Battle of the beatz 2006 - VII: reviews by hydrophonic

dark red by ruffian: intro is well foreboding,

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Wed, 2007-01-17 02:58.

intro is well foreboding, although i could swear i recognize that sample, nice work with some incidental-type noise, that seems to be the cornerstone of any dark atmos.  the intro break builds into a dark sort of intro, liking the bass filtering a whole bunch...what did you use there?  1:28 starts in w/ a bass noise that to me sounds a little amateurish, though the filter sweeps are again effective.  SICK DROP DUDE.  i like what you've done with that 2nd drop at around 4:23.  this is the type of dnb i set out to write in most cases, usually winding up w/ something much more melodic.  tune smacks of twitchy dissonance and paranoia, some nice horror themese w/ the chromatic strings, and overall is well conceived. production value here is clearly a step up.  what else can i say? great tune, textbook darkness. 


The Storyteller by Noctuary: i love the epic intro, very

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Tue, 2007-01-16 03:21.

i love the epic intro, very nice on the verb and percussion effects. also love the modal sound w/ the panflute or whatever that sound is, very sort of arabic or indian feel.  yeah, there is a tremendous amount of stuff going on here, and the mix is done properly. the bass is peeking its head thru, and there's the drop.  this break could be a bit stronger.  ooh, not sure about those hats in the mix, they're a little distracting. sound like they're programmed well enough, just pull them back from the forefront of the mix a bit i reckon.  sub could use a bit of a boost, but that's really a subjective kind of observation.  reminds me of a break tune in a way. intro, 1st breakdown, and outro all done very nicely, each is loaded with well-executed atmospherics. this would be a great tune in the mix.


chaordic age by hanuman tribe: nice intro, really nice

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Wed, 2007-01-17 03:42.

nice intro, really nice intro break, that 1st break hits hard as hell.  whoa, lush strings, backwards sitars(?), lots going on here ambiently. this track is making a promise i hope it keeps...and at the drop, i'm impressed by the production, although the intro seems to bespeak a more complex tune than what we get, in a way.  the production here is good and crisp, just the right touch of saturation in the mix. i guess from purely subjective standpoint, i wish it would've continued down the path we started with.  what we get is a jump-up type tune which may not be my personal preference, but is nevertheless well executed.


only the good things by dj scape: digging the brokenbeat

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Tue, 2007-01-16 04:12.

digging the brokenbeat intro, good stuff. also like the droning pads. good space in the mix so far, nothing sounding too crowded. there is one sound that seems to diverge with the rest of the mix from a scales standpoint, it starts at :42...yeah, it goes into some sort of major scale framework, which detracts from the otherwise sparse and unsettled vibe. i'd suggest taking it out altogether...not that it's a bad sound, just that it really takes away from the otherwise dissonant sound you've got going here.  nice spoken vocal sample, and i like the bass as well. the main break sounds good in the mix.  nice little amen drop at 3:20-ish, although there's that confusing choral-sounding sample again.  there is the spoken vocal sample again, maybe that's one time too many.  the drop back in is nice.  overall, good tune, interesting enough for sure, although it could really do without that chromatic choral sample that seems to resolve to a major chord in an awkward way.


Offensive by Logical1: the hats and delayed synth

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Wed, 2007-01-17 03:19.

the hats and delayed synth present an intresting tempo quandry, nice half-step intro, and like the bass tone as well, though i reckon that reece could use a little work. nice build at :55, sort of a natural sounding break, which is a nice contrast to all the techy tunes out there. interesting tune. i dig all the hip-hop influence in the half-step and vocal samples. the bass instruments could be improved in my estimation, and the length of the tune clearly is a bit short, i'm assuming you didn't have a chance to finish it? some people would point the clown finger at your layered up octave reece...those people would be wrong, this tune is a good start to a project that could achieve greatness.  got my head nodding, a little more production work would actually render this brutal imo.


my name is decklyn by decklyn: nice break, good to hear a

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Wed, 2007-01-17 03:36.

nice break, good to hear a tune start out w/ a break. i really like that vocal sample as well, adds a lot to the mysterioso sort of trancey kind of vibe. this tune could be a real smasher, but at 1:24, i feel like i'm waiting for it to D-R-O-P. nice use of the amen as a segue type of break. production on the drums here is muddy though, you should revisit the eq. i understand going for that filtered sound, but i feel like it detracts from a tune w/ potential.  the tune finally drops as much as it's going to at 3:30. could use some more incidental/paddy/reverby type noises to spruce up the vibe a bit, i reckon.  also, more stuff in the higher eq ranges, it sounds like i'm hearing everything from a half-foot underwater, except for the voalcs.  i do like the bass sounds throughout.  but this to me sounds like the framework or structure of a tune i would really like if executed a little differently. 


Sweet Coffee Of Your Love by Kondencuotas Pienas: ok, i think i see where this

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Tue, 2007-01-16 03:55.

ok, i think i see where this is heading. a nice type of "intelligent" vibe here, pretty nice. i thought that break intro'd pretty nice, but when it dropped i was waiting for another break to thicken up the sound a bit. just the one processed break sounds a little old-school, like progression-sessions type stuff...like i'm waiting for mc conrad to drop, haha.  no seriously, well done with the atmos elements and the little embellishments, like that little riff at 2:04. clearly some attention paid to detail on the composition end of the things. the break becomes a bit samey imo, and the track doesn't seem to carry the punch that modern tracks seem to have, like you're losing headroom in the mix somewhere, maybe w/ the bass frequencies.  from a stylistic perspective i have to give you props, i haven't heard a tune like this ever...it went from 4/4 to swingstep, though the swingstep truly is swingstep, in the jazz sense of the word, haha.  the fill at 5:36 is quantized in 4 even though the prevailing break is in 3, which makes for a little dischord.  i thought the swing step was an interesting break if a bit overwelcome.  the tune outros fair enough, although attention to the breaks and especially the mix could make this tune much better.


by : nice little r&b here, i'm

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Tue, 2007-01-16 04:03.

nice little r&b here, i'm expecting a liquid type tune.  the vocal becomes distorted and ducks the rest of the mix pretty heavily, which is too bad b/c well excuted, this tune could be very interesting indeed.  i do like the break, it's nice and crispy, but too bad it's so ducked out.  the organ line corresponding to the vocal track becomes a bit samey, maybe some filter oscillations or other effects could spice things up a bit.  you work very well w/ the vocal sample overall, it's not overused and seems to work well within the track.  also, it could be the mp3 compression, but the tune could benefit from sub.  the tune diverges pretty severly at 3:11 to some 8-bit type sounds, which don't seem to fit very well, the synth line after that at 3:38 has potential but doesn't get its due place in the mix. the vocals definitely need to be turned down...hmm, the vibe became pretty experimental compared to where it was in the beginning.  overall, i'd say find a theme and build on it, instead of introducing so many themes. also work on mixing down...have you ever heard of moonraker? that's what the beginning reminds me of, which is a good thing.


chasing butterflies by djobscure: that's a very lush sort of

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Tue, 2007-01-16 03:34.

that's a very lush sort of sound at the beginning, maybe could use some attention to the eq. i like the 2nd break that drops on top of the amen at 1:05, the snare could use a shorter envelope.  sounds like we're heading for a smasher of some sort here...yeh, there it is, drops with aspirations of being a dillinja, hehe.  the biggest distraction here is the mix, it sounds clipped and distorted to me, just not very natural sounding.  the composition of the main body of the tune is a little disappointing to me, given how promising the intro sounded.  the bass and sub could use attention, as the bassline becomes a little cartoonish (maybe a little subjective) at times, and there is no sub propping supporting the whole thing.  with a few tweaks i think this tune could have a decent shot at a release, although ya seem to be missing an outro.


Un-S3vR by Harikiri: okay, unique intro here w/

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Wed, 2007-01-17 03:27.

okay, unique intro here w/ the halloween philharmonic thing going on.  hmm, not sure about that first break w/ the two different snares. production values here could use some serious attention. the idea seems to be pretty clear, but the execution is somewhat distracting. the breaks just don't punch the way they ought to, and the mix sounds murky.  becomes a bit samey, although with some more automation, filter sweeps, and layered up breaks, is an interesting idea for a tune. overall, i'd say focus more on production, and a fluid segue between ideas, as well as starting with high-quality samples.


Ray of Light - Madonna by Contayjen: an interesting take on a big

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Submitted by hydrophonic on Tue, 2007-01-16 03:27.

an interesting take on a big tune for sure.  snare clips and is pretty distorted, the mix here is off.  i think i like what you've done with the vocals ion the intro, and i think i like where this tune is going, but that snare is absolutely distracting.  the mix needs some serious attention.  from a compositional standpoint the tune is not bad, and the elements unto themselves are well-thought out but the mix lacks the polish one would expect of a released tune.