Battle of the beats 2005 - V: reviews by Contayjen
Submitted by Contayjen on Thu, 2005-12-29 19:26.
Now this one is tastey. Nice synths and reeces going on there. Strong beats and good clean production too. The drops are heavy. Background ambience fits nicely.
Good structure, melodies and fierce sounds overall make this one the winner in my book. Good work whoever this is.
Submitted by Contayjen on Thu, 2005-12-29 19:11.
Real nice intro, builds up well, introduces the theme nicely. It kicks off nicely too, lots of good changeups and a strong hook. The hats could do with a crisper top end, but its probably the mp3. Production is quite sweet overall, good levels.
Best track so far, and I've only got one left to do. Nice track, a definite contender.
Submitted by Contayjen on Wed, 2005-12-28 22:14.
Good ambience in the intro, though it seems a little long without changing much. Good for mixing though.
Nice sounds, I like the dirty sounds and the dark backing. The drum pattern is good, but I think they need to be further forward in the mix. The kick has very little thump at all when the sub is going.
Vibe is good, could be polished up a bit for more impact in my opinion as it has a real dirty edge which could be more forceful.
Submitted by Contayjen on Wed, 2005-12-28 22:12.
Nice breathy ambience for the intro. Drums are starting well. That brass synth is nasty though, it really spoils the feel, sounds too cheap in my opinion. The rhodes is cool though, gives it a jazzy feel.
Nice laid-back track, some solid musical ideas that all go well, except for the brass. Good use of stereo too.
Submitted by Contayjen on Thu, 2005-12-29 09:25.
The structure is good, building up nicely to the drop, some good filtering on the drums. The jazzy feel is nice, with a hint of darkness.
The bassline is quite monotonous though, it only has 2 different tunes, involving only 3 different notes. More variety is needed there musically.
The track is quite long at 7mins as well, and doesn't have enough going on to fill it.
Submitted by Contayjen on Wed, 2005-12-28 22:26.
Intro is promising, I like that filtered drum sound...the backing synths should swell more as it starts off, just a little until the drums come in.
The drop comes a bit suddenly, a little build up would have been good there. The drums are tight and rough but lack weight and the piano is up a bit too much.
Nice notch-filtered reece sound, but it's drowned out by the piano and has no body to it. Not too keen on the synth-strings either. I think if I had those synths I'd leave the piano and strings out of this track altogether, they really take all the edge off the whole things in my opinion. It ends pretty abruptly too.
Some great sounds and drum patterns in this, but the levels are all out and the cheesy synth-piano spoils it for me.
Submitted by Contayjen on Wed, 2005-12-28 22:19.
Intro is cool, good ambience and sounds.
The beats are cool, sounds like Ed Rush & Optical or Photek. The big rolling kick drum is cool. Some classic loops are obviously being used here.
You really need a drop to come in heavier around 2 mins top take it to the next level, it doesn't seem to go anywhere otherwise. Its like its just waiting to explode but never does. If you changed the beats and added some extra sounds just for a couple of sections it would make the track come alive more without sounding too repetitive or having to rely only on different drum pattarns.
Mix is good overall, sounds punchy and wide, nothing really wrong with this at all, just needs a little extra for a couple of sections, maybe even just a few samples.
Submitted by Contayjen on Wed, 2005-12-28 21:58.
Good clean production on this one, drums are nice and sharp. The bassline is slightly clowny for my liking but has a jump-up vibe and the dirty synth/reece is a cool sound but the two melodies clash. Also the bell sound seems a bit out of place with the other sound. The 3 melodies all sound slightly alien to each other.
My first impression is that this track sounds like it's made from loops as there is little flow between sections. Probably room for some more buildups/drum rolls to help that. Ramping the volume/velocities of the up and down over sections slightly would make the mix breathe better. Good vocal sample around 3 mins, I liked that one.
Still a lot of room in this track for more stuff. A lead synth and another for ambience would help fill it out more.
Submitted by Contayjen on Wed, 2005-12-28 21:41.
There is some pretty cool drums on this track, but there is a lack of melody and no real hook in it. The main synth isn't especially musical and I don't feel the track progresses enough. Perhaps another synth in there?
The ambience at the start and the breakdown gives is good. The anvil clanking in the distance gives it a dark industrial feel, which I like. And the structure is good for playing out.
Submitted by Contayjen on Thu, 2005-12-29 19:27.
Some interesting ideas here, not really mainstream dnb in sounds and melodies though. The break loops contribute, but the bass and lead sounds and what they are playing aren't quite there. The sub-bass (which sounds like a bass guitar) is just too regular and static for my liking. Are you playing in a major key too?
On a production note, the lead is too loud and distorts a lot of the time but there are nice envelopes and swells on it though. There is room for some more sounds to help the flow, like a crash cymbal on a breakdown and a drum roll before the rhythm kicks back in.
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