may contest - GOSSIP

[visa tapani]

Scuzzphut and Pheeleep, thank you for giving feedback of my track.

Are others still experiencing problems with the downloads? I just edited my post on the rules & submissions thread and added the old link as an alternative... If someone is still unable to get hold of the track, please say so and I'll try to get something sorted out.

Okay, I'll start posting my comments on the submissions.

[scuzzphut]

jens / torpedo - a simple magic

I like the skittering beats and the sound fx. Some nice guitar work, too. It's an unusual backdrop for a song and that's what stands out. The vocal , I'm sorry to say, I find flat and out of tune far too often.

[scuzzphut]

rsmus7 - gitanero

Another unusual musical piece. The crunch guitars and heavy synths create a soundscape you don't often hear. A real wall of sound feel is achieved.

The drums are a bit "plodding" - no syncopation , which is the downside.

[scuzzphut]

vurt - may bee

I prefer your tracks that have a bit more structure than this one. It seems to be obstinately random to me.

That said, the sounds are well selected/programmed and all work well together in the mix. Well produced , too - a nice clear mix.

[visa tapani]

Okay, here's my first bundle of comments.

Mystahr – Mud Dancing
Relatively interesting – sounds indeed dirty and muddy, so I guess mission accomplished. It maintains a surprising level of clarity considering its muddiness, though I’m not very much into the hi-hat either. More of an exercise in sound design than an actual composition, but it definitely differs from the majority of the submissions, which is a plus.

Markleford Friedman – Sloppy Tsunami
I have to just echo others’ comments: I’m not well into the intro and I’m not sure if everything fuses together perfectly, but the brass work is nice and as a whole I find it quite likeable.

Sepheritoh – Pleased to Meet You
This track sounds like a long intro… I’m all about music that doesn’t go anywhere (I’m a huge ambient fan) but this doesn’t really elicit a response from me, sorry. But it sure is rather peculiar, which in my books is always a positive thing – it’s great that people are experimenting…

Michael Norrell – Miss Phat Bootey
Man, this is totally dope – HI-NRG to the MAX! Now, the intro (0:00-0:19) is getting on my nerves, but after that it just keeps getting better and better and when it bursts into the sorta hardcore ragga climax at 1:13 it hits me really hard. Yeah, it doesn’t exactly tear apart the conventions of its genre, but it doesn’t need to, its too busy banging fiercely. I’ve been getting into this sort of sound a lot lately, could you give some suggestions of artists and tracks of stuff like this? Anyway, the track canes, wikkid stuff.

Blitz – Starless City
I like the synth fx starting at 0:05 and continuing throughout the song, reminds me of some videogame. Ultimately, though, the piece does feel a bit directionless and loops a bit too long in the end…

Wopelka – Fly Away / Col. G – Uncle Eddie
I lumped these together, because both of them make me feel roughly the same way: I find their goofy silliness a tad irritating. Now, at times I can appreciate silly or deliberately naïve music, but for reasons I am unable to explicate neither of these really work for me. Both of them have their strengths though – for instance, I like the banjo (?) and piano of Uncle Eddie and the catchiness of Fly Away (not to mention that the faint air of psychedelia of both).

Earthtones – Tiny Grief
Someone pointed out that this track sounds like ‘Eurovision music’, which pretty much summarizes how it makes me feel as well. The song hiding inside the off-putting hull seems quite nice, but the sounds arouse too strong associations of the cheesier part of 80s synthpop for me to be able to really enjoy it...

Emerald Tablet – Witchcraft
I’m sorry but I really don’t find this frightening - which is a bit problematic. You see, as I’m not immersed into the medieval world of sinister witchcraft that seems to be the heart of the piece, there is very little else I am able to extract from it. I do find the track a bold move, though – it really is something completely different…

Emil-A-man – When I was a child
Okay, I will use NMCOT this once. I sort of do like the chorus tho (0:52-1:13 and 1:37 onwards). I really can’t think of much anything substantial to comment, sorry…

Eric Bourne – Sunk
Very pleasing track, reminds me of some scifistic videogame or something. Good use of pitchbend and lovely interspace at 0:42-1:04. Nice.

[vurt]

structure?me?where exactly


nah thanks for the listen,glad you found the mix ok thats where my focus was this month
altho listening now i find the lead a little loud in parts oh well

[scuzzphut]

emil-a-man - when I was a child

Zoinks! I thought this was DT for a moment - that rough voice
Quite a catchy wee tune here latterly. The heavy bit (around 1.00) really picks the thing up. Some really good guitar work here also. Top solo. Funny - this one is a real game of two halves. The first half is Partick Thistle and the second half is Real Madrid

[scuzzphut]

structure?me?where exactly

I'm sure I remember one of your tracks once that nearly had an arrangement

You know what I mean really, don't you.

[scuzzphut]

Oh - by the way chaps - I've mentioned this before, but it's prolly worth saying again.

I use the free iTunes software to do the competition reviews. It has a little slider beside each song where you can set a rating from 0-5 stars for each one. Really helps when it comes to voting time

[visa tapani]

Second bundle:

Freeztar – Funchno
Odd, it reminds me a bit of Nobuo Uematsu’s Phantom Train from Final Fantasy VI OST. Can’t say it’s exactly a blatant rip-off though . Anyway, I have to second (or third or whatever) the point that it’s too static - more variety, please.

Garret Gengler – Accomplishing, Believing
Very nice kind of understated indie-pop. The lazy atmosphere of this track is tops, and your voice is indeed awfully pleasant. Catchy and sounds very good & organic, I like it.

Glooper – Distant Love
Good and catchy song with full production and many lovely details. Gratifying.

Kajiki – Nataliya
Nice piece, although as someone pointed out a bit clockwork. You could perhaps have used Vinyl a bit less sparingly to accentuate the sort of nostalgic feeling further…

Marc JX8P – Remembering
This reminds me A LOT of the soundtrack for the PC-game Unreal (the first one), which is praise coming from me, as I’m very fond of the musics of that game (the main reason why I didn’t get tired of it). Well done.

Patric 9 – Bird on the Wire
Something about the percussions doesn’t work for me, but overall a relaxing and airy piece. Nicely done.

Pheeleep – Mando
Nice mandolin and guitar work and a strong atmosphere. To me the intro is the most affecting part but the track never let’s down. Tupac fits there well and the break at 0:58-1:16 is very nice. Yeah, you drop the key components off in the end, but I think that’s totally cool, the best stuff should be rationed. Great track.

Sason Le Klee – KvR
Haha, very smooth funk here. More than little retro but that’s never a problem for me. Pleasing from the beginning to the end, I like it I like it.

Torpedo – A Simple Magic
Catchy chorus. I’m not quite sure if everything blends together perfectly, though.

Utm – Brood X
Nice track, I especially like the “chorus” (0:51-1:08, 1:41-1:58 ). Like the rough sound.

Wilkoryte – Je Deviens Agressif
It’s OK, rather conventional rock’n’roll. Can’t think of much to comment, sorry.


Windchillfactor – Vicious Crowd
Very interesting and atypical, you unusual voice works nicely as well. I, too, find the congas a bit too busy, but that’s a minor quibble. I like the sombre mood.

Okay, I will have a small break now, I'll continue soon.

[vurt]

structure?me?where exactly

I'm sure I remember one of your tracks once that nearly had an arrangement

You know what I mean really, don't you.

yeah i gotcha man,or at least i think i do you mean less erratic maybe?


but in my defence if that is what you meant it was inspired by a bee at the window hence the title may bee

[jens]

jens / torpedo - a simple magic

I like the skittering beats and the sound fx. Some nice guitar work, too. It's an unusual backdrop for a song and that's what stands out. The vocal , I'm sorry to say, I find flat and out of tune far too often.

Thanks Scuzzphut

Could you please describe a bit what you mean by flat? - what could she do better?
(- She's probably following this thread so it could help to improve her performance)

I don't hear the vocals being out of tune anywhere - do you mean in the verse(s) or in the chorus (or maybe on both)?

I myself am unsure if I really like every word of the verses (could be my plain stoopid lyrics though) but I totally dig the chorus-vox

[scuzzphut]

structure?me?where exactly

I'm sure I remember one of your tracks once that nearly had an arrangement

You know what I mean really, don't you.

yeah i gotcha man,or at least i think i do you mean less erratic maybe?


but in my defence if that is what you meant it was inspired by a bee at the window hence the title may bee

Well, just in general, I find that there are two distinct kinds of "ambient" music. The stuff I like still has a semblance of rhythm and arrangement/structure (albeit generally low-tempo ). The stuff I'm not so keen on is the stuff that never repeats itself, in a nutshell.

Your track - inspired by a bee as it was - reflects your inspiration, now question. That brand of ambient isn't my cup of tea, though.



damn.

I said it....

[jens]

Torpedo (Jens) - I enjoyed the voice, but the mixc made it sound a little distant from the backing a little - karaoke-style, if you will.
The backing is cool, but because of the mix, seems a little too incidental.

Thanks for the hint, Miro - I wanted to mix the vocals really loud this time - it was probably a bit too much

I've turned them down a few db now and added a bit more reverb.

but karaoke-style?

[vurt]

thats fine mate i dont like tea at all