to it and compliments the song well. I like your use of foley and woos, maybe they get a little over used at the end. The vocals are great but there is some mouth noise at about 2:00 that I would filter or cut out. Maybe I’m just sensitive to it, but it’s really unattractive to hear.

Mobiledrummer – I only have two small things for your track: the bass gets a little lost in the busier parts of the track, and there really isn’t a consistent melody/lead. It’s not boring to listen to or anything, but I can’t really remember how the song goes as soon as it’s over. I think those are pretty minor though and I definitely enjoyed the track, well done.

Olli H – The bass is a little overpowering in the low/low-mid area. Literally everything else sounds great. The track is maybe a little down tempo for a contest since it won’t be very exiting when compared to other songs. Sorry I don’t have more feedback but that’s really it, very nice song.

A Future in Noise – I assume that you record in the guitar parts yourself? If not, I’d be super impressed. Either way they are played really well. The drums also sound really good. The organ isn’t really my favorite part, it doesn’t fit 100% for me. The melody during the chorus is nice and catchy and I really liked the outro-solo bit with the guitar.

J.Ruegg – I think you have a pretty good grasp of the EDM-pop type music you were aiming for. The vocals are a little pitchy and could maybe benefit from a little bit of correction. The vocals sit a little weird in the mix for me, I can’t explain it exactly. Maybe it just sounds too on top of the mix. I don’t know if Albeton has any sort of multiband sidechain but I often sidechain vocals to the instruments so help embed them into the track a little more (something like trackspacer). It also helps keep the vocals more audible without just turning them up over everything else. Other than that though, it’s a good song with some catchy rhythms and a nice beat, good job.

Arelem wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 01:04 CEST

A Future in Noise – I assume that you record in the guitar parts yourself? If not, I’d be super impressed. Either way they are played really well.

Thanks Arelem. But "record in"? What does it mean? And "if not, I'd be super impressed." I don't understand that either, maybe you could expalan?

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 15:03 CEST

Arelem wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 01:04 CEST

A Future in Noise – I assume that you record in the guitar parts yourself? If not, I’d be super impressed. Either way they are played really well.

Thanks Arelem. But "record in"? What does it mean? And "if not, I'd be super impressed." I don't understand that either, maybe you could expalan?

I meant that you physically played and recorded the guitar parts rather than them being synthetic or sampled. So I was saying that if they are synthetic, they sound really real and I would be impressed that you were able to get such an authentic sound.

Arelem wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 18:20 CEST

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 15:03 CEST

Arelem wrote: ↑

Wed Mar 30, 2022 01:04 CEST

A Future in Noise – I assume that you record in the guitar parts yourself? If not, I’d be super impressed. Either way they are played really well.

Thanks Arelem. But "record in"? What does it mean? And "if not, I'd be super impressed." I don't understand that either, maybe you could expalan?

I meant that you physically played and recorded the guitar parts rather than them being synthetic or sampled. So I was saying that if they are synthetic, they sound really real and I would be impressed that you were able to get such an authentic sound.

Thanks again Well this is real recordins. But I have used some cutting/copying/pasting.

Hello everyone!

It was interesting to listen to the songs, completely different styles were mixed this month. There were promising songs, it was good to listen to them.

Arelem - Under my Skin
Nice instrument choices, well put together song. I miss a bit of a bridge part where there is no vocals - maybe with a little guitar solo it would be more interesting after the first chorus (and it would be longer this little short song, which is nice anyway)
I think the vocal need some pitch correction (in the pre-chorus part) - and here, by the way, the vocal almost disappear.

EsteveCorbera - ViscaEl80
Nice synths, good drum sounds.
The intro is nice, but later the melody part could be more interesting.
I miss the dynamic shifts a bit, it seems very monotonous, the parts (verse, chorus etc) don't separate well, could be improved with small fx's (sweep, etc).
Little correlation problems in the midrange (500-2k).
Despite the above, nice song overall, completely bringing the style and timing you want. Neat piece.

mobiledrummer - Another Whirligig
Nice synth sounds, nice "borrowed" chords. I have a background music feeling: there are no big stories, melodies, surprises in it, it is pleasantly relaxing (when I was a kid on TV they often gave such music during a break (e.g. during a sports break), but this style would be good e.g. also under travel videos.)
I can't add much, I like it, a neatly put together song - and sounds good - nice balanced soundscape.
I don’t usually like songs of this style (at least I wouldn't listen at home ), but in my rating, it doesn’t affect my own taste. Good job overall.

Olli H - Kiertelen ja kaartelen
Great return Olli .
For the verse parts a little (little) more reverb and fx on the vocals would be even better - but that's my taste only.
Otherwise the guitars are good, I like the sound of the lap steel. The structure is also fine.
The vocals are also pretty much okay, fits well in the song. Small corrections would be needed but nothing dangerous.
What I really miss is the high range. The soundscape isn't balanced, which is already particularly annoying on some headphones (especially one that gives a little more bass). On a smaller speaker, this is less confusing.
Overall nice piece.

A Future In Noise - Caesar Is Coming
Nice guitar play, a little bit bass-heavy soundscape, but overall it sounds pretty good.
The vocals feel a bit "timid" in some places, and the vocal mix could also fit better into the song. But overall, there are good, catchy melodies, good harmonies - nice song.

J.Ruegg - Runner
oh ... my favorite idea this month, but so much not ready yet ....
"last vocal shots where recorded literally last hour" - you wrote earlier - Unfortunately, it feels very. There are raw, inconsistent vocals, loudness is completely different in parts of the song, sudden jumps etc. The other elements are not yet in place too and don’t seem to be worked out enough yet either. There is too much reverb in some places and little in others. It would be nice to hear a fully mixed and mastered version as well.
Anyway, the start of the song is very catchy (melody), appealing. However, later (also due to a lack of proper elaboration) the song becomes a little uninteresting.
With good imagination I can imagine how the song would sound if it were done (and it would be good!), but now it's still very early stage, unfortunately. Pity, because the idea is good, the starting melody is very good, but you still have to work on it to be really good, but it would be worth it.