Libre Music Challenge #33: Chiptune

Practical tips for recording, editing, and mastering.

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SpotlightKid
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #33: Chiptune

Post by SpotlightKid »

Feedback and general observations time:

A-Lin - TinkietPaGeRevien

  • Very pure sounds
  • Good, varying stereo placement of voices
  • Pitch slides used extensively. maybe even a bit too much?
  • Memorable tune
  • Simple but effective structure (sparse intro - main theme x2 - break-down - main theme (reduced bass) - main theme (full bass) - no ending!)
  • Abrupt ending is really a pity, one more repetition of the main theme or a variation of the intro again would have been enough to round out the song.
  • WTH is the title about?

Spotlight Kyd - Catch Me If You Can

  • I made extensive use of the (emulated) C64 filter. Consequently, everything except the main lead is a bit too muted, maybe.
  • I used a bit crusher on many of the voices to give a lo-fi vibe, but I think I should have used it only on 1 or two sounds.
  • In the slow bridge section the accompaniment/bass is a bit boring / conventional.
  • Though I do like the main melody (I came up with it making a demo on my Yamaha MODX at the start of composition phase - audio here), I now think that the call-response section in the middle is the best part.
  • Did anyone notice the "Living on a Prayer"-missing-beat-trick? :)

athornvoices - chipinmybrain

  • A few "computer bleeps" and some aimless, isolated square wave melodies do not make a chiptune.
  • I think the concept of having a chip in your brain, manifesting itself as synthetic sounds, which drive you mad, has potential, but it is not executed well enough here to make a coherent, compelling story or piece.

cieciu - cheap tuna tin

  • Very minimalist in sound design, structure and musical elements.
  • Has the typical bleak atmosphere that cieciu seems to gravitate towards.
  • Kudos for going the 90s Soundblaster FM route. But it could be argued that, though this is related to the chiptune genre, its a different thing.
  • I could see this work as part of a larger suite of game level background music, but on its own it is not very memorable.

sg75 - chiptune2whitenoise

  • Not sure whether I would classify this as chiptune. Let's call the genre "industrial chiptune" ;-)
  • On the first and second listen I didn't like it at all, but listening again after a few days I think it is interesting as an experiment in designing and developing a sound landscape and it has a clear progression.
  • So, maybe a clever evasion of the limits imposed by the challenge theme, but still feels a bit like a cop-out to me.
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Re: Libre Music Challenge #33: Chiptune

Post by asublin »

Here are my comments:

  • A-Lin - TinkietPaGeRevien: The title comes from the French "T'inquiete pas je reviens" ("Don't worry I come back" in English). I made this song as I was preparing to leave for a trip and my wife was expressing her worries, therefore the title. That also explains the abrupt ending, I was short in time. The chorus was mostly luck, the first part came upon me all at once, for the second part of the chorus I had to do a bit of musical search but the whole thing fell rapidely in place. The verse however took me a long time, hours of musical search. It's never easy to find a verse that is distant yet coherent with the chorus. Then, as I was tracking the verse I realized Zynayumi was missing a pingpong arpeggio, so I had to go back to coding.

  • Spotlight Kyd - Catch Me If You Can: Nice composition as usual, nice mixing of chiptuneness and human performance. I like the chiptune-ish noises used as percusion. The composition is solid overall, the only place that felt weird to me was from 01:51 to 01:53, as if the resolution (or the meaning on the hindsight) came too late. After a few more listening I accepted it though.

  • athornvoices - chipinmybrain: interesting concept song with funny lyrics. A bit barebone though.

  • cieciu - cheap tuna tin: excellent atmosphere. Would fit a remake of Flackback: The Quest for Identity.

  • sg75 - chiptune2whitenoise: THAT is a concept song! Very interesting dissonances. Love the second part with the rapid arpeggio and weird effects. Sonically very well put together.

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Re: Libre Music Challenge #33: Chiptune

Post by SpotlightKid »

Here's a friendly monthly reminder to post the results of LMC # 33, now the voting period is over! :)

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Re: Libre Music Challenge #33: Chiptune

Post by bsg75 »

A-Lin - TinkietPaGeRevien
Uplifting, energetic and hooky. I am not sure about the intro. I would have gone all in and started the song around 0:40.

Spotlight Kyd - Catch Me If You Can
Approved chiptune for an 80ies arcade game. Nice call and response structure. Perhaps a little overuse of laser sounds.

athornvoices - chipinmybrain
Crazy effect sections, but not really a song.
My fav at 1:13–1:26: 2D gaming vibes :)
The last part reminds of my childhood in the 80ies.
Was this the sound at the lowest FM frequencies in the radio??

cieciu - cheap tuna tin
Tasty arps at 1:29.
Not so much a fan of the clicky, massive subbass.

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Re: Libre Music Challenge #33: Chiptune

Post by nyxeles »

The event concludes.
And the winner is... @SpotlightKid !

1. [22] Spotlight Kyd
2. [21] A-Lin
3. [21] sg75
4. [13] cieciu
5. [12] athornvoices

The scoreboard can also be found on this webpage: https://lmc.nyxkn.org/results/33

For a breakdown of all the votes, see the attached spreadsheet. You can also find the spreadsheet on github

Thanks to everyone for participating! And see you all in the next one :)

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