SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC060 August 2022 - Winners announced

[Arelem]

So I redid the lyrics and vocals. I'm not sure if I like the vocal takes as much as the version in my original post, and I tried a couple of different takes. Should I replace it with this one? Any feedback is appreciated!

https://soundcloud.com/user-543357626/s ... al_sharing

Lyrics:
Got my feet stuck in the sand
Can't tell where the current goes
feel it slippin through my hands
feel it on down through my toes

out like a ship in the pouring rain
feel it comin on like a hurricane
got all this lightnin' in my brain
lost at sea 'till I go insane

I don't know where I need to go
can't find any resemblance of hope
It's helpless for me, how can I cope
please tell me something cuz I don't know

cuz I'm losin' it out there
can't seem to find any air
chest tightenin, sight gettin thin
can't get no traction, spiralin

(Chorus)
I'm underwater
don't remember how to swim
head underwater
try-in ta get back in
So I hold on tighter
to a place back then
can't be the fighter
I know that I can't win
(Chorus)

So can someone throw me a line
which of these thoughts are mine
tell me what is my crime
why does it feel like I'm serving time

can't believe I could feel this helpless
can't believe you could be so selfish
leavin' me out ta sea with the shellfish
what'd I do to you, can you tell this

got me drownin here in my thoughts
get the plank out and I walk
air my lungs out and I cough
cannot breathe, how can I talk

I'm slowly sinking under
to a place I can't recover
soon to be another
just a fading memory of her

[KukoBass]

I like the second version of the lyrics better.
The song gives me a claustrophobic underwater vibe and goes well with the lyrics. What I am missing is a little more harmonic variation in the music of the verse. The single note synth /drone sounding like a sonar ping gets a little boring during the verses. It works well in the chorus, when the other instruments change the harmonic contest. I think a little bit of harmonic change would improve the sound of the verse.
You did a great job with the vocal treatment.

[Arelem]

I like the second version of the lyrics better.
The song gives me a claustrophobic underwater vibe and goes well with the lyrics. What I am missing is a little more harmonic variation in the music of the verse. The single note synth /drone sounding like a sonar ping gets a little boring during the verses. It works well in the chorus, when the other instruments change the harmonic contest. I think a little bit of harmonic change would improve the sound of the verse.
You did a great job with the vocal treatment.

I can see what you're getting at and I've tried playing around with adding something. Ultimately, it changes the tone or atmosphere of the song. I can't quite seem to get something to match it in a way I like better than where it currently is. That's not to say that something couldn't bring it to the next level, but I can't find it. The only option that I did like (kind of) made it too similar to the chorus and then there wasn't much distinction between the verse and chorus. For me, the automation bringing the 'sonar ping' in and out keeps it interesting enough and that combined with the vocals works for me; it's not too cluttered but it isn't boring.

-Arelem

[KukoBass]

I have edited my first post and uploaded the new version.

[becsei_gyorgy]

Hi,
This month's task was a picture theme, writing music for the picture. Fortunately, the task was a very exciting picture.
At first glance, it was obvious that this water is not the slow, comfortable, sluggish flowing water. The whole picture is vibrant, exciting, full of movements, there are a lot of small and large bubbles that rise up and fall down at the same time.

Therefore, my first thought was that a bouncier, slightly sharper instrument would be my main theme, so I chose the harpsichord.
Once it became harpsichord and fountain, it was a straight path to classical instrumentation with strings and woodwinds.
I tried to write music that fits the picture and is constantly in motion: rising and falling movements in music, pulsation, slightly faster rhythm, etc. That's all I managed to get together this weekend:

phpBB [media]

VST:
Spitfire BBC Core
Spitfire Originals Epic Choir
Cineharpsichord

FX:
Pro Q-3
SSL Native Bus Comp 2
Sonimus Britson
Seventh Heaven
bx_digital V3
Gullfoss
bx_townhouse
Abbey Road TG Master
Oxford Inflator
Oxford Limiter
TR5 Tape 99
Youlean LM
SPAN

[GamaGama]

Hello everyone, and thanks for the nice topic proposed.
Until today I had not listened to the other participants' songs: they seem very appropriate and interesting to me. Surely if I had listened to them I would have been influenced and probably would have addressed something similar. Instead, I recovered an old song (it was on an old Atari floppy - from 1990, I suppose - labelled "to be completed") that I remembered having aside and adjusted it a bit for the purpose: ideally I wanted to represent a turbulent stream running towards the valley. The result is a fairly smooth "monolithic" piece full of winds: the flavor is a bit gypsy, a bit afro / mex and a bit 70ies. I hope that I have not put together too many colors and that you like it.

I was lucky enough to have on loan for a few days from a producer friend of mine (a professional musician ....) who went on vacation his laptop which also contains the Kontakt libraries that I only knew by reputation: I must say that these are very accurate sounds, which unfortunately I could only partially exploit. I hope that there will be for me another opportunity to be able to use them more fully; in particular, the following were used:
- Classic guitar "Sketch Nylon" by Iurii Zinin
- "Pop Bass" and "Flute" from the standard Kontakt libraries
- "Session Horns Pro" by Native Instrument
- "Nylon Guitar" by Swing! by ProjectSAM
-The Drums "AR Modern White kit" from Native Instruments Abbey Road Modern Drummer MK2 suite
-The other sounds are from Steinberg's "HALion" libraries
It was very interesting (even if tiring: the learning curve of new software was not so fast for me) to work with extremely valid professional sounds and products: surely the work could have been refined further, but time is over: the laptop has already been returned.

The song "Fast Stream Runto River" is available here in WAV 44k / 24bit version:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XtFXSO ... sp=sharing

and here in MP3 / 192k version:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1s2AeWz ... sp=sharing



I hope you enjoy!
Soon!

GamaGama

[Mister Fox]

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, or explicitly mark your entry as "final entry". Thank you.

[VCA-089]

phpBB [media]

My submission for this round:

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/121CMI9 ... sp=sharing
FLAC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tPuCf7 ... sp=sharing
MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nTZV16 ... sp=sharing

The summer is ending and I'm returned back to my day job (sadly). I'm not quite happy with this project, but at least I can bring something to the table this time. Trying to incorporate my old drafts with my new skills and tools.

Exploring an underwater is almost like visiting another planet. It is very dangerous, yet very engaging journey, full of beautiful and thrilling moments. The whole new world to explore, that requires special skills and abilities to survive, completely out of your comfort zone.

Instruments and techniques:

1. For drums I used LinnDrum samples.
2. The electric bass is "Ample Bass P Lite"
3. The electric guitars (clean and crunchy lead) is MusicLab "RealLPC"
4. SampleScience's "Cinematic Piano" stands for itself.
5. SampleScience's "Deamwaves" is a synth pad in the intro.
6. Audiolatry's "MEL-lofi" used for background choir and strings.
7. TAL Bassline 101 is used for synth lead and bell sequence.
8. Several free sample packs were used to create special effects.
9. VSCO2 Rompler used for some percussion and impact sounds.

Produced in FL Studio 20.9.2.

Technical details:

► Show Spoiler

Generators:

x1 FPC
x1 Ample Sound "Bass P Lite II"
x1 SampleScience "Cinematic Piano"
x1 SampleScience "VHS Dreamwaves"
x2 Audiolatry "Mel-Lofi"
x3 Musiclab "RealLPC"
x2 TAL "Bassline 101"
x3 VSCO2 Orchestra

Native Effects:

x2 Balance
x18 Parametric EQ 2
x5 Delay 3
x1 Love Philter
x3 Stereo Enhacer
x2 PanOMatic
x1 Wave Candy
x1 dB Meter

VST Effects:

x3 ToneLib "GFX"
x1 TAL Chorus-LX
x12 AdHd "Leveling Tool"
x6 Thomas Mundt "LoudMax"
x1 D16 "Frontier"
x1 D16 "Decimort 2"
x1 Analog Obsession "Sweet Drums"
x1 TDR "Kotelnikov"
x2 TDR "Nova"
x20 TDR & VoS "Slick EQ GE"
x1 VoS "epicVerb"
x3 Eventide "Blackhole"
x1 U-He "ColourCopy"
x5 Wavesfactory "Cassette"

Master Chain:

TDR "Nova"
TDR "Limiter №6 GE"

Total:

x14 Generators
x91 Effects
x26 MIDI Patterns
x42 Mixer Tracks
x16 Audio Clips
x16 Automation Clips

Sample Packs:

99Sounds "Space Divers Mini"
99Sounds "Percussia Toolbox"
Articulated Sounds "Water"

[Olli H]

My submission
Olli H: One Lonely Drop At A Time
https://drive.google.com/file/d/15l0Gsd ... sp=sharing

For the lack of descent ideas I had already decided not to attend this month. But then I get this last minute idea.

I didn't have time for any production, mixing etc. I just played in my rough ideas. So in this submission there's surely many reasons to draw out some points.

Guitars: real
Shaker: real
Bass: Modo
Vox: late night last minute whispering by me
Violin and Viola: NI

DAW: Reaper


EDIT: words and chords taken away

[Mister Fox]

It is the 25th August 2022, 0:15 UTC+2/CEST - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended


STATISTICS:

• If I didn't miscount, we have 8 submissions this month (3 entries less than last month, but 2 more than August 2021)
• We have 0 submissions after the deadline (as of 25-AUG-2022 0:20 UTC+2/CEST)
• 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
• "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 8 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 7 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, see below).

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:

SWC059 - Song Collection and follow-up
SWC058 - Song Collection and follow-up

⚠	Moderation Message from Mister Fox
	For transparency: To spark more interaction this month, the staff (Mister Fox) will listen to all submitted entries up until the deadline, give both feedback and cast an additional vote. The vote value will count 1x (no multipliers). Bonus entries up until the 26th of the month will be taken into consideration, but will not get any points on the score sheet. This month, the staff (Mister Fox) will not listen to entries and/or cast a vote.

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 have an eye on this thread!