• 🏆 Texturing Contest #33 is OPEN! Contestants must re-texture a SD unit model found in-game (Warcraft 3 Classic), recreating the unit into a peaceful NPC version. 🔗Click here to enter!

Music Contest #12 - Results

Status
Not open for further replies.
Level 28
Joined
Nov 12, 2007
Messages
2,341
thread_hive_logo-png.323627

ct_music-png.311597
contest-png.311487
p_hash-png.311483
1-png.311474
2-png.311475

thread_results-png.311519



michal-kvac-falling-sun-small.jpg

art by: Michal Kváč
artstation: https://www.artstation.com/artwork/aRODnR

Synthwave

Participants were to create a music piece in the style of Synthwave. Knight Rider needed a song to listen to on his journey. The day was quickly saved!
Click to see more explanations for Synthwave.


other_prizes-png.311512

  • First Place: 40 reputation points and your entry on the award icon
  • Second Place: 25 reputation points and an award icon
  • Third Place: 15 reputation points and an award icon
  • Participants: 5 reputation points
  • Judges: 5 reputation points

other_entries-png.311509


Thanks to deepstrasz for compiling and uploading the video


NameEntry
Brambleclaw Cybernetic Journey
Calciumcarbonat Synth Wave
deepstrasz Aimless
Donut78 Cruisin' on Starlight
enzo2090 Pure Mind
GhostOfPast Synthtide
Hakren Traveling Dreams
Its Ryan Boi Star Gazers
Jackyy.BaDitO2 80s Hero

other_judges-png.311510

  • AditTechno
  • NightStalker

other_contest_judging-png.311506

upload_2019-9-21_15-10-9.png
Final Score = (30*Reached_Votes/POSSIBLE_VOTES) + (70*JudgeScore/100)
  • Judgement: 70%
  • Poll: 30%
---------------------------------------------------
Brambleclaw’s Cybernetic Journey

Theme 12/15

Creativity/Originality 9/10

Production 7/10

Composition 11/15

Total 39/50




The instruments are cool and powerful. The best point of this song is that it is very creative and original. The downside? In 1:00, that part really doesn’t fit. It could be changed to something else, although after that part, it’s enjoyable. The theme is good enough, it’s Synthwave, anyway.

---------------------------------------------------

Calciumcarbonat’s Synth Wave Hive

Theme 13/15

Creativity/Originality 7/10

Production 8/10

Composition 10/15

Total 38/50



It’s close to the theme, sounds like Night Rider is dancing to the beat. It’s quite repetitive which is quite the downside here, but the mix is quite good. There’s not much variety going on in the song but it’s catchy. It needs some improvements in order for more people to dance to it.

---------------------------------------------------

deepstrasz’s Aimless

Theme 10/15

Creativity/Originality 9/10

Production 8/10

Composition 13/15

Total 40/50



Okay, so I’m getting it as an Electronic song instead of a Synthwave, but I’ve never heard of it before. It’s quite original, the composition is solid. There are some parts overlapping, though. It seems to me that you used quite a number of arpeggios, and they don’t sound like they would make it a Synthwave song.

---------------------------------------------------

Donut78’s Cruisin’ on Starlight

Theme 12/15

Creativity/Originality 8/10

Production 8/10

Composition 14/15

Total 42/50



The choice of instruments is good. The theme is quite close, but you can say it’s Synthwave. The composition is pretty solid, and there are not any pointless changes throughout the song. Well, the chords are always the same. One synth is very loud. The ending could be improved into something that sounds more beautiful. It’s better for the song to stand alone rather than with the talking voice.

---------------------------------------------------

enzo2090’s Pure Mind

Theme 13/15

Creativity/Originality 8/10

Production 8/10

Composition 12/15

Total 41/50



Good atmosphere. The choice of instruments seems to be good and the key changes make sense. I was expecting some kind of change to the tempo but it seems that there aren’t any, but a slow-tempo Synthwave is quite unique and you can play around with it. There’s nothing monotone about it, the melodies keep on going but it needs more than one chord.

---------------------------------------------------

GhostOfPast’s Synthtide

Theme 11/15

Creativity/Originality 8/10

Production 8/10

Composition 12/15

Total 39/50



The variety of this song is good; its originality is presented well. The instruments need some editing because so far I hear Retro theme. It’s like a Retro-type song, which has quite some things that overlap. Except that instrument that you made arpeggiato, the other instruments sound the same.

---------------------------------------------------

Hakren’s Traveling Dreams

Theme 13/15

Creativity/Originality 7/10

Production 9/10

Composition 13/15

Total 42/50



First of all, that’s very short, but you put all into that shortness and it sounds good. The engineering of sounds in this song is quite visible and the instruments don’t even overlap. The instruments are very versatile, they can fit in any genre and you put it into Synthwave which is a good thing.

---------------------------------------------------

Its Ryan Boi’s Star Gazers

Theme 14/15

Creativity/Originality 7/10

Production 7/10

Composition 11/15

Total 39/50



It’s the closest to the theme so far. It has a very bright-sounding instrument, especially that lead, and the sidechain on the bass is good. The only problem is just the repetitive nature of the song. There’s nothing more here, like that’s the last thing I see with the instruments. Varied, but the instruments are the same.

---------------------------------------------------

Jackky.BADiTo’s 80’s Hero

Theme 12/15

Creativity/Originality 6/10

Production 7/10

Composition 12/15

Total 37/50



It’s very short. The instruments are good, but they’re sounding too high in notes and those instruments that sound high overlap the low note instruments, especially the bass, which I can barely hear. The key changes work well, though; they’re good enough to compensate the others. They incorporate well.

---------------------------------------------------

Sorted from lowest total to the highest total. Equal score sorted alphabetically by author names.

Badito - 80's Hero[/B] ]

[+] Not bad melodies and ideas

[+] Structure is good

[-] Synths are way too raw and need compression and equalizing.

[-] Except a few synthwavy sounds, the main melody is led by an 8-bit style sound which is off the theme.

[-] The levels are not well done, the melody is on top of everything. Drums are drowned under.

[-] Use a limiter for too high sounds and compression as needed


Theme 6 /15

Creativity/Originality 6/10

Production 5/10

Composition 8/15

25/50

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[+] I can see the great ideas in this piece but they are not developed well unfortunately

[-] The instrument choice was poor. Way too 8 bit sound rather than vintage Synthwave color.

[-] The main melody is way too much in front, while the whole band is suffocated behind, and the main melody/solo is not interesting since there are no other elements that can be followed other than the leading synth doing its crazy thing on top of the others.

[-] Chord choices are way too positive and do not depict a dark feeling. This feels more like an atari adventure game music rather than Synthwave

Theme 7/15

Creativity/Originality 8/10

Production 5/10

Composition 7/15

27/50

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[+] Some good ideas spread throughout the whole song but they need tidying.

[+] There are several interesting sounding instruments actually, but the overall song does not do them justice by going over the same melody way too repetitively.

[-] This is not Synthwave sounding either. It is more like a beach chill mix.

[-] Instruments sound too raw as well. Needs mixing.

[-] The song has the same bass line from the start till the end and it is not helping the ears.

Theme 6 /15

Creativity/Originality 8/10

Production 6/10

Composition 8/15

28/50

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[+] Good intro

[+] Overall mixing is not bad. Snare could use more boost around 1.5k Hz areas for a more punchy result. Kicks can also use more action around 100-200 Hz to get more bass.

[-] The bass synth starting at 0:22 turns the song from a kinda Synthwave song to a club mix. The overall synths are too default sounding, I can pick one from FL's synths easily, you can always use new sounds. [-] It seems as if there is going to be a climax as the drums go BOOM(extra reverb), but it stays the same throughout the whole song making the audience expect a never coming rise.

[-] Overall the song stays on the same path and monotonous. Nothing too interesting anywhere. No rises or falls. Percussion is very weak too.

Theme 8 /15

Creativity/Originality 5/10

Production 7/10

Composition 9/15

29/50


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[+] Overall good mixing.

[+] Catches the theme well.

[-] Snare is too weak compared to the whole percussion set. It could also use some more reverb, just to add more depth.

[-]The melody is can be reduced down for more unity within the instruments.

[-] I like the new trend of inspirational speeches over/inside musical pieces, but this is overused in this track. It should not become the main instrument on top of the whole composition, especially within that long span of time.

Theme 11 /15

Creativity/Originality 6/10

Production 8/10

Composition 10/15

35/50


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[+] Nice atmosphere

[+] The mixing is overall good

[+] The solo part is actually a new touch. One of the most original thoughts among the entries.

[-] Starts off way too high/screechy, needs limiter and compression.

[-] After the rise at 1:41, the instrument playing the melody goes too much in front and messes up the overall sound with its way too thick timbre. It needs to blend in with the rest of the band even though how much on the lead it is.

[-] It gets too repetitive as well.

[-] The main melody is not bad, but after a few listens, it feels as if it's a sad celebration of a nation, and it's not flowing very good with the fast legatos and then sudden stops here and there. It stops feeling natural. It could've been the part of the organ/piano solo, but it's not that good for the main melody/ostinato.

Theme 11/15

Creativity/Originality 7/10

Production 7/10

Composition 10/15

35/50


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[+] Promising entry section

[+] The atmosphere is good, it has a sour taste with happiness. Kinda nostalgic.

[-] A bit too repeating. Always the same bassline all along with the song.

[-] The slow part could use a more creative approach, it's just the same melody under a filter and the bass only playing on half note length. Other than that the whole song is a 3-minute loop.

[-] Overall the instruments are too soft; the theme of the song is apparent but after some time, going on one velocity is just monotonous.

Theme 12 /15

Creativity/Originality 7/10

Production 8/10

Composition 9/15

36/50


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[+] Capturing the atmosphere good.

[+] Good mixing as always. The layering of instruments is nice as well.

[-] Still lacks the Synthwave touch just a bit. You can add more reverb to some instruments to get even a deeper sound, and main accompanying synths were left way too much on the background which could've been used for a lot stronger atmospheric feel. No need to feel shy about going bold.

[-] No variations throughout the whole piece. Just one short slow down then we are back to running on high speed. The audience needs to be taken on a more immersive trip.

Theme 10/15

Creativity/Originality 7/10

Production 9/10

Composition 10/15

36/50


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


[+] Good atmosphere with the synths, the mysterious feel is on point

[+] Nice rise

[+] Manages to keep the song interesting while not adding way too many elements

[-] The snare could use a bit more reverb. The drums could be introduced at the beginning in a more dramatic way. Additionally, the drum pattern could be more interesting after using the double hi-hat hits at the start, the middle area slow down should've introduced us a new way of that double hi-hat rhythm, to keep everything fresh.

[-] The end is cut abruptly, which should be smoothened out

Theme 12 /15

Creativity/Originality 8/10

Production 9/10

Composition 11/15

40/50


-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


I've seen some common mistakes, so I would like to point them out. If anyone is interested here they are;

- Synthwave is not just about using some synths and then being okay. The choices of instruments must fit a retro style which sounds alike the ones in the 80s.

- There should be reverb mostly everywhere, the atmosphere is given by a lot of reverb in Synthwave (at the right dose of course), you must imitate the 80s concerts, the huge atmosphere tens of thousands of people that used to squish inside such as stadiums, concert halls, etc... Most of the entries lacked reverb especially on snares and several synths. There should be huge atmospheric chord synths, accompanying the lead synths.

- Some entries put so much emphasis on the melody lines, they forgot to bring out the rest of the instruments from the back.

- Using better dynamics help out songs. Try to build the song slowly adding instruments, awakening the curiosity among the audience. Volume knobs, sound filters, transitions, crescendos, decrescendos, etc...

- Most of the entries had a nice down paced areas which were very good, but again, most of them only went with the same bass line repeating in solo mode, or just by adding a filter on top of the melodies. Never be afraid to explore new sounds, even if you're going to use the same melody, do it on a higher pitch or change one of the chords, play it with different instruments; for the sake of variation.

- Some might say 8-bit can also be considered Synthwave, or there is a genre called Retrowave, I know that there is, but I can suggest having a quick listen to some of the songs from that genre.


I hope I could be constructive, I like the entries, but to be objective I had to go full geek mode. Congrats to everyone for completing such projects and good luck for the next ones!

-Nighty





First Place
Cruisin' on Starlight by
Donut78



Second Place
Synth Wave by
Calciumcarbonat



Third Place
Aimless by
deepstrasz


Contest Thread | Poll Thread
 
Last edited:

deepstrasz

Map Reviewer
Level 68
Joined
Jun 4, 2009
Messages
18,680
:\ how do I get third place with such crap?

Ah... because of the poll votes... Okay, next time the poll should count less.

The song has the same bass line from the start till the end
That's not true though :p
The overall synths are too default sounding, I can pick one from FL's synths easily, you can always use new sounds.
Well, I guess we shouldn't use usual instruments like violins, guitars, so on, because W. A. Mozart and many others exploited their full potential :D
 
Last edited:
Level 4
Joined
Aug 15, 2016
Messages
76
Congratz to all who on the contest and the Very MOST congratz to @deepstrasz for winning this contest (even tho the beats are of wave balence and a bit to high then the instraments but ohh well) :D
 
Level 10
Joined
May 27, 2018
Messages
25
Nice, congrats to everyone.

It's always great to see the feedback of the judges.

Anxious for the next.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top