One-Synth-Challenge 35: Diva - Voting and Results

[Fritze]

(Those for whom he voted is another story...)

Have a good day

PD: Last days of flu, woooot!

Man, get well soon!

[Fritze]

chacka - Driving with a Diva

pros: Great Intro + Outro! Some cool sounds. In some parts it sound like the dogs are barking. I like that!

cons: Rest of the track! (by contrast with the intro/outro) Unfocused arrangement, feel more like a jam-mix session rather than a song but wants to be a song.

Thanx man! Actually the different parts came out of the idea to put some different parts into one track to make it interesting for more people. It's hard for me to go into a competition and not to think like that.
But honestly: I really like what I did but probably would have done different things if I wouldn't have put effort into conciously being versatile inside of that one tune.

[Fritze]

So here are my votes. I took a lot of time in narrowing it down to 11 tracks which I then tried to put into my personal top 5. Not easy but I have to force myself to do it. I wanted this competition and now I want to give my votes even though it's not really fun to put others "down" while I lift 5 tunes up. Sigh, but anyway. Here it goes...

PocVecem - panta rhei - 5 points
With that intro you had me hooked with the first three notes! And these tiny bits...
I'm a fan of this Autechre/BoC stuff. And then the direction changed. Great tension build up. And no not yet the main part... Waiting and then: No, another build up (really well done!) And then: This nice melody! Reminds me of some Doldinger stuff from way back then. All done with great and tasty sounds. These old school strings, yeah. Great lead sounds. Wonderful synth choir at the end. A tune that will stay in my personal favourites collection, for sure.

Irion Da Ronin - Beyond the sight - 4 points
Love that intro! It's like: What will happen? Then this part with the first lead reminds me of (not kidding): myself! I did such leads in the past with similar sounds and phrases. so this had to get my love. But then the sun started to shine at the beach. The clouds started to disappear. Hope came. This is just amazing. And then this harmonically different part, like: But what will happen if... and it faded into some sighing and then hope rises again. Wonderful story. Thanx a lot for that. A keeper track for sure.

Solidtrax - Lady from Jupiter - 3 points
The intro: Hm, a well produced standard track. So I thought at first. But then the track evolved with lotsa depth and nice parts. Lotsa details, great drums, great sounds and deep emotions. That's up my alley. It somehow grabbed me and didn't want to let me go but in a nice and relaxed way. Good themes. "Mainstreamy" and deep at the same time. Very nice.

Ayin - Beautiful Winter - 2 points
Hard to describe! A great flow with lotsa nice things here and there. Great build ups and very tasty sounds. This would be a track that I would love to listen to on the highway on a long distance trip and then having it on constant rotation. This constant driving motion is very cool.
Come on, man! Still 400km to go. And then this song. Would be great.
Very deep stuff. Lotsa details to discover, even after several times listening to it.

Mawa (Photonic)- Dance of the goblin - 1 point
That roar at the start! Then that nicey lead (reminds me of some stuff I did!) and then a different direction. Then this pad rise with that Mr. Mister bass for a few moments, great. But then a different direction again, cool. Great themes, good sounds. Very tasty. I like your drum programming. I like all those 80ies feelings.
Then some change and that sync solo parts grabs me again! Very cool. Dubsteppy wobble shorty: Great! Then that synth pop part and off into something else again. Man, this is so wonderful eighties stuff. Love it.

I HAD to put these tracks into an order, well the competion thingy.

And I want to meantion the tracks that are still inside my player after narrowing all these cool tracks down to have a chance to find a top 5 (Unordered from here on!):

evo2slo - Then I lost Onassis: Lotsa cool bits and details. Wonderful sounds and arrangement.

Doc Jon - Eleventh dimension: Very cool theme and good sounds. Overall I would have wished for more "content" and variation. This made it less interesting when compared to the other tracks that finally got my votes. Sorry.

Stonail - That intro!!! Classy. And then this reaggae feeling turned me off. This tune has lotsa nice and interesting bits in there (the flute!) but didn't really grab me.

Alphuris - devout: This simply makes me smile! That fall, great! And the vinyl and leather. Not sure if you say that like this in english. And then a strange but cool part inside the hangar. Love that. Fire alarm: On it goes, everybody DANCE! Very cool.

Orville - Resonant Sea: Hahaha! I like those Kraftwerkish drums, kash! pow! kash! pow! and those polyrhythmic delay thingies. Good sounds. Very tasty production. More story/content could make this from a good track into a great track me thinks.

Bumtu - Rumpus: Interesting tune overall. It feels like: I don't tell you what is behind the veil. Very interesting. This reminds me of a movie where lotsa artists from the middle ages are doing there things. But you are walking along an isle and can only see what's going on from the other side of a row of columns.

Sorry guys for all the other now unmeationed cool tracks here.
I'm exhausted now after having spent several hours on the voting for this competition. I'm amazed at the high level of artistry in this competition. Nice to see that this isn't a wanking contest with lifeless overproduced tracks that are "calculated" because they have to earn their money!

Thanx to all for that cool contest!

[JoeCat]

I have 6 tracks now for the top 5

[photonic]

Thank you all for all the points I got till now!

Mawa-MorningMood 5 - music is about melody after all

Special thank to ShamanicRitual. I was realy surprised to get points for this cover version. I did this song to show that Diva can more than the usual electronica!

[JoeCat]

Honestly, I hate this part - don't like leaving out tracks I like, and hate being a windbag reviewer. But here goes:


Mawa-DanceOfTheGoblin
5
Ok, this is a solid production no matter what - playing to Diva's ability to assume any role in a production. But know what really bumped it past everyone else? That background harmony line that comes after the melody -what a great secondary hook! That is great composition and great arrangement. Get a DeLorian, set the dial for around '85, hook up with a vocalist (Simon le Bon, George Michael, the guy from Talk Talk?), and pitch this for a movie. I'll grab a girl with big hair and cheer you on over the credits (I think Corey Haim is in this one). I'd like to get on about the technical aspects of this track versus another, etc., but it's just a damned good tune.

Pocvecem-PantarRhei-TheEternalFlow
4
Just an awesome mix of gorgeous sounds and otherworldly weirdness. In this case the repetition works to the advantage of the track since the great vibe builds. The sonic aspect grabbed me, but again, I can point to one specific thing that bumped this track up in points: the bass progression at around the 2:20 -talk about giving a track life!
(BTW - that's one sausage of a waveform, yet it doesn't sound over-compressed or distorted - great mix!)

Aiyn-BeautifulWInter
3
You can't go wrong with the Moroder-arp-thang, but that doesn't make it cliche in the right hands. What made this a point-getter for me was the patience shown in letting the track open up. That wouldn't have been possible with many other synths; it's using the instrument to it's advantage - letting the sounds stand on their own, breathe, and ease in. Only downside is the harmonic repetition, but all that sonic-weaving kept it interesting.

IrionDaRonin-BeyondTheSight
2
So much going on rhythmically, and yet it never felt busy. You're starting to have a trademark "sound" no matter what instrument - that being a good thing (I think I could always recognize your kick drum). What's interesting is your use of resonance - even with Diva I tend to back off that "knob!", and it's nice to hear someone who's not afraid of it. Your forte is the layering of sonic goodness over landscape of melody.

Solidrax-LadyFromJupiter
1
Great atmosphere. Subjectively, being a fan of more subtle house styles(tech, deep), this was a favorite. The lack of variety in the track kept it from garnering more points, but that being suitable for the genre, I couldn't hold it against you too much.
The click during the break - around 2:38 - love that. I never have the confidence in those sounds that fly under the radar and add subtle atmosphere- my tendency being to mix them up too high, then toss them..

For the record, my "sixth" track was (no surprise here 'cause his entries are always quality) DocJon's Eleventh Dimension. I sooo wanted to have more points - especially since I absolutely loved the choice of sounds (can I have one of your ear?) What shaved the points off this track was simply the repetition - I wanted those great hooks to go away for a minute so I'd miss them, then come back.
Less patients, more music

As usual, many great tracks. Even those that weren't to my taste showed real skill - I'm especially envious of this groups production abilities. Purchasing Diva tomorrow


P.S. - I got 80s cred to back up my top vote - when Photonic/Mawa gets his DeLorean I can go back and get my DX-7.

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

my shortlist is still at 14 tracks

made a new playlist out of these, and will take out to work pruning the olive trees.....looking for something to take the repetition of work away

this is the test

[el-bo (formerly ebow)]

ebow - A Diva's Winter Daydream: 1 point
Good feelings in this song. A sweet electric piano and some good drums. A nice lead part too. Different parts of the song are well sequenced and with clean transitions.

you made a great day even better

thanks

[APZX]

. . . Galastra - APZX - 3 points
I so wanted to make this my top choice, from the 'Save a Prayer' style opening patch to the brilliant percussion, to the great analog sounds, to the catchy melody and authentic retro vibe - but let down by the very odd break at 2:30, really not sure what was going on there. A big shame because it then picks up again with some more great sounds, my favourite percussion of the month and those beautifully wierd vibrato sounds before reintroducing the simple but catchy theme once more. So number 3 spot to you, but still a great track, really enjoyed it . . .

Yay! I got one vote! Seriously, I wasn't expecting any to be honest. Anyway, that break is kind of hard to explain. I get why people don't like it, but I did put it there for a reason. I have a feeling it really hurt my votes, and I know why.

I do have to ask one question though because it is really something that I do not understand and has been levied at me more times that I can count, retro. I just don't get it. Also, you really like the percussion? Being perfectly honest I felt that was the one of the weakest aspects of the track, minus the break depending on how you look at it.

Finally, I'm still working on breaking down my favorite tracks. Much more difficult than I thought it'd be. Some really great tracks in here!

[APZX]

Don't mean to double post, but my votes go like this:

Bjulin - Scottish Snowfalls - 5 points
Okay, in a word this track is gorgeous. I definitely like the flute like synth and that really is what pushed it over the top for me. My top three were very close, but this took it because of that! With that being said the track does have a bit much in the top end

Doc Jon - Eleventh Dimension - 4 points
Let me be perfectly clear the synth work in this track is simply stunning, and it literary came down to a flute sound between the top two. But my GOODNESS I <3 that bass sound! So, punchy and tight. The overall feeling of this track is just sublime IMO.

Mawa - Dance of the Goblin - 3 points
This track just grooves in all the right ways. If I had to admit something if you didn't have wobbly sound I probably would have rated this higher. I'm sorry, but I just have an adamant dislike for that kinda sound. So, the fact that it got this high means that the track was just that awesome despite that sound.

Aiyn - Beautiful Winter - 2 points
I'm a Trance lover and was very pleased to hear this in the competition. I would've loved to rate it higher, but it just doesn't have the silky smoothness to it that I felt it needed, and plus that FX sound has a bit too much high end. Slightly piercing. The bass has a very Goureylla feeling to it and the track has an overall sound that I'd associate with that merger too. This track really brings back the idea that Trance does not necessarily require a over the top production to sound great.

Bumtu - Rumpus - 1 point
I have no clue what it is about this track, but it just works. Weird off kilter kind of sounds and a feeling to match it. I just want to get up a move a bit as this track plays. Legitimately an interesting piece of music that simply works for what it is.

Honorable Mentions:
Joecat - Diva Rides Alone - A bit like Rumpus in that it just works for what it is. Such a different take, and trying to capture that Western sound with a synthesizer. So, interesting! Plus, some of those strings are simply astounding.

Alphuris - Lilypads - The mix is muddy, but is the song good! I love the drive that the track develops.

Irion Da Ronin - Beyond the Sight - Overall I liked this track quite a bit and it has a great tone and sound to it. However, the reason it didn't reach the top 5 is because I felt you simply did not explore the melody and feeling enough. Great track otherwise, great ambiance. Some parts reminded me a bit of Vangelis.

Bzur - Divagation - Like Rumpus and Diva Rides Alone this track just has something about that makes it so interesting. Not sure what, but I must admit that it makes me want to get up an move.

Chacka - Diving with a Diva - I liked this track, but some of the panning effects really threw me off and I couldn't put in the Top 5 compared to the other tracks because of that. But a totally fantastic effort.

Lirs - Division - Go figure that the track I like the most on opening is a track with a wobble. I'm sorry, but that simply killed the track to me. But that min and change is amazing.

[Aiynzahev]

Revising my votes

5 Pts PocVecem Eternal Flow
4 Pts Bjulin Scottish Snowfalls
3 Pts Doc Jon Eleventh Dimension
2 Pts Stonail Mimosa Tree
1 Pt IrionDaRonin Beyond The Sight

As time goes on I come back to these tracks more. I expect I would repeatedly enjoy listening to these if I had found them on some compilation CD for example.

[Aiynzahev]

Second Revision

Revising my votes

5 Pts PocVecem Eternal Flow
4 Pts Doc Jon Eleventh Dimension
3 Pts Bjulin Scottish Snowfalls
2 Pts Stonail Mimosa Tree
1 Pt IrionDaRonin Beyond The Sight

As time goes on I come back to these tracks more. I expect I would repeatedly enjoy listening to these if I had found them on some compilation CD for example.

[alphuris]

Alphuris - Lilypads - The mix is muddy, but is the song good! I love the drive that the track develops.

Thanks for the mention. I'm trying to figure out how to mixdown and master my tracks, but I'm really quite clueless at it. Not to mention my mastering is typically in Sennheiser HD280's and occasionally through my Mackie MR 5's, in my living room with an infant, toddler, mommy and TV going in the background.

[Woody Aki]

5 points - 9: CHACKA - Diving With A Diva
4 points - 22: ALPHURIS - Devout
3 points - 17: EVO2SLO - Then I Lost Onassis
2 points - 13: POCVECEM - Panta Rhei (The Eternal Flow)
1 point - 31: DOC JON - Eleventh Dimension

[photonic]

P.S. - I got 80s cred to back up my top vote - when Photonic/Mawa gets his DeLorean I can go back and get my DX-7.

Hi JoeCat,
Honestly, the DeLorean was never my dream car. But I still have my first polyphonic synth - my old DX7! Thanks for the nice comments and "primarily" for the points!

Hi APZX,
I am also not a fan of dubstep. But I wanted to try this effect and to show the ability of the DIVA. So I did some quotes to other genres. If I only knew earlier that I could get more points without them...! Thanks

Cheers,
Photonic AKA MaWa