May Contest: Gossip

[adj]

Man you've got good ears! I spent an hour trying to properly fade that bloody tail from 3:02 to 3:002

When I mixed Deaf Steever's track the first time, I thought I'd cut it just after the tail - it took until the next day for me to realize that it was just a tiny bit cut-off. So, it was still fresh in my mind! Otherwise, I probably wouldn't have noticed (and then I wouldn't be able to complain about anything at all).

It's A-OK brother -- I'll take any technical feedback I can get -- all for a better song!

Besides, what's a Wiccan High Priest good for if he can't dispense critique of all us wild wood nymphs from time-to-time?





Cheers mate

[Scoops]

Indeed, it should. I could clean it up, but the contest is Scoops gig, so I'll leave it to him if he chooses.

Rut Roh -- MOD BATTLE!

Is that like a girl fight?

[adj]

Indeed, it should. I could clean it up, but the contest is Scoops gig, so I'll leave it to him if he chooses.

Rut Roh -- MOD BATTLE!

Is that like a girl fight?

Yo Pete -- I reckon the Dad is trying to grab the contest gig -- lookout mate. If he takes it, we'll all be forced to do Ricky Martin, Barry Manilow and Hanson 'MmmBop' covers!

[bluedad]

we'll all be forced to do Ricky Martin, Barry Manilow and Hanson 'MmmBop' covers!

So, you don't think that's a good idea then eh?

[adj]

I'll get me hat...

[farlukar]

Now's time to visit ---> http://kvrcontest.farlukar.cz.cc/

...and getting ready for the listening session #1



Cheers

Now with mp3 playing goodness

can haz tset pleez?

[bluedad]

omg, lot of fantastic entries.

[SLD Music]

I wrote down some thoughts as I was TRYING to compile a top ten list. Voting was very difficult for me. Anyway, please take any criticism I might offer with a grain of salt. I struggle with all these things and more myself. I enjoyed every piece that was submitted. Thank you all for having me in the contest, and good luck to all.

Echo Voodoo -- Surrender
A cool groove and a nice mix. It's grown on me over time. I couldn't even begin to do anything like this, particularly in less than 3 days.

Farlukar -- Vabidate
Another very cool, well-layered production. The music itself isn't so much for me, but I really like the drum / precussion work.

offthewall -- The Start of the End
Sad, and for me, sort of the lyrical equivalent of watching the 24 hour news cycle. ::sigh:: Something I try to avoid. I don't share the pessimistic outlook you present, but I really like your song. The penny whistle, both it's sound and what it plays is my favorite individual part, but the song merges all of its parts into an effective (and affective) whole.

beanpole -- Fashionista
I like the groove, and the strummed guitars quite a bit.

hivkorn -- My Addiction
Cool "detuning" effect on the guitar line. The drums were a little too mechanical for my tastes for a song like this. I'd liked to have heard something a bit more organic / natural sounding. The rest was very cool, and achieved a specific mood that fit well with the lyrics.

oddbod -- Who Said I'm Dead?
Talk about a more natural sounding drum line! Man... oddbod, this is just a fantastic song. It's effortless, the production is spot on, the lyrics are outstanding, the vocal performance fits perfectly, and the guitar solo is beautiful. I only wish I had this kind of talent. You just make it look so damn easy. Bravo.

mvrasseli -- I'm So Tired Today
This is a very cool piece--but as others have said (and I'm sure you're tired of hearing it) I felt it just started to get going when all of a sudden, it's over. Disappointing, because I was looking forward to hearing more of the organ "improv" that was ready to let loose just before the piece ended.

liqih -- Dawning
Love this piece. Definitely one of my favorites of the entries. I find myself humming along with the rhythmic harmonies you've created. It's nicely mixed and balanced. My kind of electronic music. I thought it would lend itself to some more exploration in a slightly longer piece if you were keen on expanding it.

Laguna Rising -- Meta-Muzak
This one's hard for me, since I don't think I'm the target audience. It's nothing if not interesting, though, and incorporates some really compelling sounds that create a larger whole than the sum of its individual parts. That I can certainly appreciate, as I would be incapable of creating a song like this. You definitely seemed to have a plan in mind, and my hats off to you for being able to think outside the box--which is often a launching point for really great ideas.

Patrick9 -- Moonshine
Really nice guitar work here. Somehow I found myself concentrating more on the repeated backing synth line than I did on the main attraction of the guitar. Maybe it was just me. When I concentrated, though I heard som really nice playing.

Mary Mary -- Long Summer Shadows
I like the groove and how it all fits together. Really cool. The drum groove is cool too, but sometimes the drums call unfortunate attention to themselves (at 1:32 for example, when there's a series of machine-like hits). For me, that didn't seem to fit with the jazzy / organic feel of the song. Good stuff.

Sepheritoh -- Those Taken By the Moon
I like this one alot. I like the changes, and it's nicely sophisticated in that way. I love the gorgeous melodic solo line in the middle, and I love the fact that it takes a journey and builds to something, which I kind of miss in a lot of the other entries. That's clearly a personal bias though.

Timothee -- Mayflowers
I like the exploration of sounds here, and the progression of the song.

D.H. Miltz -- Tar Pits of the Moon
The guitar work, again is wonderful in this song. Then again, I have special respect for anyone who actually has command over a musical instrument. I really don't get the lyrics, although "eyes like weeping wounds" is a a pretty stellar image. I think the production is very nice.

Deaf Steever / Echo Voodoo -- Going Down Slow
Really nicely done. Simple, mellow... blues. Vocals and guitar both fit together really well.

Jerru -- Call to Glory
Nice work on this--a very good mix and great instrument choices that fit together really well. Guitar performances were great. Although on a purely subjective level, I didn't really connect entirely with it.

iiiDaNiii -- In This way
I liked this quite a bit, had a bit of a retro eighties meets Skrillex kind of feel... kinda (hope I'm not offending there, I mean it in a complimentary way). The frequency range did feel a bit thin, though, paricularly on the low end. It felt like it was missing fullness and "fill the room with sound" depth in that way. Also sometimes it felt like instrumental parts seemed to be fighting with each other for attention. I don't know. That was just my reaction. I loved that the song had direction and a sense of going somewhere.

ohmdsp -- Turn it Up
Nicely done. Great groove, with a bass line I really enjoy. Had me nodding my head to the beat. It may be me... but the end seemed a little abrupt.

GMoneh -- Waiting for Spring
Cool performance and a neat melody line and harmonies, particularly in the B sections. The whole mix seems a little dull (lacking some of the sparkle of the higher frequencies) but maybe that's intentional.

peppy197 -- Eberswalde
Liked the guitars. Nice mood, and nice playing.

thomekk -- Kanguruqualm
Love the sounds, and the variation in the music. Love the electronic drum sounds for this piece. Really well done. Never boring, and more than that, genuinely fun to listen to. There's a lot of stuff here I wish I could do.

Max el Belga -- Blabla
Talk about something I ... would never be able to do. Your ability to manipulate and piece together samples is quite astounding. Love the funky groove of the actual backing music, and for me that's the best part of this piece.

bluedad (and adj) - Sun Salutations
As I said before, the guitars here are freakin' great. The mix is gorgeous. And I just flat liked the music. the vocals didn't QUITE work for me (it's just a taste thing), but really, everything about it is top notch.

nikp2000 -- May Song
Nice little piece. Feels like one of those "between the tracks" intros on a CD. Nice playing.

adj (and bluedad) -- Days Gone By
Nicely done, and like Bluedad's entry, some really nicely played and mixed guitar tracks. I'm in awe of anyone who can write lyrics... I'm really trying to write lyrics for my own songs, but I find it to be incredibly hard. I hope to change that as I get more practice, but in the meantime, my respect goes out to anyone who can do it.

ParadoxUn -- Metroid Revisited
This one really wasn't for me, but I liked the groove and how some of the sounds worked together.

Great job to everyone and thanks again!

[ParadoxUn]

Hrm, some players cut the song off early. (For the technical: Due to the buffer not being played all through I guess.)

Itunes seem to play it correctly.

[Laguna Rising]

1105_LagunaRising_Meta-Muzak.mp3 -> As usual, plenty of surprises. I think I'm finally starting to catch some of the flow of it. Another couple of years, and I may start to get it.

Thanks so much for listening and writing about the "experience"...




Cheers

[Laguna Rising]

Laguna Rising -- Meta-Muzak
This one's hard for me, since I don't think I'm the target audience. It's nothing if not interesting, though, and incorporates some really compelling sounds that create a larger whole than the sum of its individual parts. That I can certainly appreciate, as I would be incapable of creating a song like this. You definitely seemed to have a plan in mind, and my hats off to you for being able to think outside the box--which is often a launching point for really great ideas.

Thanks for the kind words, that's just my approach to something more.... ...abstract.

Cheers

[adj]

omg, lot of fantastic entries.

Absolutely -- Great contest month -- I can't remember a month where I've literally enjoyed every single entry without exception -- and the effort put into each song -- as well as getting some awesome new members.

Instead of just voting for the Top 10 this month, we should be able to vote for the Top 27 with prizes for everyone!

[adj]

I'm in awe of anyone who can write lyrics...

Thank you very much. Lyrics -- I gotta zillion of 'em!
In almost all cases, the actual music I write is incidental to the lyrics, so it's all about the lyrics to me.


Cheers mate,
Alex

[D.H. Miltz]

Thanks, SLD Music.

[LauraMichelJarre]

You're all very clever. Some great entries this month. I hope to be part of next month. I broke up with my boyfriend today. And my grandpa had a procedure in hospital and they found bowel cancer. So it's been a sad day. Perhaps we can have a happy song month next month please Scoops.