Battle 117: Beauty/Ugly - VOTE!

[Unfolding]

Seven submissions this time, good variety too. Six elligible for voting plus one honorable mention (thanks for the honesty, Moustache Ninja). They were (in order of first to last):
DJ Mellow - The Beat With No Name
Unfolding Machines - I Need To Know
Asha C - Battle 117
Gis Sweden - Minimal Discussion
Moustache Ninja - Horse_ebreaks <- not made with an SP, but a worthy contribution.
Chopperman404 - Radiator 404
Mad Evil Science - Chemical Propulsion System

Samples are:
Horseback - Blood Fountain
Blavatsky - Hallelujah Sister Drum Loop

Voting runs until Tuesday 17th of July. Don't forget to give a bit of feedback on the submissions either!

[E.Simon]

my vote goes to djmellow just liked the vibe of that beat the most other guys did a good job to! soon im in for the next battle!

[djmellow]

my vote goes to gis_sweden, his track was well chopped, sounded clean and took you on a journey. i also liked moustache ninja's, even though it wasn't done on an sp, and chopperman's beat. peace.

[tfa]

- djmellow - beat with no name
Relaxed and evoking groove, maybe the snare stands out a little too much.
A good 30 seconds here and there could have been left out.
The sound at 0:12 is interesting, would have been nice to hear more of it.
All in all, a good song in itself, this is what makes it my favourite.

- unfolding machine - i need to know
The more I try to listen to this, the more my ear feels fatigued.
Maybe it's the loose feel of the track, the layered sounds that keep moving across or the insane amount of wow/flutter... but I can't help feeling dizzy, sorry.

- asha c battle 117 2
A little too structured and repetitive for my tastes, but very nice use of the voice at 1:30 onwards.

- Gis Sweden minimal discussion - loop fountain
As far as production skills go, this is impressive, cohesive and flowing.
I particularly liked how the simple, straight beat at 1.58 ended the 'discussion'.
Very close to first place imho.

- Moustache Ninja - horse ebreaks
the drum loop is nice (reminded my of wounded knee by primus) / but there's too much structure/repetition, also a good minute could be trimmed out imho.
Maybe you could try to grab a cheap hardware controller and play with some real-time effects in Live, to more closely emulate the sp feel.

- Chopperman404 - radiator 404
The song gravitates around that moment of magic at 1:00: I was sincerely amazed by your skills and creativity.
Other than that, not much happens imho, save for the ending seconds with that nice collapsing beat.

- Mad Evil Science - chemical propulsion system
As far as changing the mood of the original material, this steals the scene.
I don't like the downsampled drums though, they sound too degraded to enrich the beat in any meaningful way.
Nice change of pace at 1:20, but I would have liked to hear more variety with the underlying sounds.

@everyone: keep up the great work !

[gis_sweden]

I vote chopperman... I enyojed that beat. I don't say it was perfect but ... Fun
Nice beats everybody!

[Unfolding]

Voted Mellow, the vibe did it for me. Could've voted for everyone else just as easily (Gis's chopped break, the 2nd parts of Chopperman's & Mad Evil's beats, the songlike nature of Asha C's track).

If/when I host another comp, def gonna try to pick samples that have way more variety in them so that the results are more "fun" or "varied"- as tfa seemed to hint at wanting to hear.

- unfolding machine - i need to know
The more I try to listen to this, the more my ear feels fatigued.
Maybe it's the loose feel of the track, the layered sounds that keep moving across or the insane amount of wow/flutter... but I can't help feeling dizzy, sorry.

No problems! An overwhelming, dizzy sort of feel was what I aimed for- pity it wasn't you want to hear though. Just glad you picked what I was intending. Cheers!

[mustacheninja]

I cast my ballot for chopperman's beat. Really dug the good vibes in that one!

Also, thanks tfa for the feedback. I gotta learn how to trim things down and know when to just stop the track.

[Mad Evil Science]

Alot of good entries... I liked DJ Mellow's laid back smooth style..nice beat. AshaC also had a good vibe, well produced, really liked what you did with the bass. Moustache ninja another well produced beat would have been a serious contented if made on an SP. Unfolding Machines had some wickedness going on i enjoyed the dizzy feeling. Chopperman404..a very hard decision, that beat was quite insane i really dug that crossfade/blend effect, real nice one. But, in the end it came down to Gis Sweden I really dig the production style. That was well done. And thanks tfa for the feedback i see, or hear rather, what you mean with the drums I'm still in an experimental phase and trying new things sometimes they work and sometimes ....well

[asha c]

Mad Evil: ABSOLUTELY loved the intro, sweet industrial, dark ambience. Great job. The second part could have been heavier, the beats were sweet but I think it would've really pounded with a bit more punch.

Chopperman: Really nice, happy mood to it. Gave off a real summer vibe, which is fitting, or not if you're in the UK right now. Have to agree the blend was a really nice touch in piecing together the 2 section. Wasn't overly keen on the DJ looper effect ending part.

Unfolding: Crazy and chaotic. The drums were pounding. I agree, it had a real dizzy nauseating feel but I guessed that was the intention, total headF**CK.

DJ Mellow: lived up to his name with this one. Had a nice trip hop vibe.Nice mellow track. I feel it should've/could've picked up a bit and gone a bit more up tempo in the middle maybe. The laid back vibe was cool but would have really sounded cool had it progressed.

Moustache Ninja: Really cool track. Ashame it wasn't made on an SP. Loved how you used the stick sound from the break. I wanted to use them but couldn't quite get it to fit. Keep up the good work.

GIS: You get my vote. Loved the intro, dark industrial klanging, would actually have really loved to hear more of that for this track. It really kicked off nicely though once that beat came in. Break down at 1:10 was excellent. and loved the ending.

[Chopperman404]

DJ Mellow, I really dug the vibe there. Sounds like it would be good for a Tribe Called Quest remix.
Unfolding Machines, that was awesome. So much going on and that high chord seems to hold it all together and make it make sense.
Asha C, you won my vote at 1:32. I loved it!
Gis Sweden, you're crazy! In a good way though, I think. Very original. If there was a vote for best intro and outro, you'd get mine.
Mustache Ninja, great name! Those drum patterns really compliment each other. Had me zonin'!
Mad Evil Science, you get my runner-up vote. Completely flipped it. It not only sounds nothing like the song sampled, It sounds like its from different planet! Great image for it, too.

Thanks for the feedback. I enjoyed the entire process and plan on participating in many more battles to come.

Peace.

[gis_sweden]

Thank you for the votes and kind words!!!
I set up battle #118 tomorrow! But I wont be able to take part
So please could someone take care of the voting when the its time.

[E.Simon]

Congrats man. Think im gonna join in tje next one

[asha c]

If anyone's interested I did a remake of the same track with added guitar and my own drums.

https://www.box.com/s/79e40639c89381575e36

[Chopperman404]

That's dope Asha! Even doper than it was before!

[asha c]

That's dope Asha! Even doper than it was before!

Thanks a lot man, just checking out your soundcloud, loving that merry little breeze, keep up the good work