August Contest: Gossip

[wagtunes]

@wagtunes
@kovacs

I couldn't download your entries from SoundCloud, please allow us to do so
Thanks

Fixed

[Tbase2000]

Love that track Johnny Quest! Those dirty jazz drums and that trumpet player. Nicely done.

[Jonny Quest]

Love that track Johnny Quest! Those dirty jazz drums and that trumpet player. Nicely done.

thanks man

[kovacs]

Hey guys,

I asked Drax if I could upload a new version of my submission since I forgot to apply mastering, and he was cool about it. It's not really that different but now you know. Link is the same.

Planning to get some reviews done very soon.

[Mister Natural]

well . . . I must be a chuckle-head as I worked all day on the construction of this and then read that there is a 3 min restriction this month . . .

N/M

peace

[Hellfog]

folderol;

Dreamy awesomeness, your track.

[folderol]

folderol;

Dreamy awesomeness, your track.

Wow! Thanks for that. I really must get listening to the other entries soon... very soon!

[kovacs]

Time for reviews! Hope I don't offend anyone - all entries are well worth listening to!

Laguna Rising - Sleeping on the beach
Cheerful piece, retro vibes. Sounds like an improvisational piece to me? I like the electric piano, nice and easy sounding. The guitar sounds a little uninspiring. The piece does not appear to be moving anywhere though. But overall a nice and clean production.

Tbase2000 - DirtyBass150BPM
Nice production, tight and good sounding. Dominating guitars but not too much. Vocals are good, maybe a bit dry? Lots of forward moving motion with the drums constantly wanting to pull the piece further. Does it lack a bridge of sorts? It suddenly ended without really going anywhere special. But I enjoyed it.

Hellfog - Open Road
Beautiful opening, nice and calming piano tones. Very comforting music. Sounds a bit improvisational, with some «off» notes here and there, but it doesn’t matter that much. I think this piece could be more interesting (more depth, perhaps) if you added some extra instruments like woodwinds or maybe some choir voices. I like that you dare to have very quiet areas with not much going on. Well done.

donkey tugger - the bend in the road
Lovely rock tune. I think vocals are clear and good, nasal singing works fine (perhaps pushed a bit too far into the mix). Some good old Peter Gabriel vibes going on here. Very nicely balanced mix of instruments. Nice drive throughout the piece without going all out. Cool use of distortion on the voice to create variation. Really nice entry.

Wagtunes - Three Minutes To The End
Another rock piece. Here I think the vocals drown a bit in the mix, but it may be intentional. I am not familiar with Vocaloid but the vocals are intriguing. Cool lyrics, too! I think your mix gets a bit busy at times between the verses. The lead guitar is good but the tone is a bit unimpressive. Decent composition though, it all hangs together quite well.

Jonny Quest - Agent August
Very cool piece. Love the opening! You really pushed those horns man! Not sure if this is a big band piece or an experimental electronica piece (which counts as a bonus in my book). The bridge takes it all down with clean guitar tones, nice and easy. When the keys come back in I can’t stop thinking about the Blues Brothers. Excellent stuff.

beanpole - Last Generation
Another rock entry. A fellow guitar player, obviously. Nice guitar playing throughout, nice and funky main riff. Love your vocals, very nice (but here also pushed a bit too far back I think, it may be intentional. But then again does anyone care? ). Cool lyrics as far as I can make them out. Clean and easy guitar solo towards the end. Nice work man.

folderol - Polytone
Nice and unassuming piece. I think perhaps it gets a bit «foggy» some times, too much reverb and nothing much else going on. But then again you have chosen a lot if similar sounds - I’d love to hear more variation here. You do build it up eventually so it does grow on me towards the end. I like the slow tempo, it fits the overall concept well. Cool ending.

[Jonny Quest]

Time for reviews! Hope I don't offend anyone - all entries are well worth listening to!

Thanks for taking the time to review. Enjoyed reading your thoughts regarding all the entries. And, of course, thank you for the kind words regarding my tune.
~jonny

[folderol]

Thanks a lot for the reviews. Very well set out. I used to do reviews too but somehow seemed to lose my review foo - must try to get it back... oh and steal a bit of time off something!

[farlukar]

Ugh, I just relistened my entry and it's truly terrible.

The creation process:

1. come up with idea for contest entry
2. work out entry in mind, in minute detail
3. let it slip from mind
4. think “OH CRAPZOIDS deadline in a day and I've recorded f**k all”
5. post lousy rush job with crummy headphone mix

Oh well.

[Hellfog]

Time for reviews! Hope I don't offend anyone - all entries are well worth listening to!


Hellfog - Open Road
Beautiful opening, nice and calming piano tones. Very comforting music. Sounds a bit improvisational, with some «off» notes here and there, but it doesn’t matter that much. I think this piece could be more interesting (more depth, perhaps) if you added some extra instruments like woodwinds or maybe some choir voices. I like that you dare to have very quiet areas with not much going on. Well done.

Thanks for the reviews, yes it is verry improvisational.

When you say off notes do you mean, wrong note or not in time?

I was thinking about adding bass/drums and may stil do that in version 2, but nothing else would fit with the music.

[kovacs]

When you say off notes do you mean, wrong note or not in time?

Both, actually.

[Hellfog]

When you say off notes do you mean, wrong note or not in time?

Both, actually.

Ok, don't know if I think so.

[kovacs]

Ok, don't know if I think so.

Remember, a review is just someone else's opinion.

I really liked your piece.