OSC 21 - Chimera - paterpeter wins!

[tattiemannie]

… And off we go again guys, time for you to you cast your votes for the best Majken's Chimera only track.

See thread ... http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=299106

Chimera threw up many issues which added to the challenge, and big thanks are due to Majken for participation in the thread, and going to the effort of upgrading the synth mid-comp in order to make things easier for us. The new stable version came just in time to rescue my own track, and for that I am grateful

Please listen to all the tracks before casting a vote ... I know it takes a while, but its the only fair way to do things ... Criteria for your voting decision is up to you, but I ask that you take at least some account of the range, nature, and use of the synth's sounds in your decisions.

So here's how!

Visit the One Synth Challenge site!
http://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/home

Here you can download/listen to individual tracks as you wish, or download the whole collection as a zip file, access track info, access a playlist, and keep track of the voting.

You can also find links to tracks, results and all relevant info pertaining to all previous comps.

Big thanks to V'ger for setting it up this excellent resource, and all the hard work in gathering all the links and info together.

How to vote ...
We will use the fixed allocation system of voting. You award 10 points to track you think is best, 7 points for second, then 5, 3, 2 and 1.

Step 1. ………
You should allocate your votes, in a single post, in this thread ... something like this ....
Track zxy - 10
Track xqy - 7
Track zyx - 5
Track zqx - 3
Track qzx - 2
Track zqx - 1

Step 2. ……….
....you must then enter these votes directly to the KVROSC site ... look for the 'vote here' link on the OSC21 page.

Reviews, however brief, are always welcome, but even if you can only find the time to add a short comment, then please do! ...it keeps the thread alive, and encourages others to listen/vote. I will do a review when I can grab a bit of time to do the job justice.

Step 3.……………
You're not finished yet ….... Suggest a Synth!
Those who cast a set of votes can also vote for the synth they would most like to feature in OSC25. Simply name a single synth preferrably in the same post as your votes, and make it clear ... ie "I suggest Synthname for OSC25". your suggested synth must be freeware and easily available via download. it must also be a synth which has not featured in a previous OSC.

The One Synth Challenge site has all previously featured synths listed on the home page http://sites.google.com/site/kvrosc/home
The synth with most nominations at the close of voting will be the featured synth in OSC25.


**Closing date for votes will be Sun 21st November**

Oh, and before I forget, good news! …. As was the case for OSC20, William K has pledged a free Wusik Station V6 Full copy and a free Wusik EVE V2 Full copy for this, and future comps … Thanks for your support WK …

[V'ger]

Thanks Tattie and also to Wusik for the nice prize addition.

[Majken]

Awesome stuff, cheers everyone!

[paterpeter]

This is going to be a difficult voting again. Great entries!

[paterpeter]

OK, if nobody dares, I'll be the first! Once more I'm deeply impressed by the diversity and quality of the entries. Chimera is obviously a great, versatile synth, that is not only limited to ambient sounds. It's insane fun being part of such a great competition

I commented on most tracks directly on soundcloud, but here's an ultra-brief review:

bzur - air
Great melody, the airy sounds fit great. Very good arrangement.

Xaenima - Chimerache
Love the rhtymic pattern and the lo-fi character. I like the contrasts between the intro/outro and the main part.

Archo1024 - Chimera Metroid
Awesome melody, although the sound that plays it is a tad dominant sometimes. Great to hear a piece that's not 4/4.

tattiemannie - Chimeransayat
Great mix of sounds, new things happening all the time. Parts of it could be a game soundtrack.

SID Wat - Drusilla
The lo-fi, noisy sound has something wonderful creepy to it. The sound washing out into total noise is a nice detail.

Yeager - Echidna's Daughter
Great sounds, great arrangement (especially in the beginning).

Dead Eddy - Electronic Sea Shanty
Nice atmospheric track. The sounds definitively have something maritime.

Mulperi - Into the light
Great choice of sounds, melody and chord progression. Nice percussive details.

New kids on the block - Joie
Another track that shows off the ambient qualities of Chimera.

VanMorrison - LastDays of war on Jupiter
Great, sad atmosphere that fits the title. Lots of variety and great sounds in this track.

dwsel - Last train to Chimeranian
Nice intro! Another great ambient track.

edteneyck - Obstacle
I totally love the drums and the lead sound.

Cubensick - Recovering Chimera
Great composition, great sounds (e.g. the drums).

uiiuiiu - Sterile existence cracking
Very cool bass sound & melody. Great rhythmic detail.

dwsel - WTSHNN Intro
I don't know the original, but this one sounds great.


Distributing points among only a few tracks is really, really difficult, but I guess it has to be done. The distance in points does absolutely NOT reflect the actual difference in my preference, though.

10 points: uiiuii - Sterile existence cracking
7 points: Mulperi - Into the light
5 points: bzur - air
3 points: Cubensick - Recovering Chimera
2 points: VanMorrison - Last Days of war on Jupiter
1 point: Archon1024 - Chimera Metroid

My vote for the OSC 25 synth goes to: Xhip.

See you all soon at OSC 22

Regards,
Andre

[dwsel]

Chimera Metroid - Archon1024 - 10
Can't get this song out of my head

Bzur - air - 7
Great combination of heavy drums and interesting bass with tiny background.

Into The Light - Mulperi - 5
Very bright in terms of composition (chords) and used sounds (pads). IMHO a bit too much of high frequencies (they lately hurt my ears)

Obstacle - edteneyck - 3
Interesting background.

Drusilla - mrblitz000 - 2
Sounds sometimes a bit like mellotron or an old tape of organ music concert (maybe it's even reverse played?)

Electronic Sea Shanty - Dead Eddy - 1
I really like atmosphere of this song.

My suggestion for OSC25 synth: Pling4 by xoxos http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=301482

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

dwsel, thanks for the vote! In this case, it's not 'reverse played.' Maybe it was the envelope...
****************************
Note: It's amazing, the kinds of percussion these entries display. The total of these tracks as they are would be a great compilation release.

uiiuiiu: This one is very interesting; from the rhythms, to all of the different breakdowns and buildups; all packed within ~3 minutes.

edteneyk: This one has an exotic flavour, like the space age meets the near east; like a 'martian bikini harem.'

Yeager: I really like this one. One thing i've learned to expect from Yeager tracks is great production values.

Peter Gone Sonic: Another one with outstanding percussion, and a lot of other interesting stuff going on.

Cubensick: This one is contemplative; maybe melancholy but with rays of hope.

dwsel (Last Train): It's very atmospheric; like the train is just leaving (not having picked up speed). That lead entering at around 2:10 is a great touch.

dwsel (cover): This one is too short; better than too long. It's a good listen in any event.

tattiemannie: This is an excellent opening, and evolution as the piece progresses. In spots, it's got a 'Keith Emerson' vibe.

Archon1024: This one has a 'space' vibe. It conjures up images of 'lost in space,' or that 'stargazers' show with Jack Horkheimer.

Xaenima: This one is understated, and quite interesting.

bzur: This is has a bit of a 'minimalist' vibe.

VanMorrison: I really like the 'radio transmission' sound which appears there and about in this piece. For these ears, it really makes the rest of the piece.

new kids on the block: This is a very cool atmospheric track.

Mulperi: This one sounds kind of like a horse carousel at an amusement park. I really like the 'lead' which grows out of the background and into the 'foreground.'

Dead Eddy: This one has a good flow to it.


Ok, 'toss the names into a hat,' and draw:

10 Peter Gone Sonic

7 Archon1024

5 tattiemannie

3 uiiuiiu

2 VanMorrison

1 Yeager:

(Honorable Mentions all around.)

Medusa2 for the next contest...

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

Maybe this voting system is too complicated...

Maybe it should be the same every month, and the voting spreadsheet at the google site done away with.

Maybe a simple, 1,2,3 points, month in and month out; posted here on the KVR voting thread of the month; would bring in more voter participation.

But as it is, you get a variable voting system every month, and now voters are expected to fill in the spreadsheet at google.

You can tell from the number of listens that this contest has some popularity from a listener standpoint, but when it comes to voting; maybe it's too complicated.

[V'ger]

Agree the voting system should stay the same every month, both points wise and when it comes to time limit. Maybe also too many votes to give.

As I'm taking over running I was planning to have a rules revamp discussion, will start it soon and then we can go over everything there.

Personally I like to use time to vote, listening to the track a good number of times which makes me usually late on the board.

But generally, compared to the KVR monthlies in the Music Cafe section, we have it easy. There you must rank the top 10 and do it within a week..

[Mac of BIOnighT]

OK, here are my votes:

10 points: LastTrainToChimeranian-Dwsel - a train that moves slowly through somebody's inner world, a very sad and intimate atmosphere that would fit perfectly Matsumoto Leiji's Ginga Tetsudo 999. Very, very beautiful!

7 points: Drusilla--Mrblitz000 - a brilliant intuition (Chimera's based on noise, so why not make it part of the track?) for a very melancholic and nostalgic trip back in time, like a recording from the beginning of the 1900's. Definitely my favorite mrblitz track so far.

5 points: Bzur-Air - "delicate technology" might not mean much, but that's exactly what I think of when I listen to this little gem.

3 points: EchidnasDaughter-Yeager - darn viking.

2 points ChimeraMetroid-Archon1024 - if computers have a soul, this is what it sounds like, probably.

1 point: RecoveringChimera-Cubensick - this track makes me think of a decision that had to be made and the regret of not having the possibility to choose otherwise, don't know why.

Anyway, the tracks above are the ones I felt were the most emotional and moving ones. There are several equally good tracks, but sometimes Chimera's sounds are just too grating on my ears, so unfortunately I couldn't appreciate the music because of that However, I was impressed by what all of you were able to get out of this instrument, as I've never been able to squeeze anything at all from it. You sure make me feel like working with it for a while and see if something good comes out

[V'ger]

As I'm taking over running I was planning to have a rules revamp discussion, will start it soon and then we can go over everything there.

In case you all missed it or it gets drowned, I've now made a general discussion thread and started a rules discussion there, so please come with your viewpoints on that: http://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4305672

[dwsel]

10 points: LastTrainToChimeranian-Dwsel - a train that moves slowly through somebody's inner world, a very sad and intimate atmosphere that would fit perfectly Matsumoto Leiji's Ginga Tetsudo 999. Very, very beautiful!

10 pts.

You mean this manga/anime: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galaxy_Express_999 ? I haven't seen it before, but plot looks interesting. Is it worth to read/watch?

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

+7 (thanks Mac)

[Mac of BIOnighT]

Both deserved, I normally like your stuff, but this time you've both surpassed yourselves

[Mike777]

"Last days of war on jupiter" - VanMorrison - 10
"Into The Light" - Mulperi - 7
"Joie" - new kids on the block - 5
"Chimeransayat" - tattiemannie - 3
"Brick In The Sky (Noise Fest)" - Peter Gone Sonic - 2
"Last Train to Chimeranian" - dwsel - 1