OSC22 - GTG's NR2010 - Mac of BIOnighT wins!

[Mac of BIOnighT]

Too much time spent working the day job, too much time procrastinating

That's something I can definitely relate to Thanks again for your vote

[tattiemannie]

Cheers for the votes guys, nice to see them coming in thick and fast

[tattiemannie]

Oh, and a heads up ..... we didn't have enough input last time round re. future featured synths, so we are still looking for a good one for OSC25 ....and it looks like this wee detail is being lost again ... so if you could edit your voting posts, and add your suggestions, that would be cool!

[james0tucson]

Oh, and a heads up ..... we didn't have enough input last time round re. future featured synths, so we are still looking for a good one for OSC25 ....and it looks like this wee detail is being lost again ... so if you could edit your voting posts, and add your suggestions, that would be cool!

Have we ever done a Granular?

Obviously it would have to be something like a synth and a sample combo, but it sounds like the kind of thing that could be crazy interesting weird.

[glokraw]

Too much time spent working the day job, too much time procrastinating

That's something I can definitely relate to Thanks again for your vote

Hi, whats the weather like where you are? Looks like a couple weeks
of dangerous cold in a lot of places
Cheers

[tattiemannie]

It's particularly Cold here in Scotland .... we're seeing temps of -21 in places .... ( he types while about 8 feet from an open window, and with a tee shirt on! )

[Mac of BIOnighT]

Hi Glokraw!
We've got some pretty unusual temperatures over here. During the day they range from 5 to 9 (!!) degrees (celsius), and during the night it gets barely cold enough to freeze the surface of the little swamp I have near my house. It's odd, as at this time of year we are normally freezing
I wonder what's going on...

Oh: thanks mrblitz and Anahat for your votes!! remember to validate them here!

[Doomedman]

5- Tiring years- mac of bionight
4- impossible to miss- yeager
3- midnight runaway -Archon1024
2- fractured planet- Mike777
1- interoperable times- dwezel


I didn't have much time last days... and I missed the contest, I hope in the next.congratulations everybody!

and now some comments:

-Tiring years: nice space travel, this is my music! a lot of experience in this track!
-impossible to miss: it reminds me the theme from Encore Live by Tangerine Dream. the song is well done and have a great musical change.
- midnight runaway: nice atmosphere and suspance
- fractured planet: a lot of work of arrangement between the instruments. not really impressive in the sound making. good theme!
- interoperable times: nice track, good atmosphere

for the next, next, next contest I suggest A-Synth by Smartelectronix. it's a synth very very impressive!
byez

[dwsel]

There is a lot of snow in Poland... I mean reeeeaaally a lot The streets are white, and this causes buses are always late
Temperature ranging from -5 to -10*C is not that uncommon here, but when it goes below -10 or -15*C combined with strong wind and high humidity outside (and extremely low humidity when you go inside the buildings caused by heating) it's not that comfortable any more

@mrblitz:
Thanks for a vote! I had fun creating the rhythm for this song - maybe this makes it sound avant garde'ish... and room-type verb on drums as 70-80's thing?

BTW. Do you guys enter to description tempo and key you use in your track while submitting it on Soundcloud? I entered tempo but had problem with my song using non standard scale I hnow it's rather music theory question, but I was just wondering...

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

Dwsel, I couldn't quite put to words, how your song sounded; but obviously i really liked it.

I forget what key my song was in... in Renoise, i'm most always playing in 'C maj/a min,' and just transpose the instruments for any key change. It was probably '132 bpm' if memory serves.

Thanks for the vote, James; hopefully you will be entering the contest again soon.

Oh, we got to 9 degrees farenheit a couple of nights before thanksgiving holiday (25 nov). Our family had to cancel thanksgiving because of ice everywhere. It was kind of strange; eating turkey burger and rice alone, with the car battery dead outside; and snow and ice on the ground all over the place. Seattle really can't handle snow... too many hills everywhere. As it turned out, the ice was pretty much gone by thanksgiving day, but it was yet a bit 'dicey' on some of the sidestreets. 9 degrees farenheit is _cold_ for this area.

[Mac of BIOnighT]

Doomedman, thanks very much for the vote!!

It's getting colder by the minute over here, too - I guess it was a sort of a miracle that we had such high temperatures for weeks, we're probably about to pay the price

[Archon1024]

We've been having a bit of a warmer streak here in New Mexico. Days been getting up to 62-65 F and nights down to 36-40 F.

I've been listening to the tracks. Votes to come soon.

[dwsel]

Thanks for a vote Doomedman!

My votes are:

5 - BigHorny - tattiemannie
Very good harp sound contrasting very well with harsh brass section.

4 - Fractured Planet - Mike777
Almost like an orchestral piece featuring solos of instruments which look like modelled after their real orchestral relatives.

3 - Impossible To Miss - Yeager
I like percussion (addition of 'less common' types at the beginning) and rhythmic backing.

2 - Can't Stop the rain - Mick Rippon (mickrip)
'I like how the instruments are changing during the track.' This track is also strong competitor in terms of composition.

1 - Love divine - Vanmorrison
Very analogue sounds, delicate, 'distant', ambient feel. IMHO plucky bass is a bit strong and covers other interesting sounds.

my special distinction goes to:
TIRING YEARS - Mac of BIOnighT
for sounds of nature at the beginning of part 1 of the piece and bubbles at the beginning of part 2.


As for synth choice:
I'm eager to use something from xoxos during OSC. Last time I suggested newly released Pling4, but any of his synths could be interesting too.
This time I'd like to help Pink synth http://www.signaldust.com/plugins.html with my vote, so +1 for Pink

[Archon1024]

I found time to do a quick review of everyone's track this time. I tried to focus on sounds, composition, and feel and write down my impressions for each track. Votes are at the bottom. As usual, everyone did a fantastic job and I wish I had more votes to give.

Reviews
Sticky Stickleston - Gegech
Sounds: Really neat percussion and low end drum. All the background sounds are top notch.
Composition: Ambient sections work really well and build the tension.
Feel: Feels like an expedition through a dense jungle. I get a definite tribal sense from this.

Midnight Runnaway - Archon1024 (reviewing my own)
Sounds: I like the interaction of the bassline, mid pads, and strings. The main lead sounds harsh.
Composition: The breakdown/build section is my favorite part of this song, but the ending is too drawn out.
Feel: A pair of young runaways dodging through the city streets. Suspense, danger, fear. No escape. A gunshot. Where now?

Impossible to Miss - Yeager
Sounds: The accented shakers really did it for me. Also liked all of the thin-sounding woodblock-esque sounds.
Composition: Lots of transitions keeping things interesting. Voices fit well together.
Feel: Mission Impossible! Except not in 5/4 and with an interesting major key step up. The break in the middle could totally be a video game theme.

Interoperable Times - dwsel
Sounds: There are minimal sounds in this one, so each really stands on its own. Many of them sound "broken".
Composition: Interesting rhythms. Good use of space.
Feel: Sounds lonely and desolate, like the blues you sing in your own head. I picture a trek through the desert or rain in the city at night.

Fractured Planet - Mike777
Sounds: Lots of space in this track as well. The sounds are clean and expressive.
Composition: I like how the instruments trade off and duet with each other. The building drama in the last sections is neat.
Feel: The story accompanying this one was a nice touch. Sounds tragic, like a scene of silent destruction in a movie.

My Pet Necronom - DramaNoMore
Sounds: The deep bass rumbles and the reverb claps were my favorite sounds in this.
Composition: The peice is pretty short and only expresses a couple phrases. Not much development.
Feel: I picture watching and waiting for something... possibly not something good. Eyes in the void.

Can't Stop the Rain - Mick Rippon
Sounds: All the sounds have a lot of movement. A large variety of sounds, but never too many at once.
Composition: Expressive lead. The dynamic changes really make this piece pop.
Feel: Tastes bitter-sweet. I picture someone watching the rain and reliving a lifetime of memories.

TIRING YEARS - Mac of BIOnighT
Sounds: Most unique sounds in the competition. Very professional sounding mix.
Composition: Super long, but I think of this piece as having different movements. Some of the transitions were abrupt. So long I started to become distracted by things on my desktop near the end.
Feel: I imagine an unexplored landscape filled with danger and opportunity. As the song progresses, our explorers are discovering new features with wonderment.

Outro - mrblitz000
Sounds: Static, buzzing, and somehow... off. The sound just under the lead is what really defines the song for me.
Composition: Somehow, quite mezmerizing. It feels very freeform. Wasn't able to identify a time signature in the first bit.
Feel: I picture... insanity. In fact, this would work perfectly as a Salad Fingers sound track. The ending definitely means... something.

Revelations from the Age of Enlightenment - Mike777
Sounds: The sounds are pleasant and varied. I would have loved more low end. The loud static sweeps fit the piece but were a bit abbrasive through my headphones.
Composition: Dynamic changes worked well. Very classic and barroque style composition, especially with those harp-like arpegios.
Feel: I definitely hear a story in this. Discovery, excitement, coming of age.

BigHorny - tattiemannie
Sounds: Lots of horns, strings, and harps create an interesting techno orchestra. The percussion sounds... thin.
Composition: This is also a classical-style composition. The drum beat that enters halfway through was a great way to evolve the piece.
Feel: I picture the opera. A big decision. Greed and morality duel. I still don't understand the name.

sublimation - new kids on the block
Sounds: Awesome sound effects. Very sci-fi.
Composition: I would call this an ambient-style effect track. Very centered on mood.
Feel: Omnious and drifting. It gives me time to find my mind in dark places.

Love Divine - Vanmorrison
Sounds: The sounds are subtle and subdued. They work well together, but I had to listen hard to hear the interactions.
Composition: Very atmospheric. Transitions keep things interesting.
Feel: Sounds like building light... both in terms of photons and goodness. It sounds both relaxing and far away.

Votes

5 - Can't Stop the Rain - Mick Rippon
Why: Expressiveness and the movement/variety of sounds.

4 - TIRING YEARS - Mac of BIOnighT
Why: The sounds... so many... so well-done.

3 - Impossible to Miss - Yeager
Why: Excellent, "crisp" percussion sounds and a quality production.

2 - BigHorny - tattiemannie
Why: Because it's a techno opera that I'm tempted to write a scene for.

1 - Outro - mrblitz000
Why: I felt this one and it slightly troubled me. Brilliantly eccentric.

0 - Fractured Planet - Mike777
Why: I had to give this one an honorable mention because of the theme and the story that came with it. I love music that tells a story.

[Mac of BIOnighT]

Thanks for the mention, Dwsel

My votes, finally, after a week of listening and swapping tracks and never being able to go down to just five of them while the chosen ones kept on changing... but here they are:

5 points: Bighorny-Tattiemannie - Tattiemadness with a slight Spanish flavor and an epic final part

4 points: Outro___mrblitz000 - another dose of solitude and silent desperation, very touching

3 - mickrippon_cantstoptherain - old time feeling, hard to explain, but it could have been made at any point in time (past, present and future), odd

2 points: RevelationsFromTheAgeOfEnlightenment-Mike777 - there's something Jarresque about it, but that's just a bit of it, as there's a lot in this track

1 point: MidnightRunaway-Archon1024 - I see a dark future city when listening to this, with a touch of cyberpunk

Congratulations to everybody else, and especially to Mik for creating such a good synth!