SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Winners announced

[Olli H]

Here's my unfinished version that I managed to do before the original deadline.

”Gatekeeper”, Olli H
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1aUkch0 ... sp=sharing


Very hard for me to do anything without a melody line and "real" instruments. After having listened some of the submissions, I realized I'm doomed to be the last in this months game. But at least I tried.

I say this off-hand... I really hope you revisit this production before the deadline has been reached. Very interesting ideas here that can be expanded upon. Drastically even.

Like the main bass melody... use more distortion (example: distortion > flanger). You already started to go that route, but maybe try a different waveshaper (like a parallel setup, Izotope Trash, SoundSpot Ravage, you name it), go to town. I guess this is also RealGuitar here... if so, one hint form my side: Guitar -> LPF -> Distortion -> some Filter movements > slight flanging. Check out the Venus Theory tutorials on Post #3 again on "bass creation".

Then the drums... Oh boy... the beat is there, but please replace the sounds. Check the third post again with some free stuff from Loopmasters, ErbNDubs or even Black Octopus Audio (the "teaser" pack has some outstanding aggressive drums from "Leviathan"). This is your weakest point here. Then maybe add some highly compressed and band-passed (LC maybe at 600Hz and a HC at maybe 12kHz) drum loops in the background ever so often, to "dirty up" the production.

One clearly hears that this genre is new to you - but you bring a lot of ideas from pop rock. It just feels like you need a little... push.

Thanks for the comments. I just posted a new version with different drum samples. Also I added some Izotope Trash and Flanger to some parts of the bass, as you suggested. The bass line was manually edited, but the simple soft melody lines were first played with guitar, and then transformed into midi.

[wishoff]

Wishoff - Ready Set Glow

I made it in 3 hours, just saw the competition and thought it would be fun, and it was

Download it here



DAW:
Cubase 10.5

Instruments:
Omnisphere2
Serum
Phase Plant
Serum
Massive X
Groove Agent SE


FX:
LVC Audio Toned-MAX
LVC Audio Clipped-MAX
MeldaProductions MTurboReverb
Polyverse GateKeeper
Steinberg Multitab Delay
JST SideWidener
AirWindows DitherBox


Samples:
Various drum samples

Lufs:
-14.0 Integrated - Metric AB

References:
A few of the examples

[canese]

Hello dudes,

Last minute submission.Mainly because I wasn't sure about it. I've love the genre but only recently have been making DnB beats. Try many attempts and got different results. Here's one I achieved a more liquid chill DnB but definetly not in the theme of the month competition.

During this past week, I've been hearing all the entries and they nailed the theme, while mine was only mediocre for my ears but, anyways, this is my final submission to this month competition: https://www.dropbox.com/s/36wecype8ezno ... r.wav?dl=0

Track was made in FL Studio, with mainly FL stock plugins and samples.
Lead sound in the chorus is from Massive
SFX are from a samples pack "Sound of Tenalach" and some high tech found in my library
For mastering I use Izotope Ozone

[functionform]

Here's my submission



Submitting details after, just making sure I made the deadline!

Drums:Some Bitwig default and mix of various.
Synths, Icarus, MassiveX, Falcon
Effects: ReplikaXT, Saturn, HeadCrusherFree, Pro-Q, Wider, DDLY, Eternity Delay, Trash2, V-clip
Verbs: RC24, epicVerb, Pro-R
Compressors:NI 2A, Pro-L
Gatekeeper by Polyverse seemingly everywhere

This was my learning track for Bitwig which I am partly very impressed and frustrated by. I find modulators work best when uses subtlely but for msegs and sidechains it's all Gatekeeper. Learning some of the howtos of DnB at the same time proved interesting! I tried to give it a classic sci-fi sound with some more modern wubs. I had to spend some time learning wubs too.

Despite my optimism I ran out of time. You'll notice my transitions are mostly missing, I tried to make it "intentional" to compensate, but I would've liked some proper build ups and I didn't want to do the usual washes/risers. I'm trying to take my skills to a new level and not just rely on my standbys.

Last thing - I've always loved the music of anti-grav racers and I've wanted to make a tribute album of sorts to it. Maybe just a dream I'll never follow through on but I like to thing something like this would be a start!

One last note, I didn't have enough time to properly mix it to -14 lufs. It ended up around -9.5/10 I think. My process for lufs is usually take care of it at the end.

Enjoy!

[Mister Fox]

It is the 29th August 2020, 4:50 UTC+2/CEST - this month's Songwriting Competition has official ended

Once more a very warm "hello and welcome" to all new participants. I hope you enjoy your stay. We had 13 participants overall, which is 9 entries more compared to last month (4 entries), and 3 more compared to last year (10 entries). It is great to see that a lot of you like the new concept. Looking forward to see what happens in September. Please keep in mind, revert back to the known 24-days for the SWC.


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
No (number: 0) entry has been redacted



How do we go from there?

Over the course of the next (hopefully) 24-48 hours, 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 they're downloadable. We then perform with the "public vote" system.


We have 13 participants. That means that each participant can vote for 12 tracks, the staff will will not cast a balance vote.

Keep in mind of the overhaul of the Rules and Guidelines. 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 20 list can look something like this:

01 (12 pts) - Mr Moon
02 (11 pts) - Mr Sun
03 (10 pts) - Mrs Venus
04 (9 pts) - Mr Mars and his companions
05 (8 pts) - ...
06 (7 pts) - ...

How your voting could look like, please take a look at these posts (sans the super technical information):
viewtopic.php?p=2311#p2311
viewtopic.php?p=2478#p2478
viewtopic.php?p=2819#p2819
viewtopic.php?p=3522#p3522

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 do sadly not count for the current running game. Musicians and Engineers are always after constructive criticism. This is what this forum is about.



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 Thursday, 03-SEP-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST latest
(the deadline is shifted to 03rd September due to the extension of SWC036)


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). 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.


.

"Ok Kill Me"

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

"Gridlock"

"Afterburner"



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

"Not fast enough"

"Midnight Run"

"HyperBoost"

”Gatekeeper”

WAV: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1m1fYsw ... sp=sharing

"Amen, Brake"

"Insideout Upsidedown"



MP3 https://mega.nz/file/fxFxzAwJ#u4C3r342Y ... 1PMnBpOuWM

"Hyperdrive"

"Ready Set Glow"



Download it here

"Deutner"

WAV: https://www.dropbox.com/s/36wecype8ezno ... r.wav?dl=0

"Arrival"

.



BONUS ENTRIES (submitted after the deadline - you can not vote for it, but feel free to give feedback)

<no bonus entries available>
.


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!

SWC036 participants giving feedback to each other (to every participant) and casting your vote is mandatory, else you will be disqualified. Please also keep the bonus point game mechanic in mind.


Good luck to all participants!

[Mister Fox]

Quick update:
Apologies for sending out the reminder email twice. There has been a server glitch.

[TrojakEW]

No download for track. Please enable it on soundcloud.

[wishoff]

First of all, please don't feel offended, and don't compare my comments with my own track, as i didn't read the specifications close enough myself, and i don't feel my own track is the best anyways, here's my votes, hope it's done right.

I've made up some sections for me to better judge the tracks according to the job.

Theme: In this case, is it futuristic? Do i see a racing game when i close my eyes? is it rather dark and dystopia?
Mix: How is it mixed, is it in balance, is the frequency weight in balance, is it good engineering?
Style: Is this a Drum and Bass track with possible minor drifts, and better towards HardStep, Darkstep and Neurofunk.
Creativity: Does it sound good, is it entertaining, do i want to keep listening to it?
Rules: Is it as loud as demanded, is it in the time frame as demanded.

Each section is rated from 0-10

► Show Spoiler

Jorgeelalto - Afterburner
Theme: (9) Fits very good.
Mix: (8) overal good mix, maybe a bit flat.
Style: (9) spot on i think, but misses vocal bits.
Creativity: (8) Nice elements, quite good variation.
Rules: (10) time, lufs and true peak is spot on.
Total: 44
Points: 12

The Exponent - Hyperdrive
Theme: (8) I'm racing, but it's not has dystopic and futuristic as suggested
Mix: (9) pretty good mix, but a tiny bit too squashed i think
Style: (7) The beat is nice, but it's too melodic
Creativity: (9) cool elements and time flyes
Rules: (9) i would have not clipped it as hard and gained a bit more true peak
Total: 42
Points: 11

functionform - Arrival
Theme: (9) It's racing, and it's in the future and robotic
Mix: (9) very good mixing
Style: (8) suites it good
Creativity: (8) good variation and elements, but there could be a little more work into small details.
Rules: (7) it's too loud in lufs
Total: 41
Points: 10

Clueless - Insideout Upsidedown
Theme: (9) Fits very well, futuristic with a good flow.
Mix: (7) well balanced, would like a bit more punch/click on the kick, and a bit more clarity overall.
Style: (8) could be a bit more aggressive in sound
Creativity: (9) im entertaint all the way
Rules: (7) time is right, but it's not using the allowed lufs
Total: 40
Points: 9

Olli H - Gatekeeper
Theme: (6) Moments of good racing
Mix: (8) Nicely done, but some elements are too loud.
Style: (8) all though it's not spot on, some experiments fits quite well.
Creativity: (8) it has its moments, and i like the twist of sound choice.
Rules: (9) it could be a bit louder
Total: 39
Points: 8

Doc Jon - Gridlock
Theme: (8) i feel the racing theme, and a bit future, it would fit into the game.
Mix: (6) kick could be better. Mix feels a bit boxed overall, clipped, even though we had -14 lufs.
Style: (8) It's DnB, high paced and energenic.
Creativity: (7) There's good moments, but i feel that the main beat is repeated without variation.
Rules: (7) It's not 3-5 min but close, it holds the lufs, but not the True peak.
Total: 36
Points: 7

becsei_gyorgy - Midnight Run
Theme: (6) It's not really there for me, I think it's too jolly some places.
Mix: (7) Could be better, the levels seems a bit off some places, the kick feels wuffy?
Style: (6) Not sure it's the right style, and it feels weird some places.
Creativity: (8) very experimental with nice moments.
Rules: (8) It has the loudness spot on.
Total: 35
Points: 6

Double Tap - Amen, Brake
Theme: (9) i feel like racing in the future
Mix: (5) no download, but i think it would sound great if not played on soundcloud
Style: (8) Although the Amen works great for the theme, its making the style drift to breakbeat
Creativity: (8) very cool and exciting, and yea, Amen, I've heard it a bit too much, but it's still cool.
Rules: (4) time is right, nothing else.
Total: 34
Points: 5

J.Ruegg - HyperBoost
Theme: (7) A bit more details on the future maybe, and somehow im not totally sold on the racing.
Mix: (9) Sounds good, it's bassy but kick still has punch
Style: (8) maybe a bit too melodic
Creativity: (7) nice filtering, but besides that i miss something exciting
Rules: (6) the lufs are off the charts, time is spot on though
Total: 34
Points: 4

canese - Deutner
Theme: (7) it's missing something, or maybe it's just a bad choice of synths in the start that sets the mood wrong from the start. It's still a seven, so lots of stuff is taking it in the right direction.
Mix: (8) could be a bit better, i feel there's something in the 3-6khz range that's annoying over time, maybe it's a frequency phase problem from too much low cut?
Style: (6) I don't think it's there, but close enough i guess.
Creativity: (7) Some cool elements and generally well performed, a bit boring but still kinda catchy, weird combo
Rules: (4) loudness and time is off, too little of both.
Total: 32
Points: 3

TrojakEW - Not fast enough
Theme: (5) I'm not feeling the racing, it's more like a thriller.
Mix: (8) The bottom could be a bit better, i would change the kick and snare sample to a more snappy one. Also a low cut on the none bass instruments would be good.
Style: (4) it's only the beat is close and a few synths, i'm not feeling the DnB, the opera is nice, but used too much along with the classical instruments, the genre mix is all to obvious, you should cut it down a bit, only make it present a few times, a bit like at the end.
Creativity: (8) good variation and evolution with good details, the opera and classical thing is a nice touch.
Rules: (7) It holds the rules of loudness but not the time.
Total: 32
Points: 2

J I L L I A M - Ok Kill Me
Theme: (6) I feel more like racing in the 60ies than in the future, though it's still racing.
Mix: (8) Although it's very saturated, it still sounds good, i love the sound and it's mixed well, besides from the bells which i think is a few db too loud.
Style: (3) way off target here, sounds nothing like the Drum and Bass I've heard, besides from a quite busy Bigbeat, BPM is also too low if i'm not mistaking.
Creativity: (8) Tempo changes and the distorted sound is quite cool, and the space blips have some nice echos, i would like to hear more late beat fills before the crashes.
Rules: (6) it's too loud, and could be a bit longer.
Total: 31

[Clueless]

Clueless - Insideout Upsidedown
Theme: (9) Fits very well, futuristic with a good flow.
Mix: (5) no download (it didn't start), but i think it would sound great if not played on soundcloud
Style: (8) could be a bit more aggressive in sound
Creativity: (9) im entertaint all the way
Rules: (4) time is right
Total: 35
Points: 7]

Sorry abOut dl
Didn’t realise
There is an MP3 available

Have enabled now SC dl