Mix Challenge

1. EsteveCorbera - Una Tarda de Festa

I really like your rhythm section. Drums, percussion and a groovy bass guitar riff, a very interesting decision in this context. However, sometimes it feels like the bass notes is out of key. The composition itself feels like a slight variations of the same chord progression and it gets a little boring hearing the same off beat stabs all the time. The melody that happens in the middle section feels more suitable for a mellower, relaxed context rather than the dance music. It also gets almost inaudible behing the chords. There is a too much high mid frequencies in the mix, as the synthesizers tends to dominate in this range.

Aesteticly it feels like a "eurodance ripoff", which is very suitable for a warm summer feel. It needs some strong "hook", a memorable melody that would make it stand out among other music in this genre that is pretty generic overall.

2. JanKoekepan - TheHeartbeatRemains

A very deep and meditative ambient piece. The sound set may seem pretty limited, but it si enogh to create an otherwordly atmosphere. I feel like there were more sounds in the "draft" version though. The difference in loudness between parts is too drastic in my opinion. The spoken phrases and synth-drum could be less upfront and more blended into reverb/echo. The melody change at 3:09 could happen earlier, as the rest of the track feel pretty static.

This entry fits more into experimental, modular style music, which in my opinion was highly encouraged in the initial post.

3. becseigyorgy - TrappedMind

This is may be the best entry in terms of production quality. The mix and master feels very balaced in terms of frequencies and dynamics with so many elements. I really like the set of sounds that somehow feels retro but very modern at the same time. The synt-brass section is spot on, very organic feel. A very cool atmosphere in this composition (kinda latin feel), a very different from a typical dance music.

I'm not an expert in EDM and I don't know what genre/sub-genre it is, but I really like this approach. Sounds very fresh and tasteful.

4. KukoBass - LMLIAWCS

To me it's a good foundation for a chilled synthwave song. The string ensemble in the intro never appears again in the arrangement, which is kinda strange. The drums could have some better treatment. A little compression and saturation would be nice. The claps could be passed through reverb and set into background. The main section is really nice, very chilled vibe. There could be more development and variation. The sound that apperas in the middle of the song is quite uncomfortable to listen. It doesn't fit into overall context and breaks the mood. A better overall mix master would be nice.

If it is really a first attempt to finish a song it's a good start. With some more work involved that would be a great entry.

5. GamaGama - Naissummer

This entry feels very rough overall. I really like the early 80's composition style with a very authentic melodic parts. Sadly it's only a main theme and feels too short, there could be some B parts and breakdowns. The arrengement feels a bit choppy, there could be more smoother transitions. The synth sounds are really nice, but the mix is a bit strange. I can hear an electronic drums (snare and hihats) but I can't hear is there a kick drum. If it's there, it's completely muffled by the bass part. The overall mix is very dry, it lacks some depth and a little saturation.

It feels to me as a good draft of a synthwave song. It has a great melodic parts and vibe, but the production quality in not there yet.

6. OlliH - DaisyDarling

In this case I understang you tried to do an "electro-swing" type of thing. The whole idea looks very interesting at the first glance, but the problem is that it's actually more "swing" than "electro". The arrangement is really good, very suitable for that retro vibe, but it gets into electronic territory only in the middle section. The vocals are really nice and fit the overall style. The production quality is quite good.

I appreciate the enthusiasm for making crossovers between different genres and styles of music and also creating an actual song, but fro this time I think we've been asked to do a different thing. It would fit perfectly in a possible "electro-swing" contest (did we had it the past already?).

7. patrlord - bad bot

A very energetic breakbeat track, reminiscent of early 2000's. Really good development of musical ideas and very atmospheric melodies. Great rhythm section. The mix and master is quite good, but there is a problem with mid frequencies that is too dominant. I found that adding a slight cut around 1k on the master would solve the problem.

This track has a really driving feel. To me this track would fit into a racing videogame.

8. Arelem - Feel It

This one feels like a eurodance right at the start. The vocals sounds very familliar, probably a ripoff of some famous song. The mix is very harsh. The overall arrangement feels pretty static, hanging on a single note most of the time. The bass riff adds a little interest, but it feels like it's playing in a defferent key.

Overall, I feel like it's a very rough draft rather than a finished song.

01 (10 pts) - becseigyorgy - TrappedMind
02 (09 pts) - patrlord - bad bot
03 (08 pts) - JanKoekepan - TheHeartbeatRemains
04 (07 pts) - KukoBass - LMLIAWCS
05 (06 pts) - GamaGama - Naissummer
06 (05 pts) - OlliH - DaisyDarling
07 (04 pts) - EsteveCorbera - Una Tarda de Festa
08 (03 pts) - Arelem - Feel It