Congratulation to all participants, really strong entries this month.
What I learned this month:
I´m more efficient for SWC when just starting right before deadline, not spending more than a few hours for everything
I think this month showed that I´m pretty much done with producing „lofi hip hop“ myself
I´m happy that I produced the instrumental in the first place and than came up instantly with the groove, so I just recorded 2 drum takes overall
I wish the TD 17 had multi outs, I didn´t had the time to record every single element
I had clear criterias for my top 5:
-No lofi hip hop (because I started this whole music journey as beat maker long time ago, I´m pretty tired of this genre)
-Not too much „happy/cheesy“ vibes
-No simple loop, please tell a story instead
Arelem:
Nice atmosphere, I like the vibe. Good sound choice.
I have to admit I was a bit surprised when I heard the beat on my main speakers. I couldn’t hear any bassline on the cell phone speakers so I thought „yeah, nice beat“. But the surprise on the main speakers was the bassline which I must say is out off key. Your bass notes are E A D, but your scale is G#, which was also detected in Scaler 2 (you would definitely benefit from this tool in your arsenal, I can´t live without it anymore).
The mix is well balanced, each element has its own space and the track is really enjoyable. The only real thing is that off-tune bass. I think I have something for you, will send it to you.
Overall good entry. This one would definitely be on my list (with a fixed bassline).
KukoBass:
I like the musical idea behind it, your entry has a nice and warm atmosphere and the song structure is clear, it is easy to follow. The song writing is good, the instrumentation is on point and the flow is great.
Overall it is a really good entry, there are just 2 things which I want to point out. Most instruments sound a bit cheap, especially that AAS strum guitar. I think swapping the sounds with some major company vsts would really lift this whole entry to a higher level. Another thing is the static mix and the masking from the bass. I´m missing a climax mix-wise, the whole entry is pretty even in dynamics.
I think this entry fits to a lot of themes, so this would be on my list.
Doc Jon:
Yeah, this is cheesy in the good old „YouTube“ way. Very good entry overall, but personally, I don´t like this funny/cheesy style of music. I still acknowledge your entry, I know many people would pick this as their music. Perfect instrumentation, really good sound choice. The vibe is extremly friendly overall, very playful. I think of videos with modeling clay or something.
The mix is well balanced and has a nice energy. Each element is easy to locate and nothing stands out. It is a catchy tune with an easy melodical structure.
Only thing I have to complain is the saxophone, it sounds a bit fake in context and I can hear some overlapping notes.
I´m not sure if I would pick this is as background music, but like I said, I KNOW this is really good.
lxm.labxmusic:
Hello,
Very nice first entry on this platform, congratulations. Cool lofi hiphop beat, reminds me of Freddy Joachim a bit. Everything fits pretty good together. Nice drums, tasteful bass, playful keys and enough room between the notes. This could be easily played on every lofi channel. This is really that basic beat you would expect. I like that it sounds sampled, great work here.
Here is my point, it sounds too perfect. I think hip hop is where you coming from. I don´t want to offend you here, don´t get me wrong. I just think you were not really leaving your „comfort zone“.
In the hip hop universe you will definetly finde me on the jazzy/soul side, so I think a Neo Soul remix would be perfect for me. I really would like to know if you can produce other genres than lofi hip hop.
If I would pick this a background music? I don´t think so because I´m really tired of lofi. But I still must give you props for your first entry. Very professional sound.
VCA-089:
Man, I just love this shit! Excellent vibe and atmosphere, nice theme and overall great sound choice. I really like the mix of different flavors, everything fits perfectly together. It is modern and retro at the same time. And the highlight for me is that B part, wow!
That special effect at the end is amazing, the beat disappears behind a wall or so, I really like that!
That YouTube version sounds like crap compared to the wav, what a huge difference. Still, I think the drums and the bass are bit too squashed, I can hear some slight distortion. Less compression would be nice, even though the roughness and distortion give it some type of character. I think it is just a little bit too strong.
This would be my first choice as background music! Well done.
JeroenZuiderwijk:
This is definitely on the wildside of the multiverse. This reminds me of some pacman or bomberman music.
I´m very sensitive to harmony and dissonance and what annoyed me was the bassline and your melodical structure and chord progression. After 02:07 you changed the bass notes/inverted D-E, so that the bass goes down instead of up, and all of a sudden everything fits together and the chord progression starts to make sense. At first, it sounded more like random music to me because I didn´t realise that you played the exact same bass notes just an octave above.
Overall sound choice is really good, the mix is balanced and clear. I totally understand the mood and the vibe, but I don´t think this fits as background music for a DIY video.
EsteveCorbera:
Interesting entry, very atmospheric and calm scenery. Reminds of „Europa Park" theme park music. Sound selection is good, mix is balanced and each element is easy to locate.
I´m sure, some would pick this as background music, but for me this is too static and steril emotionally. It stays in that „happy“ vibe all the time and the chord progression is very narrow, there is no big jump between two chords, just simple 2nd intervalls between your chords. This is „too simple“ to digest for my musical ear.
FallenAngel:
I don´t know why, but the name Axel Foley comes to my mind… Or was it Ciara „1-2 Step“? Kelis „Milkshake“?. In a way this reminds me of the early-mid 2000s hip hop era. The sound selection is good, everything fits together. The melody is very catchy and easy to remember.
I defintely can hear the effort and the work behind this, even though it seems more simple overall. You really tell a story with this entry, you have different parts and the energy keeps rising until the climax, and to finish a little cool down section. Great! There is a nice structure behind the production. The mix is also pretty much balanced, except those tom hits and the second synth lead you added to the main synth. The mix gets busy because of these and therefore it is a hard to locate each element. Maybe some panning and/or phase management could help as your mix almost completely collapses in mono.
Another thing I´m missing are chords, you literally played every instrument monophonic so that there is only one note per instrument at the same time. I really love rich, dense and strong harmonics such as min9 and maj add 13 chords. So, I´m not sure you did this on purpose.
If I would pick this as background music? No, it is a little bit too simple, but I still can hear the potential. Good work overall.
FixInTheMix:
Classic lofi beat, relaxed atmosphere and nice vibe overall. Like I said before, I can´t really enjoy lofi hip hop beats anymore because I made so many of them in the past. But I like beats with something special like you playing a nice solo with the funky guitar and the keys. Also the scratch fx is very good and sounds „legit“. You made „standard“ lofi hip hop a bit more unique, which I´m really missing in this genre these days. The mix is balanced, every element has its own place. This also sounds like it was sampled, great work with this.
The only thing I have to complain about is the very simple bassline, a little bit more funk and some short octaved staccato notes would fit better I think.
I wouldn´t pick this as music simply because I find lofi hip hop boring, but I still have to give you props for this entry. Very good work overall.
Canese:
Nice atmosphere and great vibe overall. I didn´t expect something like this, I thought this would end in lofi hip hop. Great sound choice, I really love the Arturia sound, this is why always use them as well, the V Collection is awesome.
I like the energy, it has something relaxing but there is still a lot of drive which pushes me forward. This reminds me of some fantasy saga, it sounds really heroic.
The mix is more on the weaker side, those string elements are very hard in the upper frequency range. The elements are fighting for space in the mix since you used lots of plucky bell sounds and strings + reverb (and delay if heard correctly). On top, there is some granular fx or tape hiss in the background. Overall, the elements are not so easy to locate, your mix has some difficulties when listening in mono. The sound is a bit harsh overall.
But I like your entry, this would be on my list.
► Show Spoiler
Voting:
1st VCA-089
2nd Arelem
3rd KukoBass
4th Canese
5th Doc Jon
I hope this helps!
Greetings