July Contest: Gossip

[Mister Natural]

I'd love to hear Kuuso's piece as well but don't hava OGG player - isn't it supposed to be downloadable as an .mp3 ?

[robogone]

VLC Player can play them - free download for just about any OS.

[D.H. Miltz]

For ClaRago's try this: http://soundcloud.com/clauderagonnet/7- ... n/download

Re: kuuso's: .mp3 isn't mandatory, .ogg is acceptable.

[Mister Natural]

VLC Player can play them - free download for just about any OS.

thx for the tip

[Mister Natural]

For ClaRago's try this: http://soundcloud.com/clauderagonnet/7- ... n/download

Re: kuuso's: .mp3 isn't mandatory, .ogg is acceptable.

Got it - thx

[Barnadine]

This month's theme seems to have unleashed the prog beast in a lot of you.

Some quick comments (the polyrhythm's a bit arguable in some cases, but I've tried not to get hung up on it):

nineofkings - good song & pleasingly minimalist arrangement. nice clear mix. vocals are perhaps a little too separated from the rest of the mix, maybe a little delay or reverb to bed them in?

mister natural - lovely gentle pensive mood. waits for the listener to approach: a good thing, but tricky in a mad snap-judgement voting scenario. needs more time to get under my skin.

pethu - impressive development, from the rustic opening to that wonderfully imperious piano theme in the second half. the noodly synth soloing over the final section wasn't to my taste, but i have weird allergies.

laguna rising - fond of this. a warm, sentimental theme, but turned a little inwards and hesitant, slightly frayed at the edges.

holy rebuked - takes me back to warp label ambient idm stuff from the 90s. good mix and nice filter work. punchy but spacious.

hellfog - interesting dual lead sounds: the harsh lead tamed a little by the sweet, but still fairly abrasive, which makes the calm interludes very effective. the return of the intro at the end didn't add much, for me.

aaron cotton - well-produced piece of reggae-flavoured pop. the polyrhythm is de-emphasised to the point that it didn't really register, but enjoyed it regardless.

clarago - very nice. the central chirruping-robot rhythm is great. good sounds throughout. if i was meant to catch what you're singing at the end, i didn't. 'they all lived happily ever after'?

beanpole - alternating sections work well. good lyrics. the harmony vocals get a little too creative with pitch at times, but pleased to hear you letting the scottish through in the verses.

kryptonaut - a loving slice of grandiose prog. top stuff. i have a soft spot for lyrics that push grimness to the edge of humour.

miltz - yep, i like it. well structured, but keeps a loose, improvisatory feel.

david stiles - for some reason, this made me think of old disney scores, especially the lovely bit at the 2 min mark. warm, lush and emotionally direct.

forw - my easy favourite this month. really satisfying composition, imaginatively arranged. particularly love the horns, and the little solo section at 0:43. excellent stuff.

kuuso - tense and urgent. strong arrangment. love the syncopated filter-swoosh stabs. don't particularly like the the sound of the main synth lead, though. (as i said above, i have weird allergies.)

There are all sorts of reasons behind the level of participation, of course. My personal take on the rigorous truth about this contest:

1. If there are two entries, it's a competition.

2. If there are ten entries, everyone gets on the list.

3. However, eleven or more entries means there's a chance that some of our transcendental works will not receive any votes.

Feels like you've been fretting by the pool for years without diving in, rp314. Time to dive in! The more the merrier.

[pethu]

I've been in this contest for... what, five months now? (<cough>NEWBIE!</cough>.) And this was surely the worst by far where voting is concerned!

I think this month's theme produced just that extra bit of quirkiness from all entrants that I enjoy so much. And that made it all the harder differentiating between them. To slightly re-trace my thoughts, here are the notes I made along the way...

Nine of Kings – Guilty
First out and (possibly?) the best. Sometimes you just think you hear that bit of extra coherency and "sense of whole" that tells of a truly inspired piece. Fact or not? Impossible to tell really, so No. 1!

D H Miltz – Fizzle
A masterpiece of atmospheric simplicity, acoustic guitar perfectly balanced with the rest. (Or, the other way around, probably.)

AaronCotton – Green
Lovely Caribbean feel, fits well with the summer we're getting over here...

Kuuso – Industrious Toenails
Neo-jazzy, airy, upbeat piece -- lifting your spirits.

Kryptonaut – Lost in Space and Time
Not to impressed by the beginning, perhaps, then pure classic prog idiome seems to spring at you unexpectedly from out of nowhere – bring it on!

Forw – The Gathering
Liked the ambience and atmosphere in this one! Brings up images in my head, problem is I can't quite make out what they actually depict. Anyways, always partial to a bit of marimba...

Davidstiles – Pastoral Habañera
Lovely harmonies in the first part, don't QUITE know if all the bits in the second half ended up in the right order!...

Barnadine – A Hole in the World
Love that pump-organish sound. This could be The Nits at their most experimental, and that is high praise indeed coming from me.

Laguna Rising – Sunset Highlights
Enjoyable offbeat piece.

Mr Natural – The Movie Outside My Front Door
Very atmospheric, though I need a bit more "happening" along the way to satisfy my mood most days. Some other days, it would be tops!

Hellfog – Nothing
Darn, nothing much wrong with this one either! This voting stuff is REALLY hard this month.

Holy Rebuked – Jailbreak
Just too much electronica while listening to it in relation to the rest, perhaps? Hardly the creator's fault - nevertheless...

Beanpole – Faded glory
Most other months, this would would have ended up top ten I think. So mostly, hard luck!

ClaRago – 7 Seals 4 Horsemen
Not my cup of tea really, at least not this month – Otherwise, fine.