What I learned this month:
To play the drums is easier than I imagined but harder than I thought.
The easy part of it is just repetition and practicing the right things in a manageable but still challenging context. The more efficient you become with your limbs the longer you can play which automatically makes more fun.
But I underestimated how much time it takes to play clean and consistent (almost like a drum machine) the most standard groove you can imagine with a metronome. The hard part of it is to become confident and how long it takes to get a certain skill level where you can just freestyle and add some fills without any major hiccups while playing.
The only thing I would change if I had to redo it is to stick with a specific drum performance, I recorded 8 or 9 takes and every take was different. And I would also record all drum elements individually. Because of the dead line I had to record the stereo output of the TD 17.
There are a few minor timing things but I’m happy with the overall performance.
So, here is my feedback:
Crispy
I like the overall drive, the tempo and the jazzy direction you went for this theme. I think your entry is not bad, but to my personal taste some things are not quite there yet. The organ solo is really cool and my personal highlight is that little variation 03:05 and how it switches back to the main theme. I think with some more variations/substitutions or chord changes/voicing your entry could even be a bit more „sophisticated“, I mean there are some passages that feel like improvisation freestyle, but still it feels a bit empty and repetitive „musically“.
The overall sound is very compressed (or heavy use of clipper/limiter on the stereo output), and sorry, but I find the vsts sound very cheap, especially the drums. The mix is more midrangey and sounds a bit flat, especially at the end when all instruments come together. I think with different sounds (mainly drums and bass) your entry would sound more natural and not so artificial. I wouldn’t look so much on numbers (like LUFS) because this doesn’t tell you so much about loudness etc.
Api_ZZ
Well, I don’t know how to give you feedback on this one. I can hear that those are samples, and yes it sounds very cinematic/epic etc. But I find it hard to judge the thing YOU have done besides from just putting the samples together and making some volume adjustments. The sample selection and the overall musical direction is nice but I don’t know if I can consider it as music making.
Also, the mix is a bit strange. There is a click noise @ 00:18, maybe from bad editing or something. And overall, the mix sounds very busy and clouded, there is no real separation between elements/instruments, especially the last section. The end is a bit abrupt.
Becsei Gyorgy
Reminds of some 80s/90s music, it has some nice retro vibes and a slight cheesy chord progression. I like the overall vibe of your entry, but sorry, this horrible plastic voice is absolutely annoying! The melody is good and all, you did a great job on this, but this sounds so generic and lifeless. I prefer no voice or vocals, this AI singing stuff is absolutely whack imo. But I understand the use of it as a demonstration of what you had in mind
Kick has a bit too much oomph at the beginning, but later in the song it is not enough. I think rebalancing the volume faders could help here.
There are sections where this 4 on the floor kick pattern doesn’t fit so well and the overall timing gets a bit weird.
The entry is not bad overall, I just can’t stand this AI voice.
EsteveCorbera
Your entry sounds very calm, dreamy, friendly and relaxing. It fits the theme very well and it’s so nice that you dedicated this to your son. Your entry has some cool parts and the sound selections is well chosen for this type of music. Also the fact that you didn't add any drums or percussion grooves is not a problem. It's nice that you created different sections which adds complexity to the simplicity of your entry. Only the switch from section to section is a bit too obvious to my ears, especially @ 03:20.
But it’s nice to hear the improvements you made over the last few months, your entries have way more musical structure and also your mixing has improved. Keep up the good work!
JeroenZuiderwijk
Well, you definitely have your own unique style with a retro video game music feeling, which (if I remember correct) all your entries have in common and which is good. Very energetic synth/brass sounds with a higher tempo. And still, I don’t want to offend you but I would love to hear something different from you. Another genre, tempo, sound selection, something that surprises me. To my taste, your music often sits in this emotional „no-man’s-land“, it’s not minor nor major, not black nor white. At times it feels a bit like random music with no clear chord progression/structure/voicing and avoiding the black keys entirely. Don’t get me wrong, but I have the impression your entries sound too similar to each other. I would love to hear you leaving your „comfort zone“ and to try something you never did before. Sorry, don’t take it personal, or rather take it as a compliment because I really appreciate your contributions and I can hear your „musicality“, I think it just needs some more fine tuning and music theory to bring you to your personal next level.
KukoBass
Another entry that gives me 90s vibes. I like the direction you went with this chilled and relaxing atmosphere. The chord progression is smooth and blends well with the B part. The sound selection is good and the guitar playing is nice. Only the instrumentation is a bit sparse to my taste which makes it just a little bit like a „WIP“. The strings are too much in the background and I’m missing some supporting elements or added chord voicing on top from a piano or something. In sum, well done.
shroom feverish
Cool atmosphere and nice 808 sound. The overall vibe has a lot of tension but still feels very chilled and relaxing. The overall sound selection is very nice and there are lots of little details to discover. Even though I think the mood of your entry doesn’t fit the the theme so much, I find your entry very interesting. It has a nice sound stage and a balanced mixed. I would only take a closer look at your low end, I see a lot is happening in the lowest register (20-40 Hz). In sum, nice job!
TrojakEW
Nice to have you on board again! This has a nice flair, a nice mix of different styles. This entry fits the theme well and the sound selection is absolutely gorgeous. My favourite part is @ 01:30 with those beautiful strings,, wonderful.
The percussion is a bit too much in the front and the instruments are too far in the back and also a bit too dry. There is some reverb on the instruments but somehow the sound stage doesn’t seem to work so efficient like it could have been imo. The mix sounds balanced and good, but I’m missing some depth from the front to the back. Every element has its own place and the separation is good, but it feels like they have all the exact same distance to the listener. Still, great job!
My Top 5:
► Show Spoiler
1st TrojakEW
2nd shroom feverish
3rd KukoBass
4th EsteveCorbera
5th Becsei Gyorgy
How do we go from there?