Ideas for upcoming dnb battles?

The Lounge Mission Briefs
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I have a bunch I’m toying with, but I figured I’d open up the floor for suggestions and make a space to brainstorm.

As a refresher, the Battles so far have been:

  • Animation
  • Arcade Edition
  • Film Noir
  • Found Sounds
  • Call Your Shot (i.e. claim your sample in advance)
  • Battle Bongos!
  • TV Dramas
  • Gospel Music
  • In Memoriam: Sly Stone & Brian Wilson
  • KPM Library Music
  • 50 Years of Greensleeves
  • Uncommon Time Signatures

There was also an Exquisite Corpse challenge that didn’t quite pan out; I think it was too many separate steps.

Alright, let’s go. Hit me w your best shot!

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Could be “meaningful”: next time you encounter a sound sentence in a video, if you remember one that holds a strong phrase, sample it.

Then do the track around these sentances.

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I thought it would be fun to do one that had to incorporate the sample content from something like protracker or the fairlight etc.

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90s Atmospheric Drum n’ Bass

[EDIT] Sometimes in current ages called (for some reason): Intelligent DnB

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Fela Kuti
Nigeria
Folkway records
80s slasher soundtracks
Anatolian funk
Satan
Yacht rock
Autonomic
Strictly tight rollers
Arvo Pärt
Swedish folk music

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One break: all drums must derive from one particular break.

ECM-label challenge

90s Euro-disco

Field recording

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I was reading recently about how the Playstation 1 was really tightly linked with Drum and Bass so that might be a fun challenge.

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I really wish I had had the time to contribute to the “uncommon time signatures” battle. I would have loved getting out of my comfort zone (that is, doing DnB, which I am not familiar with).

Therefore I would like to propose another of my comfort zones: “uncommon scales”. I have been diving into Indian Ragas recently, I am happy to provide sources of inspirations!

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Great idea!

I just did a track using Phrygian Dominant for Weekly Beats and it instantly puts you into another zone in terms of sounds.

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I think it’s tricky to find something that resonates with a lot of people.

I think the segue in the voting thread into discussion of the history of the genre and subgenres suggested perhaps it would be fun to do a battle influenced by or in the style of different artists & labels, may help people discover more about the genre too

Could be fairly specific like “do something that would fit in on late 2000s Subtitles” or “make a bootleg that sounds like hype in the 90s”, or just aiming for a style or mood as mentioned above

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I was thinking it would be cool to provide an image or short video and then we have to create the soundtrack for it.

Have you ever seen the black and white version of Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Arc with the Social Network soundtrack over the top??? It works surprisingly well.

Here is a link to the version (I think): Raiders

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I’m experimenting with one-take songs on Octatrack. Maybe something like that?

Just one device, one track, only one out?

Room for human mixing, playing, errors…

Example:

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I like the idea of a single-something challenge a lot. Maybe a 1-track challenge, or a one-device challenge?

I know some people on here work entirely ITB so I don’t want to make a theme that requires a specific kind of instrument or gear.

Maybe it’s a mono challenge—no relying on the stereo field.

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I love this idea but I don’t have the genre knowledge to emcee this kind of challenge. But maybe someone else who’s more steeped in the culture could take over host duties that month.

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Ableton Live clip view and some manual fading?

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I really like this idea, but I think for it to work it would have to be all the same scale, or just a handful of related scales (like Phyrgian, double harmonic minor, etc.)—otherwise I think the challenge “use a mode other than Ionian/Aeolian” is just too broad.

@Dr_Saff , can you think of a related set of scales that might give people some creative leeway, but also a cohesive feel to the playlist?

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In this vein: maybe “all synth sounds must come from one vst/ hardware/ plugin?” Might not be restrictive enough to be interesting, though - it’s easy to just use something like Serum 2 or Pigments or MPC’s Iona for a whole song. Trickier for hardware-only people maybe, but still not too bad.

One-break challenge seems fun for people who are great at/used to layering, but tbh I’m lazy so I almost always only use one break anyway.

Ooo I like this. Incorporate a field recording beyond just being a background or atmospheric sample.

I really like this!

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I like the “single [whatever]” kind of challenge because it sort of levels the playing field. Honestly I like the idea of a challenge prompt in the first place because it forces me to start from a very specific point.
I’m less enthused in a vague “genre/style” kind of prompt, but I wouldn’t mind it either - putting together these battles is hard work and I’m grateful to be able to participate in the first place tbh.

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Only made on a PS1 with music 2000 in that case :wink:

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How about a revisit battle? If you missed a challenge or wanted a second crack at one you can select the one. Very open, but lets people scratch an itch.

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