Skol303

[color=#800000][size=5][b]Voting has now started on September’s Composition Challenge!

[/b][/size][/color] [size=5]Here's the inspiration for this month's music:

[/size] [size=5]And here are the compositions. Please listen to each track and pick your favourite:

[/size] [b]Dad3353[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dad3353/wind-in-the-wire

"]Wind In The Wire (54 + 1...)
[/url] [b]Lurksalot[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/lurksalot/tweet

"]Tweet
[/url] [b]Bilbo[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/robert-palmer-1/startling

"]Startling
[/url] [b]Leonard Smalls[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/dredd-and-the-badass-weed/unbalanced"]Unbalanced[/url] [b]Skol303[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/on-a-wire

"]On A Wire
[/url] [b]Lowdown[/b] [url="http://soundcloud.com/garrycribb/all-alone"]All Alone
[/url] [b][color=#800000][size=5]

Voting ends at midnight on Thursday 2nd October.[/size][/color][/b]

Good work folks! I'll be posting up the voting thread sometime this evening... latecomers very welcome, so if you're still working on something then get it done.

Brilliant!! What a dude Very pleased for you both mate. I'm hoping Skol Jnr follows suit once he's old enough (currently the bass would be competing and certainly losing against Thomas The Tank Engine).

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1411579528' post='2560892'] that is sweet Paul , a touch dark maybe, but a good listen and some lovely playing . [/quote] Cheers Lurks! It's certianly not a Saturday night "getting ready to go out song" I thought yours was great. Very nice idea with the dialing tones. I'm going to make a conscious effort to post some feedback on each track this month - haven't done so in a while with distractions of moving house, etc, so I'll be taking notes!

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1411570258' post='2560759'] Just wanted to say, these have all been excellent so far! [/quote] Thank you muchly! We need all the support we can get in this small corner of Basschat, so cheers for the kind words

[quote name='RockfordStone' timestamp='1411557769' post='2560583'] i might try and throw something together this evening... but it won't be very good... [/quote] Go for it Rob!

Okey dokey. If it finds some legs, keep me pegged. (^ that's natural talent right there)

Sounds like a terrible idea, so I might be interested... I can't commit to a "concept album", but if all you want is eight bars of especially bad rapping then I might be game (assuming you get enough volunteers together to make it work). Do you have a beat or backing track to work with? If not what tempo do you have in mind? And what's the topic for the song...?

It's a new one on me. And nowt on [i]Googlepedia[/i], so it seems like a new thang for a lot of people. My guess would be "a fusion of RnB and breakbeat". Or maybe something a bit more 'watery', like Morcheeba (apologies to Morcheeba fans!).

[quote name='blue' timestamp='1411440656' post='2559530'][list] [*][size=3][font=Arial]The person that tells you how much their into music, but in fact their connection to music doesn't extend much beyond listening to music on the car radio.[/font][/size] [/list][list] [*][size=3][font=Arial]Or your in a conversation they learn your in a band and feel the need to ask where your playing so they can come see you. This person generally has not gone to see a live rock band anywhere in the last 20 years or more. They have no real intention on coming out to see your band, but for some reason feel the need to patronize you.[/font][/size] [/list] [/quote] In response to Blue's original post I'd say that... The person who says they're "into music" but [i]only[/i] listens to it on their car radio can still be "into" music. It can still play a big part in their lives and sway their emotions; it can leave them humming a tune all day. I don't see why it's patronising to musicians for someone to say that's how they enjoy music. In fact, that's probably how the majority of people enjoy music. The key word being [i]"enjoy"[/i] The person who asks about your next gig, but probably won't come along, is most likely just scratching around for conversation - and probably have good intentions in doing so. People who have regular jobs (like me!) can sometimes be a little lost for words when chatting with someone whose day job is different, because they don't have the usual points of reference (or 'conversation starters') that they're familiar with. Anyone who works in office has an immediate point of reference with someone else who does the same - no matter whether their actual jobs are different. Faced with a musician, I imagine most people will ask 1) what instrument do you play? 2) are you in a band? 3) when is your next gig?... in that order. That's not being patronising, it's just someone trying to make conversation about somerthing that's unfamiliar to them. So in short: don't sweat it! All's good

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1411451973' post='2559556']Music is for all, in whatever form they want it...Try starting a thread on Hip Hop on here and you'll get the same sh*t...This is a musicians forum, where a thread about cats or a thread for word association will get a thousand posts, and the members who post their music in the recording section get two or three responses. A forum with over 30,000 members that has a monthly composition competition that attracts about 36 votes.[/quote] Well, you know for sure I'm going to agree wholeheartedly with these sentiments! Good post, Nige.

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1411466600' post='2559720']It's a mash-up of R.E.M, Smashing Pumpkins and NIN, which is what I picked up from the playback.[/quote] Aha! I get it now. As usual, you're several paces ahead of me. I need coffee...

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1411441090' post='2559531'] [size=4]Wow..! Not an 'easy' listen at nearly 5 in the morning, before the dawn chorus. Efficient, certainly, in the conjuring up of a certain melancholy. This was [i]not [/i]composed for a lark..! I hear dark tones drawing from The Inching Movement of Rapidly Smashing Nails into Pumpkin's Nine Eyes. [/size] [size=4] I could be wrong. Roll on Thursday. [/size] [/quote] Haha, cheers Doug! Indeed... it's not a "jump out of bed. throw open the curtains and embrace the day" kind of song. I'm in good spirits at the moment (cycling to work is pumping me with endorphins), but deep down there must be a maudlin inner-me just waiting to burst out and say [i]"hiya!!"[/i]... or something like that. PS: you lost me on the '[size=4]Inching Movement of Rapidly Smashing Nails into Pumpkin's Nine Eyes' reference. Not even Google can save the day and make me seem clever in[/size] understanding that one. Is it by Val Doonican?

[size=4][font=Helvetica]Finished! Slightly ahead of the deadline this time round… but still fairly last-minute as I’m away with work over the next couple of days, so it was now or never.[/font] [font=Helvetica]A fairly dreary and melancholic number from me this month. No reflection on my actual mood, which is thankfully chipper. I think the image of that lone bird must’ve tugged on some forlorn strings in my psyche. Or whatever.[/font] [font=Helvetica]Quite a simple track: a MIDI beat, a bassline, guitars and some crooning. The bass and guitars were DI’d straight into my ‘puter with no after effects (other than some compression and EQ to aid mixing them). I thought they sounded ok, so left them at that.[/font] [font=Helvetica]All mixed on headphones, so I’m hoping it sounds alright on whatever systems you all have at home:[/font] [font=Helvetica][url="http://soundcloud.com/skollob/on-a-wire"]http://soundcloud.co...ollob/on-a-wire[/url][/font] [font=Helvetica]Deadline for entries is midnight on Wednesday, so there are still a few days remaining if you’re cooking something up. I’ll then launch the voting thread on Thursday.[/font] [font=Helvetica]Cheers [/font][/size]

Yup, I'm looking forward to these The Jaco film is due out in November. The Stanley flick sometime next year. Both look great!

[color=#800000][size=5][b]UPDATE:[/b][/size][/color] [b][color=#800000]before I forget... I've pushed back the deadline by one day until midnight on Wednesday 24th.[/color][/b] I'm in the depths of Mid Wales on Tuesday and won't be a near a computer to launch the voting; hence the extra day. That is all. As you were...

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1411063155' post='2556158']Exceptional piece of work, sounds great.[/quote] [quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1411064901' post='2556176'] Isn't it wonderful the way that everyone's treatment is different..? I've just given this a listen-to for the first time, and can only be in admiration [size=4]of the finely crafted needlework required to create such a scintillating result...[/size][/quote] Sincere thanks, chaps! You guys are no slouches when it comes to producing, so it means a lot to have such nice feedback from you - and everyone else. The remix took several months to finish... that wasn't solid work, of course! In fact it dragged on unnecessarily because I was caught up in the stress of moving house soon after I took on the project, so kept getting distracted and working on it in fits and starts. Oddly enough - or perhaps typically - I put the first rough mix together in about a day and that ended up being what the band liked the best! I then spent time adding lots of frills and little details, which I often do, only to remove these in the final mix in order to simplify the track and capture the 'raw' essence I managed to nail in my first attempt. A lesson learned in doing too much and getting caught up in unnecessary 'flannel'. And a prime example of the old sayig that the [i]"mute button is the best tool in mixing"[/i] I must say that I much prefer the end result to my initial 'final' mix and it was very easy bouncing ideas and comments between myself and Tim at London Zulu/TGU, who gave me loads of freedom to do what I liked with it. I took the decision to drop the classical 'requiem' sample completely - I thought it was such a strong 'ident' that my remix would be dictated by it if I let it stay - and instead focussed on the bassline (natch ) and the kora melody, which together gave a really good basis for a new interpretation of it. Bearing in mind that the brief was to produce a "banging club track!" The synth bass took a lot of tweaking and automation (I'm a geek, I like that sort of thing) but at its core is Nige's b-line from the original track, which features unadulterated during the breakdown half-way through the remix. Anyway... 'twas fun! And again, cheers for the feedback

[quote name='51m0n' timestamp='1411036815' post='2555763'] Nope, not for nearly twenty years. If I had to though I'd record multitrack to tape for the tape compression, then run it all off into a DAW to do any editing, it would save hours and hours of tape/razor arseache! [/quote] Simon!! Good to hear from you, it's been a while. So it takes a thread about analogue gear to draw you out of the shadows? Typical

[quote name='ironside1966' timestamp='1410977279' post='2555282']My progress is akin to a kid who has taken his bike to bits and can't put it back together again with parts strewn all over the garden...I can't think of a better reason to have a go because the worst that could happen is I might learn something.[/quote] Absolutely. And with you being a seasoned veteran of these mixing challenges, I have to say you've no excuse not to get stuck in!

[quote name='Bilbo' timestamp='1410964101' post='2555114']It is apparent that I am wrong. I promise not to let it happen again.[/quote] First time is excusable, once you've promised to play Moondance on the Xbox game Rocksmith 100 times over, videoing the experience on your mobile and sharing it via Instagram. Just for a LOL. It has 'Internet Sensation' written all over it. Trust me

[quote name='Weststarx' timestamp='1410961845' post='2555066'] It depends whats in fashion I guess, hopefully more bands come into light in the future but at the moment record companys wont invest in bands and will make more money selling Justin Bieber music to 13 year old girls. [/quote] You mean like they did with Jerry Lee Lewis and the Beatles and... ? I can't say I'm a fan of Justin Bieber myself. But to his credit he started out by posting videos of himself on YouTube, amassing a truckload of fans through his own efforts, which then caught the attention of record companies - who of course realised they could make truckload of ca$h from said truckload of fans. His output is highly manufactured. But his career [i]was[/i] kick-started by his own efforts and made possible by new technology. In fact I think he was one of the first 'YouTube Sensations'. And while I can't abide the chap, I do give him credit for that at least.

Sorry Bilbo, I have to disagree with you on this one Kids [i]are[/i] playing music... it's just that not all of them are playing musical instruments in the conventional sense (ie. things strummed, plucked, blown and bowed). It's been mentioned in this tread that modern technology has 'distracted' young people from music - but that's blatantly not the case. For every technological distraction there is a new opportunity for young' uns to get creative - making music on computers, tablets, phones, via video games (such as the hugely popular Rocksmith), online and so on. The idea that Little Johnny, who once might have been heard diligently practicing his saxaphone scales, is now too engrossed in Facebook to care about music is absurd. Young people are [i]obsessed[/i] with music! - no less so than any of us in our youth. Truth is, Little Johnny is probably writing the next dancfloor-filling grime hit on his laptop with headphones glued to his bonce. And of course many of us here won't consider such endeavors to be 'musical' - but little Johnny doesn't give a feck what we think, no more than we as teenagers cared about the musical opinions of generations senior to us. ...not forgetting that kids are of course still picking up guitars, drum kits, microphones and dare I say even bass guitars! Aside from Basschat, I frequent a number of forums focussed on new electronic music and that one scene alone is brimming with youthful energy (I'm 40 years old and very much an 'old fart' in this arena!). And I'm not just talking about generic Friday night club bangers... it's young folks writing beautifully cinematic scores, heartfelt poetry, punkish angst, cool garage tunes and compositions that you'd image written by someone far more advanced in years. So really, it's not as 'black and white' as many of us might think. Young people [i]love[/i] music and are busily creating it. If you're not aware of this, it's probably because you're looking in the wrong places - or more correctly, the places where we as - [i]ahem[/i] - older musicians would expect new music to be found. To paraphrase the great fictional philosopher Ferris Bueller: [i]"Music moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it"[/i] Here endeth the sermon.

I have the Maschine app and as far as I'm aware there's not much scope for importing new loops into it - it's a nice little 'sketch pad' for trying out ideas, but that's about it. Working with apps is by and large a fairly clumsy and complicated process as it's very difficult /nigh on impossible to share files between them in a convenient way. There are some great products out there for iOS and Android, but they're mostly standalone products - one trick ponies, so to speak. Your best option by far is to get your head around something like GarageBand or Reaper, which will enable you to do what you're describing very quickly and easily... once you've got over the initial learning curve. Set aside a couple of hours, search for some YouTube tutorials and you'll have it cracked. Honestly!

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1410882782' post='2554276'] Has anyone mentioned OBBM yet? [/quote] I don't think so... get stuck in there Rob! PS: Klotz for me. Generally speaking, Cables are cables are cables, but Klotz do make nice ones.

I had one of these (nice basses!) and sold it last year for £300 +shipping. I bought it for £250 cash from a guitar show Indeed, I have no moral fibre...