One Hour Compo - Round 779 (OHC779)
Votes (7)
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free (tutorial) for all
coloradoweeks -
Day For Yourself
Arcana -
everywhen
cotmm68030
-
Don't Go
nukage -
My Broken Crown
DJohn -
everywhen
cotmm68030
Great vocal performances. Strong production.
I liked cotmm's variety of noise, it was super pleasant.
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My Broken Crown
DJohn -
Vote Jarski #1
Misael.K -
struggling
lunarice
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My Broken Crown
DJohn -
You've Got to Do It
JH Sounds -
All For Free
obScene
I've replied to the comments on Discord instead of my usual replies here, so i will proceed straight to the voting.
TheVideoGamer - My track was another find the samples challenge. Basically i went through the past 10 rounds in OHC (I tried to keep it to the past 10 rounds, or earlier so people would actually try and identify the samples. Sadly it still didn't work), scouring for samples to use in my piece. The samples form just about everything in the piece, with the only non sample materials being usually the drum work and the bassline. The task is to identify what you can, usually with either an artist name or a track name. It didn't have to be exact, just whatever you think is the closest. Hell saying a random username is probably good enough lol. But even if you didn't want to do that, or didn't feel like you had the knowledge to do so, or hell even if you didn't understand, i still got to make a piece out of past OHC entries, using the time limit, so i'm still utilizing a lot of creativity, and you still get to hear a fully constructed piece of music. The big difference is it's all samples. The track itself was designed to be a kind of Breakbeat "Prodigy" inspired piece, with lots of airy sounds, piano licks, and various synth noodles. It has a lot of similarities to the past few sample challenges, because i fell into my habit of sampling really tiny parts of the record, and mostly arranging them all so they become blurry. It probably also doesn't help i have soaked them in reverb as well. Still though, even if you didn't identify the samples, i still hope you enjoyed my work regardless. Answers are on the discord, although scrolling might be required). Glad you liked it anyways, it's time for the other entries.
Lyra_183 - Congrats by the way on your Audition! You are on your way to becoming the new Mariah Carey. Although be careful, Mariah Carey's voice is so powerful, she wouldn't survive well if she had to perform a concert in a skyscraper made out of glass haha. No but seriously, you guys in these compo's, definately put me to shame, since i can barely even sing on pitch. And i'm not even gonna work on that, because it will still sound like crap (And i can't anyways, for obvious reasons. Less i want to wake people up at 2am lol). No but in all seriously this is really dope singing! It's great to see you progress into making these full on acapella songs. This has a great melody in this, i'm feeling like giving you this one. (Side note: You left your telly on. Whoops lol). Audio suddenly cuts out, not sure if that's accidental. Well done!
JH Sounds - Ok what's happened here? JH Sounds is the 2nd entry? You usually are at the bottom 5, this is not normal lol. I love Fred Rogers, he's a national treasure, and i love this song. The piano is very....weird in this. It sounds like it's....quite static? It has a VST quality, but mixed with a room reverb. I'll probably be linked the video used (Unless i'm proven wrong, with pianoteq). This was a lovely cover, you nailed the feel. Definately put a smile on my face, and that was the reason i picked you 2nd! Amazing work!
DarkShadow - There isn't even a bassline in this, it's just one long sawtooth wave lol. This is some lovely DarkShadow chaos, but this time with more Arp's than normal. I must say i love the mix in this. It's not as overblown as your normal entries, and it has a break in the middle, which is always appreciate. FM synth at the end, was....a bit much for me, but this is DarkShadow after all. Nor my favourite from you, but good job!
cotmm68030 - Finally back to 6 minutes, and already i am spooked out. This is perfect video game music. Has a lot of reverb, and some super cool granular textures. You always surprise me with a lot of the sound sources you use, so i'm not surprised if you PM me saying this was some Garage Door that's gone faulty haha. What i also love is that despite it being a constant flow of sonic soundscapes, there is always new textures coming and going, so i always get something new throughout, instead of just a long simple drone. The changes were very neat, it's a great use of sound design. Nothing else to say, i really loved this. So wanted this to be on the list, but i can only choose 3. Awesome work!
Koekepan - That is a cool almost bitcrushed beat. Nice rhythms here, it sounds like a Polyrhythm, but when the bassline comes in it switches back to 4/4. The chords are quite microtonal, but still very pleasant to the ears. The melody is not as in your face as expected, it's more subtle, but i think it works to the advantage. I also love the chord changes here, it's probably the most complex Koekepan entry, in regards to the chord changes here (That's a good thing, not a negative one). So many cool additions, and lots of lovely different melody ideas, even whilst microtonal. I absolutely wanted this to be on the list so badly, but i can only choose 3. Awesome work!
Lunarice - I don't tend to have a favourable view, towards entries that barely just reach the 30 second mark, because it makes it super hard to write thoughts down, if there's so little music being provided. This is not a you thing, i apply it to everyone, even the regulars or veterans. I would also expect the same response if this was me submitting. But i do take your description into account, so i will offer some positivity, in that this is was banging techno like number, that could work in any set. Great mallet sounds, cool syncopated drums, and nice fade in fade out technique. Lots of potential to make it longer. Good job!
Dex - Ooh that is a nice synth sound, this is a very cool Madness inspired chord progression and movement. The synth lead kind of cuts some of the piano in my opinion, but this doesn't last long, as you do a 180 into some thick punk rock. The bassline in this seems to be an octave higher (Maybe 2 octaves even). I don't know if that's intentional, but i find it a bit...off. Normally you record it in a pretty low register so who knows. The synths took some while to adjust to, but when i did, i loved them. The 2nd synth melody around in the middle, that is probably closer to an EP sound, is quite sharp in the mix, but other than that the mix is actually pretty dope! Just needs some ironing out, but besides that good job!
DJohn - Dayyeeeviddd. Serenade me almighty one. That is a lovely ukulele progression (Or a really interesting guitar tone). It's a lovely emotional piece, that keeps things stripped back (Less is more in regards to the sound), with an incredible vocal (As you usually do). Singing is just incredible, and the guitar work is so...awesome. Great chord choices. This is just a wonderful pop song. It's close to completion. And this is precisely the reason why your my pick for the top spot, incredible work!
Misael.K - Shame Jarski didn't actually enter, it could have been awesome. Whatever 303 vst you've used, damn it's thicc. Misael.K isn't normally a techno head, so this is definately leftfield (But extremely welcome). Kick work is super punchy, and chord progressions were also lovely. Main melody was quite...jarring though. Almost pushed everything aside, demanded attention. The choice of synth for the main melody was also quite cutting, ate up a lot of the mix. But this does not make the track bad. The idea is lovely, but there is soo much scope for finesse to make it more awesome. I feel like were also missing a bassline besides the 303, to seal the deal. But it's still a great piece though, and definately a ton of fun, good job!
NickC - That is a nice guitar like sound, or is it a harp. Quite ambiguous. It seems like you are imitating obScene here. It sounds far from a NickC entry lol. (But saying that, you don't have a set style, you change from day to day). Lot of that classic NickC seasonings that really make it sing. You don't go just for salt and pepper. You like to add some turmeric and nutmeg into this, to really make it pop. I don't know what it is, i should hate it for it's dissonance, but know i love it! Lots of cool chord changes, and that flute is very pretty. Amazing piece here, so mad i cannot pick this for the list, but i'm already full with my options. Awesome work!
Nukage - Slow Nukage? I was expecting 150bpm and above, but this is 120 almost. This is not a bad thing, just unexpected. The vocoder effects at the beginning are lovely! (It's like turning an Autotune into a synth). Your vocal effects are insane too. Your voice is just wonderful, with all of these sweet effects thrown in. This one is very compressed compared to normal, but it's not loud surprisingly (Probably close to actually being too quiet lol). The mix is pretty awesome, just a bit of a slight gain boost, and it would be perfect. The idea and composition is pretty incredible to be fair. I don't know how you can do this in an hour. I can barely even do 1 minute of metal in this amount of time. Awesome work!
Coloradoweeks - So are these Improv lyrics? I didn't know what you meant by the description lol. Amazing chords, quite mellow. Drums is that classic Linndrum, but with some punch. I'm going through American times here. See even with all of the panicking going on, you still make actually catchy songs, whereas i just bang some notes into a riff, and then loop the crap out of it lol.
If you want to know what i do with my production time, then here we go. This is UK time, because that's what i know best:
2:00am - Look at the theme for 2 minutes, have an idea. Then go to the DAW and completely forget the idea i was gonna do lol.
2:05am - Draw random notes into Piano VST and playback.
2:10am - Don't have time to change ideas (Even if it sucks). Sod it, let's keep going.
2:30am - Throw in the same drum sounds i use every week. I'm stubborn so i won't change it. Even though it sounds crap in the end, i don't have time, so i won't change it.
2:50am - Nice finished loop bro. You have 40 minutes to go, and you haven't even arranged it yet.
3:00am - Deconstruct it, and then loop and build. Start from Kick, then Kick + Hi-Hat then Kick + Hi-Hat + Clap. Repetition legitimises. Pretend you've used your time wisely.
3:10am - Panic as you have only made 3 minutes of music, and you are trying to change a boring loop based piece into an even more boring loop based piece.
3:20am - 10 minutes left, and i'm panicking. Turn a 30 second ending, into a 2 minute one.
3:30am - Listen to my entry, and realise it's actually better than expected, but i still like to be grumpy and complain how crap it is.
All jokes aside, this is actually pretty hilarious. The vocals are a bit off volume wise at the beginning, but they catch up at the middle. I felt like you moved closer and closer to the mic, who knows (By the end, your almost clipping, but i think this is deliberate, who knows). Classic Colorado ending, where the sound doesn't fade out completely lol. Ton of fun, definately an awesome rating, absolutely made my week. I was so mad i cannot put this on the list, but i can only choose 3 for 1st, 2nd and 3rd. If there was a 4th place this would be it, because it's funny and relatable, but sadly there isn't. Amazing work anyways!!
obScene - Happy piano abound! Very pretty adventure feel. It reminds me of a song, that has this similar progression. I don't know if it was trance music or a VGM song, if i keep searching, i would be getting nowhere. Very cute and positive, and has a lot of wonderful dynamic changes. Great timbres too. Drums are interesting, i was assuming kick and snare almost electronic, but we has this light percussive tap, that kick of acts like a snare, but it isn't. Is it bad? No, but not what i was hoping for. Ending is also abrupt (Practically non-existent) Still though the whole thing was pretty and beautiful, and puts a smile on my face, wonderful stuff. So wonderful i put it on the third spot, amazing work!
Arcana - Tracker music is underrated. Never gets utilized as much. Honestly the vocals in this are wonderful, it's actually the piano that is out of tune (A world first). I know microtonal music is a thing, but the vocals are in normal tuning, so i don't know if this was deliberate. It definately sounds like you are getting used to this software, as we have 3 different keys going through each synth/instrument. All clashing as one dissonant texture. The track itself composition wise is great, but definately has potential for a lot more clean-up. Ironically the vocals were my favourite, perfect melody, lovely tuning and a really nice feel to the piece. Keep at it though, this is a great start, good job!
THEGREATDESTROYER22 - Kind of similar to what i do, in that if i don't make it to OHC, i use the image to make something in a similar time frame and post it to sharing off. I tend not to count these, as it wasn't a product of OHC, but 90 percent of the time because i'm nice i will review it anyways. This track is quite interesting, in that it sounds like Harsh Techno if that were to be a genre name. It's not just a generic techno, nor is it even Industrial Techno, because it's quite...soft lol. I didn't think this was Throbbing Gristle inspired, as i usually associate them with a Synthpop style of industrial music, but in a more experimental way. To me this sounds closer to Cabaret Voltaire, but their 1992 work, mixed with their 1978 work, when the band was peak experimental, and didn't add any commercial sounds to the mix. As an idea it's definately a lot of fun, and i do appreciate when people step away from the more conventional music genres, however this was quite a tough listen, and even though i love music like this (I listen to gabber, so this is nothing to me lol), it's not something i listen to everyday. Sometimes even i need a break from balls to the wall distorted noise. So i can appreciate this for what it is, but perhaps i find this a little...too much. I'm sorry if that puts you off. Still though, it's great to see so much diversity in a music compo, and it was a ton of fun i must say. Good job!
Top 3 - DJohn, JH Sounds, obScene.
Choosing a top 3 was very hard this week. So this is the result of a lot of delegating. Could have changed on any day, but this is what i was feeling.
These entries also deserve to be on the list, they were just soo good:
cotmm68030 (Lovely Dark Ambience, super tense. Shame this cannot be on)
Koekepan (Ugh this was also amazing. Can only pick 3)
Nukage (Amazing metal, shame i can only pick 3)
NickC (Soo pretty, i am upset this cannot be on)
Coloradoweeks (Man it sucks choosing only 3, this would have easily fit on the list, i laughed hard at this. It's soo true lol)
Awesome - Lyra_183, JH Sounds, cotmm68030, Koekepan, DJohn, NickC, Nukage, Coloradoweeks, obScene.
Needs Work - DarkShadow, Lunarice, Dex, Misael.K, Arcana, THEGREATDESTROYER22.
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Find The Samples Volume 3
TheVideoGamer -
My Broken Crown
DJohn -
free (tutorial) for all
coloradoweeks
TheVideoGamer: a great track and a great little game.
DJohn: a beautiful song.
coloradoweeks: I'm still laughing, lol.
awesum: coloradoweeks, cotmm68030, DarkShadow, Dex, DJohn, Koekepan, lunarice, NickC, obScene, TheVideoGamer.
good: Arcana, JH Sounds, Lyra_183, nukage.
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You've Got to Do It
JH Sounds -
Don't Go
nukage -
My Broken Crown
DJohn
Freely given