June Composition Competition

[discreet]

[size=4][quote name='discreet' timestamp='1370718992' post='2104875']Tempted to have a go myself this month - but it will [i]definitely [/i]be an instrumental. Great pic, btw.[/quote][quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1370719326' post='2104882']Do it [/quote][/size]
[size=4]Lots of quality evident in this month's competition - as usual! [/size] [size=4] Here's my effort - a sketch really, more than a composition - warts and all due to time constraints - and I pulled the plug on it around three minutes, for fear of it being too long.[/size]

[size=4]Haven't had so much fun with a synth since the seventies! And those of you with proper monitoring fear not - There is a low-cut at 40Hz so your speakers should be safe! I hope you enjoy it. [/size]

[size=4][url="https://soundcloud.com/mark-68-2/mondberg"]https://soundcloud.c...k-68-2/mondberg[/url][/size]
[color=#ffffff]X[/color]

Edited June 13, 2013 by discreet

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1371127153' post='2110125']
Hey Rob

Really nice playing and some very musical ideas - nice work. If I have one small constructive criticism (and I speak from my own experience) the video and music's quality is slightly undermined by the lo-fi location - try a tighter camera angle if you can (my own flat has plenty of baby/kid toys in etc and various bits of clothing lying around so I try and clean up the room before I film anything) - as your playing deserves slicker presentation if possible.

Hope that's cool - keep on recording these ideas it sounds like you're developing some good stuff.

Cheers

Mike
[/quote]

Thanks Mike

Your comments are not only constructive but also much appreciated. I can see you've written fairly extensivly here on Basschat on the subject of producing good looking / sounding videos and recordings etc. I'm always happy to get any advice from folk who know more about this kind of thing than I do

To be honest I think I'm guilty of a bit of the old 'If its going to sound crap on a camera mic anyway why bother making it look professional' attitude. Worse still, with a couple of the videos on my channel recently I've been a bit sloppy with my playing and just though 'ah well I'll post it anyway'... No excuses I know, time to shape up

The plan is to get some recording kit and ditch the videos in favour of a soundcloud account (as you and many others seem to be using) The youtube thing is a bit of a stop gap but I guess in the meanwhile I should try and make it look as good as I can. I'll have a mess around with the angles next time, maybe put a sheet in the background or somthing to block out the (lo-fi) girlfirends wardrobe setting... Other background options are the bathroom (good for natural reverb but a bit cramped), the kitchen (bit more space but I'm likely to get distracted by a kit kat chunky) or the living room (contains the drinks fridge... enough said)

Looking forward to your collaboration with SKOL this month, how are things shaping up?

Rob

[urb]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1371129473' post='2110176']
Thanks Mike

Your comments are not only constructive but also much appreciated. I can see you've written fairly extensivly here on Basschat on the subject of producing good looking / sounding videos and recordings etc. I'm always happy to get any advice from folk who know more about this kind of thing than I do

To be honest I think I'm guilty of a bit of the old 'If its going to sound crap on a camera mic anyway why bother making it look professional' attitude. Worse still, with a couple of the videos on my channel recently I've been a bit sloppy with my playing and just though 'ah well I'll post it anyway'... No excuses I know, time to shape up

The plan is to get some recording kit and ditch the videos in favour of a soundcloud account (as you and many others seem to be using) The youtube thing is a bit of a stop gap but I guess in the meanwhile I should try and make it look as good as I can. I'll have a mess around with the angles next time, maybe put a sheet in the background or somthing to block out the (lo-fi) girlfirends wardrobe setting... Other background options are the bathroom (good for natural reverb but a bit cramped), the kitchen (bit more space but I'm likely to get distracted by a kit kat chunky) or the living room (contains the drinks fridge... enough said)

Looking forward to your collaboration with SKOL this month, how are things shaping up?

Rob
[/quote]

Nice one Rob

All said with the greatest of respect and to be honest the sound you're getting is pretty decent so like I said don't think what you're already doing isn't good enough, it is, but through a few simple things you can vastly improve the presentation - I guess watch the volume level if you move the camera close to you/bass/amp etc - should be relatively easy.

One other tip is if you have iMovie or Final Cut there ways to tweak/improve the audio from the camera once you're editing the footage... if not no worries.

Re my collab with the Skol-meister - it's all coming on rather well, I'm not going to comment on the track at all as I want it to be a surprise when it's done - but it's sounding killer so far - just awaiting some vocals... from New York.

Hopefully the finished thing will be ready in a week or so - it's been a lot of fun so far - hope the rest of you dig it

Cheers

Mike

[xgsjx]

Just had time to sit & listen to all the tracks so far. Excellent stuff! Gonna try & get mine done on Monday (maybe sooner if the wife allows!).

[Skol303]

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1371132922' post='2110239']Re my collab with the Skol-meister - it's all coming on rather well, I'm not going to comment on the track at all as I want it to be a surprise when it's done - but it's sounding killer so far - just awaiting some vocals... [/quote]

I'll second that I'm very excited about this month's track. Still plenty of work to be done but it's shaping up nicely.

Speaking of which, Rik: what's the deadline for entries? I'm guessing Monday 24th?

[Mornats]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1371165417' post='2110879']
[size=4]Speaking of which, Rik: what's the deadline for entries? I'm guessing Monday 24th?[/size]
[/quote]

Er, <cough>, um, isn't it July 12th? Plenty of time... take your time mate <snigger> <evil laugh>

[RockfordStone]

i really should get off my arse and do this, but im in a self imposed writing ban

[Skol303]

[quote name='Mornats' timestamp='1371210896' post='2111224']Er, <cough>, um, isn't it July 12th? Plenty of time... take your time mate <snigger> <evil laugh>[/quote]

Hehe, sneaky

I think I'm going to be working on this month's right up to the wire... which I know [i]isn't[/i] July 12th! (but that would be nice...).

[bobbass4k]

[quote name='Myke' timestamp='1371068100' post='2109521']
I really love it!
[/quote]

Then you sir, are in for a treat. If you also like 3/4, power chords and 7 different time signatures in the space of 5 minutes you might want to sit down before listening to mine.

[Skol303]

I still haven't caught up with listening to everyone's entries thus far... I might leave it till the end this month, unless temptation gets the better of me.

The track that Mike (urb) and I are collaborating on is coming together well. We're just waiting for a vocal from a our third cohort in the US and then it'll be time to finish it off. It's probably the most intense 3 minutes of music I've ever worked on. Great fun

[urb]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1371466386' post='2114098']
It's probably the most intense 3 minutes of music I've ever worked on. Great fun
[/quote]

[SpaceChick]

I can't wait to hear it both

[bobbass4k]

Has anyone floated the idea of a remix competition yet? Could be kind of cool although I suspect it would attract the same crowd as the composition and mix competitions and 3 things a month is probably too much even for the die-hard. Might be kind of cool as a one off for the composition competition? We all remix one of the previous winners, if they're happy to part with the stems. Just a thought.

[lurksalot]

I have thought of that as it happens , I have remixed my own entry and was thinking I would re- submit it.

[urb]

[quote name='lurksalot' timestamp='1371507073' post='2114898']
I have thought of that as it happens , I have remixed my own entry and was thinking I would re- submit it.
[/quote]

Go for it - I've done that a couple of times and it's only the final 'voting' post that is judged etc - so it's fine by the er, 'rules'.

Cheers

Mike

[Mornats]

[quote name='urb' timestamp='1371546842' post='2115201']
Go for it - I've done that a couple of times and it's only the final 'voting' post that is judged etc - so it's fine by the er, 'rules'.
[size=4][/quote][/size]

[size=4]Indeed, and remember this is more of a learning exercise than a competitive exercise so I'd say feedback and remixes should be encouraged as we go on. [/size]

[lurksalot]

Ok , I will do that , cheers guys

[Skol303]

NEWSFLASH: Just heard from Charic and the word from on high is that the [b]deadline for entries this month is Monday 24th[/b] (next week).

So if you're still frantically working on something - like Mike and I are! - then make sure you get it finished and uploaded that evening or before

[lurksalot]

I have uploaded a new mix, so many apologies to the kind souls who commented on the original , they were much appreciatted but i think the new one is blended together better .

[lowdown]

My take on the picture for this month.

[url="http://soundcloud.com/garrycribb/its-chilly-in-chile"]http://soundcloud.com/garrycribb/its-chilly-in-chile[/url]


Garry

Edited June 24, 2013 by lowdown

[discreet]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1372013110' post='2120677']My take on the picture for this month. [url="http://soundcloud.com/garrycribb/when-its-chilly-in-chile"]http://soundcloud.co...chilly-in-chile[/url][size=4][/quote][/size]
[size=4]Nicely done! Very filmic. [/size]

Edited June 23, 2013 by discreet

[bobbass4k]

[url="https://soundcloud.com/bobbass4k/luna-desertis-tenebris"]https://soundcloud.c...sertis-tenebris[/url]

Contrary to how it normally is I actually finished writing within a week but it's taken ages to get it sounding even halfway decent. Not everyone's cup of tea but it came together quite nicely, although I think I may have overdone it slightly on the first bit, there's too much going on so it never really locks into a groove like I'd intended.

Also please forgive me the pretentious latin title, I was a bit stuck.

Edited June 23, 2013 by bobbass4k

[Skol303]

Well, what a month it's been… And great to see so many last-minute entries! Good work folks.

Mike (urb) and I started out agreeing to collaborate on a 'little' project, but I don't think either of us quite imagined that it would end up where it did. I wrote a beat, Mike added a mind-boggling good bassline (as he does) and a lead synth, based on a catchy chord structure. We could have left it at that… and in a more sane and rational world, we probably would have. But instead we roped in the talents of Rebecca Romine (a singer from California) and Donnie Ozone (a rapper from New York, with whom I collaborated last month). And it just took off

Rebecca came up with the theme of "watching a world passing by" (the moon in the picture), which Donnie then expanded on with his own lyrics. Mike and I worked together on producing the finished article - me handling the mix, him providing a second set of ears and ideas. Basschat's own 51m0n was kind enough to give a critique of the early mix, which I found invaluable - so big thanks to Si for that too.

It was a fantastic and very creative process - and I'm hugely proud of what we achieved in only three weeks. I hope it goes to show what can be done by working with like-minded people… and putting in plenty of hard graft along the way.

I know Mike won't mind me saying that on the back of this, we're now planning to form a loose 'collective' (involving Rebecca, Donnie and possibly others) with the aim of starting work on more material in autumn this year. So we'll keep you all updated on that.

In the meantime, here's the fruit of our labour. I hope you dig it…

https://soundcloud.com/skollob/world-pass-by

PS: in the immortal words of Chris Duckenfield, [i]watch yer bass bins... I'm tellin' ya![/i]

[CamdenRob]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1372020677' post='2120796']
Well, what a month it's been… And great to see so many last-minute entries! Good work folks.

Mike (urb) and I started out agreeing to collaborate on a 'little' project, but I don't think either of us quite imagined that it would end up where it did. I wrote a beat, Mike added a mind-boggling good bassline (as he does) and a lead synth, based on a catchy chord structure. We could have left it at that… and in a more sane and rational world, we probably would have. But instead we roped in the talents of Rebecca Romine (a singer from California) and Donnie Ozone (a rapper from New York, with whom I collaborated last month). And it just took off

Rebecca came up with the theme of "watching a world passing by" (the moon in the picture), which Donnie then expanded on with his own lyrics. Mike and I worked together on producing the finished article - me handling the mix, him providing a second set of ears and ideas. Basschat's own 51m0n was kind enough to give a critique of the early mix, which I found invaluable - so big thanks to Si for that too.

It was a fantastic and very creative process - and I'm hugely proud of what we achieved in only three weeks. I hope it goes to show what can be done by working with like-minded people… and putting in plenty of hard graft along the way.

I know Mike won't mind me saying that on the back of this, we're now planning to form a loose 'collective' (involving Rebecca, Donnie and possibly others) with the aim of starting work on more material in autumn this year. So we'll keep you all updated on that.

In the meantime, here's the fruit of our labour. I hope you dig it…

[url="https://soundcloud.com/skollob/world-pass-by"]https://soundcloud.c...b/world-pass-by[/url]

PS: in the immortal words of Chris Duckenfield, [i]watch yer bass bins... I'm tellin' ya![/i]
[/quote]

This is brilliant... I love your soundcloud stuff 'All your bass' is a tune I have on my running playlist.

Rob

[Skol303]

[quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1372060976' post='2121012']This is brilliant... I love your soundcloud stuff 'All your bass' is a tune I have on my running playlist.[/quote]

Thanks for the kind words, Rob! Very flattered to have made your playlist.

I'm looking forward to listening to everyone's entries this month. I haven't had time to do so as yet (too busy working on the track with Mike...), so that's something I plan to do one evening this week over a couple of beers