Music Contest #5 - Poll

[NightStalker]

Futuristic
Create a music piece, which expresses the futuristic theme whether it is an action oriented or a discovery oriented one. Feel free to push the boundaries.

• Each user can only vote once in the poll.
• You cannot vote for yourself. If a voter has the same IP as the author then the vote will not be counted and it may result in the disqualification of the entry.
• You cannot create multiple accounts to vote for an entry in the poll. If a voter has been found to be using multiple accounts none of the voters votes will count in the final result.
• You cannot bribe users for votes. Contestants who break this rule will be disqualified and given negative reputation.

• First Place: 40 reputation points an award icon
• Second Place: 25 reputation points and an award icon
• Third Place: 15 reputation points and an award icon

• 5 reputation points for each contestant

AditTechno

Arisato

Brambleclaw

DED1

NightStalker06698

PrinceYaser​

deepstrasz kindly provided a YouTube video containing the entries for ease of listening to them and making voting easier. He also provided a zip file containing all entries, it was attached at the bottom of this post.​

• deepstrasz

Theme	How well does it demonstrate the feeling of the theme	/15
Creativity/Originality	How original is the piece? How creative are you with the theme/instruments/etc.	/10
Dynamic/Tonation	Basically, how well does it flow? Are accents used to good effect? Do overall levels make sense? etc.	/10
Composition	How well is it composed? Do the key changes make sense?	/15

• 75 % of the winner shall be determined by the contest's appointed judge(s)
• 25 % of the winner shall be determined by the results of a public poll

Inviting your friends to vote for you, bribing random members with rep and otherwise cheating with the VB poll system will get you DISQUALIFIED, BANNED from future contests, -REPPED, and possibly INFRACTED. So don't do it!

This includes, but is not limited to, sending PMs out to various users, getting other people to send those PMs, advertising this contest on other sites with the intention to gain more votes (whether it is explicitly stated or not), and so on. If you are suspected of cheating, the staff will notify you and interrogate you (hopefully) over PMs. <3​

 

[deepstrasz]

I want to be able to see who voted what.

 

[Heinvers]

First post cleaned and formatted as it should. Poll has been reset, lasting for 15 days. Good luck contestants!

 

[deepstrasz]

To make it easier and funner to listen to the final entries, there's this mini-marathon video (like in the old days):

 

[Murlocologist]

Oho, they are all quite cool. I'm pleasantly surprised.

 

[NightStalker]

To make it easier and funner to listen to the final entries, there's this mini-marathon video (like in the old days):

Awesome job man! Can't +rep cuz I've repped you recently

 

[deepstrasz]

What's with the bold script errors?

judge(s)[/b]

poll[/B]

They are present in the other thread too.

 

[NightStalker]

I don't know, must've been left from an other matching pair of brackets. Edited it.

 

[Aleister]

My vote is for PrinceYaser.

 

[PrinceYaser]

My vote is for PrinceYaser.

Thanks mate! Did you like my music??

 

[Kyrbi0]

I'm still listening (thanks deepstrasz), but Arisato's stuck out to me; that's totally awexome music that I can't wait to see a APMV of.

However, I cannot say it's very future-y. xD But I've enjoyed it the most so far.

 

[Aleister]

Thanks mate! Did you like my music??

Of course buddy, you need a lot to improve but you have the talent.

 

[A Void]

Gotta say, this turned out pretty good for everyone. My favorite was Interstellar Surrealism by NightStalker06698. It reminded me of Mass Effect soundtrack, it truly felt like an interstellar journey.

 

[Sin'dorei300]

Nice pieces! I enjoyed listening to them. Congratulations everyone!

 

[NightStalker]

Gotta say, this turned out pretty good for everyone. My favorite was Interstellar Surrealism by NightStalker06698. It reminded me of Mass Effect soundtrack, it truly felt like an interstellar journey.

Thank you for your kind words ^^ I'm glad that I could bring something worth listening.

It was a nice contest by the way. I wasn't expecting to have this amount of participation, which is very good. And all the entries were awesome in my opinion, good luck to everyone!!

 

[deepstrasz]

I know I might be a bit indecent but it seems people have trouble listening to the entries. Some don't want to waste time on downloading them all one by one or unpacking archives and so on. Would you please put the youtube vid I linked under the Entries?
Music Contest #5 - Poll

 

[Rufus]

Hey @NightStalker06698, Could you include @deepstrasz youtube link in the op, perhaps just under the list of entries? It provides a much easier way to listen to the them!

Edit: Oh, yeah. What Deep said.

 

[A Void]

I know I might be a bit indecent but it seems people have trouble listening to the entries. Some don't want to waste time on downloading them all one by one or unpacking archives and so on. Would you please put the youtube vid I linked under the Entries?
Music Contest #5 - Poll

Could you add time stamps of each track in the video description?

 

[deepstrasz]

Could you add time stamps of each track in the video description?

That's what @Rufus suggested too. How can I do it without reuploading the video?

 

[A Void]

That's what @Rufus suggested too. How can I do it without reuploading the video?

What? You don't need to re-upload video, just edit the description box with time stamps of each track like this:

00:00 - 05:25 - An Unexpected Journey by Brambleclaw ...

 

[Rui]

It would've been nice if you zipped all the entries renamed so we can identify the authors and download it all in one go.

 

[deepstrasz]

You don't need to re-upload video, just edit the description box with time stamps of each track like this:

Thanks, I guess.

It would've been nice if you zipped all the entries renamed so we can identify the authors and download it all in one go.

Everybody wants something... here:
Now, somebody's gotta attach it to the main post.

EDIT: I've added the stamps in the video's description.

 

[Heinvers]

Hey @NightStalker06698, Could you include @deepstrasz youtube link in the op, perhaps just under the list of entries? It provides a much easier way to listen to the them!

It would've been nice if you zipped all the entries renamed so we can identify the authors and download it all in one go.

Thanks, I guess.

Everybody wants something... here:
Now, somebody's gotta attach it to the main post.

EDIT: I've added the stamps in the video's description.

Attached, done and done!

 

[NightStalker]

I will update it in a few minutes but im on phone.

That's what @Rufus suggested too. How can I do it without reuploading the video?

Just type down the minutes of the beginning of each song in the vid.
For example;

00:00 An unexpected journey
3:47 Interstellar surrealism

And so on.


Edit: all these were done while i was writing this message so ignore this

 

[Rufus]

I really liked @NightStalker06698 and @PrinceYaser submissions! My vote went to the prince in the end though.
Generally awesome job from all contestants! This is some talent!

 

[PrinceYaser]

My vote went to the prince in the end though.

Thanks a lot!

 

[Gottfried]

The choice was very hard! Though I choose DED1!

 

[NightStalker]

Can we also vote for other participants too?

 

[deepstrasz]

• Each user can only vote once in the poll.
• You cannot vote for yourself. If a voter has the same IP as the author then the vote will not be counted and it may result in the disqualification of the entry.
• You cannot create multiple accounts to vote for an entry in the poll. If a voter has been found to be using multiple accounts none of the voters votes will count in the final result.
• You cannot bribe users for votes. Contestants who break this rule will be disqualified and given negative reputation.

They're pretty much left for interpretation. It doesn't even say that the judge can't vote but that's pretty much decently obvious.

 

[NightStalker]

Oh right...

 

[deepstrasz]

Oh right...

It would be an honourable thing to do, methinks. Now, let's just hope every contestant votes as none of them are obliged to.

 

[NightStalker]

It would be nice imo as well. Its not an actual race after all, and this is a way to appreciate others' work... in a way.

 

[gusanomental]

Well, it was hard to vote due the different 'kind' of entries. Some of the tracks made me picture myself surrounded by aliens shooting and playing some intergalactic drinking game while, on the other hand, some others' passages almost made me feel locked and totally hopeless inside an escape pod.
Great job, sirs. It was a pleasure to listen to all these pieces.

 

[pyf]

I want to be able to see who voted what.

Try to guess first

Spoiler: Big hint

Hidden

More info and pics, in French and Spanish:
Fragments de l'encyclopédie des dauphins
Fragmentos de la Enciclopedia Délfica - Wikipedia, la enciclopedia libre

Fragments from the Delphic Encyclopedia seems to be unavailable as an English graphic novel for some reason. There is a Deutsch edition available, though.

 

[Morris]

The music composed by each participant is indeed great.
I had to listen to the video a lot of times to listen carefully on who had the best beat and other things which I won't bore you all with
I made up my mind and Goodluck to all composers & a job well done by each one of you, congratulations on making it this far.

 

[Zwiebelchen]

Interstellar Surrealism is a great track. I could imagine that over a Mass Effect scene without the benefit of the doubt that it's an official score.

 

[Brambleclaw]

Instead of linking the "songs" to a post, link it to a portion of the video where it starts.

If you click on share tab in the youtube page then "share at time" you can get a time based link.


Anyway onto the actual topic

I think Princeyaser's and Arisato's work stood out the most to me

 

[Morris]

I accidentally voted for the wrong person and the poll doesn't have a change vote option
I talked to deepstrasz and he told me to cast my vote here so my vote goes to Nightstalker

 

[NightStalker]

Thanks for each of everyone's kind words guys! I wasn't expecting for my song to be liked at the first place

And my vote went for AditTechno. I liked it because of the freshness it gives to me. That first verse where this synth like instrument enters actually feels so new and familiar to me.

 

[Dr Super Good]

As I was requested to post here... I vote for Nobuo Uematsu!

 

[NightStalker]

As I was requested to post here... I vote for Nobuo Uematsu!

Ahahahah, I actually searched him, but he is above our level so no luck for us

 

[AditTechno]

And my vote went for AditTechno. I liked it because of the freshness it gives to me. That first verse where this synth like instrument enters actually feels so new and familiar to me.

Appreciate this a lot

 

[deepstrasz]

Ahahahah, I actually searched him, but he is above our level so no luck for us

We can't compete with Japanese!

 

[Kyrbi0]

Man, this is too hard; a multi-vote poll would really be the best thing here, 'cuz there's just so much good in each one (really a preferential poll would be best, but...).

That, and it's hard because all the songs are so long. I start listening & then get distracted, and then it's 2 songs later & I'm like 'dangit, I don't remember anything'. :<

//EDIT// Alright, I've listened probably a dozen times... And I still can't get it narrowed down past 3.

Arisato, yours is my favorite song to listen to, but I can't give my Vote because it really doesn't make me think 'space' or 'futuristic'. In fact, it (very positively) reminds me of MarbleSoda's videos on those amazing button-sound-byte-keyboard things... In fact I think you might be him. xD

DED1, PrinceYaser, and NightStalker are all great. I just used a random number generator to pick... DED1; I did like the weird sound bytes you used (dolphins? lol). All of you did well, and you three (ignoring Arisato) did perhaps the best, most 'future-y'. Good job!

Arisato, can I get a copy of that song?

 

[deepstrasz]

Man, this is too hard; a multi-vote poll would really be the best thing here, 'cuz there's just so much good in each one (really a preferential poll would be best, but...).

That, and it's hard because all the songs are so long. I start listening & then get distracted, and then it's 2 songs later & I'm like 'dangit, I don't remember anything'. :<

Time to man up!
You think it's hard for you? How about me, when I know that somebody's gotta win and somebody's gotta lose?

You don't need to hurry. Listen to them multiple times. It helps. Every time you'll notice something new and finally you'll get the revelation that would be your choice.

 

[Idaero Ace]

I am really noob at music but I really enjoy Aristo's one. idk why, lol.

 

[KILLCIDE]

Wow those were some amazing entries. I'm going to say my opinion for each entry, but I am no means proficient with music. I just like listening to them

@AditTechno - I really liked the chorus (is that the right word?) of your entry, and the transition from the chorus to the end (3:54ish) was actually done well! It didn't feel abrupt. I'm not a big fan of the fading out to end the song. I just personally feel like its a lazy way of going out

@Arisato - Even though I am a big fan of EDM, I have a hard time finding EDM songs I like. However, I must admit, I really enjoyed listening to your entry (I actually listened to it twice!). I can totally see myself coding and playing games to it. With that in mind though, I don't think it really fit the theme.

@Brambleclaw - Your entry gave me a really mysterious feeling (in a good way). The piano was really soothing to listen to, and overall also made me feel really great about myself. It also reminded me of playing an old-school game when the sounds were really what made the game immersive. The first half of the song sounded like something from the movie Her (which is about the future, which is a good thing!), the middle of the song kind of lost me (after 3 minutes), but it came back once it started sounding like the first half of the song (after 4 minutes).

@DED1 - Your entry really captured the theme. It's something I can totally see playing at some futuristic club in some hyper spaceship. I really liked the countdown soundtrack you added; it hyped me up everytime I heard it. My only issue with the song was the random dolphin sounds

@NightStalker06698 - Oo man I really liked your entry. The drums in the background and the smooth transition at 1:08ish and 2:45 were on point. My favorite part has to be 1:46 - 2:40, the drums really showed themselves here! However, with that in mind, the transition at 1:46 was very adrupt, I had to think about it for a few seconds I also personally felt like this song fit more in a medieval war movie than something futuristic (probably because of the drums and the sudden evil-y feel you get at the end).

@PrinceYaser - I honestly had to listen to your entry a couple times. The singer in the background was really hard to hear and distracting because I was trying to figure out what they were saying. Maybe it was done in purpose, but I personally didn't think it added a lot to the song until 2:08 where he wasn't "hidden" by the music. Once I got over the singer though, I started to admire the mixture of instruments you chose here and how they all came together nicely despite being so different (I'm horrible with music, so I wouldn't be able to tell you how many or what they are). I liked the overall composition, but I couldn't feel the futuristic theme for this one.


I hope I didn't offend anyone. I'm extremely amateur at "studying" music, but I figured I comment on each one since each entry was pretty damn good in my book. My vote goes for DED1

 

[Arisato]

Hey thanks for the reviews people : )

Arisato, can I get a copy of that song?

Journeys
you can download it there, it's the pre remastered version but it's fine i guess?

We can't compete with Japanese!

I'm no Japanese , a complete weeb from Indonesia.

PS: How do you change your username? I remember being able to change usernames in a specific category back then.

 

[deepstrasz]

I'm no Japanese , a complete weeb from Indonesia.

I know that I was referring to the likes of Nobuo Uematsu.

PS: How do you change your username? I remember being able to change usernames in a specific category back then.

I believe you have to get it on with the staff:
Want to change user name? Read this.

 

[Naze]

Oh it is a shame I couldn't finish my entry for this! Too bad I'm pretty busy from October to December (if only you guys made this contest a month earlier (or two later )).

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

Alright, I'm no authority in music (or anything) but here are my impressions:

@Brambleclaw
I like how it works like an epic movie/game soundtrack. The feeling of wide and open landscape at the start really got me. However the more "futuristic section" of your song felt a little too bland for me, it lacked something remarkable - but maybe that is a personal thing. But I really enjoyed the melodies, they were beautiful and just the kind of thing I like to hear in a song.

@AditTechno
(OMG, the start of your song sounds like Sigur Rós's kind of instrumentation in various ways! Idk if that was on purpose, but felt like commenting) The drums and melodies kept the thing moving and interesting throrough the whole song. The soloing voice/instrument was nice and with the accompanying chords they managed to give me a feeling of exploration in a futuristic setting (or retro-futuristic maybe), so that means you did the job. If there is any downside I'd say it is that it didn't manage do impress me much, or to convey any intense emotion. Which is a shame because the chords and that little melody that kept playing on the background were really nice.

@Arisato
Fine, classy and very moving piano intro made me dive into the electronic part of the song in a nice way. The instrumentation progressed very fluidly and kept the whole song interesting, plus the overall quality in the production is noticeable. However I think the melodies suddenly moved from something beautiful to something more fun/laid-back/casual, which for me was a downturn. Idk, this is a very personal thing, as I'm pretty sure there are plenty of people who will enjoy the mix of melodies you did there, but I did find the "cool trip with friends" part with a bit less interesting, melody-wise. There was by no means a decrease in the quality of the song though, the mix was cristal clear (I'd decrease the high frequencies a little bit but that's personal again), and the timbre/tone play you did there was great.

@DED1
Definitely a futuristic intro (or how we used to see the future back in the 80's). The sections were a little repetitive and lacked a soloing voice/instrument, but that was not a big thing since you moved from section to section quite frequently. The main percussion was nice at first, but with repetition I felt it was a too common "Earth-like" drumkit for a such space trip. Maybe you could've played a bit with the drumkit along the song, like you did with the rest? Idk.

@PrinceYaser
Very cool thing, the low volume of the speaking voice + bass kept my attention and I almost instantly found myself immersed into it. I liked how it was a subtle, with that sad/serious minor scale feeling through the whole thing. However it didn't convey the feeling of futiristic music in any way - although such songwriting may probably happen in the future, that isn't how we (or at least I) stereotype future within music. Also could've been less monotone (although that isn't mandatory for this kind of music).

@NightStalker06698
Nice intro, I personally like how you did the slow paced immersion, calmly driving the listener through the song in a soundtrack feeling. The style you achieved was really nice too, something between an traditional epic western music with choirs and orchestra along with some synths giving the futuristic feel. The bad thing is that from the middle of the song onwards there are some violins that do a some notes very loud and without much treatment on the mix, which emphasises their artificial sound (in a not-nice and futuristic way ) and breaks the mood. They could've been pushed back a little bit and had their attack decreased. Other than that, as most soundtrack-like songs it tends to get repetitive after a while (and in this case, less futuristic too), and for the purposes of this contest it could've had some new melody (and something electronic to reinforce the futuristic theme) sometime at the middle of the song. But these cons didn't make the experience less enjoyable at any time, good job.

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

So this was a nice contest Although NightStalker's was my cup of tea, my vote goes to Arisato, who delivered the most consistent and high quality song, in terms of overall composition, theme, melodies, fluidity and production quality.

That's it, and as KILLCIDE said, I hope I didn't offend anyone and all of this above is merely my opinion which you're free to say "shut up naize u suxx" whenever you find appropiate!