Battle of the beatz 2006 - VII: reviews by Noctuary
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:19.
Nice intro, sublime pads. Liking the drum teases.
Drums: Love the snare, spot on with that. Very GLO. Kick sits nicely in the mix, too...not too loud, but still defined. Nice switch-ups, variation, n cymbal/hi-hat work (the OHHs [open hihats] sound a bit too loud tho.
Bass: Acoustic bass...perfect stuff, fits the vibe of the track nicely. Quality stuff. Mix is spot on.
Piano: Sounds a bit too synthesised, but the tune and vibe is there. If the piano sounded more realistic, it'd sit much better; at the moment it detracts a bit from the vibe of the track...only a minor thing tho!
Breakdown: Nice and atmospheric, liking the vinyltones.
F**k me, it's gone into swing jazz. Works surprisingly well, too. Liking the wooomb bassline sitting underneath this little jazz section. There is one drum fill that sounds a bit off, though...my only qualm with it. Nice switchup back to the dnb; not sure about the snare rolls though.
The talent on this track is clear; production, melody, instrument selection, and that nice bit of jazz flute at the end...all work well. Muchos kudos 
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:06.
Liking the liquid vibes of this one.
Nice deep bassline, rounded and punchy, just how it should be.
Drums are quality - nothing wrong to say about them really. Sound tight and well programmed.
Vox samples: work really well, EFX on them sounds great. Again, nothing bad to say about them.
Synths: Love the stereo width on these, bouncing all over the place!
Nice tight, solid track...Loving the breakdowns.
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:38.
Intro: nice and dark, just the way I like it.
Ooh, loving that breakdown, you tease. Just as I thought it was about to drop 
I'm not sure about the melody in the bassline; it sounds a bit 'forced'? Sounds fat though...like p-h-fat 
Synth work in this track is quality, lots of attention to detail.
Drums: Nice and punchy, sound tops.
Clearly a well-thought out and intense track, good stuff
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:01.
Again, listening on headphones. Liking the atmosphere at the start, nice pads and ethereal textures. Sounds like it should be on GLO!
The kick sounds like it's got a bit too much high-end on it...will probably settle down once the bass kicks in, but would be nice to have more low-end to the kick.
Bass: Not too keen on the scalic nature of the bline, n lacks a bit of low-end roundness...a bit hollow really. Some of the notes sound like they're in the wrong key too, unless polytonality was what was wanted here.
I would've liked to hear a few more embellishments, little perc. delay hits, or synth stabs every now n again to pick it up a bit...
Didn't mean to slate it; I only do so 'cos it's got tonnes of potential!
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 01:04.
Wow...stunning string section, that must be a sample, right? It drowns the track a bit, though, would be worth bringing the volume of it down just a bit.
Loving the vibe of this one, give yrself a pat on the back.
Ooh switchup. Nice cutting of the string sample. The feeling of each section (the first bit with the nice strings, and the second bit with no strings, but tonnes of synth work) changes quite dramatically, and as good as each section is, I'm not too sure if they work well together.
Synth work in the second section is superb. Would have been nice hear the two sections combined at one point, to bring the track together a bit more, though...Those strings need to be used more!
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:31.
This one just rolled over me...was listening to it without realising it was part of the BotB! That's not a bad thing by any means, though; suited my mood perfectly.
Loving the drum work in this one, nice programming. They sit well in the mix too.
Pads: Gorgeous textures n chords.
Vox samples: Nice bit of spoken word, adds to the atmosphere really well.
Bass: Sits perfectly in the mix; again, nice and rounded!
I don't have much to say for this track, apart from that it was bloody good. Vibes're nice and chilled.
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:48.
Ooh the rhythms at the beginning of this one are odd...not too sure if the chopped pad timing works.
When it drops, though, it's biiig.
Synths: quality lines on these. sounds're quality. Just the one that I'm not sure about: the distorted saw/square wave one, sounds a bit flabby to me....
Another quality track!
Submitted by Noctuary on Sun, 2007-01-14 23:53.
(Listening on headphones (Sony V700s)...they should give a nice sound, but just for info., production notes might be a bit off.)
Ray of light! Fantastic remix.
The drum programming at the start of the track hails big things. The snare, though...I'm not sure about it, it sounds a bit 'plain'? Tone sounds a bit deep. Probably personal preferance, but I would've pitched that snare up a tad. Excellent programming though.
Basses: nice and thick...If anything the track seems to have a *tad* too much low end...Nice and dirty textures tho, love it.
Synths: Not so keen on the high end, reverb-soaked synth; I find 'em a bit tooo...something. Not helpful, I know!
A deep, dirty, and inspiring take on Ray of Light...Kudos
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:58.
Nice EZ-Rollers style drums on this one. The drums in the 'breakdown' during the intro...not sure if they should be there. Would be nice to have a drum break there, let the bassline and pads & vox samples roll out.
Ooh, bit o' the Amen break, always a standard! Love the vocal part, nice and mellow, quite haunting.
The changes in drum sounds (between the Amen and other drum parts) breaks up the continuity of the track a bit.
Liking the breakdown, esp. the bassline part, really adds to the track.
Some nice chord-changes and switchups in this one, good work
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:24.
I'm not keen on the vocals on this one. They sound a bit too upfront and 'Aguilara'-esque for me. Also, possibly a bit too much low-end on them.
Compression on this track sounds like it's been a bit overdone; there're sections where you can hear the ducking.
*Very* talented vocalist, though. Drums're tight; not too keen on the slight distortion on the hats.
The main synth/pad that runs throughout sounds a bit too loud to my ears, would've been nice to have that set back a little and the uber-low ends of the bass brought up a tad.
The "computer" sounds change the mood a bit too dramatically, and don't seem to fit with the vibe of the track. The middy, square synth that pops up to play the melody in the second half of the track is a tad too loud, was a bit too piercing.
Liking the synth that takes over the melody of that square synth tho, works really well.
Fade out? Pah
Submitted by Noctuary on Mon, 2007-01-15 00:54.
I'm not keen on the synth parts or sounds...Sounds a bit obvious and bordering on cheese to me.
The bassline, as nasty as it is, doesn't seem to fit well in the mix, sounds quite hollow. Same for the drums really, sound like they're missing a bit of low and mid.
The synth that was in the intro: when it pops back in and plays that one note over n over again; not too sure about that...some variation would have been nice.
I'm completely slating it, I know...But it didn't sit well with me at all. Sorry man.
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