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SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Winners announced

Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 07:46 CEST
by Mister Fox
Hello and welcome to the Songwriting Competition 36 - August 2020


This is the introduction post, where we directly link to the challenge corresponding files (theme, submission information, sponsors) and start of the voting process. There will be no Round 2.

Read more about this month's competition further down below.


 ! Bonus Info
Please get re-acquainted with the official "Rules and Guidelines" of the Songwriting Competition.
This particular Rule Book has been updated on 2020-JUL-31

The focus has shifted even further away from being strict with rules. Many paragraphs have been simplified. It has been made even more clear that you are able to edit your production until the deadline has been reached. There is also a higher encouragement to give feedback during the submission period, and after all entries have been sent in.

Please enjoy the new and improved Songwriting Competition.


Please take note of the following
  • Please consult the official "Rules and Guidelines" for the Songwriting Competition regarding principles of the game and upload/submission guidelines
  • IMPORTANT: please use the following naming convention for your productions (artist name = forum username):
    • SWC000_ArtistName_TrackName.wav and/or .mp3
  • IMPORTANT: if you only submit your production through Soundcloud, name your files properly prior to uploading and make the production downloadable. The forum can also convert your links into a Soundcloud player through the [soundcloud] BBcode from the text editor (orange square with a white cloud in it)



This post will be updated with the corresponding links as we progress, and of course the suitable thread headlines. So please watch this spot:


Submission Period: General Information and Sponsors
Cheat Sheet: A couple of examples / audio demos for this month's challenge (usually not available if genre is "Free to Select")
Voting: Summarized entries and start of voting process
Results of the Songwriting Competition: Results of the Songwriting Competition

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Sat Jul 25, 2020 09:14 CEST
by Mister Fox
CURRENT CHALLENGE - GENERAL INFORMATION

Time Frame: Saturday, 01st August 2020 to Monday, 24th August 2020 (24 days)

Challenge submission will end on 24-08-2020, 23:59 UTC+2/CEST (Germany) - until further notice.

Want to find out if you're still within the deadline, please consult the following options:
The Global Countdown on it's dedicated page or the countdown on the home page. You can also consult the World Clock at the top of the forum or alternatively the following tool - in this case please select "Berlin (Germany)" as location 1, and your location as location 2: Time and Date - World Clock Meeting Planner. We do post reminders via our Twitter account and Facebook page.



SONGWRITING THEME: Video Game Soundtrack - Race to the top
GENRE: Drum and Bass


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Image Source: Pexels, photo by Pixabay, released under Creative Commons CC0


A few word about this month's theme:
Staff (Mister Fox) wrote:Despite not having that much time throughout the week, I am quite fond of of sci-fi racing video games, and still do enjoy the occasional quick race ever so often to unwind. Throughout the years, I've played a lot of them: Hi-Octane, Slipstream 5000, Mega Race, the whole WipEout series, Extreme-G, F-Zero, Rollcage... nowadays games like "GRIP: Combat Racing", REDOUT, BallisticNG and even Formula Fusion/PACER. Although I have to admit, I've yet to play "Fast Racing" and all it's iterations (did you know that former license sponsor "Bjulin Waves" created the OSTs for that?).

One thing all of these games have in common, is an electronic soundtrack, often drifting more into Drum and Bass of various sub-genres. My fingers have been itching to tackle this genre for many months now, and I always tried to find the right spot. Why not this August? :thinking:



Imagine the following: (Premise)
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"An independent video game company is reaching out to electronic music songwriters all over the world.

This (fictional) company is currently in the process of creating a sci-fi racing game. It is (and will be) heavily inspired by racing games of old, has anti-gravity elements. The developers are still undecided on "battle" mechanics, but they want the game to be more on the more intense side of things, albeit not downright desolate and dystopian. The fictional time frame is the second half of the 21st Century (so 2050 to 2099) to early/mid 22nd Century (so 2100 until 2150) - with a definitely more grounded approach than "alternative universe high-end technology". The races are planned to play all over the world: on upgraded old race tracks and or specific test grounds, in metro cities, in the stratosphere (hovering cities), underground, cutting through dense forests, underwater canals, etc. Off-world is an idea, but the developers don't want to turn this into a space racing game. At least not yet. Each race should last about 3-4 minutes on default (5 laps), but can be set up to 100 laps.

The company is currently looking for songwriters for a high intensity, pumping soundtrack rooted in the Drum and Bass genre. They do not want to hear straight up "Dubstep" though, neither super intricate melodic Drum and Bass. The preference is to go more towards Hardstep, Darkstep and Neurofunk - but the devs have no problem with the occasional ambient/melodic mid-section, and maybe even some voice/vocal chops ever so often. A song length of 5-7 minutes is no problem for them to integrate, in fact, they even look forward to that.

Are you up to this challenge?"




Your task for this Songwriting Competition:
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This month, you can create a production in the Drum & Bass genre.

Most notably in the sub-genres: Techstep/Hardstep/Darkstep and Neurofunk

You can blend in some more melodic elements from Atmospheric Jungle and Jazzstep. But the focus should be on an aggressive bass, at bar minimum a hard hitting beat, less of a constantly "relaxed"/rolling ambient feeling. Don't fear the "Reese Bass" and occasional "Growls", don't fear the drums.

Heard of Goldie (especially his more hard hitting stuff)? Noisia (the Dutch trio that basically pushed "Neurofunk")? Dom & Roland? E-Z Rollers? Ed Rush & Optical? Erb N Dub? Spor? Full Kontakt? Yeah... just... don't turn this into "Anthem Drum and Bass" (Pendulum style "Remixes"), Ragga or "Laid Back" Drum & Bass (half time beats)


I'm looking forward to listening to your entries. :phones:

Songwriting Rule Summary / Add-On Rules:
  • create a production fitting to the given theme, genre and general premise
  • you can use any tool that is at your disposal (samples, virtual instruments and/or real instruments)
  • IMPORTANT: if you use non-licensed material (no royalty free material from sample CDs, etc), give full credit to the source material
  • do not go higher than -14LUFS ILk/-1dBTP in terms of perceived loudness (mastering). Music doesn't have to be squashed to bits in order to be impactful
  • for newcomers: no cover versions or remixes, no ripped acapella's
  • ADD-ON RULES:
    • <no add-on rules specified>

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Please take note of the official rules - they can be found at the following thread:
Songwriting Competition - Official Rules and Guidelines

Please address any OT question in the official Gossip thread:
Songwriting Competition - Gossip and Discussion

If you like what the Mix Challenge (community) has been doing in recent months:
Please consider supporting us

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SPONSORS (Prizes):

Prizes for Songwriting Challenge participants:

Note: All licenses are NFR (Not-For-Resale), except where noted.
Changes to available prices on short notice may be possible and will be announced separately.


RECURRING LICENSE SPONSORSHIP:

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IK Multimedia is kind enough give away one license of MODO BASS to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on IK Multimedia: https://www.ikmultimedia.com


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Tone2 is kind enough to donate a license of Saurus2 to the winner (until further notice)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Tone2: https://tone2.com


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kv331 audio is kind enough give away a bundle of either SynthMaster 1+2 Bundle, or a freely selectable set of 3 SynthMaster Expansions
License will not turn into NFR, you need to have a kv311 audio user account in order to pick up Expansions
More info on kv331 audio: https://www.kv331audio.com


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JRR Sounds is kind enough give away any-1 sound sets or sample set of winner's choice (exception: Bundles)
More info on JRR Sounds: https://www.jrrshop.com/jrr-sounds


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Luftrum is kind enough give away either a license of Lunaris, or any 2 sound sets of winner's choice (exception: Bundles and Nano Electronics)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Luftrum: http://www.luftrum.com


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Rekkerd Sounds is kind enough give away 1 sound set of winners choice (exception: Krezie EDM and Neurofunk Vol. 1)
License will turn into NFR
More info on Rekkerd Sounds: http://sounds.rekkerd.org/


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Ghostwave Audio (Vincent Bastiat) is kind enough to donate any 2 sound sets to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Ghostwave Audio: http://ghostwaveaudio.com


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Hollow Sun is kind to donate one license of "Music Laboratory Machines - The Suite I" to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hollow Sun: http://www.hollowsun.com


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Hornet Plugins is kind enough give away one license from the depicted tools (see image) to the winner
License will turn into NFR
More info on Hornet Plugins: http://www.hornetplugins.com


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Sound / Graphic Designer, and honorary Mix Challenge staff satYatunes is donating one commercial product of winner's choice (until further notice)
More info on satYatune's page: http://www.satyatunes.com/





THANKS FOR THE DONATIONS!
And also a thank you to all former contributors as well.

If you want to sponsor content (please have a focus on instruments, samples and sound sets), please get in touch with the Mix Challenge staff.

Please spread the word of the challenge on social media.
For example with our dedicated Twitter Account or Facebook Page

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Good luck to all participants.
And most importantly, have fun!

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Mon Jul 27, 2020 02:35 CEST
by Mister Fox
AUDIO EXAMPLES:
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Articles and Info Pages:

A great starting point is the (new) "Addendum"/Supplementary thread for the Songwriting Competition
Songwriting Competition - Addendum: Music Maps and BPM Charts

But also:

https://music.ishkur.com/ (Ishkur's Guide to Electronic Music)
As usual, this guide is a great helper. Please take a closer look at "Drum and Bass", most notably Darkstep, Techstep and Neurofunk (although taking a peek at "Jazzstep" and "Atmospheric Jungle" to get some inspiration is fine as well)

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drum_and_bass




Tutorials (selection):
In The Studio with Noisia: Part 1 – Martijn van Sonderen on creating Reptilians (from Future Music Magazine, August 2016, notice the use of Izotope Trash as distortion device)
Producer Masterclass | Metrik | Part 1 of 2 (from Computer Music Magazine, August 2019, notice the more melodic "bass" sound creation)
Masterclass | Erb n Dub - Track breakdown "Punk Rock" (video from dBs Music School, 2018)
Icicle designs DnB beats from scratch - Part 1 of 2 (video from Computer Music, November 2016)
ARTFX - Basics of Drum & Bass drum patterns (covers basid drum patterns)
Glitch Kitchen #5 - Neuro Bass (also check out the "Neuro Bass Theory" workflow chart in the Youtube Dooblidoo)
ERB N DUB - SERUM TUTORIAL (DNB BASS) (Erb N Dub showing how to create a "DnB Bass" all inside of Xfer Serum - but the same principle applies for "more basic synths" with external processing, see below)
Venus Theory - My Best VSTs for Neuro Bass (video showing off various synthesizers that are "not Serum or Massive", and what you can do with them in terms bass sound creation)
Venus Theory - Square/Saw Neuro Bass! (Neuro // DnB) (tutorial for Square/Saw based Neuro bass, with a "simple" synthesizer and post processing, in this case, 3-OSC Steinberg Retrologue 2)
Venus Theory - Xfer Serum vs. Retrologue 2: The Final Battle (tutorial for "Future Garage", but Reese creation is the same for Neurofunk, supplement to previous two videos)




Music examples (selection - the majority of these tracks are more hard hitting and less melodic):

Ed Rush & Optical - Satellites (1998, more leaning towards Techstep)
EXODUS - Noisia & Mayhem ft. KRS One (2007, Noisia never shied away of using long atmospheric intros or using very creative sound snippets to create something boombastic)
Fourward - Fury (2009, more melodic Techstep)
Spor - Kaori (2010, sampled/lifted samples from the 1988 released "Akira" movie soundtrack, most notably Geinoh Yamashirogumi's - "Requiem")
Black Sun Empire & Noisia - Feed the Machine (2012)
Tantrum Desire & Matrix & Futurebound The Shadows (2015, among the most melodic examples in this batch, more Twostep/Jump up, but lots of "bass growling")
Black Sun Empire & State Of Mind - Bad (2015)
FAST Racing NEO - Willard Mine (2015, video game soundtrack, goes more towards Big Beat)
FAST Racing NEO - Mori Park (2015, video game soundtrack, goes more towards Liquid Drum and Bass)
The Upbeats - Mediums (2016, the DE-EVOLUTION 2 album is more on the melodic side)
Spor - Figaro (2016)
Full Kontakt - The Creeper (2016, also on the "GRIP: Combat Racing" OST)
Royalston - Diorama (2017, also on the "GRIP: Combat Racing" OST)
Erb N Dub & DisasZt - Stop (2017)
Black Sun Empire & Pythius - Scarif (2017)
Mean Teeth - Nine Lives (2018)
Mizo - Trigger (2019, modern Neurofunk)
Metrik - Hackers (2019, while the track "Hackers" is more minimalistic, Metrik's main content is considered to be borderline "Anthem DnB"/Pendulum-style due to his inclusion of "Dance"-typical melodies, chords and vocals)
Pythius & Black Sun Empire - Kepler (2020)




Please also check in with the following thread in the the Gear Talk sub-forum, if you're on the look-out for new tools:
Free Tools, Samples and deals (collection thread)


Samples (selection):
BHK Samples - also offers free samples and presets. But please check in with the usage rights
ERB N DUB - take a look at the Free VST (which, unlike the Audio Assault version, features all samples), they are in the key of F. There is more content to be found on the page

Maybe also take a look at the content by Loopmasters (especially recommended to look at Ghost Syndicate and Octopus Sounds) and Zero-G, if you're in need for more drum samples. And let us please not forget the audio community for Drum & Bass: DOA - Dogs on Acid - you can find a lot of free content on "The Grid" (also see Google)



UPDATED: 23-AUG-2020 01:00 UTC+2 (sourcing content: 4 hours + 3 hours for the new addendum post)
A thank you to fellow Jorgeelalto to help source DnB samples

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Tue Aug 11, 2020 01:16 CEST
by Mister Fox
A friendly reminder:
Including today, 14 days left to submit your production.


So far, we have no entries. Please spread the word about the Songwriting Competition.

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 13:13 CEST
by Square
Hey mr fox, im working on it and trying to get a bit of interest from others, but heres one confirmed at least ^^

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 18:01 CEST
by Mister Fox
Looking forward to the entries :phones:

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Fri Aug 14, 2020 20:25 CEST
by functionform
You outdid yourself with the links this month. Learned a lot already!

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Tue Aug 18, 2020 03:45 CEST
by Mister Fox
A friendly reminder:
Including today, 7 days left to submit your production.


So far we have 0 entries. I'm curious who will break the ice first. :thinking:

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2020 10:04 CEST
by Richard Watashi
SWC036_Richard Watashi_Ok Kill Me

DAW: FL Studio

Effects: Mostly stock distortions, reverbs, delays, compressors, eq's and some other. SOme freebies like CMD Bitrusher.

Plugins:
Stock Ibanez
Slayer
Minisynth
3 OSC
Beemap
FPC

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1gLEsbF ... sp=sharing >>> googledrive

enjoy, if you can.

Re: SONGWRITING COMPETITION - SWC036 August 2020 - Submissions until 24-08-2020 23:59 UTC+2/CEST

Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2020 14:42 CEST
by canese
Hey, Jilliam, file doesn't exist on dropbox link and the other one is not public