Mix Challenge

KukoBass flatters me - I think I won this competition because based on that comment, I nailed exactly what I was aiming for!

What a happy way to start the weekend.

Hello, what a cool range of musical styles !

We all have developed our own personal styles of writing music, so I'm going to leave any assessment of fit to theme out of it. I would be the worst judge on the matter anyway. When I started writing music in the 80's I used an Roland D10 keyboard and a Yamaha midi synth rack, patched to my Atari ST running Steinberg Pro 24 with midi cables (on which I also played video games by the way, I was 15). That's what electronic music meant to me at that time, and that's what the theme evoked for me.

So for each track, I'm just going to give feedback on how I might try to improve on it, whatever the style.

EsteveCorbera
The rising synth at the start sounds a bit cheesy, I would change the sonic character and make it rise over a smaller note range.
The drums could be beefed up a bit, try using Accusonus beatformer or Ableton Drum Buss or similar. They let you do lots of things at once, with saturation, compression, transient shaping, etc. to get a fuller, thumpier or crunchier beat (whatever) very quickly. The drums are often the weakest parts of a track if they are not really worked on to give them flow, movement, fills, transition, etc. I cheat by using drum machines that provide ready made patterns and fills, then I output the midi and make the rhythms my own by making edits over the whole drum track from start to end. I think the chord progression could be made more interesting - try Cthulhu or Scaler to help generate unexpected chord progressions, keep what you like and make them your own. The melody could be improved by creating melodic phrases of say 8-12 notes that you can repeat and create variations on as the song progresses. The tonal balance is tipped towards the mids / highs and a more meaty low end bass would balance it out a bit more.

Koekepan
The bell synth creates an otherworldy feel. Nice vintage swirling synth pads.
I would reduce the reverb on the vocals, or maybe better, or do both, duck the reverb so the words cut through more clearly, because I can't understand what is being said. If it's intentionally blurred, I would lower the volume or wash it out a bit to make it sit further back in the mix. The middle frequency range is a mid muddy, some harshnesses to reduce. Cool bass sound (reminds me of the theme music of the film 'The Thing') when it comes in at 1:48. Overall cool floaty ambient track, takes me to another place.

VCA-089
Clearly you're very good at manipulating modular synthesis machines / plugins. I wouldn't know where to start. Lots of original textures, sounds, bell cascades, interactions, etc. Nice crescendo as the first theme comes in with the filtered bass and square lead. I would just want to take some of the harsh edge off the lead on the higher notes. Gets quite noisy at 3:25-ish, maybe a bit cluttered ? But short lived. Great soaring lead at 3:40. Like I said, I wouldn't know where to start to create this kind of music, but I'd be convinced listening to this that you have a huge cool modular setup in your studio. Super coherent song, no repetition, just evolving soundscapes and harmonies. And no drum track at all, the bass is more than enough to provide the rhythm from start to finish.

Becsei_gyorgy
You had time to do a video as well as the track ?! The synths go together really nicely. The bringing in at 0:33 then at 0:42 of additional layers of the drums feels like a lazy way of getting from a light to a full on drum beat. Then it cuts back to a basic beat at 0.50, undoing it again. I like the interplay of the parts, which syncopate well together. I'm less keen on the female voice, I'm wondering if a male voice would complement better the 'dark' atmosphere you created. The drop at 1:38 adds some anticipation and build up again. At 2:25 I love the whistly lead which creates a catchy soundbite. The song feels like it is constantly in movement, there are regular changes in the arrangement to keep the interest. I like the cool jaunty feel a lot.

Kukobass
There are some great synth sounds, with interesting swirls and arps. Maybe a tad too much autopan in places (e.g. the synth at 1:42).
There are two main areas where I would focus on improvements across the track. Firstly, I would highly recommend trying some pattern drum machines to give you more ideas and material to work with on the drum track, give it more variety and movement. And add some thickness through saturation + compression or use beatformer or such like. Secondly, the pads and chords are quite dry, I would add a longer release envelope, or some subtle reverb, or play them more legato. They also seem to play alone then fade out before another instrument comes in to take its place. It needs to feel more like a flow, an interaction and interplay between the instruments as they overlap and play together, or as they pass on the baton more fluidly to the next section or instrument.

GamaGama
I think the first theme comes in a bit abruptly after the first 2 bars, drums + bass + chords arriving all together at once. When the full ensemble comes in at 0.52 it's a bit abrupt too, I think it would be good to do some crescendos, build ups, or something to help the listener anticipate the arrival of each new section. The drums could do with more variation and the kick and snare are difficult to differentiate from the hi hats. There are some nice lead synth sounds later on. It sounds like you were riffing freestyle over the chord progression, which sounds good, however this runs from 0.50 to the end of the song without any variation in the bass or chord patterns. I would look for ways to add variations in volume, breakdowns, drops or new chord progressions that keep the interest and attention for a listener.

Olli H
For me, this demonstrates that you are very accomplished at writing, structuring and arranging a song. All the parts fit together so well. The electronicification (!) from 1:44 is pretty cool, I would have liked to hear some of those ideas applied more throughout the song, because it feels like a 50's song with a short electronic middle and a 50's ending again. I would also use a bit of re-tuning technology on the vocals (note: not the over-the-top quantised autotune type effect we hear too often these days), because nobody sings 100% bang on tune, and it can help to nudge the tuning a bit here and there.

Arelem
It comes across well as a club / dance track, with the classic female echoing voice introducing the main beat with a riser, and again in the breakdowns. One thing that created some dissonance for me was the overlaying of what sounds like major and minor chords at the same time in some places, it's hard to put my finger on it. I'd also have liked more variation, going beyond the alternation of female voice break and then the main beat with G / G# alternating top synth. Although it is a club-style track.

By the way, today I notice that Plugin Alliance have some plugins on sale (https://www.plugin-alliance.com/en/products.html) and I can highly recommend the bx_limiter True Peak plugin which is a great way to dial in the LUFS target I'm looking for on my tracks.

Feedback:
Votation:

In Wikipedia's list of genres of electronic music there seems to be about 350 different genres. As I'm not able to define any of them, I decided to turn off my basic analytic commenting style and say shortly just something what comes to my mind. They are maybe irrelevant comments from the point of view of the chosen genre. So take them as comments from one old ignoramus who doesn't understand the real stuff.

Here's my comments:

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EsteveCorbera
Nice gliding sounds in opening. As if a subway is leaving the station.
Bass comes nicely in around 0:17. Then starts the melody line around 0:30. It starts nicely, but just when its about to lead the song to new areas at 0:40, it just turns back and goes back to it's nest with the same rhythm. So, at 0:40 you could have brought in for example a new rhythmic element to melody. And the same thing repeats couple of times. So, melody line by synth is to my ears too static. It just goes up and down without relevant variations.

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VCA-089
You surely have talent in creating interesting sounds with Voltage Modular. Those sounds blend very nicely together. Good mixture of smooth and buzzing sounds.
The bass line is nice. But somehow it feels to loop too much in one chord. (Probably it goes through more chords, but as the notes are so quick and jumping, the establishment of the current chord is not so evident.)
What I think, the main problem in this submission is the main melody part (1:20 - 2:50). To me the sound of the instrument doesn't feel sonically suitable to be a long lasting lead instrument. Well, it starts smoothly, but as velocities increase, it starts to feel more like a bagpipe. That sort of sound functions better in small doses, especially as sounds in the background speak much more smoothly. Also, the bagpipe melody doesn't feel to me so musical. I feel it repeats too much the emphasis on thirds: "one-two-THREEE-four one-two-THREEE-four".
To me the best part is those moments when you bring that new chord (for example 3:30, i>IV?, are we in Dorian mode? Cool!).

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Arelem
This is steady dance beat with clearly different parts. Each part is quite different and well done, but still, despite the differences, the song needs some sort of movement. Maybe some hi-hat riff in later parts with different 16th-part tempos here and there might give the change I was hoping. For example 1:15 could be a good place to introduce a new hi-hat pattern.
Static synth pad start to bring fatigue to listening experience. But I'm sure, if you had had more time, you would have fixed these kinds of issues. Now it feels more like a first version of the great song under production.

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becsei_gyorgy
Surely well-done arrangement. Very skilful use of drums. They give a nice feel of progression.

Around 1:40 comes a silent part without drums. That was surprising, for I felt that the song hadn't yet properly started.

Then start's a new phase at 1:50. I like gliding sounds, but when the gliding bass' or low-mid instrument's note is very short, it easily starts to feel out of tune. The moment after it reaches the note and finally stays there, is very short. For that reason in those parts, the melody line is not properly established, as we're mainly hearing sounds going towards the correct note, not the intented note.

Nice percussive xylophone style lines around 1:50 and 2:40. I guess Boney M has been a great influence to you. This one would be superb submission if you were to add Boney M style melody hook lines to this. Currently is some how lacks the hook line.

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GamaGama
Opening part is probably too long. The bass has a nice pulse, but it lasts too long for the song to really start.

But I really like the part the melody comes in around 0:50. That's very cool improvisational melody. Melody line skillfully nicely refers to the next chord beforehand. So it's creating all the time musical tensions and resolving it properly. Very pleasant to listen. I just wish there were also a clear singable main melody and then, after it, these cool speedy improvisational lines. Also the sound/instrument of melody carrier could change every now and then.

Overall, this submission has some super melody lines and chord progression woven together in a very nice way. At the same time it feels that it's not finalized yet. The establishment of the singable part could be clearer. After more simple melody lines, the speedy melody lines would give a feel of bigger variation, and that way great solo experience. To clarify my point, listen, for example, one of my all-time favorites, Del Shannon's hit "Runaway". I think your melody lines have same kind of surprising elements. But listen to how the vocal part in "Runaway" first establishes the main melody, and after that the solo part of it feels just genius. Without the established melody line, the solo wouldn't be that great. What I'm saying, you surely have similar — although totally different — cool moments in your lines. This a gem.

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Koekepan
This one was a bit difficult for me to analyse. On the other hand it felt like a some sort of meditation madras. On the other hand it feels a bit restless. So, the moment I reach the heart chakra with hum-note, I start to feel the madras is invaded by ants. Maybe it's that constant tremolo style effect that makes my mind jittery.

As the vocal part has so prominent role, the articulation of it should be more clear.

Bass comes in 2:40 with a simple rhythm. That's a good change. It creates an expectation that something new is about to come. But fore some reason it didn't come.

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KukoBass
Opening feels a bit superfluous. Maybe the song could start directly from 0:20.
Nice bass line and drums. Work together very well. And that marimba sounding synth works perfectly with them. Together they create probably best sounds of this month's competition. At least to me that sound is very vibrant.

I like the fact that it's just a couple of instruments. To me well thought sparse instrumentation is always better than plenty of half thought multilayered instruments. So, I feel that this is a coherent hypnotic piece of music.

Synth chords disturb me a bit. Classic tremolo effect through warm guitar amp might work fine to give them some vibe.

Overall, the part starting around 1:40 feels a bit chaotic, and it distracts me from the main theme, that was just established deeply into my mind. Instead of those delay bounced edgy sounds, maybe there could be a short part with key modulation to major scale (i > I) with some quicker chord changes, and then back to smooth the main theme in minor feeling. Or even better, take a listen to J. J. Cales superb "Magnolia." In the mood level they are very same. Check the change in "Magnolia" around 1:30. It stays in the same key but musically introduces new chords nicely. And after that comes back to the original 2-chord theme. I'm not saying that anything should be copied from there, but rather that it's that kind of small but clear mood change that I'm longing for, and it can be done in many ways.

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patrlord
Very skillfully done. Great beat with a real movement all through the song. Especially I like those interesting chord progressions here and there. You surely have some arrangement skills.

Very nice change around 1:07 and 2:27. (Probably with a key modulation?)

The production is very good to my ears. The overall sound is coherent all through the song. Small transition in right places. But still, having said that, I miss the main melody lines. After a several listenings this feels to me as if the lead channel is muted.

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And here's the points for the songs based on the fact how the submission arouses musical vibes within me.

KukoBass wrote: ↑

Fri May 27, 2022 13:27 CEST

OlliH - Daisy Darling
I really like the song and found myself humming the melody during the following day.

Thanks

KukoBass wrote: ↑

Fri May 27, 2022 13:27 CEST

My main criticism with this song is that it is "too acoustic" and therefore not fitting the theme of the competition. It glows in the parts where synthesizers replace the acoustic instruments. I wished you had gone for an all-synthesizer version for this contest.

I guess that then it wouldn't have been Electro Swing, in which the point and challenge is that modern synths sounds are blended with old acoustic retro sounds. But I understand the point. My mistake! I really thought that Electro Swing was accepted genre for it said "GENRE: Electronic (any sub-genre)" Maybe the theme definition "Synth Racks, Patches and Cables" ruled out the Electro Swing. To me it sounded like a description of any analog studio from 80's and 90's.

patrlord wrote: ↑

Fri May 27, 2022 17:11 CEST

Olli H
For me, this demonstrates that you are very accomplished at writing, structuring and arranging a song. All the parts fit together so well.

Thanks!

patrlord wrote: ↑

Fri May 27, 2022 17:11 CEST

The electronicification (!) from 1:44 is pretty cool, I would have liked to hear some of those ideas applied more throughout the song, because it feels like a 50's song with a short electronic middle and a 50's ending again.

That drop part is actually the first "drop" I've ever made. And probably the first one in the world where old and real slap bass styled double bass is in crucial role within a drop.
Originally the song was more 40's style as I first made those parts first with horns. But to add more aggression and contrast to song I replaced those horns with low-mid synths that played 50's style guitar licks.

patrlord wrote: ↑

Fri May 27, 2022 17:11 CEST

I would also use a bit of re-tuning technology on the vocals (note: not the over-the-top quantised autotune type effect we hear too often these days), because nobody sings 100% bang on tune, and it can help to nudge the tuning a bit here and there.

That's very true. Actually I'm pretty good with Melodyne to make inaudible-corrections to vocals and instruments, but this time - in my lazyness - I decided to not to do that. In that time-is-running-out-moment I fooled myself to like that vocal non-professionalism in those vulgar vocal parts. But if I return to this naive song, I'll certainly sing new versions of those man and female parts. And I'll surely apply Melodyne to them.

Hello,
Here are my reviews or contributions from this month.
Thank you all for your feedback.

JanKoekepan_TheHeartbeatRemains
Interesting start. The sounds and effects are cool. But you expect more from the song but in the end nothing just happened. Possibly this is the intention. As you say, stay in the intro. Voices may be too loud and difficult to understand. Curious change in the middle of the song with the bass.

VCA-089 / Infravolt - Cosmic_Generation
I’ve been listening to a lot of Tangerine Dream lately. There are so many types it's hard to say. And that's what reminds me of your subject. I really like it because it reminds me of Tangerine Dream. What envy.
A great topic for me. No problems.
Your description of how you did your topic will help me learn. Thanks

becseigyorgy_TrappedMind
Another topic I have little to say. I really like the dark subject you did, it's growing and evolving in an interesting way. I'm sorry, but there is nothing to improve.
Comment aside, the list of plugins you've used is scary, where do you go with so much?

KukoBass_LMLIAWCS
I'm listening to your topic with headphones, now is not the time to use speakers. Did the headphones have any initial binaural or ambisonic effects? Because I feel them inside my head. Interesting.
I find the subject missing something. Maybe work on the effects more (Add reverberation?), Develop the battery more, vary the bass.
I like the sounds of the more experimental synthesizers.

GamaGama_Naissummer
The more I listen to your topic, the more I like it. I like the simplicity, this rhythm telling that in the middle of the theme you are broad. I like the melody or the sequence of quick notes you draw, good improvisation.
By default, it would tell you how abruptly it ends and at minute 0:50 too many things come in at once.
I think it happened to you with the levels of IL (Integrated Loudness)

OlliH_DaisyDarling
Very funny topic. A great topic! I don't know how to put it, but I like it. Very original.
I didn't expect such a thing. As you mentioned, it should be more electronic to fit the script of this month.
I like the mix and the variations of sounds you're making.

patrlord_bad bot
Good topic. Good structure. Good sounds. Lots of energy. Little to contribute as a critique.

Arelem - Feel It (House 1-20-22 (Feel It))
I see that you have been able to recover and take part in the challenge.
Everyone to dance! Total disco theme!
The subject needs more work. Add more variations, for example, the rhythm of the synthesizer ends up being too repetitive and gets in your head.
The voices do a good job at the sound level.

Thank you all

(translated with google)

I am happy to announce the following sponsor for the Mix Challenge audio community



IK Multimedia is kind enough to give away one license of MODO BASS 2 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



IK Multimedia has been kindly sponsoring licenses for the Songwriting Competition since November 2018. They renew their partnership for the Songwriting Competition with MODO BASS 2.

Their offer is retroactive (already starting with SWC057 / May 2022).

A huge thank you goes to IK Multimedia for providing the licenses.

!	Bonus Info
	MODO BASS 2 is a major update - unfortunately this is not a free one. However, if you're having a license of MODO BASS 1.x, you can still check out the new engine with your already existing basses by accessing the "Custom Shop" version. More about this on the IK Multimedia MODO BASS 2 product page.

Hello Everyone,

I am still not feeling particularly well, so my feedback is not as thorough as I would like it to be, but I still wanted to provide it to you all.

EsteveCorbera - My previous feedback still basically applies here. I like the drums and the funky rhythm of the hats/shaker. The melodies do not have much in the way of variation in the timings of the notes which makes it feel a bit robotic.

Koekepan - I don't have any gripes about what is here, but as far as it being a song, it really isn't. The ambiance that you created is nice and I like the sounds and everything. I just don't think there's enough here for a songwriting contest when compared to other entries.

VCA-089 - I liked the intro but I did think it was a tad long. I liked that the pluck/bass was there to keep a consistency to your track because the melody did not seem to have any sort of pattern. Overall, that does make the track difficult to really get into. I feel like your track suffers from a similar issue as to what I wrote for Koekepan in that there isn't much here to suggest an actual song. It's a nice enough score and I could see it being in the background of a SciFi show or something, but not so much as a song that I would listen to.

Becsei Gyorgy - Nice drums with interesting hats. I was really digging the chosen sounds in this track and it had a really nice vibe to it.

KukoBass - This is a nice mellow track. I think it would benefit from some additional variation though, especially because the track it pretty low tempo. What's here is good, but it could use a little more added to it.

GamaGama - I think the mid-bass is maybe a little loud, and the actual low end is maybe a bit lacking (or maybe that's just because the mid-lows are overpowering it). I think the track would benefit from some variation in the hats like some velocity and panning movement. Other than those minor things, I think this was a pretty solid track. Enough variation to keep it interesting and enough predictability in the melody to keep my attention.

Olli H - Really fun track even if it doesn't really fit in with modern music until halfway through. I don't usually consider how people interpret the theme as that is up to each person, but I really don't think that the small electronic section is enough to satisfy the theme this time around. I don't have much to critique because what's here is great, I just don't feel that it matches the theme enough for me.

Patrlord - I really like the track here. Not much to say about it. I like the groove off the drums, and nice arp effects. There isn't much of melody until the final part of the track. I kind of wish there was a little more leading up to that but the track is still interesting without it.

Hi all, my feedbacks:

EsteveCorbera - Una Tarda de Festa
Good riser in the beginning, nice sound choices, 80's retro feel.
Mix: the frequency balance is good but there are harsh synth peaks which should be dampened a bit.
The kick is a bit missing the attack part and always sidechain the kick almost to all track, and you won’t lose it during the song. The mono compatibility could be better.
Overall nice retro feel, it needs a little adjustment in a place or two, but a good try.

JanKoekepan - The Heartbeat Remains
A calmer, more soothing version of electronic music
Excellent background music for performances or for example in a planetarium It definitely needs a good big and well-sounding stereo space, because in mono you lose a lot of sound here as well.
It creates a good atmosphere right from the start.
The sounds are good, but I would give the synthesizers a wider frequency picture - at least one deeper layer is missing. Even loud peaks should sometimes be reduced slightly.
Overall pleasant, almost esoteric background music, great work.

VCA-089 - Cosmic Generation
Great play with Voltage Modular.
Excellent sounds, clever mixing.
Deftly creates an atmosphere of true cosmic, space feeling which is also a time travel into the heroic age of synthesizers.
Sometimes very little harsh sounds occur, little soothe would work well there but overall excellent work.

KukoBass - LMLIAWCS
If this is your first time making and uploading a piece of music, it’s been pretty good.
At the start of the drums I was very surprised by the extremely shy snare sound. Almost as if there were no snare there, it could be more prominent. You wrote that there is almost no effect, even though compressors are unavoidable, here on the drums too.
Yes a little variation would be good in drums and in the bass etc. but not a bad start.

GamaGama - Naissummer
To tell you the truth, when I read that minimoog and prophet are waiting for us, I was a little excited to listen.
However, after listening to I liked the composition much more than the sound choices or the mixing.
Somehow I feel like the composition and sounds don’t fit together - if that makes sense.
well, that might be a bit of an exaggeration, but I’d rather have paid a bit more attention to the sounds/mix.
the mix is a bit harsh sometimes, the sounds need a bit saturation/distortion for this style, the hum of the moog could be deeper and overall need a better mix balance.
As the music of old computer games, would it be perfect if we also polished the sound, or rather distorted it a bit?
But overall it was very exciting to listen to, excellent composition, nice melodies, I like it very much.

OlliH - Daisy Darling
Oops. I like the song, I like the basic idea (great!), but:
I understand what you wanted to do from the description but I wouldn't really say the song is in the electronic genre.
What really fits into the month's theme is the part between 1:44-2:00 or maybe 2:34-2:40.
I'm just brainstorming, but maybe a little experimentation with these would have been good for the song:
1. "modern electronic sounds". (Yes, you use massive or drum samples but I feel that there are just for layering in the background).
e.g. there is a machine gun snare from 1:35- but why aren't there the electronic drums more prominently from the beginning, from 0:20?,
2. electronic loop inserts OR looping the original parts (with and/or without distorted sound) - if you wanted to keep the acoustic line with the marimba, piano, guitar, you would have had to loop the parts with small glitches or stutter effects (see JunkieXL: Little less conversation );
3. effects ("modern" freeze effects, echos, glitch effects etc.) - on the instrumental tracks and maybe also in vocal.(of course all this only to taste).
Without these sounds like just putting an EQ and an amp on a 40s, 50s song. This will result in a narrow spectrum of old radio sound and a bit of distortion, but it won’t be enough today and electronic I think - you should have touched on the song more boldly.
But the idea is very good and the song is quite excellent, perfect in composition.

patrlord - Bad Bot
Nice sounds selection, overall great balanced mix.
1:05-1:37 Maybe I would put the synthesizer sound more towards mid, it disappears a bit in mono.
Nothing to add here, overall very good job, nice song with pleasant melodies at the end, good sound choices, nice.

Arelem - Feel It
Nice dance style track. I'm glad someone else is trying to put vocals in the song
I understand the minimal techno style, but minor variations would still be needed. Whether in melody or bass, even more so with the rhythmic drumming.
Sometimes the tone shifts as if the song is out of scale.
Overall a good base, a great start to a good song, needs a little improvement.