Mix Challenge

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 28 - December 2019


This is the introduction post, where we directly link to the challenge corresponding files (theme, submission information, sponsors) and start of the voting process. There will be no Round 2



Please take note of the following

• IMPORTANT: please use the following naming convention for your productions: SWC000_ArtistName_TrackName.wav/mp3 (artist name should be the same as the forum username)
• If you only post a SoundCloud link, please name the file properly before uploading and make your song downloadable

Also please take note of the following

• If you have an idea for future Songwriting Competition themes and/or genres, please post them here.
• Social Media accounts can be found via the handles @MixChallenge (Twitter) and MixChallenge (Facebook). Please spread the word!
• if you like what the Mix Challenge (community) has been doing in recent months, please consider supporting us.

This post will be updated with the corresponding links as we progress, and of course the suitable thread headlines. So please watch this spot:


Submission Period: General Information and Sponsors
Cheat Sheet: A couple of examples / audio demos for this month's challenge (usually not available if genre is "Free to Select")
Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Results of the Songwriting Competition: Results of the Songwriting Competition

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Sunday, 01st December 2019 to Tuesday, 24th December 2019 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-12-2019, 11:59pm CET/GMT+1 (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please consult the following options:
The Global Countdown on it's dedicated page or the countdown on the home page. You can also consult the World Clock at the top of the forum or alternatively the following tool - in this case please select "Berlin (Germany)" as location 1, and your location as location 2: Time and Date - World Clock Meeting Planner. We do post reminders via our Twitter account and Facebook page.



SONGWRITING THEME: The End is Nigh

GENRE: Singer / Songwriter


Image Source: performance by Ben Kinsley, The End is Nigh (2012), photo by Paul Sobota Photography, edited by Mister Fox


A few word about this month's theme:

Staff (Mister Fox) wrote:"It is December 2019, mere 31 days left of this decade. While we count down the final days, despair is setting in, people are about to go crazy. Things are coming to an end, nothing will be the same anymore."

While technically nothing might really happen at the turn of the year, let's assume we're facing either one of the following scenarios: a level extinction event (think of the classics: meteor strike, nuclear winter due to mass eruptions or sudden loss of our sun, a pandemic, etc), end of the world due to "pushing the button" (as in: EMPs, cyber-warfware, nuclear strikes, etc), etc. Or worse, the sudden end of this page (aaaah! ).

Basically, things that are completely out of our control.

If you need inspiration, think of movies like: "Seeking a Friend for the End of the World" (2012) and "These Final Hours" (2013, which is less upbeat and more bleak), "Sunshine" (2007), "The Day After Tomorrow" (2004), "The Day After" (1983), many episodes from "The Twilight Zone" and "The Outer Limits" (1990s) TV series, etc. In terms of books, definitely the "Metro 2033" series comes to mind. But also all follow ups from "Cyberpunk 2020" (Mike Pondsmith), or bleak dark futures from "Dark Cyberpunk" in general (think: Neuromancer, Blade Runner, Ghost in the Shell, etc). And if we talk video games, then I can instantly think of "One Chance" (2010), or the news snippets from "Plague Inc." (2012).



Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
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This month, you can create a production in the so called "Singer / Songwriter" genre.


What I'd like to see/hear this month, is you telling a story through music. The focus should be on having a distinct melody and/or chord structure. You can either go single instrument plus vocals, a mild musical arrangement, or even a full blown production that blends the "Singer / Songwriter" genre like electronic sounds (which usually gives the impression of "corruption/destruction), or even grazing the musical genre.

The production should also have vocals. If you can not sing, or don't feel comfortable, maybe find somebody to collaborate (which is adding an additional spin to this challenge). Bar minimum, use some choir samples (plenty of free ones on the net, probably even built into your go-to sampler) or do a voice over/narration (sprechgesang / choral speaking).

The focus should be on telling "a clear story" - so feature the vocals and the one or two instruments that shape the bigger picture.


I hope I could find suitable examples for the cheat sheet, which I suggest taking a closer look (like usual). Although a lot of these are not traditionally in the "Singer / Songwriter" genre.

Please have fun - I'm looking forward to your entries.




IMPORTANT BONUS INFORMATION:

Please check the SWC Rules and Guidelines. The new game mechanic for getting additional bonus points has been implemented and explained as part of the voting process.

Songwriting Add-On Rules:

• Create a production in the "Singer / Songwriter" genre
• you can use any tool that is at your disposal (samples, virtual instruments and/or real instruments)
• IMPORTANT: if you use non-licensed material (no material from sample CDs, etc), give full credit to the source material
• It is recommended to not go higher than -14LUFS SLk (avg) or K-12v1 (avg) in terms of perceived loudness. Music doesn't have to be squashed to bits in order to be impactful
• for newcomers: no cover versions or remixes

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Please take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
Songwriting Competition - Official Rules and Guidelines

Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Songwriting Competition - Gossip and Discussion

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SPONSORS (Prizes):

Prizes for Songwriting Challenge participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.


RECURRING LICENSE SPONSORSHIP:


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



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Saurus2 to the winner (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



kv331 audio is kind enough give away a bundle of either SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
License will not turn into NFR, you need to have a kv311 audio user account in order to pick up Expansions
More info on kv331 audio: https://www.kv331audio.com



JRR Sounds is kind enough give away any-1 sound sets or sample set of winner's choice (exception: Bundles)
More info on JRR Sounds: https://www.jrrshop.com/jrr-sounds



Luftrum is kind enough give away either a license of Lunaris, or any 2 sound sets of winner's choice (exception: Bundles and Nano Electronics)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Luftrum: http://www.luftrum.com



Rekkerd Sounds is kind enough give away 1 sound set of winners choice (exception: Krezie EDM and Neurofunk Vol. 1)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Rekkerd Sounds: http://sounds.rekkerd.org/



Ghostwave Audio (Vincent Bastiat) is kind enough to donate any 2 sound sets to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Ghostwave Audio: http://ghostwaveaudio.com



Hollow Sun is kind to donate one license of "Music Laboratory Machines - The Suite I" to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hollow Sun: http://www.hollowsun.com



Hornet Plugins is kind enough give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: http://www.hornetplugins.com



Sound / Graphic Designer, and honorary Mix Challenge staff satYatunes is donating one commercial product of winner's choice (until further notice)
More info on satYatune's page: http://www.satyatunes.com/





THANKS FOR THE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.

If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on instruments, samples and sound sets), please get in touch with the Mix Challenge staff.

Please spread the word of the challenge on social media.
For example with our dedicated Twitter Account or Facebook Page

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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

AUDIO EXAMPLES:
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Wikipedia entry on "Singer / Songwriter"
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singer-songwriter

Take note of the second paragraph of "definition and usage". Also of interest is the German variant "Liedermacher".



The following examples are not necessarily in the "Singer / Songwriter" genre, but do have a strong emphasis on melody/interesting chord progressions and vocals.

Random hand selected videos (Youtube)

Barry McGuire - Eve of Destruction (1965, warning - strong imagery)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Bad Moon Rising (1969, here is a cleaner, more sped-up version)
Zager And Evans - In The Year 2525 (1969)
Jim Croce - Time in a Bottle (1972, not "apocalyptic" in nature, but notice the singing and guitar arrangement)
C.W. McCall - Convoy (1975, not "apocalyptic" in nature - just listen for the "sprechgesang")
Reinhard Mey - Eh´ meine Stunde schlägt (1978, German song about reconsidering one's own mortality - Rheinhard Mey is one of the most known "Liedermacher" in Germany)
Talking Heads - Road to Nowhere (1985)
Morrissey - Everyday is like sunday (1988)
Peter Gabriel - Here comes the flood (1990)
Udo Jürgens - Gehet hin und vermehret euch (1992, Live version - German song about a mass growing population and exploitation - Jürgens was a very well known Austrian "Singer / Songwriter")
Chris Cornell - Preaching the End of the World (1999)
MUSE - Apocalypse Please (2003)
I am Kloot - Avenue Of Hope (2005, featured in the movie "Sunshine")
Kanada's Death, Pt. 2 (adagio in D Minor) (2007, from the movie "Sunshine" - does not have lyrics, but an interesting song structure that tells an own story)
St. Vincent - Apocalypse Song (2007)
The Protomen - Father of Death (from Act 2: The Father of Death, 2009)
M83 - Oblivion (feat Susanne Sundfør) (2013, from the movie "Oblivion")
Ayreon - The Theater Equation (2015, song: Day Four: Mystery from the musical "The Theater Equation")
LEPROUS - Below (2019)
Devin Townsend - Evermore (2019, from the album "Empath", definitely Prog Metal)
Devin Townsend - Why?! (2019, from the album "Empath")


Bonus:
Paul Stevenson - Near Maine (this track was the source for Mix Challenge 09 in 2015)


More to come...

Hello all,

I just wanted to say that I wrote a song for this..

I used to write non-stop from when I was a kid, up through my mid twenties. I went through a period of depression and anxiety for about five years, where I couldn't finish anything, and soon couldn't even start a song. I always see these contests in the e-mails, and have entered a hand-full of times, mostly the mix challenge. Anyway, I thought of a song that I started about 4 years ago that just had a verse and a half, and thought it might work for this. 30 min later and I finished the first song in years, and I think its really good (and fitting.) What a great feeling.

I'm going to record it over the next few days, but for now I just wanted to say thank you!

Looking forward to hearing everyone's efforts, and this time I will vote; I didn't realize that it was mandatory when I entered one around this time last year, hahaha.

Cheers,

Mike

Welcome back. Definitely looking forward to your re-recording.

Also yes, giving feedback and casting a vote has been mandatory since the first SWC.

Hello again,

my first question: is English the mandatory language when it comes to the lyrics? Or would Swedish do?

Second question: What does this mean: "Bar minimum, use some choir samples (plenty of free ones on the net, probably even built into your go-to sampler) or do a voice over/narration (sprechgesang / choral speaking)." ? Does it mean there has to be some kind of other voice than the leadsinger's? And that the time limit is one (1) bar?

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 03, 2019 09:46 CET

my first question: is English the mandatory language when it comes to the lyrics? Or would Swedish do?

Can be any language other than English. If it's (in your case) Swedish, please provide lyric translations so that we can understand what's going on

A Future in Noise wrote: ↑

Tue Dec 03, 2019 09:46 CET

Second question: What does this mean: "Bar minimum, use some choir samples (plenty of free ones on the net, probably even built into your go-to sampler) or do a voice over/narration (sprechgesang / choral speaking)." ? Does it mean there has to be some kind of other voice than the leadsinger's? And that the time limit is one (1) bar?

You can choose either:
- real lyrics / singing
- "sprechgesang" / choral speaking
- if you can't sing/collaborate with somebody, then use choir samples

Of course you can also combine this, like main lead vocals and then some subtle choirs or something similar.

"Bar minimum" in this case means "do at least one of those" (as in: it is mandatory). There is no bar limit (as in: length of vocals). Should not just be one 4th note "ah" for the whole song though.

I think I understand. Thank you!

hello Mister Fox,

first things first, i did read the rules but hear me out.

I have a song. The music is a little bit older, but i put my lyrics and vocals into it and, i made new mix (still wip). ALso, i changed the music from my original.

I wonder if i could participate with this.

Hit me back.

Cheers

And, the so far WIP is here:

warning! this is not for the competition, if Mr Fox will not permitt me:



"Birds,
how does it feel
to fly high in the sky?

Birds,
i've lost my wings
I can't reach you, no more

Birds,
not anymore i belong to your loud choral

Birds,
i'm all alone
I am way too fucked up to fly"

J I L L I A M wrote: ↑

Mon Dec 16, 2019 09:38 CET

I wonder if i could participate with this.

...

And, the so far WIP is here:

warning! this is not for the competition, if Mr Fox will not permitt me:

Apologies if that sounds harsh now, but you do know the Rules and Guidelines at this point. This thread is not for "Work in Progress" material, but finished productions.

Since you however constantly remove your material within mere days, I can't even check if there really was this song released before, or not. If it's a re-mix from one of your old songs, with more added content (by that - I don't just mean vocals on top of the instrumentation), then I see no problem with it. If it's just vocals on top, then it would be unfair to those that write something from scratch each month, and I do have to disqualify you.



A friendly reminder:
There are still 7 days left to submit a production.

I highly recommend to everyone to read up on the premise again, and cross check with the given audio examples.



Also - please don't forget the "Community Scramble" (2020) sample collection thread:
https://www.mix-challenge.com/forum/vie ... f=11&t=298