October Composition Competition - THE RESULTS

[SimonEdward]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1383073813' post='2259940']
...although, to be fair, some of those are repeat visits (no names, no pack drill...). OK, not nearly 1,000, but a fair few, just the same.
Congratulations on the 3 (for the moment; it's not over until [s]the fat lady sings[/s] the plug gets pulled...) votes.
[/quote]

[quote name='velvetkevorkian' timestamp='1383074004' post='2259943']
Some quick research on online conversion rates suggests that proportion's not actually too bad, especially given the time required to listen to everything, and some being repeat viewers. Pageviews are cheap, but engagement's not...

edit: Also, you're welcome!
[/quote][quote name='Twigman' timestamp='1383081663' post='2260074']

I totally love your entry and have just played it LOUD on my system at home rather than the crappy office speakers that I used to judge the competition.
Well done that was right up my street!

[/quote][quote name='SpaceChick' timestamp='1383126680' post='2260404']
I'm finding no time to compose at the moment as life has been pretty hectic! However, I am sat in work with my headphones in and have been listening to all the tracks whilst doing a particularly dull newsletter! LOL! ...

I'm going to comment on all the tracks: ...

[b]SimonEdward[/b] - Felt this had a 1980's kind of pet shop boys vibe to it, loved the water sample in the background.

Overall I have been blown away by the standard of entries. We have some really talented musicians on this forum, and listening every month is a pleasure. Sadly, it makes the job of voting incredibly difficult... However, this month my vote goes to...... Simon Edward, this is a track I'd keep playing on my MP3 player. The bassline is beautiful in its supportive simplicity, the lyrics are stunning. Awesome track

[/quote][quote name='the boy' timestamp='1383133132' post='2260522']
Thanks Spacechick...... 5 votes Crikey. Thanks everyone. Must agree Simon Edwards track is addictive.
[/quote]

!!! I am, but not literally, BLOWN AWAY (or was that 'storm-in-a-tea cup'?) by your kindness and encouragement. It is very BIG of you all. Thanks for listening - headphones or loud Hi-Fi - I am so chuffed. I will[i] try[/i] and keep this short..

I never ever thought I would be doing this writing, production thing 12-months ago.. I'd stopped doing any kind of music for about 10-years from 2001. My inspiration comes through listening to other musicians and artists, from a whole host of sources on the Internet; A visual reference, sample loop, a beat.. It doesn't always work though!!

'@Spacechick': PSB's: yes, a good shout & I have their 80's/90's stuff on CD ('West End Girls' a major influence on me). But, the biggest influence on this track came to me when I took up power-walking last year (don't laugh) to lose a bit of weight, and I wanted loads of up tempo dance music to go on my MP3. Steve Boyett [url="http://djsteveboy.com/bio.html"]http://djsteveboy.com/bio.html[/url] used a track in one of his interval mixes called 'Azzurra' (It's Not The Same) by Gui Boratto ... which is where the idea for the Bass line comes' from.. but it wasn't until a few weeks' ago that I thought about drawing some ideas from it. So, there you have it. If you wanted to know!

[Skol303]

If you're wondering where the voting poll has gone, we've had a... [i]"uh... slight malfunction, but uh... everything's perfectly all right now. We're fine. We're all fine here now, thank you. How are you?"[/i]

Yeah. I take the blame for this one. Sorry! But we're now back up and running. See the original post in this thread for details.

As you were.

[lowdown]

[quote name='Skol303' timestamp='1382658219' post='2255246']
[size=5][color=#B22222][b]CHANGE TO THE VOTING POLL... KEEP CALM AND CARRY ON![/b][/color][/size]
[b]If you are wanting to vote...[/b][size=4] Simply post the name of who you'd like to vote for in this thread.[/size]
[/quote]



[size=4]Here is your chance to make some dosh so Ped can eat tonight.[/size]
[size=4]Set up a phone or text vote - A flash vote even.[/size]
[size=4]The last two can have a 'Write Off'.[/size]
[size=4]Then the one with the least votes has to write two pieces for next month (In a day) [/size]

Edited October 31, 2013 by lowdown

[discreet]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1383214581' post='2261558']
[size=4]The last two can have a 'Write Off'...[/size]
[/quote]

That's an unfortunate term.

[lowdown]

[quote name='discreet' timestamp='1383214741' post='2261562']
That's an unfortunate term.
[/quote]

[size=4] [/size]

[paul h]

Listened, voted, followed people,,,,sold a t-shirt

Awesome stuff guys. I might be tempted to embarrass myself next month

[Skol303]

[quote name='paul h' timestamp='1383235497' post='2261957']
Listened, voted, followed people,,,,sold a t-shirt

Awesome stuff guys. I might be tempted to embarrass myself next month [/quote]

Cheers Paul! If you voted by posting a comment on SoundCloud then please message me here with your choice of favourite so I can update the scoresheet. Not our usual way of going this but I'm compensating for a... err... 'technical hitch'

Look forward to having you involved!

[Skol303]

The results are up! See the first post in this thread.

We'll be launching November's competition as soon as we hear from Zenitram with an image...

[xilddx]

Congratulations Zenitram! Yours was my favourite, lovely work that i really enjoyed

[Dad3353]

Congratulations, Zenitram, on a worthy win against very strong contenders. You nearly even got [i]my [/i]vote..! A big hand for the other entries, folks; none out of the running, a very closely run race.
Skol303 can relax (slightly...) now, as his magnificent 'run' has been broken at last, which only goes to show the level displayed here.
Onwards and upwards..? Now looking forward to the next photo. Come along, all and sundry, don't be shy. See what you can come up with (yes, even modest contributions are very welcome...). It's great fun.
Well done again, all.

[Skol303]

[quote name='Dad3353' timestamp='1383267477' post='2262496']Skol303 can relax (slightly...) now[/quote]

Amen to that! I'm taking early retirement... nah, just kidding.

Very good entries this month. In fact I say that pretty much [i]every[/i] month with sincerity.

Good work everyone.

[Roland Rock]

Congratulations Zen, a very worthy winner.

[Bilbo]

I nearly did it!! Well done, Z. Get that new picture up! I have a half hour free tonight

[lowdown]

Great stuff Zenitram (you got my vote)
Hit the feel for the pic spot on for me.

Well done to all, some good stuff up there.

[EliasMooseblaster]

Congratulations, Zen - a well-deserved win, if a very close one!

[the boy]

Well done Zen great tune.

[discreet]

[quote name='lowdown' timestamp='1383290582' post='2262552']
Great stuff Zenitram (you got my vote).
[/quote]

+1

[Zenitram]

Thanks everyone. It's a funny thing, really, because of the following, which I hope will encourage others to think about having a go:

1. Apart from the drums, [b]I can't actually play [/b][b]an instrument[/b]. Seriously. I have various synths and keyboards (and a bass, which I can't play), and I know a few chords, but that really is it. No formal music education, training, knowledge of theory, nothing. I can't sit at the piano (or bass, or guitar, or anything else) and play a tune.

2. My track doesn't really have a tune. It just about has two chords, I think (D and G, old favourites), but that's it. Wishy-washy non-committal nonsense, really.

3. It doesn't have a bassline. Well it didn't until about two hours before the deadline, when I realised I should make a stab at something, so I recorded a couple of bits and buried them deep within the mix, as I didn't like them. Any bassiness is from a piano.

4. It was produced and mastered (or engineered, or whatever the word is) on very cheap headphones. I bought them for a tenner from someone on here. Though I was checking the mix every now and then on fancy-dancy B&W speakers and some small, cheap, old Yamaha MSP3 monitors, which stopped me overdoing some major compression and reverb boo-boos. Just about, anyway.

So, er, there you go; it can be done, with not much equipment and even less knowledge and talent.

For the technically minded, I produced the track entirely in Reason 7, and eventually processed everything so much I actually ground my crappy PC to a halt (the only thing I could do was export to wav to listen to it!). On the various sound sources (samplers, synths, etc.) I used 5 filters/gates, 4 EQs, 11 dirt/distortion units, 4 reverbs, 8 delays, a fair bit of pitch-shifting and time-stretching on the vocal samples and, oddly, only one compressor, but I took a lot of care in automating the volume and EQ of almost all tracks, so I suppose it didn't need much. Then I exported one main file into Reaper to apply some more EQ, some more volume automation and some mastering compression (just a preset from a plug-in), which I paired with another file of the vocal bit at the end that sat outside the mastered mix to give it a bit of life.

That's what I can remember doing, anyway.

Thanks again. I've chosen a pic for the next one, which will appear in a thread at some point, I'm told.

[Skol303]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1383320893' post='2263179']It was produced and mastered (or engineered, or whatever the word is) on very cheap headphones... entirely in Reason 7[/quote]

A hearty slap on the back from another headphone-wearing Reason user

Job well done. I'll be posting up November's thread any minute now... (drum roll please).

[Dad3353]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1383320893' post='2263179']
Thanks everyone. It's a funny thing, really, because of the following, which I hope will encourage others to think about having a go...[/quote]

Congratulations are due, despite the apparent modesty coming through here. Encouragement for others..? I certainly hope so, as I strive to heave myself up to your giddy heights. If this was a challenge about bass-playing proficiency, I'm afraid it would have to be without me (in fact none of my own efforts so far have had any real bass whatsoever in them; I've not yet sorted out how to plug her in..! ).
What seems to count is the patience and self-critical listening one can muster. I would imagine that, given more sophisticated technical means, the result could be bettered, but the key elements are already there. Well done, sir; to me your entry was up with the 'Peter Gabriel's of this world, and thoroughly enjoyable.
I would just add that I didn't, in fact, vote for you this time, as I preferred another. This does not detract from the obvious merits of your result. Keep on churning out 'rubbish' of this nature and you'll go far.

[Skol303]

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/topic/221237-november-composition-competition-just-launched/"]November's thread is now up.[/url]

Go, [size=5]go[/size], [size=6]go....![/size]

[paul h]

Congrats Z

[lurksalot]

Well done Z , an excellent piece . now I'm off to see the pic you have offered up

[discreet]

[quote name='Zenitram' timestamp='1383320893' post='2263179']
That's what I can remember doing, anyway.
[/quote]

Thus proving that it's easy to over-think music. Too much analysis can wreck the vibe.
On the other hand there's a lot of stuff on YouTube which could definitely have done with more thought, so there y'go.

[AL-the-Bassman]

well done
when is novembers one coming out ?