Mix Challenge

Dasein - Night Peace
This track creates a dramatic ambiance and showcases some nice ideas with excellent sounds for the various instruments. As with your first participation, there’s a spontaneous quality that effectively conveys emotion. However, at times, precision is lacking.
In my opinion, there needs to be a balance between the improvised feel and the accuracy of note placement, as some passages reveal misalignment in timing and tonality between the instruments, which requires at least some editing.
Regarding the mix, there’s a noticeable improvement compared to earlier versions. The addition of reverb enhances the immersive experience, lending the sound a more natural feel. However, the acoustic balance between the instruments remains inconsistent.
In terms of composition, while there are fluctuations in intensity, the piece maintains the same dramatic ambiance throughout.
This can create a sense of heaviness, at least to my taste. Introducing a more positive or epic passage could release the dramatic tension and add greater contrast, opening up the piece.
Overall, it's a good track


Jeroen Zuiderwijk - A Journey
I have to admit, I’m not used to listening to this type of electronic music, it sounds a bit like a retro video game soundtrack. I found the track a bit repetitive.
However, the addition of the section at 1:56 with the guitar solo is an improvement.The solo is well executed with an good guitar tone.
As for the mix, I feel the kick and snare lack a bit of depth; when the drums come in, they don’t deliver the expected impact. That said, this might be a stylistic choice for the genre.
Overall, the mix feels coherent and precise.


Ike H-mope - Stars
A very beautiful chord progression with lovely string instrument sounds. I especially like the key change at 1:22.
There’s a simplicity and effectiveness here, but I think a few additional arrangements could have added even more depth and interest to the piece, as well as a longer reverb.
I’m less keen on SynthV. You can immediately recognize the synthetic nature of the voice, although its use here is quite effective.
Otherwise, I find the vocal placement a bit too tied to the chord changes, but the vocal harmony is really well done.
At 1:59, the silence is a bit surprising, the sudden stop of the cello doesn’t sound very natural. A longer reverb could soften this effect.
Overall, it’s a very beautiful, ambient piece.


Esteve Corbera - L'Exploracio del Cosmos
This track is pure space-inspired sound.
The sounds used are very high-quality and well-mixed, with an intro reminiscent of a sci-fi movie.
There’s a clear progression throughout, with instruments being introduced gradually.
I struggled a bit to identify the rhythmic foundation and the cyclic logic of the chord progression, but this is not an issue overall.
The track could conclude at 3:20, or alternatively, a melodic solo line could be added to these chords to complement what you've already done.
The theme is perfectly respected. Very good track


Paramnesia - Space
A very well-constructed track with a solid prog atmosphere. The intro, blending clean, delay-soaked guitars with synths, sounds fantastic.
This intro transitions seamlessly into the saturated guitar verse.The vocals are well placed and well-paced, leading into a very catchy chorus.
The sections at 1:32 and 2:17 are excellent, and the alternation with clean passages adds a lot of dynamic variety to the track.
However, I think the clean guitar with delay doesn’t seem perfectly synced with the rest on the verse (not fully sure, but something is not synced on the verse).
The riffs are excellent, and the vocals are spot-on,
it’s quite different from what PonyShow usually does, I’m impressed by the adaptation. It fits perfectly with this track and adds originality to this style of music.
Regarding the mix, it’s correct, but the guitars take up a bit too much space. I would have preferred slightly louder vocals and a less massive saturated guitar tone, perhaps due to the four guitar layers or the bass guitar tone.
There’s also an accumulation of low frequencies, mainly in the choruses, that makes the sound a bit muddy.
Producing a track like this with a vocal collaboration, is impressive. Well done!


PonySho - Space
A very beautiful, emotional song. I’m so glad you found the time to post this, it would have been a shame to miss it.
The acoustic guitar part is gorgeous and well-recorded, I love the sound. (A friend of mine has a Seagull guitar, and I absolutely love those.)
The intro is truly stunning.
The track is very well sung. The soft, emotional beginning, followed by the build-up with the backing vocals, is excellent.
I particularly like the closeness of the voice in the intro
It’s genuinely amazing, well-inspired and authentic.
Too bad it’s outside of this month’s contest, it will be for sure in my top 5


Becsei_Gyorgy - Timeless Space
80s vibe, very well done. The sounds used and the structure of the track fit the era perfectly.
It’s a complete and perfectly executed track.
The use of SynthV for vocal synthetis works well for this style and sounds surprisingly natural (if I hadn’t seen the effects used, I might have been fooled).
I particularly like the breakdown at 2:40, it’s very well thought out.
I don’t have much to critique, it’s a superb production.


BenjiRage - Overworld
Mainstream electro-pop/dance vibe, very well done. Good sound, good mix, effective, it’s the kind of track that could play on the radio.
As with becsei_gyorgy , the use of SynthV for vocal synthetis works very well for this style and sounds very natural. Even i'm not so fan about the usage of SynthV I'm impress by the result!
It’s not the kind of music I usually listen to, but it’s a style that could appeal to a broad audience. Great prod!


Koekepan - As The Air Runs Out
This long ambient track features intriguing sound design that complements its space theme effectively.
The melodic lines are minimalistic and slow, making the piece feel somewhat improvised and directionless.
However, this conceptual approach aligns well with the idea of inhabiting a deteriorating space vessel.
The composition feels akin to movie ambient music or sound design, making it a strong candidate for pairing with visual media.
Overall, the track succeeds in respecting its space theme and evokes a contemplative, ambient experience.


Vanilla Puff - Purple World
This is an upbeat and highly enjoyable piece, featuring beautifully crafted sounds and a rhythmically engaging melody.
The chord placement is impressively original, complemented by several breaks and sound variations that add a sense of diversity.
However, despite the abundance of variation, the main theme tends to feel somewhat repetitive. But overall, it’s very cool!


ThomC - Out of Space
This is truly beautiful, with gorgeous harmonies and dissonances that create tension very effectively. It’s very well thought out, with a lovely progression throughout the track.
I particularly like the piano sound accompanied by the choirs, and all the instruments used sound perfect to my ears.
The change at 1:43, introducing deeper tones, releases the tension and transitions beautifully to the end of the piece.
Perfect, Bravo!


Junkett - The Probe
Really amazing, I love this type of drum sound, very polished. I have no idea how to achieve this kind of sound.
I love how all these sonic textures are arranged into rhythm. There is a tremendous amount of sound design work here, and again, I have no idea how you manage to do this.
It's probably thanks to a lot of resampling. On my side, I mostly play guitar, and I’m impressed by the creation of this kind of sound.
I find the mix excellent: whether on my DT990 headphones or my HS7 monitors.
I really like it and it works perfectly for the space theme. Too bad it’s outside of this month’s contest, it will be for sure in my top 5

1 - ThomC - Out of Space
2 - Paramnesia - Space
3 - Vanilla Puff - Purple World
4 - Esteve Corbera - L'Exploracio del Cosmos
5 - Koekepan - As The Air Runs Out

I experimented with recording in a different guitar-playing style, starting with a funk riff in the first part and incorporating a solo using a wah-wah pedal.
For the overall atmosphere of the track, I aimed to evoke the vibe of an old Japanese anime about space by using similar instruments of the OST.
For the guitars, I used a new plugin, Neural DSP Archetype Cory Wong, which is particularly well-suited for funk, along with a guitar equipped with a single-coil split. This setup allowed me to experiment with new compressor settings tailored to this style of playing.
Recording was a lot of fun, though it required a great deal of precision to ensure the doubled funk guitars sounded tight and remained consistent throughout the full section. I'm now even more impressed by funk guitarists...
This month, I also paid more attention to the arrangements compared to my previous productions, adding synths, more mixing effects, and other enhancements.
Overall, I’m quite happy with the result.

Feedback
- Dasein : Night Peace
Very nice combination of ideas, I like the dynamic change at around 1:18 and the cello line at 1:50 could be my favourite part.
I feel like the melodic ideas are well thought out and the way the theme evolves works really well.

The things that could be improved are in the execution of the piece as a whole and I've got a few ideas to help out if I may :

• The piano parts that you played could be improved with the use of a sustain pedal, with better rhythm placement and more variations in the samples. Spitfire's Autograph Grand may be limited in that way, even though if you play with the dynamics a little more, you could achieve a more realistic sound.

• The string lines could be better orchestrated, make sure to differentiate the melodic / legato lines with the more chordal elements of the harmony. Spitfire's Epic Strings doesn't include legatos if I'm not mistaken, it may be worth looking at an option including legatos when playing melodies on the strings, that would help you get a more realistic sound.

• I really like your cello lines, I think they're beautiful and add to the emotion of the piece

- JeroenZuiderwijk : A Journey
Nice electronic track, this one definitely made me dance! I like the dark texture of the bass lines and how they work with the rest of the track. The whole musical theme works well with the idea of space. Great guitar solo as well! I enjoyed listening to your track, I like how the snare builds up to accent the different parts of the piece. I was expecting a traditional techno build up, but you used it in a different / more repetitive way as if it were part of the groove which I think is original and cool! There's not much to say in the way of improvements, apart from I'd say minor tweaks in the midrange as there are many conflicting elements (as is very often the case when using multiple synths). Great job nonetheless! I didn't know Sunvox, but I love that you used one single app to do it all, it can be very inspiring!

- Ike H-mope : Stars

I love that you used Ben's Viola Da Gamba for this track, it reminds me of how real and great sounding his libraries are. The lead vocal is beautiful, it's frightening to hear how far technology has come in the way of synthesized vocals, I first thought it was a real singer and apart from a couple of breaths and notes in the higher register, the performance is flawless. The key change, for some reason has a PJ Harvey tone to it in the way the lead vocal works around it. I really like your choice of instruments, textures, the mix works well too! Maybe I would've liked a touch of a slightly longer reverb tucked underneath everything (a few % only to elongate the string lines and releases at times). But, I actually like that you went for a shorter room-type sound as well. Great composition and melodic ideas. Maybe I would've liked the "pity the stars" part to be repeated throughout the song as it sounds like a chorus to me, but it's my folk-pop mind that works in that way haha! Great job, I really liked listening to your emotional track!

Elcubano : Comet

Salut Elcubano! First off, I love the intro, the combination of guitar sounds and textures sounds awesome! The combination of the funky guitars, drums and bass along with the dreamy arpeggios give that great sensation of the exploration of a cosmic landscape. I love your chord progression throughout the song, the synth swells work really well with the track as well! Really well done! The only minor things I noted was a bit of low frequency build up in the 100hz to 200hz range, the reverbs you used have a tendency to pile up in that area and the kick / bass relationship could be a tiny bit more clean in that part of the spectrum but this is a songwriting challenge, not a mixing one. Love the song either way, great job man!

EsteveCorbera : L'exploracio del Cosmos

I like how the first notes gave me that 2001 Space Odyssey impression, you couldn't be closer to the theme straight away as the notes give that impression of space exploration directly. I love the dynamic changes in the composition, the chord structure works really well and the synth sounds are well chosen. The track also reminds me of some Pink Floyd intros from back in the day. Great track and dynamic throughout, the percussion rolls and hits are well thought out. I like how you managed to combine your skills for electronic music as well as a more traditional orchestral approach. Great work once again!

Paramnesia : Space

Very nice cascading delay intro, I like the fact that it carries on throughout the first verse. I love the heavy metal high-pitched singing, there's a great combination of 80s hard rock, early 2000 metal, cinematic music and more modern metal in the track. I love that you collaborated with PonySho, his voice sounds great on your music and I'm hoping to hear more of you guys in other challenges . I really like the imagery behind the song, of using the double meaning of the word "space" to talk about a relationship.

In the way of criticism all I could say is that at times the guitars could be played a bit tighter on the beat, but other than that, I really liked listening to your song, very well done!

becsei_gyorgy : Timeless Space

Oh man, the nostalgia behind this track! I love it The slightly detuned synths in the intro gives a very clear picture of that retro 80s / synthwave pop feel. Your track has a hit-song feel to it in the choruses, I can definitely picture someone singing this on TV. Funnily enough, your choice of voice reminds me of Chester Bennington at times in the choruses.

All I can say is that you have a great feel for melody and how a pop song should be structured. The mix is great as well, the arrangement always well thought-out and never overcrowded. This must have been a fun track to make I must imagine! Nothing to improve on my end, fantastic job!

BenjiRage : Overworld

Man! Great production! Very efficient track, great mixing, melodies and chord progression. I love when the bass comes in, great sound! I'm actually impressed by u-he even more after hearing this . I really like the contrast in the chorus between the clean lead vocal and filtered one.

Your track reminds me how much I like a track that's well done, that doesn't try to reinvent the wheel necessarily but that does things well. I'd say that what makes the identity of the song is both that bass sound and the guitar licks at the start.

Also, I'm very impressed that you managed to use such long reverb decay times while still retaining a pretty clear and punchy mix. Awesome work!

Koekepan : As The Air Runs Out

I like the cinematic spirit of isolation and of the air running out in your track. I think the granular percussive elements give that sense of vast space while struggling to stay alive. I really love your synth sound around the 4min mark it has a very vocal quality to it and expressive texture. It's like someone trying to speak with their mouth shut.

I really like your sound-design and unique approach to this challenge, out of all the tracks, this may be the most original one as it really reflects what life on another planet could feel like : The strangeness of the colours, of the resources, of what the soil is made out of. Your song is an experience in itself and it's not an easy task to make something contemplative digitally, because it requires you to interact with your own performance, to experiment while still retaining some sense of coherence and relevance. I think you achieved it perfectly here.

VanillaPuff : Purple World

Well, you got me grooving all along your track, love the beat, the choice of sounds and the theme. It's a straightforward beat, but it works really well. The only criticism I could give you is to be careful with that master buss, it feels to me like your track is clipping quite a bit (and also because we don't want to piss off Mr Fox haha! ). Other than that, I really loved headbanging to your track, I can picture this kind of track being DJ'd at a really cool chilled out event. Well done! Are you a DJ by any chance? It feels to me like this is the kind of track someone who listens to a lot of electronic records would produce.

Vote
1. Koekepan
2. ElCubano
3. Ike H-mope
4. György Becsei
5. Paramnesia

Self-Reflection
Oh man! I almost didn't take part in that one. Once again, I was tight on time. But I feel like I need a limited time to compose. It's one of the limits that really boosts my creativity. I was actually next to my mother right before the end of the deadline and I asked her "do you think it's worth me trying to compose something right now?" and she said "go for it!". I had about 25minutes to compose the track and to mix it.

I knew I wanted a limited number of instruments and I wanted instruments with character. That's why Novella by Westwood Instruments was a great choice I think. In terms of mixing, I did some quick tweaks, made sure that the instruments shared a space that made sense, got the mix to not be too loud and did a few broad adjustments to make sure that the track was nice to listen to as a finished product.

Having a short timespan can be very inspiring, this is something I'll definitely repeat for my own projects in the future. Because you don't really have time to get bored, choice paralysis or second guess every one of your moves.

I guess there should be two steps, one that's purely creative "in the heat of the moment" and another one that's more "brainy" or self-reflective.