Battle of the beatz 2007 - II: reviews by Noctuary

Rehab by Golem AKA Pyre: For some reason I didn't

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 11:51.

For some reason I didn't download this one along with all the others, was it submitted a bit later or was I just not paying attention?

Anyways, this is my first listen to this track.

Fuck me. I wasn't expecting the drop to be that big. Love the intro buildup; that almost japanese percussion hit sounds awesome.

The beats, again, are pretty much perfect, nothing I can flaw. And that bass...dude, it's organic.

The airy choir-pad sound doesn't sit with me, though...The patch is bordering on sounding a bit shite (to me), either a more techy pad (like those in Absynth or Albino?) or a less naff choir sound would've worked better.

Excellent stuff, though.


Necrophobia by Harikiri: Mmm, nice big huge thick

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 12:22.

Mmm, nice big huge thick chunk of darkness.

Haha, I remember listening to this quite a few times when biking up a huge fuck off hill to a mates place...It's well good motivational shit Eye-wink

Everything about this track is just nasty. Dark and nasty. The triplet-break (as I like to call it?!) is wkd, the individual hits still punchy enough to match that hugely satanic, growling bassline. The breakdown just makes the whole track even more tense that it already was - everything works so well.

Strong contender for the win, IMO.


Krank It by King Louis: Right, this time, I've had

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 11:44.

Right, this time, I've had all the entries on loop on my phone while I've been biking about so can have more time, and this is probably my favourite.

It's cheeky, got plenty of groove, and lashings of funk. The beats are tight and have plenty of punch - in fact, there's nothing I can complain about production-wise. Maybe it's a bit bass-light in places, and a slight low-end boost would lift the track up a bit, but that's a minor point.

I liiike!


casim by UNDERSIDE: The vox are by far the stand

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Sat, 2007-06-16 18:40.

The vox are by far the stand out point on this track, really smooth. I think the bongo/conga percussion is a bit too loud during the intro, though.

Nice fat beat...Loving the bassline, well techy, got a nice sub line running through it, too.  Reminds me of a track by The Chosen actually.

Would've liked an expansion of the intro during the breakdown, maybe make more of the airy pad chords that back up the vocal, and then drop back into it.

Wkd tune, though Smiling


Feeling Blue by DJ Scape: Nice atmospheric intro to

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 12:17.

Nice atmospheric intro to this one...the beats are superb, excellent programming.

Hm, shame the Amen makes an appearance Sticking out tongue. I love the way you've treated the vocals in this, though...Really obscure, but musically, it works really well. There're some wkd chords in this, too.

Mm, I dig. (Sorry for short comments, nothing much to add, just a good track).


the bass episode by synrgy: An interesting cover

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 12:05.

An interesting cover version, this one. The intro's great, and the buildup works really well. When it drops, though, the vox are far too quiet; if I didn't know the vox already then I'd have trouble making them out.

I like the addition of the pads, they work really well; the breakdown at 2.33 (ish) has a lovely High Contrast-style bass running through it, love that sound.

I can't think of much else to say about this one, sorry dude. It's not my favourite in the compo, but it's still pretty damn good.


losing sleep by obscure: Don't mean to be overly

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 12:01.

Don't mean to be overly harsh in this review, but the musical idea running throughout this track is superb...the way it's executed, however, isn't that great. The track gets a set form from about the 2min mark, when the bass (a little, little bit too loud) marries with the piano and the attack pad, but before that, it's a bit 'er...ah, wait, we're going there now? Ohhh, I thought...'.

What lets it down, though, is that there's not much of a buildup *before* that 2min (ish) mark. The intro guitar (sounds like a patch from Reason, probably mistaken tho) doesn't seem to adhere to any set bar structure; the 4-bar 'norm' seems to have been replaced with a 3 bar phrase, moving the filter 'fills' into the start of the next phrase, rather than being at the end of the phrase.

The delayed vocal sample detracts a bit from the overall feel of the song; kinda sticks out a bit too much. And the 'dance' fill with the bassdrum increasing in speed really doesn't fit; yes it's a dancefloor tune, but not one of *those* dancefloor tunes. Would've been nice to have a different build for the drop at the 2min (ish) mark.

All that aside though, I do like it...Which is why I ain't gonna give you a 4 Sticking out tongue


London Bridge ( Bluntman Remix ) by Bluntman: Hm, I didn't like the intro

Noctuary's picture
Submitted by Noctuary on Tue, 2007-06-12 12:13.

Hm, I didn't like the intro to this one at all...The repeated 1/2bar phrase at the beginning honestly made me think my computer was fucking up!

The vox, like the Next Episode track are a bit quiet at times...The bass backing things up is typical of this style, but still sounds good, as do the 'rave stabs' (can't think of what else to call them!).

Production is tight, nothing to flaw there (as with most of the tracks in the compo!), but could've had a bit more variation in the basic musical idea throughout the track.