KVR Audio

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:41 pm

Hello and welcome to the KVR Mix Challenge 24 - August 2016

This is the introduction post, where we directly link to the challenge corresponding files (source files, submission information, sponsors), start of the evaluation process and the first post for re-submissions for Mix Round 2.

In this month, we treat on new grounds with out first R'n'B / Chillout type track provided by "One Synth Challenge" regular Loris Solic (loris16148). His track is called "Blue Wings"

Please take note of the following

as of MC17, the rule set has been overhauled/simplified - please take note of them in the Rules and Guidelines thread.
our Twitter Account can be found via the handle @MixChallenge

Also Important:

We have many questions for a possible new course of the Mix Challenge - please share your thoughts over in the Gossip Thread
We're desperately looking for new source material for future Mix Challenges. Our pool is in constant fear of running dry. Please follow our official campaign for this in the Music Cafe. No new tracks, no more challenges!
Please also spread the word on your preferred social media platform. Our Twitter Account is already a good start

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, Source Files, Sponsors
Mix Round 2: Global Feedback and Round 2 Participant Announcement
Results of the Mix Challenge 24: Winners announced

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 10:41 pm

CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Monday, 01st August 2016 to Sunday, 21st August 2016 (21 days)

Challenge submission will end on 21-08-2016, 11:59pm CEST/GMT+1 (Germany) - until further notice. If you want to find out when that is the case at your place, please use the following tool and and select "Berlin (Germany)" as location 1, and your location as location 2:
http://www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/meeting.html

Song Provider: Loris Solic (KVR Profile)
Song Name and Length: Blue Wings, 4:16min
Song Information: 120 bpm / Signature: 4/4, Key of C major
File Format: WAV, 44kHz, 24bit

GENRE: R'n'B / Chillout

Preview of the Song:
https://soundcloud.com/loris-solic/blue-wings

A word from the song provider:

Loris Solic wrote:Hello master mixing engineers

this song is in C major (note, some notes are out of key, on purpose), 120 bpm 4/4

This song was created from sampling a CD, you will never know which CD/artist (unless you ask me) because the sampled parts have been sliced, stretched, and repitched. Hope this is not a deal breaker. Sampling is inherent to RnB and HipHop as you may know.

The song was created to have a relaxing atmospheric mood with smooth chord progressions, plucks, reverberated drums and subtle FX. This is how I mixed the song to its final stage. I created this song a long time ago, when key signatures were a thing that I did not know.

Of note:
When I created the song, I routed certain channels to a reverb and delay bus. You will have these stems at your disposal (NOTE: Guide Tracks subfolder), but know that if you do not like them, you may add your own reverbs and delays to whatever you want. I have aimed to remove most unessential FX that are counterproductive to the mixing stage (exciters, limiters, compressors) and that may alter the raw sound. I want you all to judge how much compression or excitement needs to be added for a brand new unique mix.

The "sidechain input" stem....I used this to trigger the compressor on the "sidechain" stem (Instruments Sidechain Total). The "sidechain input" is simply a kick; while it triggers the compressor almost every time the main kick goes off, it does not do so EVERY time. You can see this if you compare the "kick" and "sidechian input" waveform in your daw. Of course, sidechaining is also part of mixing, so if you have your own take on sidechaining please use it. I have provided these stems only for reference.

In summary, the "sidchain input" and "sidechain stems" are not a necessary partof the mix.... Neither are the "reverb" and "delay" stems if you really want to get into it.

This is my first time providing stems for a mixdown so if you have questions please get in touch with me.
I have gotten slightly better at production since I made this song, so in the future I am hoping to deliver some good bass music to you...cheers

A few words by the Mix Challenge staff:

Staff (Compyfox) wrote:The rhythm of this track can be a bit offputting. You might instantly reach for the tracks and try to shift it to be "in time". This is sadly a bit complicated due to the glitchy nature of the production. So instead of battling it, why not work with it FX wise? Maybe add some glitching here and there to sligthly spice up things, as long as you don't overdo it.

Unless you use own sidechain techniques to create some motion into the pads, I do recommend to use the "04 - sidechain input.wav" file in the GUIDE subfolder. It's either/or in this case.

A can't give you any further recommendation on the genre per se. Aside from a a certain glitchy feel, it's a R'n'B / Chillout track.

Please also consult the TXT files that are bundled in the source files package below. There you can find more information about the individual files and changes to the time signature.

Special Add-On Rules:

side chaining is mandatory, either use the provided WAV file (04 - sidechain input.wav) or utilize own sidechaining techniques
try to create a mix that complements this production (in your own style)
Clean / Alternative versions can be used if you need more flexibility over a certain sound (not present in this production)
No rearrangement of the song structure
try to not(!) pre-master the track (please no overuse of mix bus treatment)

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Source Files:

Main Mix Package - Mirror on Studio Compyfox (430,18 MB, LZMA compressed)

The provided files were packed as ZIP with LZMA compression.
File size extracted: 2099,89 MB, packed 430,18 MB (ZIP, LZMA)
In order to extract the files, we can recommend these programs:

Macintosh:
The Unarchiver - get it here

Windows:
7zip - Installation / Portable

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

Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Mix Challenge - Gossip and Discussion

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SPONSORS (Prizes):

Prizes for mix 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.

Acon Digital is kind enough give away a single plugin of winner's choice.
License will turn into NFR
More info on Acon Digital: http://acondigital.de

Ghostwave Audio (KVR User Karten) is kind enough to donate MixRight (a Reaktor Ensemble) to the winner (until further notice)
License won't turn into NFR, you need Native Instruments Reaktor 5.8+ for this
More info on Ghostwave Audio: http://ghostwaveaudio.com/

JRR Shop will give away a free copy of Audiffex/Audified STA Preamp (until further notice)
More info about the plugins on Audiffex (now known as Audified): http://shop.audified.com/
More info about the sponsor: http://www.jrrshop.com/

Metric Halo will give away a single plugin of winner's choice.
License will turn into NFR
More info about Metric Halo: http://mhsecure.com/metric_halo/

Nyrv Systems offers AGENT incl. all currently available NyrvDevices and free update to at least v1.5 of winner's choice (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info about Nyrv Systems: http://www.nyrvsystems.com/

Sound and Graphic, KVR user and 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/

Tone2 is kind enough to donate either a bundle consisting of AkustiX Enhancer and WarmVerb, or a license of Ultraspace to the winner (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com

Two Notes Audio Engineering is kind enough to donate one license of Torpedo Wall of Sound III to the winner, loaded with 57 cabinets (equivalent to "Torpedo WoS II") (donation until Summer 2017)
License will not turn into NFR
More info on Two Notes: http://www.two-notes.com/en/

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 mix plugins, bundles and the likes), please get in touch with the Mix Challenge staff.

Did you know that there are even more contests / competitions / challenges here on KVR Audio?

One Synth Challenge (see stickies) - a demanding game where you have to use "one synth only", tweak it to your needs and write song with it (the OSC offered us a lot of songs in recent months!)
Music Cafe (KVR, see stickies) - A thematic monthly competition. Use recording, real instruments, synths and samples.

Please spread the word of the challenge on social media.
For example with our dedicated Twitter Account: https://twitter.com/MixChallenge

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

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Sun Aug 07, 2016 3:25 pm

A friendly reminder:
We're one week into the challenge. Including today, you have 15 days left to mix and submit your edit.

And could this month's "client" please respond to my PM please?
Thank you!

loris16148 · Post by **loris16148** » Mon Aug 08, 2016 12:48 am

Helooo!! I see you Fox! The client is here, and he sees all. Enjoy the competition everyone! I'm nervous to have my work examined by other people, but I am excited to hear the results! Cant wait to see what everyone comes up with!

shroom feverish · Post by **shroom feverish** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 4:14 pm

MP3
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1cnad ... sp=sharing

WAV
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B1cnad ... sp=sharing

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 6:14 pm

Hi and welcome back, shroom.
Thanks for breaking the ice.

photonic · Post by **photonic** » Wed Aug 10, 2016 7:31 pm

Hi all,

This was a difficult mix for me. Because there are some tracks fighting each other. I tried to find out what the main "melody" is at each time and put the "ambient" more in the back. Than I add some filter automation to certain places to bring some accents.

MP3: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/717 ... otonic.mp3
WAV: https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/717 ... otonic.wav

Nightpolymath · Post by **Nightpolymath** » Sat Aug 13, 2016 2:04 am

This song grows on you. The crunchy clap bothered me, so I took some liberties and made it sound wetter.

WAV
https://www.dropbox.com/s/dr10q20lqw92b ... .wav?raw=1

MP3
https://www.dropbox.com/s/for47xn4yrsa2 ... .mp3?raw=1

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Mon Aug 15, 2016 12:45 am

A friendly reminder:
Including today, you have 7 days left to mix and submit your edit.

loris16148 · Post by **loris16148** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 4:38 am

Wow these mixes are really cool, it so surprising!! My song sounds completely different under a different mix. The artistic liberties are welcomed, and so far they sound great! I'll leave my comments for the end where I plan on addressing each mix, but for now I will descend back into the shadows..............(wooshing sound)......

vasdim · Post by **vasdim** » Wed Aug 17, 2016 5:22 am

Hi all,
this is my attempt to mix:
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/700 ... VasDim.mp3
Good luck to all.
VasDim

Compyfox · Post by **Compyfox** » Sat Aug 20, 2016 4:12 pm

Folks, the Mix Challenge is still running!

Including today, you have two days left to mix.
Or in numeric values: you have 30 hours left to submit your mix!

Please don't leave us hanging, we have 4 entries so far!