Skol303

Sincere thanks Douglas! That's very positive feedback and I'm glad you found things of interest in the track - even thought (and in fact especially because) it was far from your 'comfort zone' Good to hear you picked up on the sense of tension and pace. That's all down to Mike's composition skills. The Spaceheads I'm familiar with... the other bands you reference are on my list to Google! Looking forward to that. It's definitely a [i]very[/i] different writing process to being in a more conventional band. There's obviously less opportunity to create things 'on the fly' and bounce ideas off each other immediately. But I think there's also more scope for everyone to do their own thing and stamp their mark on the end result - my job being to pull it together and work with the great material I'm given, which is bliss Cheers again for listening. Appreciated.

[quote name='SteveK' timestamp='1389229775' post='2331782'] I don't know who this 'Boy in a Band' Dave is... but it would seem that he's been living under a rock, and only just found out that *shock horror* singers and bands don't always write their own material . As Dave says, "He doesn't give many interviews"! So, I guess Max Martin prefers anonymity. Not sure how this is "The biggest secret in the music industry". There are many more such songwriters. [/quote] Had you heard of Max Martin before watching the video? I hadn't. And I'm a sucker for a good pop song. I think the point he's trying to make is that here's someone who's written countless number ones and top tens singles. Not just [i]some[/i] number ones... but sixteen of them. And yet nobody has heard of him. Which exemplifies how the music industry works. Of course that's old news that we already knew… but the Max Martin story puts into perspective just how much image trumps creativity in the world of pop. It's certainly not the "biggest secret in the music industry" - I don't think the title is meant to be taken literally; it's intended to make you watch the video. But I thought it was interesting

Cheers for the kind words Nige! It was damn good fun to put together - and from my perspective, really good to be working with quality musicians/artists. Mike plays bass like a ninja and Donnie is just super-pro while also very laid back. Good to have some real live trumpets in there too. More to come on this... I'll keep you posted mate.

You may need to bear with this video… it runs as a zillion miles per hour and I doubt it's a style (or haircut) that everyone will enjoy… but I found it to be a very interesting insight into the pop industry. And besides, I like Dave (it's creator). Nice guy who shares a lot of good advice about music production. But that's by the by. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D2DHuugaxWk

Ok, so I'm going AWOL and posting this outside my usual territory of the Recording forum… but I wanted to share with y'all the latest track by myself and Basschat comrade Mike Flynn (urb). It's a beautiful, heart-warming tale. Mike and I met through the monthly composition competition here on Basschat. We decided to produce some music together and roped in the talents of some folks we'd each collaborated with previously - namely, Brooklyn-based rapper Donnie Ozone and trumpeter Andy Davies. We put out our first track in 2013 and we now have another. We also have a name - [i]Stir Up a Hurricane[/i] - under which we're planning to release an EP, hopefully towards the end of this year. I just wanted to shout about this here because amidst everything that gets discussed on Basschat, we are at our core a community of musicians. And sometimes things get to spark that would otherwise never do so without this forum. So yeah. Here's to that Anyway, enough blather. Here's a link to the track… [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/226574-dark-matter-new-project-new-track/"]CLICKY HERE[/url] [url="https://stirupahurricane.bandcamp.com/"][color=#b22222][b]NOW ALSO AVAILABLE ON BANDCAMP![/b][/color][/url] …and thanks to Basschat for being the catalyst of this new project. This place rocks.

Here's the latest offering from Basschat's own Mike Flynn (urb) and I, produced in collaboration with Brooklyn-based rapper Donnie Ozone and trumpeter Andy Davies (of Mike's jazz outfit, J-Sonics) under the name [i]Stir Up a Hurricane[/i]: https://stirupahurricane.bandcamp.com/ The track started life as a composition by Mike for the monthly new music competition, here in the Recording forum on Basschat. We took his original track, injected it with steroids and created the monster you hear now. Feedback is very welcome! EP to follow later in 2014…

[quote name='deepbass5' timestamp='1388939099' post='2327838']- One day this must all end.....[/quote] Ultimately, for sure. But until that day (and I hope it's a long time coming) I intend to take a leaf out of the book of Rob Wright and NoMeansNo... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9LTASPqCz8M

[quote name='AL-the-Bassman' timestamp='1389044179' post='2329332'] still only one entry ......? [/quote] Bleedin' Nora, give us chance! I've not even started thinking about mine yet!! Well actually that's a lie... I began singing something in the shower this morning that may yet be the germ of an idea. If only I had a banjo. Seriously. It's not often I think that, it has to be said.

PS : my tip for this month would be to not get bogged down in a literal interpretation of each image. The images are meant to be a starting point for your music - the aim is never really to capture them precisely (like a soundtrack), but to produce something inspired by them. For example: from Smokey & The Bandit it could be a country theme, 'driving music', perhaps a sense of action/chase. From the Escher picture it could be something technical (even techno!), repetitious, or ascending/descending as already hinted by Douglas. And much more besides. You get the idea...

Well we've had tougher challenges in the past... the month involving Jimmy Saville, Scooby Doo and the Mexican Day of the Dead; not forgetting the time we had to compose to each of the previous 12 month's images - set to video! So yeah. In the words of Man vs Food: "It's time to put on your big boy pants and get to it!" Or something like that

The January competition thred is now up [b][url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/225909-january-composition-competition-now-underway/"][size=6]Looky here...[/size][/url][/b]

[color=#b22222][size=5][b]The January Composition Competition is now underway.[/b][/size][/color] There are two images to whet your creative appetite this month, chosen by the previous joint-winners AL-the-Bassman and Dad3353. As is tradition when we have a draw, your composition must take inspiration from [u]both[/u] pictures. So... err... good luck with that [i]From Dad3353 we have...[/i] [i]...and from AL-the-Bassman we have:[/i] [b]RULES 'N' STUFF[/b] By entering the competition you agree to the Basschat [url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?app=forums&module=extras&section=boardrules"]Terms & Conditions[/url] and [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/3178-forum-guidelines/"]Forum Guidelines[/url], which are designed to help ensure the forum remains free of offensive and/or illegal behaviour and material. In a nutshell: [b]1) Please avoid any content that other forum users may find offensive.[/b] If your track contains explicit lyrics, for example, then please warn other forum users so they can choose for themselves whether to listen to it. [b]2) Please make sure you have permission to use any 3rd party sounds included in your track[/b] (ie. sounds that you have not recorded yourself, such as samples of other people's music). The owners of Basschat except no responsibility for infringements of copyright or other forms of legal ownership, which are solely the responsibility of competition entrants. If we spot any breaches of copyright then your track will be removed from the competition. For reference: here's a great source of copyright-free material, all available under Creative Commons license: [url="http://www.freesound.org/"]http://www.freesound.org/[/url] [b]3) Entries should be written and produced during the month of the competition[/b], taking inspiration from the photo provided. No cheating! If you have any questions about the competition rules then please get in touch. [color=#b22222][b][size=5]The deadline for entries is midnight on Friday 24th January.[/size][/b][/color] Have fun!

Well done Douglas and Al!! What a finish Great tracks guys and very deserving of the win. You both get polo shirts. Message me with your choice of size/colour etc, along with your address, and I'll get Santa's elves (aka Ped & Kiwi) to suss the delivery of your prizes. Also PM me with your choice of image for the January competition. A double-header and a great way to kick off 2014. Cheers !

Watching it. Loving it. Dancing round the living room with Mrs Skol, Junior, Grandma and my brother... all tipsy on champagne (apart from Jnr who's on hot milk). Big smiles here Happy new year everyone.

Dad3353 and AL-the-Bassman are neck and neck for first place in this month's challenge! If you haven't yet listened and voted please do. There's only six tracks, totalling 20 mins or so of new music. Go listen! VOTING ENDS TOMORROW AT MIDNIGHT.

Bloomin' 'eck! Just catching up with this and wow... I don't think we've ever had two such clear front runners before. Great tracks all round and well done to everyone on the voting. There are still several days to go, so keep it up! I've yet to vote myself. Need to listen thru them all again as it's a tough choice

[color=#b22222][b][size=5]Voting has started on the December Composition Competition.[/size][/b][/color] It’s the final hoedown of the year with six tracks to enjoy. Pour yourself a large one, grab a pig in a blanket (or a slice of nutroast) and wrap your lug’oles around this lot… [url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/225389-december-composition-competition-vote-now/"][size=5]CLICK HERE[/size][/url] A hearty thank you to everyone who’s supported the monthly music challenges this year! Your votes have warmed the cockles of many fellow Basschatters and for that we’re dead grateful. Cheers Paul

[color=#b22222][b][size=5]Voting has now started on December's Composition Competition![/size][/b][/color] Here's the inspiration for this final shindig of the year, chosen by the previous winner [b]Spoombung[/b]: And here are the compositions. Please listen to each track and pick your favourite: [b]Dad3353[/b] https://soundcloud.com/dad3353/dreams-of-a-patchy-dormeur [b]AL-the-Bassman[/b] https://soundcloud.com/al-the-bassman/just-let-him-sleep-said-mr [b]lurksalot[/b] https://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/christmas-dreams-never-forget [b]Leonard Smalls[/b] https://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/bedtime-latest-mix [b]the boy[/b] https://soundcloud.com/theboysings/dreams-of-d [b]Skol303[/b] https://soundcloud.com/skollob/slumber [color=#b22222][size=5][b]Voting ends at midnight on New Year’s Eve.[/b][/size][/color] This month’s winner gets a Basschat polo shirt of their choosing! Well done to everyone who took part this month and throughout the year. Cheers! And happy holidays. Paul

Aye, jingle bells and Batman smells! Wishing you all much cheer and merriment

^ Thanks chaps! Kind words very gratefully received. I'm looking forward to listening to yours and others over Christmas. Glass of port and a mince pie in hand Voting thread will be posted up this evening...