I’ll try to get it out in the proper format to our esteemed host this weekend, and let him choose when / if it gets shared. I feel a lil weird dropping it during the vote. I missed the cutoff
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I truly wish I had time to participate in this one. DnB has shaped me throughout my youth. Maybe at some point if things settle down in my life. Hopefully this will keep going.
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If you make something you can always just go ahead and post it here. We’d all love to hear it.
I’ve done that in a few hip hop battles where I didn’t finish my track in time.
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Some thoughts on the tracks from me (including my opinion of my own track so as not to prejudice anything)
Severance - the drum programming matched the vibe of the piano and orchestral parts of the score and very much felt like an extension of the original score rather than just sampling it and sticking some drums on. The edits also took it to new places. Drum wise the parts had a tension between sounding like halftime and the more skittish intelligent sound, and the mix was a bit imbalanced - melodic elements too loud and drums too low
Pennys on the Brain - such a change of vibe from the first. The resonant womp stabs and the drums / samples / sirens put this firmly in DJ Hazard jump up territory, but without getting cheesy. Punchy mix but some of the bass elements fight each other occasionally.
Wipeout - nice crisp amen samples, ‘engine’ synth and the other synths contribute to the vibe of the track fitting the theme, the switch up in drums and added synth stop it getting too repetitive. Arrangement wise it’s difficult to follow though, doesn’t seem to have a clear structure or progression and kind of just peters out.
Shoot or Die (Turrican) - lovely kick and snare, nice use of swing on the hats. Sound choices and instrumentation are nice. Unfortunately the melody is in A minor and the bass is centred on G / E and later D so there’s never a sense of tonic resolution.
Dead Man - excellent atmospherics, nice drum choices and programming and good low end energy. Feels like one of the most solid interpretations of the brief, has a truly cinematic vibe. Mix is a bit uneven though - guitars are a bit prominent and some of the vocal / atmospheric samples take up a bit much space too, I’d personally rebalance the drums between sections, pull out some of the mids and push the limiter harder.
Batman - a dilemma because although it’s one of my favourites, the tempo of this one puts it firmly in new school breaks territory rather than dnb- although I used to DJ this style and would definitely have bought this. The resonant bass is really cool and the switch ups in the drums and fx are great. Mix wise the low end could be a little beefier and the high mids are a little brittle but each time I listen to it I wish this was longer.
Dark - it’s a brave choice to take on a piece by apparat but this absolutely slaps. Sound design is great, dense and intricate. Practically uses distortion as an instrument in its own right which I’m into. Love the vocal edits and how this evolves into a more dancefloor sounding tune. The tremolo effects are excellent. The mix is very dense and mastered super loud which sometimes makes it tricky to pick out some of the sounds.
Shards of Earth - cinematic opening into full dance floor, before coming together at the end. One of the synths repeats the guitar riff nicely. Drums are really crisp but the synths get lost from time to time and could be higher in the mix. Overall level suffers a little compared to the tunes before and after.
Chills theme - interesting chord progression to work with. Feels very much in keeping with the style of the portal games in terms of instrumentation and composition. I like the synth playing the sub. The breaks that stab in sound massive, but that leaves the main kick and snare feeling a bit naked, kick in particular felt like it needed some more beef.
Points - nonspecifically based on the vibe of the track composition, how it fits the brief and how dnb it feels:
Dark 3, Pennys on the Brain 2, Dead Man 1
6 Likes
I’ll barge in with my unfinished demo. I’ve decided to continue working on this and release it whenever it’s ready - I don’t think the main motif has come together yet, as well as a proper B section / outro (not included here).
My choice was to create a theme based on 1000xResist, a game I would recommend to anyone who can appreciate games with a strong narrative focus. The bits in the beginning are a direct sample from the game, but otherwise no relation to the actual OST.
I’ll leave some comments on the competition once the voting closes since I did not officially take part 
4 Likes
Well done everyone! great tracks all around.
1st place, 3 points - Track 8 - Really clean and well done track, crisp mix and sound design on point.
2nd place, 2 points - Track 5 - Great composition and mix, love the use of the guitar sample.
3rd place, 1 point - Track 2 - 1 point - Love the whole vibe of this track just wish it was a bit longer!
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Great work everyone
3 points to track 2 - How can I not love Inspector Gadget
2 points to track 4 Turrican - Amiga for life another inspired choice
1 point to track 8 - punchy and sounding great!
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I’m having real trouble picking a top 3 here, so I’m going to be annoying and pick two “favorites” and two “almost favorites.” Here goes:
2 pts—Penny’s on the Brain This is the closest to what I was thinking when I thought of the challenge. Really fun, and I can see the updated Inspector Gadget credit sequence in my head for this. Also, at barely over 2 minutes I feel like it deserves extra credit for brevity. I love that it has two or three really distinct parts even at only 2 minutes, too, and the way you used the iconic theme elements. The extremely wet delay/reverb drop-offs sound great.
2 pts—Chell’s Theme Good energy that totally goes with the source material. Just a natural fit. Also, I really like the chord changes. The harmonic breakdown at like 1:50 is something I’ve tried to do a bunch of times and I think you really nail it here. So good.
1 pt—Shoot or Die I don’t know the game Tourican, but I used to play a bunch of side-scrollers so I can picture this in my head from your song. The motif reminded me a lot of what you’d hear in games of the time—not just the sound design but the way the melody is written. My only critique is sometimes (between min 2 and min 3?) there was too much reverb, even for me.
1 pt—Wipeout The way you used the engine sound!!! Puts me right back with the plastic wheel in my hands. I like the snare line too. At first I wasn’t so into this one, even though I thought it was pretty clever. But as I listened to the playlist this week it really climbed up my ranking, almost to #1.
Hat tip to "Severance"! This is also basically perfect. This is where having to rank these becomes kind of dumb because this one is so good. It sounds pristine, and your use of FX really capture the theme of the show. It feels like a totally natural extension of the theme. I think this one has the best sound quality, too, which adds to the vibe.
Everyone’s songs were honestly fantastic this time. Really hard to rank. Though it’s always tough with a challenge like this not just picking the stuff you liked as a kid.
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Still waiting for votes from @malus_mons, @Musement, and @Seadub
Please try to get them in by tomorrow!
(Alex, I know you gave some really detailed notes, which is both awesome and way above the call, but you still need to award your points.)
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The points are at the bottom.
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Oh duh, thanks.
Revised my post.
1 Like
@KingDuppy: Sorry it took me some time. I have really enjoyed listening to all tracks - and it was really difficult for me to decide:
3 pts - Dark: I think it has a beautiful intro and great use of the vocal sample (gave me Andy Stott vibes). Composition-wise it’s also great.
1 pt - Dead Man: Nice vibe, nice guitar (self-played?) and rather complex arrangement.
1 pt - Shards of Earth: Good use of call & response - great sounds.
1 pt - Chell’s Theme (Portal): Clear mixing, many ideas, good variations of the motif.
I also like “Severance” and “Pennys on the brain (Inspector Gadge” a lot. For me “Dark” was further ahead of the other tracks - that’s why I gave 3 points.
Extra kudos to @alexleigh83 : your feedback is spot on, fair, well-meant and constructive all at the same time.
4 Likes
Sorry for the late vote! These are really great!
-
Chell’s Theme: This one feels the most like it really could have been a menu title song looping endlessly over some alternate universe where Portal is a classic PS1 game. Something about the production style and melodic phrasing just screams 1998 to me in the best way. 3 points!
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Dead Man: great atmospheric samples and good use of half-time. Definitely justifies the longer run time with some good arrangement and development. 2 points!
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Shards of Earth: that’s just a damned good bass sound. Those drums really hit, too. Great sound design all around on this one. 1 point!
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- Dead Man - I like this one the most, it doesn’t feel like a Jungle or DnB track to me though
- Severance - This could just be a theme to a show already
- Shards of Earth - Yep, great bass patch!
4 Likes
Our panel of ghouls and liches have compiled the results, and this month’s winners are…
CHAMPION TITLE
belongs to @malus_mons
for track 2, “Penny’s on the Brain" (Inspector Gadget Theme)
with 11 points!
2nd Place (tie)
goes to @alexleigh83
for track 8, Shards of Earth
and me, @KingDuppy
for Track 5, Dead Man
with 9 points each!
3rd place
goes to @JooseBoks
for track 7, Dark
with 8 points!
Full track titles and artists have been updated in the playlist.
Thanks so much to everyone for playing and listening!
Missed this battle? Head over to Get Spooky, the Halloween Mini Battle going on in another corner of this category, open for new sounds until All Hallow’s Eve.
And please keep the thread going with your (constructive!) feedback, track breakdowns, struggles, goals, alternate takes, abandoned sketches, and whatnots!
-KD
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