June Contest: Gossip

[Mister Natural]

Mr Natural: great rhythmic structure and transparent mix, ear pleaser. guitar sound gets my love and your voice is special. quite good

thx peace

[oddbod]

I'm sucker for nostalgic photos, and this one is a great image, so I couldn't resist entering this month. I didn't quite see the sinister side of the snap which many of you appear to have, merely a camera-shy young woman.

farlukar - seems to be white noise with some tonal filtering applied. there's lazy and there's lazy.

evo2slo - well produced track with a lot of energy and drive. not the strongest on melody but the riffs and variations keep the interest maintained throughout. the rhythm guitar parts are smart.

mister natural - the music is an enjoyable slow groove with some retro sounds but the weak vocals rather let the side down. I'm rather confused by the additional pre-raphaelite type image when the track is meant to reflect the theme photo.

liqih - some pretty instrument sounds. it does sound substantially improvised so the lack of discernable structure makes this more of a textured audioscape, or is it two different melodies so interwoven I can't distinguish them? pleasant enough as incidental music. Evidence of waltz?..not enough for a conviction.

hellfog - I like the main piano riff, it reminds me slightly of DJ Shadow for some reason. Not so keen on the subsequent synthy section, particularly the distorted bass and those shishy noises. the ambiguous title appears created from a random word generator.

kryptonaut - the percussion is cool and the intial sparse synth arrangement. the distorted guitar stuff adds and new dynamic though its a little digitally harsh. not sure about all this sci-fi voice-over stuff, its a little too Jeff Lynne War of the Worlds for me.

miro - I like the opening and the slow build as other elements come in, although I would have liked it to go further. well produced - the vocals could perhaps come up a bit. its a nice simply stated atmospheric track though.

daniel pompougnac - another rather lovely atmospheric track though this has more compositional depth to it. the guitar parts are played with a deft touch and feel. class arrangement and production is again excellent - everyone's so far has pretty much been well put together.

sepheritoh - the good production continues. the orchestral arrangement is excellent. the vocal melody is a tad rambling in places and the lead guitar stumbles here and there but I find the overall feel of the song very engaging.

offthewall - not your best vocal performance and some of the lines/rhymes are somewhat clunky. The feel is much better when the second guitar enters the frame.

bzur - I can't fault how this is put together and the bookended piano motif is an excellent piece of composition, but I find the whole section in between a bit unmemorable though, despite being impeccably played.

broodkill - I find this rather a curio. it's all a bit loose with some liberties being taken with timing..or is it? Strangely even though the inital impression is of sloppiness it somehow works. I don't even mind the 2 chord obvious repetitiveness, and lack of melody.

forw - A brooding and moody piece. I really like the chord shifts and the depth of the string arrangement. I'm not sure I like the ending.

[Hellfog]

hellfog - I like the main piano riff, it reminds me slightly of DJ Shadow for some reason. Not so keen on the subsequent synthy section, particularly the distorted bass and those shishy noises. the ambiguous title appears created from a random word generator.

Sorry no word generator. Thanks for your review

[Daniel Pompougnac]

Thank's about your reviewes, Mellotronaut and Oddbod

[kryptonaut]

kryptonaut
I like the point 1.00. I like the breath of this piece. It's walking slowly.

Thank you - I'm not 100% sure what that means but I think I'll take it as a compliment

Kryptonaut: another suspence ladden piece. sparse instrumentation first, a great build up. the voice is perfect. and again. impressive and very well done.

Thanks, I wasn't sure about the voice so it's good to hear that at least one person thought it worked ok!

kryptonaut - the percussion is cool and the intial sparse synth arrangement. the distorted guitar stuff adds and new dynamic though its a little digitally harsh. not sure about all this sci-fi voice-over stuff, its a little too Jeff Lynne War of the Worlds for me.

Thanks for your review. I was thinking more Roswell than Horsell Common, but I guess aliens is aliens. (I'm sure Jeff Lynne would like to take the credit for WOTW, but I think Jeff Wayne would have something to say about it )

[kryptonaut]

Here are some of my thoughts on the entries so far. Amazing to hear so many interpretations of the same photo - I think it's a sign of a good picture that it can trigger so many different feelings.

Anyway:

Farlukar - Ohdear
Ouch! Using Photosounder on the unmodified photo has made some very full-spectrum sound, since the picture has a lot of white area. I think you could have pre-processed the image and achieved something more appealing to listen to - as it is I'm afraid I find this a bit hard on the eardrums!

evo2slo - Surrender or Die
Great stuff - I can see the invaders marching down the high street. The driving beat, aggressive sounds, militaristic lyrics... very well done. Made me think of some '80s Hawkwind tracks.

MrNatural - Could be You
Whilst this is quite different from the music I normally listen to, I found it very enjoyable. The vocal style suits the down-tempo feel of the song very well, and I like the selection of sounds you have used. I'm a litle unsure of the 'switched phasery' vocal effect in the last section, it didn't quite seem to fit with the rest of the track.

Liqih - evidence of waltz from the photo
Not hearing any evidence of waltz, but makes me think of childhood reminiscences. Hard to get a hold on the melody, it seems rather abstract, but pleasant to listen to. The swooshes and gurgling at the end felt a little out of place.

hellfog - Endless Time Of Victims
A bit of a sandwich - a fairly militaristic filling between two slices of dark melodic bread. The filling has some nice crunchy distorted parts in it, but I liked the bread best - enjoyed the quirky shortened beats in the second part, with the disturbingly laboured breathing in the background.

miro - betray
Nice arpeggiated intro, with excellent echoed synth layers and pads layered on top when the tune gets going after a few bars. Good choice of effect on the vocals, really adds to the mood. Thought-provoking.

daniel pompougnac - tes mains sur tes yeux
Nicely played. Quite a solemn and mournful feel to this one, with little touches of joy sprinkled here and there, like bittersweet memories. Very atmospheric.

sepheritoh and offthewall - this old town
Well played guitars, and felt well-produced to me. I liked the choirs, strings and doubled vocals near the end. I was a bit unsure about the first few verses which seemed to end on a seventh(?) and felt as though they were leading into something that never quite happened - maybe that was intentional, but it felt odd to me.

offthewall - TheGirl
Nice relaxed guitar-playing, and I loved the bit where the additional guitar comes in, everything suddenly felt much more complete. Some of the rhymes maybe felt a little cliched, I thought. And the chorus, like the verses in my previous comment, left me feeling something was going to happen that didn't - not sure why that was though!

bzur - Memories II
Lovely - beautiful piano playing intro, leading into a more percussive section, with interesting atmospheric effects layered throughout. Very nice indeed. Ended too soon!

broodkillphill - photomomento
Unusual rhythm, which took some time to get into but I was there after a while. But I feel perhaps you could have developed things a little more? And I think there were some slight tuning issues between the guitar layers in places.

forw - Elegy for strings
I was looking forward to hearing this, having enjoyed earlier entries of yours. I wasn't disappointed! I like the mournful, brooding strings with their slightly disturbing panning, and those little crackles and pops which should have warned me what was coming up - but that slide into overdriven distortion at the end is wonderful. Very enjoyable.

oddbod - I am all hers
A lovely song, with an excellent arrangement. The tambourine is a nice touch, and the organ is great - and then the electric guitar and vocal harmonies at the end really round things off beautifully. Very well done.

Jerru - Happy
Enigmatic lyrics, for an enigmatic photo. I like the feel of this track, it's well played and the guitar effects all work together well. The off-centre bass guitar feels a bit odd on headphones to me, but that's a minor thing. Vocal panning effects are interesting, and I like the contrast between verse and chorus.

[oddbod]

I'm sure Jeff Lynne would like to take the credit for WOTW, but I think Jeff Wayne would have something to say about it

Indeed! Getting my musical Jeffs mixed up

[Mister Natural]

mister natural - the music is an enjoyable slow groove with some retro sounds but the weak vocals rather let the side down. I'm rather confused by the additional pre-raphaelite type image when the track is meant to reflect the theme photo

re: graphic is titled "Sense of Sight" Annie Louise Swynnerton - British(1844-1933)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Annie_Swynnerton

what I kind of imagine the young lady in themed photo "picturing" on the inside herself - actually seeing what sight is
:=)

[bzur]

Thanks @Daniel Pompougnac, @mellotronaut, @oddbod, @kryptonaut for the kind reviews so far. Just two short notes:

@oddbod: I agree on the "so so" sensation regarding the middle part; I was tempted to add some strong characterizing elements, but it prevailed the idea to maintain a sense of vague and unfinished.

@kryptonaut: in the recent times I felt more comfortable with shorter tracks with a reduced and manageable set of ideas; maybe there is place for a "breath" just before the percussive section, but I thought the track was well balanced as is.

[forw]

oddbot, thanks alot for your review!!

forw - Elegy for strings
I was looking forward to hearing this, having enjoyed earlier entries of yours. I wasn't disappointed! I like the mournful, brooding strings with their slightly disturbing panning, and those little crackles and pops which should have warned me what was coming up - but that slide into overdriven distortion at the end is wonderful. Very enjoyable.

Happy to hear that (especially 1st sentence)!
I can only echo your kind words, always great entries of yours..!

[/quote]

[Sepheritoh]

.

Sepheritoh
Another style. Georges Harrisson is here. Georges Martin's sound.
Guitars are very interesting, so.
And you know that I think well of your voice, James.


.

Thank you. I can only add more praise for my collab partner this month for the great voice and guitars

[Sepheritoh]

sepheritoh - the good production continues. the orchestral arrangement is excellent. the vocal melody is a tad rambling in places and the lead guitar stumbles here and there but I find the overall feel of the song very engaging.

Thanks. Glad you enjoyed. I think James did a great job. Poor man had only a day or so to do the vocals and guitars, but did a great job in the time he had available.

[Sepheritoh]

sepheritoh and offthewall - this old town
Well played guitars, and felt well-produced to me. I liked the choirs, strings and doubled vocals near the end. I was a bit unsure about the first few verses which seemed to end on a seventh(?) and felt as though they were leading into something that never quite happened - maybe that was intentional, but it felt odd to me.

.

All credit must go to my partner for this month making the song works.

The unresolved 7th was totally intentional. It is a trick which I just like - don't know why or where I learnt it. I try to tell stories with music in a way words can not do by itself - and fails misserably most of the time, but it will still not stop me from trying. It only resolves when the bridge or chorus come up, creating foreward motion. The final idea is that when I resolve it in the last chorus with the transposition to a new key, it creates a feeling of finality. Like there is no way of going back again. In this case it would sound totally strange if I return to another verse at the end. I tried to mirror that point of no return with the lyrics as well.

[kryptonaut]

The unresolved 7th was totally intentional. It is a trick which I just like - don't know why or where I learnt it. I try to tell stories with music in a way words can not do by itself - and fails misserably most of the time, but it will still not stop me from trying. It only resolves when the bridge or chorus come up, creating foreward motion. The final idea is that when I resolve it in the last chorus with the transposition to a new key, it creates a feeling of finality. Like there is no way of going back again. In this case it would sound totally strange if I return to another verse at the end. I tried to mirror that point of no return with the lyrics as well.

Ah - I'm sorry, I missed that subtlety when listening. Thanks for taking the time to explain, I'll bear your comments in mind when I next listen to the piece!

[Doc Jon]

My entry is now submitted

My first ever song is now up for consideration
Time to move on from instrumentals and actually do a bit of singing

Hope you enjoy it

Jon