Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by rghvdberg »

quick update : I'm lagging a bit due ... well life
I'm getting things ready for voting as we speak
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by rghvdberg »

submissions https://archive.org/details/libre-music-challenge-3
please rate the tracks
fill in this simple sheet and post your scores here, or dm if you like.

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |        |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by SpotlightKid »

As a reminder, from the rules:
Each person that enters the challenge must score all other tracks with a score from 1 to 5.
And everybody can submit scores, not just participants!
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by SpotlightKid »

Here are my ratings and some remarks on each track (except mine). These are as written straight down while listening to each tracks for rating it. Please forgive me, if they are sometimes a bit harsh, but I believe it is better to be honest than boring here.

Chris

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  B.Trance                   |   2    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a Groove |   2    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  My Digital Assistant       |   4    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |   5    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |   2    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.?                  |   -    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+

1.

* Nice soundscape in the intro, good balance between highs and bass
* Loses tension after bass enters, when organ comes in seems somewhat aimless
* I c an't guess which b.plugin were used
* I feel kind of dark wave vibe (good)
* Bell lead is also a bit meandering and a-rhythmic
* I don't like the cymbal sound
* Would be great with some distorted guitar, I think

overall: nice atmosphere, has some development but lacks proper tension curve.

score: 3/5


2.

* Reminds me a bit of early 90s Trance
* Needs some sounds to fill out the lower mids
* Sub-bass a bit exaggerrated
* Hardly any development and only one motif
* I like the pluck sound
* Drums are punchy
* Missing some gimmicks like risers, drop, snare fills etc.

overall: interesting beginning but then a bit boring tbh

score: 2/5


3.

* Nice sidechain pumping effect
* Interesting overlaying of rhythmic patterns
* Piano too loud, IMHO
* Sometimes grooves along nicely, but then kind if stutters, which I find irritating
* Organ solo meh, was hoping for a longer synth solo at the end

overall: nice groove, doesn't get boring, but no direction

score: 2/5


4.

* Great start that grabs your attention
* Nice groove and mix of spanish harmonies with psychedelic guitar
* Great use of the B. plugins on vocal sample
* Mix could be thinned out a bit in the mid range.
* I was waiting for a pad or organ or similar for a climax during the solo.
* Drum beat a bit monotonous and too straight, could use some bounce.

overall: makes you tap your feet and bob your head, would have liked some kind of chorus

score: 4/5


5.

* Great drums, bass and guitar sound from the start
* First synth solo should have been mixed more to the forground (compare with guitar solo!)
* Great playing on all instruments
* Second synth solo sits better in the mix, great use of reverb automation
* Drums a bit too loud
* Nice shifts in style between vamping sections and solos
* Needs tambourine during the guitar solo - or a cowbell ;)
* Use of B.plugins restricted but effective!

overall: grooves as hell and excellent sound combined with a great sense of style, what's not to like?

score: 5/5


6.

* That clap starts to annoy after the first minute
* Nice syncing between vocal sample stuttering and synth arps
* Bass foundation missing
* One of better endings among all submissions, some others kind of fizzle out
* NASA samples too overused by others already, IMO

overall: technically solid, could be more adventurous artisticly

score: 2/5


7.

* No rating

overall: that was fun to make, I wish I could have used more B. plugins

score: -/5
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by obiwanke »

Just a matter of taste ;-)

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |   4    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |   5    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |    5   |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |   -    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |    3   |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
Funny challenge though...
@SpotlightKid: Thanks for the extra effort in explaining your decisions.
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by nils »

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |   1    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |   1     |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |   2     |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |   2     |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |   3     |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |   1     |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |   3     |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by jdfight »

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |   4    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |  ---   |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |   5    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |   4    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |   5    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
Here are my votes for the B.Excellent challenge. I have to admit I had a very difficult time scoring this - Everyone's entries were great and I thoroughly enjoyed listening to all of them. I just couldn't bring myself to give anyone less than a 3. Learning the new plugins and creating music with them was an achievement for all involved. I learned a lot from this challenge - and also learned about Geonkick from hearing the previous challenge entries. It was definitely a worthwhile experience.

@SpotlightKid I really appreciate hearing your feedback on the tracks. Thanks!
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by turbidh20 »

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |   2    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |   4    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |   5    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |   2    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
Well done to all entrants, some nice stuff there :D

As to the scores... well I appreciate all the work you've all put in but MyLoFy - BYourSlf was the clear winner for me. Of course my scores are just personal taste.
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by MyLoFy »

Great submissions everybody, that was b.excellent fun!

Here's my vote (including some remarks => thanks to SpotlightKid for bringing that up):

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |    3   | Fantastic beginning, looses a bit of energy after that
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |    4   | Great mix and sound design, missing some variation
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |    3   | Love the piano skills!
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |    5   | Very creative, cool guitars
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |    X   |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |    3   | got a pleasant artsy atmo
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |    4   | Neat composition, the stereo field is a bit unbalanced
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by lilith »

When is deadline for voting?
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by enorrmann »

Code: Select all

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
|   | Artist         | Track Name                  | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords  |  Strands                    |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann      |  b_trance                   |   x    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend         |  Improvisations on a groove |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight        |  MyDigitalAssistant         |   5    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy         |  BYourSlf                   |   4    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke       |  B.pollo                    |   2    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid  |  Wanna B.                   |   3    |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+

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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by lilith »

+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| | Artist | Track Name | Rating |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 1 | AnyThreeWords | Strands | 4 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 2 | enorrmann | b_trance | 3 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 3 | Erlend | Improvisations on a groove | 4 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 4 | jdfight | MyDigitalAssistant | 3 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 5 | MyLoFy | BYourSlf | 5 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 6 | obiwanke | B.pollo | 3 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+
| 7 | Spotlight Kid | Wanna B. | 4 |
+---+----------------+-----------------------------+--------+

1. Cool gothic / wave atmosphere. The HiHat is bit annoying. Mix is good, but there's room for improvement.
2. Overall quite nice, but the mix can be improved. E.g. the snare sounds boxy and some elements could stand out more from the mix.
3. Nice balanced mix and great piano playing!
4. Mix is quite good. All elements are nicely balanced.
5. Reminds me on CAN. Great mix!
6. There are some good old school techno elements in here. Beginning sounds a bit arbitrary. Sadly bass is not existent.
7. Love the synth in the beginning and the choirs. Great mix. Reminds me on Jean-Michel Jarre. I 'm missing some kind of climax though.
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by rghvdberg »

sorry for the long wait, but here are the results
MyLoFy is the winner. Congratulations!

Code: Select all

+-------------+---------------+----------+----------------+------------+----------+----------+---------------+
| Artist      | AnyThreeWords | enorrman | Erlend         | jdfight    | MyLoFy   | Obiwanke | Spotlight Kid |
+-------------+---------------+----------+----------------+------------+----------+----------+---------------+
| Track       | Strands       | b_trance | Improvisations | My Digital | ByourSlf | B.pollo  | Wanna B.?     |
|             |               |          | on a groove    | Assitant   |          |          |               |
+-------------+---------------+----------+----------------+------------+----------+----------+---------------+
| Total Score | 40            | 35       | 39             | 52         | 60       | 33       | 48            |
+-------------+---------------+----------+----------------+------------+----------+----------+---------------+
Big thanks to all the people who voted, it's highly appreciated.
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by SpotlightKid »

Congratulations to MyLoFy!

Will his track be played on unfa's channel, still?

And thanks for organizing the challenge, Rob!

Not sure, whether I will have time to participate in the next one, but I'll certainly do another one in the future.
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #3 : B.Excellent

Post by SpotlightKid »

SpotlightKid wrote: Wed Sep 09, 2020 3:34 pmWill his track be played on unfa's channel, still?
For those, who - like me - missed it, unfa did a live stream playing all the challenge submissions:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqumahsbbLY
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