I've just finished listening to the pieces a second time and I made notes. There
are no negative comments, I liked something in all the pieces. Most of these are
just the images that emerged from the sounds. I do have some general comments
that I'll put at the end. I won't comment on my three pieces.
My personal preference is towards pure electronic sounds with lots of spectral motion.
Early Morton Subotnick, some of Pink Floyd, Gary Numan's 'Dance' album, Larry Fast, etc.
I tend to go crazy, but I admire restraint.
Bmx13hdmc - March by Dawn, Sleep by Dusk, Slowly Falling. These three form a
related story. I get the feeling of a trek in the jungle and listening to the
sounds of the night. I like the 'Sleep by Dusk' the best.
Caleb Cobell - Party (Remix slow), Party (Remix), Party (Alt). Three variations
with good clear sounds that are quite punchy. I like the 'Alt' mix the best.
Clem Legalice - Track 1. Pleasant pad variations with bouncy background beats. It
gives a good sense of drive.
Colin Stark - Track 1. Nice sense of restraint with variations in the sounds.
Dj Groovy - Track 1. I like the vocoder and phasey stuff at the start. Lots of
sonic variety.
Ethan Holben - Track 1. Very nice sounds, good mastering technique, but this is
a bit long and stops abruptly.
GaryBoozy - Track 1. A contemplative, introspective piece. Good evolving sounds.
Jeff Ekblad - No Vox. Predominantly beat oriented with nice traces of vocoding.
With Vox. A slight cheat with the voice sample, but we forgive you. I like these
variations better.
Jim Hurley - a dangerous, demented man - no comment.
Julius Hochstrate - Track 1. Excellent mastering, good use of compression, great
variations in the sounds.
Kobalt - (kobaltxs plouf). Piano-like sounds forming a climactic build-up. I like
the (?) mod-wheel distortion effect.
Krzysztof Horn - Track 1. Sounds like the beginning of a great sound track.
Martyn Mackrory - Track 1. Very satisfying compositional structure with a great
variety of sounds. Dedbird the sequal. Very different, with a tight feel.
Paul Lewin - Tech-no- junk. I like how this keeps on evolving.
Paul Rose - Acceptable Junk Rock. Evolving styles and metric changes maintain
the interest throughout this fine piece.
Rob Crowdy - Kitchen Mix. Totally beat oriented with an infectious sense of
rhythm that pulled me in.
Shai Koneko - Pure sonic exploration and evolution - cerebral and interesting.
Koneko 2 - Caribbean dance festival
Koneko 3 - back to experimentation again - machine-like pulses moving to a climax
Koneko 4 - a strange mix somewhere between 2 and 3
Koneko 5 - metallic beat crystals with a hint of #4 thrown in.
These 5 pieces are fine examples of the type of music I like.
Sunburn Bather - Space Ops. Sounds like a giant space beast with asthma - a
study in white noise and delay effects.
Utenzil - Deeluxicious. Great title - the most creative drumset I've ever heard.
General Comments:
1) I think it is important to have a title.
2) Some of these piece feel like they are parts of a larger work. I think there
should be a beginning, middle, and satisfying end or something to show that
there is an overall structure.
A later Edit:
Another thing I can't help but notice is that just about everyone is
a participant in the mastering trend invoking loudness wars.
Personally, I don't use the compressor all that much; at least not
as a tool to compress total dynamic range. I use it more as a
limiter.
Is this a conscious decision to make better sound, imitation of the
current styles, or what? Enlighten me, I'm stuck in the 70's and
80's.
One of these is my piece, the other is someone else's:
Edited: added comment on Kobalt's piece.
I'm sure its just as good as all of the others, but I still want to hear it.
