March Contest: Gossip

[D.H. Miltz]

Thank you for the reviews, slartibartfast and folderol.

[PurpleCatfishBettie]

d.h., if memory serves; i 'finished' listening at around 1:00 am on the 25th. only some time after my voting, did it become apparent that you'd done a late entry. yours would have easily made my top 10.

it's definitely mesmerizing; great soundscape/mix. i trust you'll be releasing it into the forum at large, after the contest is over?

apologies for the 'lost vote'; kudos on the piece.

[D.H. Miltz]

Thanks, mrblitz. I probably will post it in the main cafe after the contest.

[robogone]

I've listened to a few but haven't got through all of them. Wish is had time to enter something but there was some good competition this month.

[pljones]

Great job by all......hard to cut down to 10 this month.

At least you managed it...

[inboxzero]

Inbox Zero - ante oculos circum inspice
Very promising opening, although the echos are perhaps a little up tempo to be hypnotic. Love those analogue sounding strings when they come in. But then the drums come in, and I found myself grooving with the beat rather than being hypnotised. Some interesting little sound effects dotted about, but again these tend to rather draw attention to themselves rather than meld into the background. Great track, but not as much "on theme" as some of the others.

Thank you for the kind comments.

I do agree with the drums. They were the original pattern Cubase gave me, which I used to build the track up. I then removed them. But found I was getting bored with the track towards the end, so re-instated them for the latter part.

As it turns out, that does mean it moves the latter section from the initial hypnotic to a lot less hypnotic. So fail on my account.

I may remix this next week, without the drums and see how it sounds.

[evo2slo]

Thanks to slartibartfast, folderol, forw, D.H. Miltz, and pljones for the comments/feedback. Really appreciated.

When I use the term 'hypnotic' to describe a song, I generally mean that it has a calming effect on me, and leaves me open to suggestion. To me it's not necessarily about being minimalist or repetitive, but rather deep and expansive. That's the criteria I tried to use when making my submission, and it was my main criteria for voting this month.

I know you peeps love them comments, so here ya go (in the order the tracks came up in my player):

Liqih - hypnopipes
Great drums. Bass groove very cool as well. The synth is a bit thin sounding for my tastes, but I liked the effect when you stretched it out. Nice occasional dub delays on the drums.

rockstar_not - elchemisti
Really nice groove and pacing. Develops a thickly textured, rich atmosphere that I thought worked very well. The heavy bass throbbing is quite cool and adds a nice weight, but there where times where I felt it wasn't in alignment with the rest of the track. Not that I care what types of computers people use to make their tracks, but it's pretty amazing that you did this on a phone. Wow.

Interferon - Dreaming on the Couch
Awesome pads and rhythm fx. I would not have minded some more melody, but really enjoy the wonderfully lush atmosphere you created.

Mister Natural - Conversation with Dali
Very nice sounds and composition, but some of the transitions between the sections weren't as smooth as I would have liked. Especially enjoyed the guitar in the last section. Had that been a bigger part of the song I think I would enjoy this track even more.

beanpole - Look Into My Eyes
The drums and progression don't do much for me, but I really liked certain elements of this, like the ascending synth. Vocoder was a nice effect, but perhaps overly prominent in the mix.

Bjulin - Special Lullaby
Great track. Especially loved the sharp cuts on the vocal samples, and how they are integrated with the rhythm. Very creative. Some fantastic transitions and an excellent groove as well. Would have liked it more if not for the synth that comes in at 1:45. I love the melody it plays but the sound itself doesn't fit for me.

bzur - Mesmerized
The bass and piano parts work so well together. Fantastic composition. The drums are perfectly in the pocket of the groove. Great sounds and mix all around. This was over much sooner than I wanted it to be.

D.H. Miltz - Disconnect Is Not a Noun
Love those huge spaces between the sounds and the sweet lumbering rhythm. Great sound from the guitars, kind of like you were picking right next to the bridge (?) to get that sparkly and metallic texture. Excellent piece.

Doc Jon - While I was Sleeping
Beautiful piano piece. Great chord progression and performance. I like the whispering so much - really fantastic song concept. The rain sounds didn't work so well for me, I would have preferred if they were lowered in the mix after the beginning. Loved the panned clock ticks though, could really visualize the pendulum swinging back and forth.

Emerald Tablet - Deeper
I think you've made a classic here. Great drum pattern with the kick and hats. Vocals are just out of this world good. Nice simple arrangement with great sound choices. Love everything about this song.

folderol - Hours and Hours
Very nice melody and soft, gentle mix of sounds. The left panned hat clicks were a bit distracting for me, but I liked the steady ticking percussion. Really enjoyed letting this wash over me.

forw - noLighttt
I really like the vocal chant/mantra. Also very fond of the minimal development and overall atmosphere. Outstanding percussion. Great stuff.

GMoneh - Road to Nowhere
Very good song. Cool progression, bassline, and melody. Like the double time muted picks towards the end. I didn't really care for the drums though, I think a more natural sounding kit would fit better with the other instrumentation. Not crazy about the fade-out at the end either… but still an excellent track.

Inbox Zero - ante oculos circum inspice
Impressive patience sticking with the one bass note throughout - I thought that was a great and brave choice. Beautiful melodies with the pads. Some of the percussive sounds didn't serve the best interests of the song for me and held this track back in my opinion.

Jerru - Seduction of Hypnotica
Excellent song. That bassline just kills me it's so good. Guitars are fantastic. Beautifully layered and played. Nice tasteful synth work as well. The sounds of the whispers detracted from the song for me. Perhaps if they were pitched down an octave, to be more ominous. That's just a tiny little nitpick on an amazing track.

Laguna Rising - Winter of the Senses
Really like that flangey effect and the overall texture. Very interesting classical style note choices with the lead instruments. A bit more overall wackiness than I would have preferred but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

mrblitz - Prayer Wheel 12
Really dig the psych-rock guitars. Great playing. Not crazy about the pitchy vibrato on the bass, but I really like it's groove with the drums. More variation with the arrangement would have increased my enjoyment of this track.

oddbod - The Waiting Room
Very tasteful mix and arrangement. The use of a harmonica is so unexpected but works brilliantly. Great luscious guitar sound. The vocals and synths are wonderfully dreamy and atmospheric. I'm really blown away by this track.

offthewall - WatchTheWatch
Great title, and I had fun watching the video - I hope you keep those coming. Creatively sparse instrumentation. The baritone acoustic has a great sound to it, and the playing style is very unique. I think some heavy fx on the vocals could make the track even more spacey.

Patrick9 - Hypno
Great blend of sound with the plucks and cello. Very haunting and immersive composition. The subliminal percussion works very nicely. Would have preferred it if the choir pad didn't just double the cello, but brought it's own new melody.

Peterhud - Brainwave
Some nicely unpredictable key changes. Like the contrast of the bass part with the electric piano. Would have liked more development as the piece seemed to drag a bit towards the end.

rachMIel - hynotiQue
Great subsonic bass sounds and panning. Fantastic sound design with the airy, chirpy pads. This track really got inside my head.

satYatunes - Light Path
Really love that main melody part that starts it off and ends it. Pure gold. The other instrumentation comes in nicely. I especially like the compositional change when the drums drop out around 1:50. Beautiful. I thought the drums themselves were overly busy, and too dry in the mix for my taste.

slartibartfast - Hip? No Sis!
Very nice synthy atmosphere. So light and airy, like floating on a cloud. The arp pattern got a bit repetitive for me - I would have liked it's sound to subtly evolve. Excellent ending.

Vulcandj - Sands of Time
Really like the exotic percussion with the multi-tracked guitar harmonies. Great playing and very strong composition. Cool bass performance. Loved how it ended with a bang, wanted it to keep going. Only criticism is the guitar tone seems slightly piercing in the high end.

yevster - Hypnotherapy
Man do I love those drums. They are so patient and compliment the melody nicely. Great overall texture and atmosphere to this piece. Excellent melodies and string arrangement.

Farlukar - Credulity
The ping sounds were interesting at first, but soon wore me out.

knockman - murmur
The Maharishi would be proud. You really nailed this style. Your vocal inflection on 'journey' and 'waiting' is just so perfect, love it. The guitars, percussion, and mix is topnotch… though definitely enhanced with a little nutmeg.

kryptonaut - Altered State
Brilliant layering of 5/4 over 7/8 (and whatever others you've got in there), and somehow it holds together perfectly. Really good sounds and a mesmerizing composition. I thought that maybe there could be a bit more variation with the arrangement, but then again perhaps it is just right as it is. Great track.

nikp2000 - mim
The rhythm of this track has such a nice groove to it. The musical patterns are great - very tastefully arranged with lots of headroom to stretch out in. Excellent organic texture. Really enjoy this track.

[Vulcandj]

Vulcandj - Sands of Time
Really like the exotic percussion with the multi-tracked guitar harmonies. Great playing and very strong composition. Cool bass performance. Loved how it ended with a bang, wanted it to keep going. Only criticism is the guitar tone seems slightly piercing in the high end.

Thanks for the comments. It was mixed in a new environent, and that might explain why the highs in the guitars are a little off.

I have to say that I agree with your explanation of Hypnotic. When I think of it, Pink Floyd comes to mind. And I thought your piece had a little bit of that in it. I know I didn't post comments on the songs, but I really enjoyed yours.

According to your info you're from Philadelphia. Which part? I'm originally from Newtown, and moved out to Oregon in 1995.

[satYatunes]

satYatunes - Light Path
Really love that main melody part that starts it off and ends it. Pure gold. The other instrumentation comes in nicely. I especially like the compositional change when the drums drop out around 1:50. Beautiful. I thought the drums themselves were overly busy, and too dry in the mix for my taste.

Thanks for the comments, evo2slo. I didn't want the drums to be upfront hence kept it low profile. I would like your review on the longer version, I will let you know once I released in the cafe section. I agree with your interpretation of hypnotism. That's what I was going for too in my submission.

[evo2slo]

According to your info you're from Philadelphia. Which part? I'm originally from Newtown, and moved out to Oregon in 1995.

I'm in Center City, right off of South Street. Fun area, but gets a little crazy on the weekends.
I lived in Mendocino, Northern California for a year and used to go up to Oregon a lot. Had some friends in Eugene. Did some camping and hiking around there and man is it beautiful. Got to get back sometime.

I would like your review on the longer version, I will let you know once I released in the cafe section.

Please do, look forward to hearing it.

[folderol]

Oh Buggritt!
Moved to where it was supposed to be

[offthewall]

Wrong thread, foldy




James

[yevster]

yevster - Hypnotherapy
Man do I love those drums. They are so patient and compliment the melody nicely. Great overall texture and atmosphere to this piece. Excellent melodies and string arrangement.

Thanks for the kind comments! The moment after I uploaded that thing, I started regretting leaving in the mildly-decimated live drum samples (from Superior) and not replacing them with electronic ones, so your comment is very encouraging. Your track is awesome, btw!

[pljones]

Wrong thread, foldy

Clearly the effects of the music this month have been taking their toll all around...

[D.H. Miltz]

Thanks, evo2slo. The guitar on this one is actually a saz/bağlama (with a broken body and six strings instead of seven).