Mix Challenge

Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 48 - August 2021


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.

Before you get started, please consult the official "Rules and Guidelines" (most notably Rule Book - post #6) for the Songwriting Competition regarding principles of the game, it's engaging game mechanics (allowed editing/re-submission of your entry until the deadline has been reached) and upload/submission guidelines.

Read more about this month's competition further down below.




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 August 2021 to Tuesday, 24th August 2021 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-08-2021, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (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: "Breathing Space"
GENRE: Downtempo (generic term)



Image Source: Pexels, photo by picjumbocom, released under Creative Commons CC0 (colors adjusted)



A few word about this month's theme:

Staff (Mister Fox) wrote:We're still in quite the chaotic times, our world just doesn't slow down. Nothing feels normal anymore. When was the last time you took a break? As in... stopped in your tracks, just sat down, looked up to the sky, watched the sun go down, enjoyed the calming noises of the ocean or a nearby river, listened to the rustling of the wind blowing through the trees. Take a deep breath, relax.

It's been a while, hasn't it?
Then why not do that right now?



Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
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This month, you can create a production in the "Downtempo" genre.

"Downtempo" is a collection of primarily electronic music. It acts as a "generic term" which houses various sub-genres.

There is no limitation on what type of "Downtempo" you go for. Although personally I'd love to hear more "warm beats" as heard through Hip Hop and Lo Fi Hip Hop (currently better known as "Chillhop"), maybe with a slightly uplifting melodic touch. As long as the tempo remains below 120 BPM and it employs a laid-back groove/feel, you are good to go.


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

Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:

• create a production fitting to the given theme, genre and general premise
• you can use any tool that is at your disposal (samples, virtual instruments and/or real instruments)
• IMPORTANT: if you use non-licensed material (as in: non royalty free material from sample CDs, etc), give full credit to the source material
• for newcomers: no productions that have already been released outside of the time frame of the current Songwriting Competition (Spotify, iTunes, Bandcamp, etc), no cover versions or remixes, no ripped acapella's -- please only showcase your own content
• do not go higher than -14,0 LUFS ILk/-1,00 dBTP in terms of perceived loudness (mastering). Music doesn't have to be squashed to bits in order to be impactful
• name your files properly prior to uploading and make the production downloadable. If you opt to present your entry through SoundCloud, the forum can also convert your links into a Soundcloud player through the [soundcloud] BBCode from the text editor (orange square with a white cloud in it)
• ADD-ON RULES:
  • Filename Template: SWC000_ArtistName_TrackName.wav and/or .mp3
  • <no add-on rules specified>

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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 (most notably Rule Book - post #6)

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

If you like what the Mix Challenge (community) has been doing in recent months:
Please consider supporting us

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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:


Cherry Audio is kind enough give away one license of Voltage Modular Ignite, plus either a license of "Year One Collection" or "Year Two Collection"
License will turn into NFR
More info on Cherry Audio: https://cherryaudio.com



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, a license of Bioscape, or any two 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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Articles and Info Pages:

A great starting point is the "Addendum"/Supplementary thread for the Songwriting Competition
Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Music Maps and BPM Charts

Please also check out "Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music", most notably the topic "Chillout" and "Trip Hop"

Additional Articles on Wikipedia
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtempo
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lofi_hip_hop




Music examples (selection, Youtube):

DJ Krush - Dig This Vibe (1994)
Moby - Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad? (1999)
Martin Iveson - Hang Em Up Shellshock (PS1 game OST) (1995, more Hip Hop than "chill-out")
Apollo 440 - Electro Glide In Blue (1997)
Utah Saints - B777 (2000, might be a bit too fast for "downtempo", more "ambient breaks")
Kaskade - Honesty (2004, Funky Trip Hop)
Teargas and Plateglass - Arkhangelsk (2004, definitely more "ambient breaks")
Harmonic 33 - Where have they gone (2015, more Trip Hop)
Inner Self - Rise of the Earth Keepers (2015, more "chill-out")
Carbon Based Lifeforms - Dodecahedron (2017, more "chill-out")
Boards of Canada - Left Side Drive (2017, considered "chill-out")
kim - dear memories (2019)
Tenno - Journey (2019, Chillhop)
Vindu - Reiwa (2019, Chillhop)
Ouska - Alive (2019, Chillhop)
Kalaido - Streetlight Reverie (2021, Chillhop)

BONUS:
Chillhop Yearmix 2019 -- a collection of various Chiillhop entries by end of 2019
Lofi hip hop mix - Too Tired -- a collection of various Chillhop/Lofi Hip Hop entries by June 2021
Music to put you in a better mood - lofi / relax / stress relief -- a collection of various Chillhop/Lofi Hip Hop entries by July 2021


REMOVED:
Sneaker Pimps - 6 Underground (1996, it is declared as "chill-out", but it's more pop/rock)
Morcheeba - The Sea (1998, song is declared as "chill-out", but drifts a bit into classic rock)
.



Please also check in with the following threads in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Places to fuel your GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) (the starting point if you're in need of audio tools -- from free to affordable)

Also recommended to check out the following tools, if you're new to/need help with songwriting:
Plugin Boutique - Scaler 2 (highly recommended tool!)
CodeFN42 - Chordz (Transition is also recommended, if you want more experimental/generative MIDI, Free, Windows only)
W.A. Production - InstaChord and InstaScale
Fabrizio Poce / J74 - Progressive (Progressive Standalone might not be available anymore, else the "Max4Life" version)

In need of a drum sampler?
Apisonic Labs - Speedrum Lite. A very simple MPC type sampler
Decomposer - Sitala. A no frills drum sampler.
AKAI Professional - MPC Beats. Can be used as virtual instrument as well
TAL Software - TAL-Sampler. a very versatile and affordable sampler, with a very powerful DAC module (also available as separate plugin)



UPDATED: 31-JUL-2021 17:15 UTC+2 (sourcing content: several hours), updated 15-AUG-2021 04:25 UTC+2

Would 'Always Crashing in the Same Car' and 'Sound and Vision' from the Bowie album Low qualify as downtempo / chillhop?

I am starting to wonder if you even read post #3 of each Songwriting Competition, @A Future in Noise. Although I do understand the confusion, as "Sneaker Pimps" and "Morcheeba" do sound more pop-rock heavy, like this particular David Bowie album (Low). If you want to think of Bowie, maybe the singles from "Blackstar", but less acoustic drums, more electronic content.

The idea is to go more "electronic based" for the beat, so this month is definitely more going towards "Chillhop" and "Lounge/Trip Hop". I will make that more clear in the examples above, maybe even remove the "Sneaker Pimps" exampels, and add two more "long-play" collections instead.



Including today, 10 days left for submitting your production. If you want to ask for constructive feedback while having enough time to revisit your song, please consider posting your entry within the next days.

I made a song in the last 2 weeks, i hope it falls into the requested genre because i see others are insecure too.
(Not even a year has passed since SWC037, when lo-fi hiphop was the topic and I thought I was generally making a slower song and not an explicit lo-fi hip hop. And as Mister Fox wrote:

Mister Fox wrote: ↑

Sat Jul 31, 2021 16:23 CEST

As long as the tempo remains below 120 BPM and it employs a laid-back groove / feel, you are good to go.

so i guess i didn't make a big mistake but you can never know.)



GENRE: Downtempo (generic term)
BPM: 70



VST:
Diva
Mini V3
Pigments
Kontakt
(The Maverick
Hybrid Keys
ShimmerShake Strike
Sahara Voices
MARK1
Ilya Efimov Acoustic Guitar)
Sitala
BOZ Le Snappet

FX:
Pro-Q3
Maag EQ4
Neold V76U73
ReaComp
RBass
RVox
SPL Transient Master
Decapitator
D16 Decimort2
StandardClip
bx_boom
Blackhole
Seventh Heaven
Valhalla Vintage Verb
D16 Tekturon
Valhalla Delay
Oxford Inflator
Oxford VoxDoubler
Wider
CLA Vocals
Audiothing Wires
Audiothing Megaphone
ShaperBox2
BOZ Pan Knob

Ozone 9
SSL Native Bus
Gullfoss
Oxford Limiter
Youlean LM
SPAN

Samples:
2 Splice - KATYA Vocal Pack
1 Splice - Crowds (BRS Speech Priest Prayer Roomy)
2 Splice - Filthy Vocals
1 Splice - This Is It Band feat. Freda Payne
2 W.A. Production - FX Essentials 1
2 Freesound (FX rain, thunder)

That would work, as the beat is more electronic focused (see "Moby" and "Apollo 440" examples)

Mister Fox wrote: ↑

Mon Aug 16, 2021 03:42 CEST

That would work, as the beat is more electronic focused (see "Moby" and "Apollo 440" examples)

Thank you for the reply. Although this sounds more like a “no” to me than a “yes.”
I think I’ll skip this now.

Apologies for the possible misunderstanding in this case, but your entry does fit the genre/premise.
So please, go ahead and update your post.

Daw: Reaper
WAV: 48khz 16bit, -14.9lufs, -1.0tp

Instruments:
Bass guitar: Fender Precision American Original 50's
Pedals: Chunk Systems Brown Dog & Agent00 Funk & Boss OC-3
Vocals: Me > SM58 > Wa Tone Beast > Scarlett 2i4
Drums: Toontrack Decades - 1970s Tight Pop
Clap: Big Fish Audio - Smack

Soft Synths:
Arturia Prophet V3
Arturia Jup-8 V3
Arturia Stage-73 V
Arturia Mellotron V
u-he Diva

FX:
FabFilter Pro-Q 3
FabFilter Pro-L 2
Tokyo Dawn Labs Nova GE
TBProAudio DSEQ
Wavesfactory Trackspacer
Liquidsonics Seventh Heaven
Audiothing Vinyl Strip
Kush Audio UBK-1
Waves Tune Real-Time
Waves Rvox
Waves Doubler
Airwindows NotJustAnotherDither
ReaPitch
Acustica Audio Black
Acustica Audio Cerise
Acustica Audio N4 libraries:
-AlexB Sontec S432 eq
-AlexB ATE-GE tape (Anamod ATS1)
-AlexB MFC-GE console (Neve 88RS)
-AlexB API 512c preamp
-AlexB N09-GE comp (33609 metal knob)
-TimP Y-E1010 delay
-TimP Opto32 compressor (LA2A)
-TimP 100a compressor (TLA100)
-TimP Vari-Level compressor (Sta-Level Vari-Mu)
-CupwiseFX AX102 tape
-CupwiseFX Urei 565T HP/LP filters
-AITB Bricasti M7 Spaces reverb