Feel free to comment and give feedback on the tracks yourselves, whether you agree or disagree with comments made. Discuss the tunes at hand.
Scraps - Homeless
http://soundcloud.com/scraps/homeless
Will Orca -
Excellent drum processing and a great palette of sounds, a lot of work has obviously been put in this. I really like the off kilter style of the beat, but I do think that the phrase from 2.04 to 2.34 isn't necessary and/or doesn't have enough variation to warrant it.
The breakdown is cool but again for the second drop there isn't different enough to give the listener enough of a reason to listen through - perhaps some extra percussion, variation on that rhythm, vocal edits etc could work nicely. I think the piano at the end needs to be more subtle and perhaps less melodic - think some nice deep chords could work there
Pete Soul Motive -
This was one of my highlights of all the submissions, a strong sound design, interesting rhythm and nice chords underlying it all. The extra percussion that comes in later keeps the track alive, wasn't overly keen on the piano at the end of the tune, it seemed like an unnecessary addition to me, it sounded much more potent being sparse at the beginning of the tune. I think the bass stabs could do with a greater varying level of distortion through the tune, just to keep the sound evolving and interesting to the listener.
I'd love to hear a strong 3 track EP of this kind of material, I think a few labels would lap it up.
Diccon BlackBox -
I'm liking the experimental vibe of this, a pretty skewed & unconventional groove. For me, the piano line in the intro doesn't work as well as the one in the breakdown - maybe it's just the e.piano you're using sounds worse in a lower register? Also, in composition terms you would expect to see chords like that open/spread across a couple of octaves at least instead of each note in the chord played in the same octave - if that makes sense to you?
Decent effort overall though - if you made a project of some similar tracks I wouldn't be surprised to see it released as an EP.
SF - Upsetting the Applecart
http://soundcloud.com/shatterfreak/sf-u ... apple-cart
Will Orca -
Some of the drum samples sound a little bit too sample pack and perhaps need some more work on eq/reverb/layering or better chosen samples. Having said that I really enjoyed the groove and the way it all unfolds - the addition of the jungle break in the second drop is perfect and exciting to listen to, with a few changes here and there I think Youngsta & Kryptic Minds would be all over this.
Phrex - Rush
http://soundcloud.com/phrex/phrex-rush
Will Orca -
Ok this is pretty unique music, original sounds etc. The first thing I would say is that I think your style would be better suited to a slower tempo - maybe something around 125bpm..Dont really feel the first breakdown, not neccessary at all and kind of puts me off listening. Sample of This Mortal Coil is great but could perhaps be more creative with the use of the sample. Also some more variation in rhythms and percussion could help this track a long way.
Mike Redvolume -
I can see this work really well on a dance floor, but this is really not my own cup of tea when it comes to listening music. Great ideas and production apart from my personal issues with some sounds and overall feeling.
Diccon BlackBox -
Hmmm, maybe it's accidental but the main delayed riff & bass/beat sounds quite a lot like Wooo Riddim to me? The other parts (burbling voice, darbuka/percussion, music box sample etc) don't seem to fit with the main riddim of the tune for me - they just sounds like disparate parts stuck together.
Some pleasing elements here but the whole thing doesn't really gel in my eyes.
A-list - Uneasy Situations
http://soundcloud.com/impeytelling/a-li ... -situation
Will Orca -
Nice synth and chord progressions - really nice tune and mix although to me the layered clap doesn't really catch me completely. Maybe try taking 1 of the layers out/adding another on alternate claps to bring a bit of variation to the sound. I would like to hear this tune with a different beat - maybe without a snare/clap on the downbeat altogether, or maybe something a bit housier. Great effort though, very encouraging.
Mike RedVolume -
Liking this a lot as I prefer melodies over wobble. Love the old school trance feeling mixed up with dub synth stabs! All sounds work well together, with a tight and very appropriate rhythm section. Maybe not the most original synth string chords chosen, but really like this one.
3za - Crawling
http://soundcloud.com/3za_beatz/crawling
Mike Redvolume -
Big synth! Not sure about everything around it though.. Uninspiring chords, melodies and rhyhtm. Would really like to hear a second try on this one.
Pete Soul Motive -
Lead synth has real nice rhythm, sound and variation, but it almost seems at the neglect of everything else in the tune. The beat is super ploddy and I struggle to roll to the rhythm at all. The keys/plinky synth is a nice sound, but melodically isn't saying anything to me. Added to the complete lack of progression of everything else in the tune apart from the lead synth makes this tune sound more like a practice beat for that synth.
Ethanol - Why Not
http://soundcloud.com/officialethanol/whatsup-annie
Mike RedVolume -
Gorgeous build-up in the beginning. This would probably be a great fit for a racing video game. Lot's of great variations. Quality! Slight issue with the synth melody sound in the intro and break. A little too much preset-sounding in my opinion.
Pete Soul Motive -
Strong intro, hints towards quite an involving tune. But then it drops, and sounds like a very cookie cutter aggy dubstep tune of which there are many many out there doing it better. I did like the end of phrase patterns at parts like 2:35. But on the whole, everything sounded emotionally flat apart from that initial piano.
Diccon BlackBox -
this is a pretty well-executed idea, the piano lines are nice, the synth/vocal motif is catchy, the bassline is suitably hype and midrangey.
the change going into the breakdown [3:18ish] is pretty abrupt, and the 2nd drop is predictable i.e. it doesn't do anything different at all.
In terms of releasability, the actual mixdown would need to be cleaner - you're up against some tough competition with this kind of tune and having a seriously punchy mixdown will help your track stand up against others.
Today - Steppa Dun
http://soundcloud.com/2-day/steppa-dun
Mike RedVolume -
A little too much noise at the same time, not resonating well together. I appreciate the try to create something fresh and breaksy around the standard wobble though!
Pete Soul Motive -
I liked some of the ideas and sounds in this track, decent synths and a catchy percussion. But the tune seems to lack any structure/composition, parts don't flow into the next parts and the synths never really seem to gel together. The main rowdy brostep synth is actually pretty good, and I think it is well complimented by the reggae inspired skank samples going on behind it. but the tune sounds like a decent 32 bars, but then with stuff thrown at it and the story and intricacies of the tune neglected making it very hard to engage with.
Diccon BlackBox -
Sorry this was pretty bad - the first synth line sounds like it's out of time, the drums are poorly EQed and don't really gel together and there's not a lot of imagination in the programming - all the synth lines seem to follow each other instead of harmonising. By about 0:30 you've already brought in 2 other synth lines, there's not much left to surprise/keep people interested with!
Genuinely this sounds like an early attempt - my advice to everyone starting out is don't be so eager to play your tunes to the general public! If people hear loads of sub-standard tunes while you're learning to produce, you'll never make an impact when you finally have something quality to play to people. Patience and hard work are the key!
Stealth Elf - Jacob
http://soundcloud.com/stealth_elf/jacob
Diccon BlackBox -
Once again I think this just lacks the ideas & finesse of a more experienced producer - if I was sent this demo I wouldn't listen to anything else by them I'm afraid! The drums lack any real substance, and there's no real swing to it, I'd like to hear a bit more hand-programmed groove in the beats. I'm not keen on the 'spooky' FX, or the panning on some tracks, or the drum filtering at the end of passages.
