Mix Challenge

Summary:

• 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), exceptions apply regarding vocal sample usage and certain songwriting tools)
• 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 finished 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 of other artists, no ripped acapella's -- please only showcase your own new and original content (you are allowed to "remix yourself", recreate an old project, etc)
• 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:

• <no (additional) add-on rules specified>

Filename Template: SWC092__ArtistName__TrackName.wav or .mp3

• example: SWC092__MisterFox__ColorOfTheSky.wav
• example: SWC092__Mister_Fox__Color_of_the_sky.wav

Please also try to provide only one file format (ideally the highest quality possible).


For a full set of rules, please consult the Official Rules and Guidelines (see Rule Book post #6). If you got any questions regarding the game mechanics or similar, please either utilize the global Gossip and Discussion thread, or reach out through Discord.

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



IK Multimedia is kind enough to give away one license of MODO BASS 2 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com



Musiclab is kind enough to donate any 1 guitar of your choice to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Musiclab: https://www.musiclab.com



Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Saurus4 to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com



kv331 audio is kind enough to either give away a SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
Licenses 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 to 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 to give away either a license of Lunaris 2, a license of Bioscape, or any two sound sets of winner's choice
License will turn into NFR
More info on Luftrum: https://www.luftrum.com/



Rekkerd Sounds is kind enough to 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: https://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: https://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 to give away any one license of winner's choice, alternatively any-2 licenses "Custom Bundle" with a total value less than 20 EUR MSRP
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: https://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: https://satyatunes.com/



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

DAW is FL Studio

The drums are various one shots with the 808 being SubLabXL. SSL Fusion Vintage Drive was used for some saturation and drive.
The drone is a choir sample that I manipulated and resampled. It used Infiltrator, ComebackKid, Slice EQ, and Crystalline as well as some volume automation.
The main piano/horn section was also heavily chopped and resampled and uses Neutron 4, several Slice EQs, ComebackKid, and Neoverb.
The vocals are myself "singing" the parts in several layers and have Cymatics Origin, FL Limiter, Little Alter Boy, EQ 2, Nectar 3, bx console SSL 9000, SSL Native Bus Comprssor, and a custom Patcher preset for doubling as well as ComebackKid. Cystalline and Neoverb are also used on some of the additional layers.

Here you can read the lyrics and the chords in original German or in English
English
Original German

My rig is pretty simple. My last-gen gaming PC (so nothing fancy) running a Behringer UMC interface into Reaper. My room is heavily treated and about the only issue I have is standing waves at 80Hz, unless I keep the door open (thanks to my wife for putting up with that, BTW). Monitoring is a JBL LSR setup, or I've got a pair of Sennheiser 560s and a pair of cheap earbuds. I go back and forth between them to keep my ears honest. I had a stapedectomy years ago to correct otosclerosis so I have some trouble with stereo imaging because one ear hears like a 15 year old and the other hears like an 80 year old that hasn't protected his hearing. So going back and forth between isolation and moving air in a room is helpful. Pretty sure I am running at 48kHz and 24bit depth but I'd honestly have to look. EDIT - sample rate and depth confirmed.

Vocal chain is just an AT4080 through an SSL Channel strip with a touch of compression and some low frequency rolloff and the EQ isn't even engaged yet. On this I've got an instance of UAD's Sound City on the vocal bus that I run in parallel so I can pull the reverb up and down but I'll also do this with just the stock Reaper IR engine and any room IR you can get for free. I'd also EQ, and add in pretty heavy compression and de-essing on my second pass mix and sometimes on a really thick mix I will use the "Scheps Pultec Trick" in parallel on lead vocals but this mix is pretty open. Still feeling out this mic and need to figure out where the de-esser needs to be, may need multiband but we'll see.

Backup vocals I just auditioned which takes sounded best together and have them all on one channel using normalization to balance them out. Normally I would split these all off and pan them out to really make the woah woahs feel huge. EDIT - I split these off and panned them for RevB.

Guitar is my '79 Les Paul Artist through my Mesa Boogie MkIV widebody 1x12 combo on the Lead channel. Close mic'd at the center of the cone, right on the grille cloth with an MD421 and the same AT4080 I use on vocals. I check phase before recording using a few clean strums and make sure I am within a sample or two at 48kHz. I cut like 5-10 takes, and then audition combinations of them with one mic hard panned to each side until I find one that jumps out at me. Slight low shelf to clear up the low mids, no additional processing of any kind. This technique is also super mono-compatible so you do have to watch out because you won't get the volume collapse and it can make the guitars way too loud in mono if you aren't careful with all your other signals. In a heavy mix I'll have to carve out EQ for lead guitar, bass, and vocal but that makes me sad because the guitar is my first instrument LOL.

Bass is my wife's Robin Ranger P/J style bass guitar played with a pick through a GK 1001RB or 700RB (I didn't look to see which was plugged in). EDIT - the 1001RB, not that it makes a difference. Just DI signal (I was recording after said wife was asleep) with the TSE "BOD" Sansamp pedal emulator that you can get for free. I'm shopping for an actual pedal and I'm kicking myself for giving one away like twenty years ago. No other EQ on the bass or bus but I do have heavy parallel compression on a separate slider using I think a Distressor plugin. Any compressor will do, just slam it and use the slider to mix it in. Second pass I would do a lot more here because the bass isn't thumping like I want it to but I love the midrange cut. EDIT: I used the "Pultec Trick" to add some low end on the bass bus.

Drums are just Superior Drummer 3 and some of the stock and some of the pop/punk riffs. I also run separate parallel compression and a separate Sound City reverb on their own channels and bring them in with the faders. Recording with a tempo change is always a challenge so I usually export the MIDI and then use Reaper's native MIDI piano roll editor to move things around if I need to. I like to get the drums done really fast and then come back and listen for places they don't fit well. I don't work too hard at them because my drummer is going to write a part anyways so he just needs a reference for what is in my head. We'd also have to add a count in to the tempo change to play this live.

Familiar frowns on indifferent faces,
swept underground from different places
descend to chase some dull pursuit downtown.

I'm breaking my neck for the need of the pay
ever smashed in this seat, 90 miles each way,
chasing pennies per dollar, per minute, per hour, per day.

Will calamity make me late
in this tunnel beneath the Bay?
Did this moving sidewalk break just to spite me?

The coffee's great, but can't reshape the way I feel about that clock.
It's creeping hands and what they measure.
And at day's end, I'll turn around and do it all again.
Commute, Hell!  I just got here.

NOTES ON LYRICS:
The title line of this song is an ironic reference to the United States Marine Corps 2nd Battalion, 5th Marines' motto "Retreat, Hell!" It is just something that popped into my head about halfway through composition and it was catchy so it stuck. The concept here is the inner monologue of a lone commuter facing a long train/subway ride to an unglamorous job in a large city, beginning with entering the station, experiencing some troubles that make the trip longer than usual, through arriving at work and clock-watching until it is time to leave, where he expresses trepidation at the return commute home. I didn't mean it to be any kind of statement on the loss of purpose and comradery that a soldier, marine, or airman may feel after leaving the service, but I can certainly see these lyrics being understood as such, especially with the almost resigned misuse of such an iconic unit's battle cry.