Battle 39 Voting

It’s time to vote for Battle 39 !

Thanks to all participants, your 5 tracks are awesome :).

I would have liked some more OP1ers on this one, but nevermind !
I would have made one too, but didn’t had enough time to make a track. But I keep the challenge in my head :wink:

Deadline is the 8th of April

Here’s the @yoof playlist (thank you mate)
Battle 39 by - ohpeewon battles - | Free Listening on SoundCloud

@kln
what what by dj_KLN | Dj KLN | Free Listening on SoundCloud

@lefilou
https://soundcloud.com/le-filou/dipstick-dub

@aeoner
https://soundcloud.com/aeoner/michaelis-op-1-forum-battle

@LyingDalai
Life Made Of by Lying Dalai | Free Listening on SoundCloud

@Edzilla
Baglamacaw by edzillamusic | Ed Zilla | Free Listening on SoundCloud

Good vote !

Here is my top 3:


1.Baglamacaw: exciting track. It tells a story.
2.What what: Nice minimal soundscape
3.Dipstick dub.

Michaelis: not enough variation.
Life made of: to much children sounds. Otherwise it could be one of the winners

I will join the next battle. Just received my op-1 last week. Need some time to explore and get used to the tape recorder.




About this battle :

@kln “what what”
I love how it starts + really fits your very own KLN style :)
While I like your drums, I feel like the melody is a bit thin, a bit hidden behind the beat, at least too much for my taste...

@lefilou “dipstick dub”
Here again, the start is good, cool "vinyl-like" sample + heavy beat. What is it from ?
I wish the bass line was more expressive, "Brain Damage"-like.
Wish there was a second part to this track...

@aeoner “Michaëlis”
I'm so fond of the aerial piano notes... Same as @lefilou's track, I wish the bass was more expressive, the track more developed, maybe with a recall of the piano notes...

@edzillamusic “Baglamacaw”
Different parts, seems this is becoming your signature mate ;)
I like the intro, love the part after the intro (too short !!)
Second part with the beat growing is cool as well
Third part is chaotic, but in a funny way, and the little synth in the end reminds me of happy times of mine...
My favorite track !!
=> I vote for @edzillamusic's "Baglamacaw"

About my own track : wish it was better produced...
First time I spent so much on EQ + compressor, I think I have now a better understanding of the way some people in this place can get such a punchy sound.
Next time I'll try a new workflow with 12s loops so that I can resample the mix and get it carved in the track.
Some work to be done here :D
Life made of: to much children sounds.
I plead guilty ! I would reoffend, though. I'm way too fond of such noises :D
Note that the field recordings were from the same day, opening children sounds from the early morning, angry men from the open-air marketplace, and closing children sounds from bedtime...
@MCBasje303 I'd bet you don't have kids... Do you ?
;)

Had much fun with the Machinedrum, which is becoming my favorite drum machine !!
Enjoyed crafting a new song on the OP-1.
Obviously love my kids madly.
:D

Very good entries everyone!

@kln "what what"
The voice of your kid with the delay is awesome. What stands out in this track for me is the drums, very complex and lots of different part, nice stereo work too. I like it especially because I know that you sampled a lot of breakfast noise. The deep bass in the middle of the song is very nice and fit the general ambiance well. I felt like the small melody line at 3:40 wasn’t really belonging there with the rest but that is nothing ;).

@lefilou - dipstick dub
The sampled drums have a very nice groove! And the melodica chords are matching the laid back feeling. Nice idea for the tooth brush! The ending is very cool and comfort me in the dub/vinyl feeling I got through the track. I would have liked a more complex bass, also closer to a real electric bass sound? It is just me. And I would have loved a longer track because it was good :slight_smile:

@aeoner - michaëlis
The first seconds are dope! This piano part become even better at 0:26 with the arpeggio. Your style is very recognizable and this song is no exception, very light and I feel a lot of poetry in your song(s). I must say that it becomes more interesting when the metro sample enters but I would have like to ear it better, even with headphones. The reverb change on the snare sounds awesome. The ending is very nice, I can picture a train going away.

@lyingdalai - life made of
This first sentence :). Kids are the best/worst alarmclocks. The bassline is fat, I really like this sound! The change at 0:48 is speaking to me, the fast drums and the melody makes me think about the gap between the quiet morning at home with the family and then the fast pace and stress of a working day. The marketplace samples are well exploited, once again fitting the song perfectly. I am less found of the organ type part at the end but it is minor.

@edzillamusic - baglamacaw
The intro is very intriguing, got me hooked. The part following the intro is good, I would have liked richer drums. I really enjoy the synth melody starting at 0:33, especially when it evolves into a kind of hiss at 0:37. The abrupt stop is fun, especially because of the Macaws samples right after. The third part is very intersting, the drums sounds like a drummer is playing live, there is a nice 8bit feeling to the small melody panned left. Very messy at 1:23 but it is obviously meant to be like this. The end makes me think of a DVD menu background music loop for some reasons (not in a bad way!).

Not a lot of entries but as they say, quality over quantity :slight_smile:

I had a hard time deciding between all of the tracks. But my vote goes to @kln for the rich and creative song, I feel like you have been making a lot of efforts to stick to the rules, especially with all the sampled sounds. A more than honorable mention to @lefilou for the toothbrush solo and @lyingdalai for your kid’s samples, so refreshing!

@MCBasje303 I’d bet you don’t have kids… Do you ?


I don’t have kids because they make to much noise.(;
@MCBasje303 I'd bet you don't have kids... Do you ?

I don't have kids because they make to much noise.(;


:smiley:

Greetings from Shanghai!!!

‘what what’ sounds the best in my taste.

Full of creation & variation. plus the mix was awesome.

What a kick-ass set of entries! Listened through them on my way to work, and enjoyed them all. When’s the voting deadline? I’d like to give them some more time before deciding.

Yeah @vehka :smiley:

Sorry I’ve totally missed the voting deadline !

We can say 1 more week. Until the 8th

@lefilou
Dipstick Dub - wa’ppun rude bwoy. as i mentioned in an earlier post, dope use of samples. started getting especially good with the whistling hum synth sound at 1:20. and then rub-a-dub delay effects working in there was just getting going, and ended. would’ve been cool to hear this extended and flipped and delayed. and spun back and then uh-rump-a-pom-pom. seriously nice work, and composition. waan for a nice breakdown and rebuild. another minute, to minute and a half, would’ve been bash & big up. just seemed like it was starting, but didn’t breakdown and back up like it could have amazingly.

@aeoner
Michaëlis - nice when the drums come in from the airy melody beforehand. after admittedly spending far too much time drum programming in my own tracks, having a touch more variety in the break would have helped yours. was hoping for a stutter here and a bit more of a flip there on the break. also, would have been nice to bring some of that airy background melody back into the mix toward the end of the track. i would’ve thought it would fit nicely in the mix, and brought more of a fuller sound and could have helped the track crescendo, whilst still having the cool, chilling vibe. overall good stuff though!

@LyingDalai
Life Made Of - kids are what life is made of. but more than the sampling of the kids in your song, i can’t get over the sounds that i’m assuming came out of the digital synth. it’s the sounds that i have grown to love about the OP-1 and it’s multitude of synth engines…but with digital in particular i think some amazing buttery and juicy sounds come out of that one. and you used it perfectly. groovy and enthralling. lots of layers that work well together too, and cool drums backing the track. really good stuff.

@Edzilla
Baglamacaw -
this stuff is out there, in a cool way. i like the sharp cuts and drastic change ups. also use of vocal samples is well placed. gets a little crazed at 1:30-ish, and intensely static and hair raising. felt like a tropical-latino rendition of a Knife Party track on an LSD and Nitrous balloon bender in a jungle. and then i started waking up from the drug induced state to groove that felt haphazardly cut short. felt a bit unfinished.
vote goes to @lefilou

the dub track stood out to me, and although i think you could’ve done a ton more to make it a 4 to 5 minute track, even as a short one, it’s pretty sick in my assessment. ( @Lyingdalai - is super close second for those epic synth sounds, layering, drums and overall great track)

Thx for taking the time to comment guys :slight_smile:
@kln yes synths are all digital.
First thing I did for this track was switching the synth engine to digital in the 8 synth presets I had. On one patch I got this sound that I fine tuned by adding a bit of crunch from the blue encoder, and I EQ the bass to get it fatter.
Problem was mixing this with the drums, once in the mix : during album recording I tried to adjust over time…

@kln nice to hear what you done with the Digital synth choice.You get a nice variety with it.Lovely samples too.Always nice to hear you arrange with strict OP1.Excellent and moody.Subtle too.Maybe not as slamming and compressed as your other stuff,but a track that is requesting more listens .I could imagine (and would like) this on vinyl .

@Lefilou bringing a smile to my face with classic UK comedy.
Lovely beat.Sounding fat.With cool synths.It’s a tune that needs repeat three tines coz its the commercial version lol.
It’s a great tune.The keys ,beat and comedy really work well together.Ah,I’ve just realised, that’s you on melodica ? Excellent.

@aeoner Nice beat with good movement.The suble panning shift do this well.Maybe it would of been nice to have a return of the pleasant freestyle piano type part that’s at the beginning.
But I do like the progression of the parts and drum variation, nicely done.

@LyingDalai Nice,strong samples ,mixed well and loud.The whole composition is mixed and done really well.
Loving the sly timing shift of the main phrase.
A brave shift at the end as I was expecting a copy and paste of what we’ve heard (and expected) but inserting a new bit allowed for a more “played” style.
Your samples also stayed to the brief excellently aswell.Excellent themed track.Sounding very complete and ready for the screen.
Also good use of OP1 effects.

@Edzilla …Loving this.
Out there.Really bringing this battle together and uniting the other tracks, while being the most wacky.
Love your use of Digital and the whole arrangement.It’s demented…which I like a lot.
Another commercial mix that requires repeat.
That initial disto synth before first break-yes.
I’d be interested in your fav sequencer or is this done by hand?
Nice and unique drum programming too.

Not an easy vote- again.Really close this time…

Ok I’ve decided.
@kln first place.Pure precision with arrangement.
Well done everyone for getting in on time and such high standard.

I will give honourable mentions for @LyingDalai and @Edzilla .My shortlist.

Just read through the feedback ,and I actually thought the alt melody at 3.40 was a strong point for me ,on “What What”. It has a very warehouse vibe,which in the UK means ravey.Like almost back to Chicago 80s or north England 1990ish.
Really liked the way synth sounds blended.

Listening to all the entries carefully :slight_smile: Will vote and comment each one tomorrow!

As I like short pieces on the op-1 and am a big fan of a good dubby vibe, my vote goes to @Lefilou. Springtime’s coming, so I’ll have a spliff outside to this track!
Sorry guys for not commenting on all tracks - work is killing me and I did not manage to give full reviews. Next time hopfully…

Hi guys, @kln gets my vote. Best track of the lot imo from all points of view. Sorry I won’t go into more details had a long day at work and exhausted.
(Enjoy your spliff @iriebeats !
You might like this one well: https://soundcloud.com/le-filou/gourou )

First of all, thanks for the kind feedback about my beat. I started it with an idea and after the bassline, melody and field records were already on the tape tracks I did this jazzy freestyle with the chime, which appears to be the most interesting part of the beat. And the lack of variation also took off some power of the beat :/ But I really liked to do this one! :)

@kln as always with a very musical and powerful groove. Loved the dancehall vibe, evolving into something else ( I´m into dancehall 7 inches from a long time and it´s a great time to dig new music if you´re into this kind of stuff). You are very talented and is always good to hear your sounds.

@lefilou I´m very happy and quite surprised with the jamaican vibe into this battle :) After the dancehall joint, a rock solid dub. Liked a lot your mixing (EQ + Filter?): it´s digital but in a different way than Jahtari stuff, for example. It definitely feels a reminiscent Black Ark artifact, lost into the haze and dust. Great texture.

@LyingDalai: Loved the voice of your kid! Really cute, and as half french, really good to hear it, remembered myself when I was a kid talking with my father. The futuristic vibe of your beat is amazing, transported me to a Tron-esque dimension. Really liked the kid-machine interface in this beat, maybe with a Ghost in the Shell vibe or something like that, with this cyberpunk child samples. One of my favorites!

@edzillamusic: Wow! Very special and quite unique. Loved the variations a (mixtape vibe?) and I really like to hear spanish in this kind of background noise - it´s one of my favorite languages do extract sample material (and sounds familiar but different to our brazillian ears).
Will vote for @Lying Dalai into this one, as the beat is strong and liked the kids samples.

Hey guys ! Sorry to be late, here’s my quick review :slight_smile:

Thanks again to every participants, I know that wasn’t easy. I wish I could participate too, but I had not the time to do it :(.

@kln Awesome and powerful track as always mate. Perfect beat, very well constructed. Samples are perfectly integrated to the song universe.
I just think you could have made it a bit shorter. Anyway that’s a pure track, once again :slight_smile:

@lefilou I simply love this beat :). This song you made reminds me some Gorillaz tunes (from their 1st ablum). You really made a very good work ! And this toothbrush :smiley: I love the way you use it. Great work, not too long.

@aeoner The keys introduction is lovely. As LyingDalai said, a recall of the piano later in the song. That’s a very nice work anyway.
Were you tempted to make an ambiant track when you made this one ?

@LyingDalai Congrats to your cute kids ! That’s a very good team work :). I really loved the bassline you made, powerful and as aeoner said, the futuristic vibe is amazing :). That’s a Tron-esque dimension, for sure :). And the beat you made is so efficient !
Where did you record the sample of the nervous guys ? (Just saw in your post that they’re in the marketplace). From 2:51 to the end the melody you made reminds me somthing but I don’t know what exactly…Maybe some of Air tunes, but with something else. Have to listen again, maybe I’m gonna find out ! Very nice work though !

@edzillamusic You track is so special, the begining reminds me some Soulfly things :D. You made you track very breathable and as mentionned above, you’ve got your track multiparts signature. I really love the first part, I think you can make a whole track from it ! The samples are perfect, just a bit low imo. Great work !

That’s really hard to chose one track, even if there’s not many tracks ! Once again, congratulations to you 5 ! And thanks again for participating.

I wanna vote for all 5 but…I’m gonna choose 3 : @LyingDalai and @lefilou @edzillamusic
Pretty difficult to decide a winner, but even I vote 3, the results are the same.

I’m closing vote session tonight guys ! If you wanna vote, it’s now ! now… now … now…