September Contest: Gossip

[folderol]

OK

I'm back.

How ya'll doing?

Scps?

Hiya. Nice to see your back, and your front too

As you can see, we didn't wreck the joint while you were away. However I suggest you count the silver. Max was doing some rather suspicious deals

[t_riddy]

Random question... Does anyone have any recommendations for a good bass guitar vst? I've tried a couple of freeware versions so far (superiff & 4front) and they sound pretty terrible. I'm willing to pay for a good one, I just don't want to shell out hundreds of dollars for an entire library (i.e. kontact)... Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

t_riddy, i don't know if you've tried VB-1 from Steinberg, but it might be worth a listen if you haven't already.

ftp://ftp.steinberg.net/Download/Legacy ... PlugIn.zip

[Aziraphal]

Random question... Does anyone have any recommendations for a good bass guitar vst?

Maybe the free Kore player?

[Max el Belga]

"The Humble Bass Guitar" is quite useful and free.

folderol, those 'some rather suspicious deals' are only an example of practical thinking !
The wanky smoke detectors in the toilets caused me a flipping migraine every time they started to howl like a sick cow !
It was absolutely impossible to enjoy a tranquil and relaxing smoke in there !
Instead of throwing them away, I turned them into silver - free market economy, ya noo !

Welcome back Scoops, although the first thing you did was asking a question (How ya'll doing ?) ! After 2 hours I still couldn't decide if I had to answer that one too, or if you'd take care of it yerself, being back in the 'pack'...

Cheers (finally I can work in peace on my song ! ),

HappyMax... .. .

[beanpole]

rifftrax - Beginning of the End

Nice atmospheric dancey number reminiscent of stuff from the early 90's. The flute part reminded me of an old Amiga game I used to play back in the day but I cant quite remember which one.

mrblitz000 - Babushka Baby

Seems to me like there are about 3 or 4 different songs going on at the same time - bonkers!! Also seems like the toy piano part was tagged on as an afterthought.

farlukar - Islington

Not really my cup of tea this industrial-metal type stuff but there was enough variation within the song to hold my attention.

offthewall - My lodging's on the cold ground

Nicely done folk instrumental. The whistle fits in well with the mood of the song. The melody also reminds of an old Irish rebel song which I can't quite put my finger on.

jenderton - dragonfodder

Ambient soundscapes are not really my sort of thing, sorry. Doesn't seem to go anywhere and would maybe have been more appropriate for last months theme.

folderol - No More Time For Toys

The intro took me back to my childhood of Chigley, Trumpton & Camberwick Green. Then it morphed into something completely different whilst still keeping the childlike vibe. I liked this

Echo Voodoo - In the lonely hills

Really like this and its up there with your best songs in my opinion. Really nice atmosphere. Transports you into the mind of an eagle flying above the Andes.

liqih - Dancing The Dreams

Started off well sounding like it was recorded in an Indian market but it crashed after about a minute and wouldn't play. This seems to be a recurring theme with most of your entries. Don't know if its a problem at my end or not.

Barnadine - The End of the World

Up to your usual high standard, especially the vocals. Not much more that I could add except to reitterate that it is a great little song.

mvrasseli - Balado do Alfredo

Cool little tune. To my ears it sounds like an outtake from the Cinema Paradiso soundtrack. That may have been what you were trying what with 'Alfredo' being in the title or maybe it is just a coincidence.

Jack_Solium - Au bon vieux temps (valse musette)

Nice French vibe going on here. However, whilst it is well played it doesn't seem to go anywhere and gets a bit repetitive quite quickly. The toy piano part tries to save it but doesn't quite succeed.

[mvrasseli]

JacK_SoliuM - A tradicional french valse though it
sounded mechanical. 7.5

offthewall - An insteresting song and a good featuring of
children instruments. 8

Barnadine - Nice pop song. I would put more nylon guitar
parts and another tweaks as well. 8

Folderol - A simple electro song. I think it has to much
"edges to be polished" but a fair entry. 7

Echo Voodoo - It's much repetitive and need a mix. 6.5

jenderton - It's not necessarily a composition it's more
like an Sci-Fi movie ambient song...Anyway. 6.5

farlukar - A nice track but I think not much inovation.7.5

Beanpole - Another pop song tough some white noise It was
interesting. 8.5

mrblitz000 - It think the mix is not great and the Piano
Sounded much mechanical to much contrast with the guitar
thought I liked the idea and composition.8

liqih - I think it's a kind of surreal sound, I'm sorry
but that strings sucks and I think would be better you
make an only percursion song. 6.5

[mvrasseli]

mvrasseli - Balado do Alfredo

Cool little tune. To my ears it sounds like an outtake from the Cinema Paradiso soundtrack. That may have been what you were trying what with 'Alfredo' being in the title or maybe it is just a coincidence.

Thanks. Actually It was a coincidence, That name remeber me Children so I put Alfredo there, just it.

[offthewall]

Part 2

Foldererol_No_More_Time_For_Toys
WOW …. I just can't get enough of this clockwork masterpiece ….
You are excelling yourself here, young master foldy !
An oxymoron of a tune with both childlike and sinister undertones.

echovoodoo_inthelonelyhills
Yet another WOW …. Boy, this is going to be a special month when it comes to voting !!!
A little spaghetti western sound going on here. Extremely beautiful acoustic recording quality with a wonderfully natural reverb being employed.

Liqih_Dancing_The_Dreams
Beautiful sounds … just made for headphone listener like me.
I'm not sure that these 'child instrument' samples can ever replace the magic of the real thing being used in a 'natural' way.

Barnadine_EndOfWorld
Another wonderful Barny song. The chord progressions are truly special. There is something innately celtic about the construction of this. At a couple of points I was expecting a whistle, or pipes, to come in with a little flourish. Toy piano did the trick, but not sure about the 'Speak & Spell'. Love the vocal harmonies.

mvrasseli_balada_do_alfredo
This is an extremely sweet composition. I don't normally like sampled instruments but that whistle is played in a beautifully natural way. As a whistle player I find that it is almost 'too' perfect. (jealousy)

JackSolium_-_Au_Bon_Vieux_Temps
There is very little that JS does that I don't like. This one is right up to standard and, as usual, made me wish that there were some obscure lyrics which I could attempt to sing along with.



James

[folderol]

And there's more...

echovoodoo inthelonelyhills
Lots of character to this one. Comes over to me as Celtic with some Eastern or Gypsy influences.

Liqih Dancing_The_Dreams
Another very 'ethnic' sounding entry, but more tending to African I think. Started off very well but I think you lost your way a bit later on. I thought the stereo shifts are interesting, but a bit much on headphones after a while.

Barnadine EndOfWorld
I know I'll never be disappointed by a'Barny' song and this is no exception. Interesting choice of instruments and great vocal harmonies as usual.

mvrasseli balada do alfredo
Lovely happy little tune, reminds me of listening to the school music class from the corridor.

JackSolium Au_Bon_Vieux_Temps
Classic French accordion, sound, but that bass is crazy! Started well, but lacked real variation.

[nikp2000]

_

remove that boot from my keister!

farluker islington
shades of king crimson! good dynamics. good heavy guitars. good mix.
i like it!

barnadine end of the world
really nice little ballad. barnadine, you have a great voice and
you write great melodies. my only complaint is the vocals are
little muffled

beanpole what time is love
tasty power pop ballad. channels 60's radio tunes. i like the strings.
vocals are a little stiff, but overall very good tune.

echo voodoo in the lonely hills
forlorn distant recorder (whistle? flute?) brings a backwoodsy vibe.
mix could have been a little more upfront, but i know you were going for that
distant lonely sound. overall pretty good.

folderol no more time for toys
time passes and we all have to put away our toys and move on. evocative mix
and nice selection of sounds. it really conveys the idea you were going for.

jack solium au bon viex temps
ah the time we spent in gay paree! waltzy and schmaltzy, but i'm dancing
until this tunes done! nice job.

jenderton dragonfodder
moody and dark, but i could have used a bit more song-like elements.
more of a sound collage than a tune.

mr blitz000 babushka baby
off kilter, seasick, dizzy, but in a good zappa-esque way. not a big fan
of the vocals, but they work in the song's context.

mvrasseli balado do alfredo
charming, but it gets a little lost in the middle. i think the voice samples
take away from the song's feel and the jazzier playing behind them
doesn't quite gel with the more classical feel of the tune. pretty good
tune though.

off the wall my lodgings on the cold ground
lot's of waltzes this month and this one is a gem. great guitar backing and great
solo with lot's of good acoustic tone. if those guits were mic-ed you
did a hell of a job!

riffrax beginning of the end
ominous and moody with a good set of elements. overall sound is good and the mix
is clean

liqih dancing the dreams
really nice tone on the percussions. sounds like the big pvc tube the blue man group
whacks. good balance in the mix, which can be tricky in a mainly
percussion piece. good job!

[t_riddy]

Aziphral, mrblitz and Max - thanks for the tips. I may finally be able to complete my entry now!

Thought about doing the required reviews in song-form, within my my actual submission, but that idea didn't pan out too well...

[Echo Voodoo]

forlorn distant recorder (whistle? flute?)

Ocarina.

[Scoops]

More goodies for the prize basket.

Thanks Michel!


Michel Rouzic the developer of Photosounder has donated a copy (with full license) of Photosounder for the September contest (and later months until further notice).

[Scoops]

OK,

I've added boots to the entries.
I'll be going back and removing boots where appropriate a little later today

-Scps