One Hour Compo - Round 756 (OHC756)
Votes (7)
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twilight years
coloradoweeks -
the cadence of eternity
cotmm68030 -
everywhere is the center of the universe
NickC
Cotmm86030 got very cosmic.
NickC slipped in just before the deadline to get something more upbeat, but well-themed.
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Aeon
DDRKirby(ISQ) -
Krossing my Galactic Heart
Koekepan -
twilight years
coloradoweeks
DDRKirby - Once again, you managed to conjure up some serious sound wizard space magic with this one! Love how the sounds flow, and all the depth! Very well composed. Thanks for always being an inspiration!
Koekepan - I'd say going strictly by the theme, this one absolutely nailed it. I am reminded of quiet nights backpacking under star-filled skies. Beautiful ambiance here. You really painted a scene with this one!
coloradoweeks - Absolutely a kickass tune! You are a stellar vocalist! If you aren't in a band already, I'm sure you would do great in one. Or if these compos are any indication, you could just be your own band! Love the edgy punk sound of this track, only wish you had enough time to make a full-length song out of it!
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twilight years
coloradoweeks -
Atmosphere
Meistr -
Under the sky
Lyra_183
I have Gas
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Cycle And Rotation
Misael.K -
The Furthest Star
Xanthos -
the cadence of eternity
cotmm68030
@Arcana - I have a habit of using Synth 1 a lot, that might be why lol.
@Mister Fox - Rest and get well soon dude!
@Xanthos - Thanks, tried my best to emulate the sort of Orchestral styled build ups for this.
@Mister Fox - I mean if your head hurts, you don't want to be exposed to loud noises, it sort of makes it worse.
@Koekepan - I mean i really don't pay much attention to these things, even though i probably should, but i can't help it when i have an hour and 30 minutes to make something and submit. It already takes me 60 minutes alone to get the composition down, let along even mix it, all whilst doing this at 2 in the morning UK time. So all these problems do get picked up after submission, not during. But so far that seems to be the only issue, so that's good.
@Mister Fox - Bang on. I mix on headphones for extremely obvious reasons. Not gonna start blasting music at 2am, so here we are.
@Arcana - And this is where problems can occur in regards to how the track is mixed, as it boils down to one thing: Each listener has their own perspective. There is no correct way to mix, as it might sound beautiful to you, but completely wrong/off to another person, which is what the beauty of music is. It's a universal language each with it's own regional dialects. Some shared, others completely unique. Damn i just got philosophical there lol.
@Koekepan - I find mixing on Headphones underrated, especially when you own a pair of good ones. It's great because you don't have to rely too much on room tone, so the clear discrepancies between lo, mid and hi are more obvious, which to me makes it easier to get a good baseline mix. But if you want a more straightforward answer, my house is not detached, and my neighbours are unfortunately elderly, so i can't really play speakers in it. Still though, each persons opinion is just as valid as the last, so it's all good.
@Misael.K - Yes, that is a timpani.
@Xanthos - Exactly. With the amount of technology created, each device has it's own sound parameters, so no mix will sound the same regardless of device.
@Misael.K - Thanks, i have my go to sounds, for a lot of these tracks.
@Mister Fox - Again though you have to remember, that all listening devices are different, so whilst it's good to have a service help with mix and mastering, it won't create a universally agreed upon mix. I could use that service, and my mate using a car stereo or a old Hi-Fi system could still point of discrepancies in regards to the mix. Also not everyone has the same hearing. (Which is actually a important distinction. People assume everyone's ears are the same, not entirely true.) Even though i make loud and fast musical genres, i actually have sensitive hearing, so i cannot endure a very loud band in a small venue, in the same way others can, so this affects my music making a little. I could listen to something on a Hi-Fi system and say it's too quiet, whilst my friend says it's fine, and doesn't seem to hear any problems. At the end of the day, this is just my opinion, so i'm not assuming anything, but it's sort of something to take into account.
@Xanthos - Thanks for this honest and kind comment. Much appreciated.
@Koekepan - I mean there's always room for learning, if you feel like there is any area that you are lacking in, and want to learn more about. It's how we grow as creators and musicians.
@Xanthos - Headphones are just as good of a tool than Speakers to use when mixing. In compo i really do not care about how it's mixed, i just want to make a composition that sounds like a composition, regardless of it's creation. Yeah i know i bang on about mixing touches when commenting in the voting, but there are moments where i listen to the track, that i know needs a bit of mixing, but i still give it exceptionally high marks/put it on the top 3, because the composition was awesome, and the way it was crafted didn't warrant any attention needed for the mix. However at the same time, they're tracks that might have awesome melodies, but feels let-down by it's potential because of a well noticed unpolished mix. This is where the Mix really matters in regards to the integrity of the composition, and also propels the composition further. In rare cases the track is not only well produced from a compositional point of view, but is also extremely exceptionally mixed as well, to the point where the track sounds like a completed product. There are cases where the composition itself outweighs the need for any full on mixing (Which is a lot of the time, what i take into account when voting). Anyways i'm waffling, hope you got something useful out of this!
@Everyone - Thanks for the kind words, this turned out to be a mini discussion of sorts!
Now then...
TheVideoGamer - This track is 1 single chord progression throughout the whole 6 minutes. No changes, nothing. The only thing that is different is the rhythm, everything else is the same. We have it arpeggiated with a slightly kalima-ish styled synth, in static form, using pads and choir sounds, in the form of a stabbed piano, also in the form of a keyboard sound, and lastly in the form of a triplet using a mix of Pizzicato and a Synth Key sound. It does build-up and release in it's runtime, almost in some kind of epic symphonic way. Although orchestral music wasn't on my mind when making this, i did borrow some techniques in that style, to make something kind of epic and grand, like some climatic ending. Maybe could even fit a documentary almost? The goal was to keep building and releasing in a dynamic journey, even in spite of the waveform or the sounds. The ending is where it's at it's most loudest, also with the inclusion of a distorted beat. Kind of like Orchestral Drums or a Timpani maybe. All in all, it's a fun dynamic piece, with a nice simple chord progression, glad you enjoyed it!
Meistr - You must have not had a lot of time this week, to say you submitted early. Oh well, glad to see you've entered. I don't consume a lot of anime, so forgive me if i don't know this. The vocals are very cool, i love the effects in this, it's kind of meant for that anime style. Really nice build-up, really creates this future bass poppy vibe. Super fun and hyper. The drop is not the same volume as the build-up, there is a huge disconnect in the dynamics. Now you didn't really create this in OHC persay, and i gotten dunked on for doing this before, so i can't really vote for music not made in compo. But that being said, it's very tight in grooves, and in melodies. So it does need a bit of mixing, to really make it shine, and also perhaps adjust some of the dynamics so it really feels like were anticipating the drop, but at the moment i enjoyed it a lot, good job!
THEGREATDESTROYER22 - 5 minutes les goo. Great alien like sounds, you sound more like CotMM that CotMM has ever had lol. The drums are super sick, amazing grooves. Sounds just like a perfect mix of Oldschool drum machines and retro industrial distortion, great low end too. I do feel this is a 2 minute idea stretched out to 5 minutes persay, as it's kind of repetitive, and lacking dynamics. I read the chat to help influence my opinion, and a few do have the same opinion as me. I dig the piano in the second half, that really added to the tension, it's the start of an awesome idea. I loved the processing in the sounds, this could totally be turned into a symphony of industrial noises. Good job!
cotmm68030 - Haven't listen to all of the tracks yet, i'm only on the 3rd one, and already we are getting quite a few long plays in this (5-6 minutes). This is quite a pretty piece, with a lot of airy string textures, and a lot of deep wind sounds, distorted to hell. The track is part calming, part virtual reality. I feels like i'm locked in a box wearing nothing but VR goggles depicting a time-lapse of the mountains going through different time periods and seasons. It's very deep, really rattles my brain in a lovely way. It's not emotional or anything, but it's very pretty and calming, like a hint of sweetness to a overall sour dish. I feel the background strings are deliberate. It's like the SFX come first instead of the melody. Honestly it's actually beautiful, and one that i really would love to listen to for 10 minutes, super pretty stuff. So dope i gave this the 3rd spot, it was super unique and extremely theme accurate. Incredible work!
Lyra_183 - 2 more indeed. Looking forward to how you'll celebrate that. Lovely singing, the levels are perfect in this. I can hear dialogue in this, outside of your singing, that is actually kind of distracting lol. I'm sorry. Maybe relatives were over. It has a lot of potential, it's lovely. Maybe clean up the audio so we don't hear the random chattering in the background, but you still did great. Good job!
DarkShadow - Every week your waveforms just get louder and louder lol. It's actually a shock if one day you make ambient music haha. The melody is super fire in this one actually, although the dubstep lead in the 2nd half is probably a bit too intense for me. I feel like with dynamics this could lead to something awesome, i can left with a bit of a tiring feeling towards the end, sorry. Good job though!
Coloradoweeks - Lovely acoustic drums and rock guitar, sounds super grungy, lo-fi garage type rock. Everything sounds live, despite it probably not being (If it is, then damn...). The voice is amazing as always, your singing is just....damn. The distortion is quite intense in this, it's obviously deliberate as were meant to be in some kind of gig almost. At first it does feel off putting, especially with how lo-fi and maybe slightly loud it can get, but when the guitar melody and vocals come in, it turns it into some very epic. I sometimes feel the addition of a melody or vocal turns it from a bad mix into an awesome mix. (Which this is not a bad mix, please don't get that impression, it's an example). I mean at this point, i'm gonna give it to you, the melodies were fire, and the singing is incredible as always, awesome work!
Koekepan - The signature bell melodies of Koekepan return. Absolutely fitting for this theme, the pad sounds are super pretty. Totally reminds me of Vangelis. All of your music reminds me of Vangelis it's great. The different textures in the bell sounds, the dynamics in the pads, this is very pretty. I also didn't feel bored either, even with it's minimalism style, because the dynamics are just there. It's just such a lovely piece, with a lovely melody. I so wanted this to be on the list, but i can't, i only had 3 choices. If there was a 4th place this would be it. Amazing work!
Xanthos - Ooh nice guitar loop. It sounds like a loop, because it clips towards the end (Apologies if that sounds disrespectful). I love the chords in this, super 80's feel, great funky chords. Loving the space sounds, really turns it from a nice chill summer groove, into this awesome space like atmosphere that i absolutely love. I feel like we need more than claps, it takes us ages to get to a drop of some kind. If your gonna make this kind of music, i'd either add a lot of drums, or no drums. The lonesome clap is false promises for me. The synths are super pretty, i just love how you combine the very 80's funky synth, with the spacy atmospheric sounds, that make it sound like were on another dimension. The way you change the dynamics through gross beat is also sick. The only gripe is the lack of a tight beat, i was missing that punch. The melodies however, there was definately no shortage of them, and they all were fantastic. So this is an easy awesome section placement. The lack of drum beats didn't stop me from giving this the 2nd spot. Incredible work!
DDRKirby(ISQ) - Beautiful EP sounds, with that nice classic feel good DDR progression. Great drums, nice dynamic melody. It's got the makings of a classic DDR track, that i always love. In this case, the rich synth arps just make this super 80's inspired alongside the nice simple chord progression. The arps just make this space like and i love it, very theme fitting. Nothing else to say, it's just awesome production. Awesome work!
Dex - Great piano, has a lot of nice crispiness to the sound, a bit of a nice reverb. Great build ups here. Really loving the use of strings here, really adds a lovely orchestral flair. Prehaps a bit on the aggressive side, i feel you went too hard on the distortion, however i loved the melodies here, and the array of sounds. If you toned down the distortion and volume, this would awesome, but at the moment i still enjoyed it, so good job!
obScene - Lovely triplets here, that melody is very nice and bright, almost sounds robotic (Probably is to be honest). The use of the low C is always a lovely touch, for that deep impact. 52 seconds is way too short, so the real meat is cut short by the fadeout ending. So whilst i loved what i heard, i feel like i need more for me to give it a proper shot i'm sorry. Good job though!
Misael.K - Woow that is one hell of an chord progression. Damn you do make some of these super sick progressions, and this is no exception. The third usage here is also amazing. The space sounds really make this shine. The chords and melody is just beyond sick. You have such a way with chords that is kind of mesmerising. The melody is buried, but still sick. The whole thing could definately benefit from a mixing upgrade, but this is the case where the composition is so strong, that it outweighs the need for mixing, in the context of voting. Listened to it again, and i still can't get over how catchy it sounds despite the mixing touches. The excellent melody choices were actually enough for the top spot, incredible work!
NickC - Very nice and warm, lots of lovely fade in pads, and a nice summery haze to the sound. There were moments where you did your classic NickC move of adding in these weird notes that don't work, but they do. The bassline really sets it up for a nice off-beat house, but we end up with a breakbeat like thing, on static quarter notes. I love the distorted synths here, sounds close to a guitar in all honesty. It is missing a melody here, and maybe a few switchups to keep it from being a bit on the loopy side, but the pad is really the highlight here, I nearly considered giving this one, but i feel we have a lot of potential that could really make this shine. Still great though, good job!
JH Sounds - Has the classic space chord progression that i like. A minor to D Major. Really loving the melody in this, totally feels like it's setting up for some nice lyrics. Great fun, lots of cool changes, kind of pretty. Well done!
Arcana - I really like the semi-funky RnB vibes in this. You also nailed the space vocals in this. I know the theme isn't space, but so many people went this route, that i might as well call it space theme. The mixing is pretty good in this, although the vocals are pretty upfront in this, to the point where the rest is pushed back, specifically the melodies. The potential is strong here though, i really dug that melody, good job!
Top 3 - Misael.K, Xanthos, cotmm68030.
These entries also deserved a spot on the list. Choosing 3 is becoming impossible :(
Coloradoweeks
Koekepan (If there was a dedicated 4th place, this would be it. Choosing between you and CotMM was super hard...)
DDRKirby(ISQ)
Awesome - cotmm68030, Coloradoweeks, Koekepan, Xanthos, DDRKirby(ISQ), Misael.K, JH Sounds.
Needs Work - Meistr, THEGREATDESTROYER22, Lyra_183, DarkShadow, Dex, obScene, NickC, Arcana.
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twilight years
coloradoweeks -
Aeon
DDRKirby(ISQ) -
The Furthest Star
Xanthos
coloradoweeks: superb!!
DDRKirby(ISQ): sublime!
Xanthos: surprisingly chill.
Koekepan: spacey.
awesum: Arcana, coloradoweeks, cotmm68030, DDRKirby(ISQ), Dex, Koekepan, Meistr, TheVideoGamer, Xanthos.
good: DarkShadow, JH Sounds, Lyra_183, NickC, obScene, THEGREATDESTROYER22.