SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC045 May 2021 - Winners announced

[JackPisso]

Hello everybody,

I'm new to the forum and to the contest.
Please find my entry below:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/m75mf6n6cunwa ... s.mp3?dl=1

It is called "Electronic Glitters"

I used ZynAddSubFx, Feldspar, EnergyXT, TDR Nova, built-in EQ and compressor in Audacity.

I didn't use any samples, all sounds are created within ZynAddSubFX and Feldspar (contralogic) synths.

I had a fun time creating this! Let me know what you think!

All the best,
Jack

EDIT May 25th:
I'm writing here also some words about the "story" of my track, as it seems to be encouraged in the rules.

I tried to work within the most minimalist setup (inspired by the opening post), everything being 32bit freeware gear, except for the host which is the ancient EnergyXT 1.4 (from 2006 - which I still love to this day).
My interpretation of the "Electronic music" theme is to use only synthesized sounds. I created some patches and planned for a spacey soundscape. I tried to make some melodic arps thinking of space, stars and random events in the stereo field ("glitters" ). Feldspar FX and Zyn came in handy for some random panning of certain sounds.

[canese]

Hello folks,

This is my submit for this month competition.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/17MaC7K ... sp=sharing

Track started with the bass idea. I had this idea while dreaming actually. I dreamt about my friends chanting and dancing all togheter again like old times. And I wanted to create a banger for clubs.

Bass has two layers, one very wide and detuned synth and another more organic bass. It's sidechained very hard to the kick
Kick is a sample I found in an old folder called "awesome kicks" lol
Snare has 3 layers, a clap, a organic snare with lot of ressonance and a synthetic one that plays the high mid and high end frecuencies of it.
Main synth is a Massive Preset, it is a typical trance pluck synth, I like it.
Percussion are drum hits washed by reverb.

good luck

[functionform]

submission!

https://soundcloud.com/functionform/simple-creatures

So the goal for this one was a Big Beat style take on funk, maybe a la 90s Fatboy Slim or Moby. I'd always wanted to do a proper track in that style.
However, I kind of got lost in the funk and just went with it. Glad I did some light EQ I went because I literally had no time to go back and do any final EQing at all. Like usual I'm swamped with work so stuff on the todo list got lost.

It might sound like there's only 3-4 loops here, but its more like 40. I had to do a lot of combining, chopping, slicing, rearranging in order to give the various parts a band-like feel which is what I was going for. MIDI wise I filled in Kontakt bass, a few 303 parts (a little buried in the mix) from when I was trying to do more 90s big beat. Also key to era were a lot of IR and light filter usage of anything Akai related to give it that classic Akai midrange. Serato Sample plugin helped out with the Akai workflow, but SP950 was probably the key there sonically

I never listened to them, but from what I understand this might be something in the vein of Justice which I believe was a group from 90s/2000s UK which also put together funk and electronic beats etc.

The funniest part about this track to me is that I wanted to layer in the Fatboy Slim stutters that to build excitement to the next segment. That is to say, I didn't have time to add what I believe is his time saving musical trick. That idea tickled me.

EQ, just a handful of instances of Burnley which has a nice saturation to it. The rest is almost all leveling, and lowpass or highpass filters. Little Plate also used when I needed EQ. For compression I had some LA2A emus help with some leveling, or I did volume automation.

Hope you enjoy!

Edit samples are a nix of samples on my hd, and then various funk blues jazz and hip hop from loopmasters

[Mister Fox]

It is the 25th May 2021, 3:30 UTC+2/CEST - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

A very, very warm welcome to all new faces on the forum (especially those coming from the "ThaSauce" community). And welcome back to our regulars.


If I didn't miscount, we had 12 participants overall, which is 5 entries more compared to last month (7 entries), and 5 more compared to last year (7 entries). Please scroll further down below to read up on an update of the game mechanics this month for the voting process



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 (productions released outside of the game's timeframe)
No (number: 0) entry has been redacted



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 12 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 11 tracks, the staff will will not cast a balance vote, unless there is a tie that can't be broken.

Keep the Rules and Guidelines in mind. 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 11 list can look something like this:

01 (11 pts) - Mr Moon
02 (10 pts) - Mr Sun
03 (09 pts) - Mrs Venus
04 (08 pts) - Mr Mars and his companions
05 (07 pts) - ...
06 (06 pts) - ...

Please take a look at the last two Songwriting Competition for how your feedback and vote could look like (sans the super technical information):
SWC044 - Song Collection and follow-up
SWC043 - Song Collection and follow-up

Please cast your vote in collective form through the "spoiler text" bbcode:

Code: Select all

[spoil]01 participant
02 participant
03 participant[/spoil]

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). Even if you already gave feedback prior to the deadline, please offer some final encouraging words, and maybe give some additional tips for improvements on the way.

Feedback from non-participants 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.


I also need to address an overhaul of the game mechanics, as introduced with SWC038. You can read up about the new concept here:
viewtopic.php?p=8957#p8957 (will be implemented into the Rules and Guidelines during Q2/2021)

Basically, disqualifications will only happen from this point forward, if you have submitted a production from outside of the game's timeframe and you're not participating in the feedback process. Everything else is handled through bonus points. This overhauled mechanic has been a test run from September to November and has been taken positive so far. If you don't want your bonus points go to waste, please update your posts with documentation by 3:00 (morning, German Time), and check that your files are properly named / downloadable.





Have some general feedback? Please voice your feedback/opinion/concerns here:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=97



Please have an eye on this thread!

[Mister Fox]

Let us kick off the VOTING PROCESS, which will end on Tuesday, 01-JUN-2021 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, or got the right links -- everyone, for the future, please update your initial releases and do not double post, as this makes collecting content so much harder). 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.


.

"Game Over"

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/brnuaop4aunks ... r.wav?dl=0

"Scènes"

MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1c5iczE ... sp=sharing

"ElectroGuai"

"Where are you?"

"Eternity"

"WipeOut"

Folder: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/ ... sp=sharing

MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Iipnt1 ... dsqUY/view
WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1b2KWSR ... 1WUql/view

"The Fight For All Who Live"

MP3: The Fight For All Who Live

"lotta cream in your butter pie"

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1YIFi3M ... sp=sharing

"Storm Warning"



FLAC: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lEfvUz ... sp=sharing
MP3: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f_D45x ... sp=sharing

"Electronic Glitters"

MP3: https://www.dropbox.com/s/m75mf6n6cunwa ... s.mp3?dl=1

"Nothing But Grass"

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17MaC7K ... sp=sharing

"Simple Creatures"

.



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 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!

SWC045 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) is mandatory, else you will be disqualified. Since this Songwriting Competition didn't have a fixed genre, please focus on the "overall experience", and what you think could be improved in a future release of this production. Please also keep the bonus point game mechanic in mind.


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

[Mellow Browne]

So, here is my feedback:

soundbeing - game over

This sounds like a jump & run video game music. Nice idea, but:
Synth chords are very wide and causing some phase problems, they disappear at times when listening in mono.
Bass is too prominent and muddy overall.
I think you should rebalance the volume of the instruments, with all the instruments playing at the same time the drums really loose their impact.
Stereo field/panning feels off to me.
Overall a bit boring, there is no real highlight/story behind this track.


alavault - scenes

Nice atmosphere, I really like the vibe of the intro.
The drums are pretty cool, overall I feel like in a modern „retro synth land“.
I understand the guitar part for some accentuation and also as main element for the transition between the scenes, but to my taste another instrument like a bell synth etc. would have done a better job, it takes me away from that „synth land“ feeling. I don´t really feel scene 2 and 3, it sounds more like pop music to me (especially the piano chords).
A synced siren sound to the tempo from scene 1 to scene 2 would have been nice.

in sum, good production/mix


EsteveCorbera - ElectroGuai

This reminds of some early „Sim City“ video game music. I really like the idea/sounds and the vibe.
But after a while it sounds a bit like „random music“. I understand the musical ascept of the chord progression, but there is no real structure behind it, I can´t a see/hear a story at all. Also, the track ends all of a sudden.

Overall, good idea but a „random“ performance.


gruskada - where are you

Attack of the bass is very clicky, especially in higher octaves.
Piano at the end is very loud in comparison to the rest.
I really like the soundtrack vibe and the story it tells.
Although the transition part is still not grooving on point, it fits to the rest of the production.

In sum, a very nice production


becsei_gyorgy - eternity

Great tune, I like the „bounce“ it has. Great atmosphere, nice story. Kick is a bit too heavy but at the same time loses impact at the end while all instruments playing at the same time.
As a hip hop dude I´m really missing a bass line in this track. It still is a very good track.


emeraldarcana - the fight for all who live

I like the intro, it reminds me of „Terminator“ and „Mortal Kombat“.
The main theme is pretty straight forward, but it sounds like a „random“ chord progression, i can´t really see an exciting musical structure.
Pad and bell elements are very prominent at the end.

Overall good idea, but a boring performance and a more busy mix


askandy - a lotter cream in your butter pie

All I can hear is noise. No offense, but I can´t take this serious. I can´t really give you feedback, sorry.


vca 089 - storm warning

GTA Vice City style. I really like it. Nice story. This sounds like 80/90 synth pop to me.

Great production, good mix.


jack pisso - electronic glitters

This is nothing special, but in a good way. It sounds like electronic music to me and I can clearly follow the story. But it is rather background video game music than a real track.
Sometimes the rhythm seems to be off beat and I´m missing some sort of pumping effect via sidechain for more bounce.

Overall, a solid produciton.


canese - nothing but grass

Sounds like a club/dance track to me, great idea and good performance.
I really like the atmosphere and the bounce.
But overall it seems a bit too beefy in the low frequencies. I don´t know if it is in your mix or master, but it sounds like heavy clipping/limiting.

In sum, a really good and solid dance track.


functionform - simple creatures

It has a big beat influence, but to my understanding the drum pattern is the only thing that fits into the style of „electronic music“. This is a bit too funky, to my ears it is more of a big beat hip hop track. The production is really good, no doubt. But this is not what I have in mind when I think of electronic music.

Overall, a super nice production and a good mix but not really electronic music.


Interesting to hear the different styles and genres.

And now the voting:

► Show Spoiler

01 (11 pts) vca 089
02 (10 pts) gruskada
03 (9Pts) canese
04 (8pts) becsei_gyorgy
05 (7pts) jack pisso
06 (6pts) alavault
07 (5pts) emeraldarcana
08 (4pts) EsteveCorbera
09 (3pts) function form
10 (2pts) SoundBeing
11 (1pt) AskAndy

[VCA-089]

GTA Vice City style. I really like it. Nice story. This sounds like 80/90 synth pop to me.

Vice City has one of the best soundtrack compilations ever, it got me into 80's music way back in the middle of 2000's. Then there were Hotline Miami 1 & 2.

Also, I added YT video to my post...

[functionform]

But this is not what I have in mind when I think of electronic music.

Just a quick note, Bigbeat/hip hop is very much on Ishtars radar which to me does qualify it as an "electronic" especially considering it was a genre produced by djs and not live musicians. Still, not contesting your rating and thanks for your feedback!

[EsteveCorbera]

EsteveCorbera - ElectroGuai

This reminds of some early „Sim City“ video game music. I really like the idea/sounds and the vibe.
But after a while it sounds a bit like „random music“. I understand the musical ascept of the chord progression, but there is no real structure behind it, I can´t a see/hear a story at all. Also, the track ends all of a sudden.

Overall, good idea but a „random“ performance.

Hello
Thanks for the comments.
I don’t understand too much because you say it just makes you a little ‘random’. Just this time I didn’t use any tools to randomize the notes.

[Mellow Browne]

But this is not what I have in mind when I think of electronic music.

Just a quick note, Bigbeat/hip hop is very much on Ishtars radar which to me does qualify it as an "electronic" especially considering it was a genre produced by djs and not live musicians. Still, not contesting your rating and thanks for your feedback!

I just spent some time with the musicmap and tried to compare your entry with some genres (Jump up, Liquid Funk, Neurofunk, Intelligent & Jazz Step and many more) under the subfolder "electronic dance music". To my ears your production sounds like a combo of "chemical breaks & big beat" drum pattern mixed with the funky influence of "broken beats" which are both labeled as "rap". Also the heavy usage of funky loops and sampling in your production reminds me of rap. The live band feeling is another element why I don´t see it as "electronic (dance) music". The hip hop and rap influence is just too big for me. I could also imagine it during a break dance battle in a cypher.

You have to admit that your entry also stands out from the rest sound wise, I´m really missing the "electronic" part.

So, what would call the genre? Maybe you can help me to get a better understanding.

EsteveCorbera - ElectroGuai

This reminds of some early „Sim City“ video game music. I really like the idea/sounds and the vibe.
But after a while it sounds a bit like „random music“. I understand the musical ascept of the chord progression, but there is no real structure behind it, I can´t a see/hear a story at all. Also, the track ends all of a sudden.

Overall, good idea but a „random“ performance.

Hello
Thanks for the comments.
I don’t understand too much because you say it just makes you a little ‘random’. Just this time I didn’t use any tools to randomize the notes.

How can I say? Music is about emotions and feelings, right? What I mean is the tension you create in a musical context/aspect, from simplicity to complexity, from really simple and boring/repetitive to absolute overload, same goes for 4/4 grooves to odd rhythm. I´m not talking about music theory in your case, everything is fine, I´m talking about the emotion it creates. It just stays in musical "no mans land", it is not really "catchy", it is hard for me to follow your story, this is why it feels so "random" to me. I hope you understand what I want to say, this is hard to explain.

Cheers!