Lamp Sessions (Monthly Challenge #002) – submissions due July 23 at 11:59PM UTC

nice im enjoying these thanks for the games

What do you consider as a mono-synth? Any synth with the “mono” switch on?

Outstanding.

And I have brought many new SG members over from a Joe Ford class we all just took, so there will be more competition this time.

Monark, from NI is also a thumper of a mono synth. I assume we can use physical mono synths as well? Been meaning to dust off my Moog.

Good luck SG Massive!

Harry, someone asked me if the patches in this month’s download pack are fair game…?

I said probably not, but that I would ask you.

What say ye?

Good work Harry..

Indeed the Prize is a free month of membership, but also the chance to have a piece of your music given feedback by as many of our artists (past and present) as possible.

We’ll pick the Genies most suitable (depending on the style of winner) and send the track to them for their input.

So definitely a good prize and worth taking part in – Many of these guys have their own labels too, so who knows, if the demo is really good it might go further than feedback … 😉

so whats up with the submissions i guess i will go first with a few hours under my belt as usual good luck

I also had to rush a bit because I’m going on holidays tomorrow but I’m happy with the idea, I’ll try to finish this one after the contest 🙂

https://soundcloud.com/mindzerodnb/mind-zero-lamp-sessions-002-demo/s-nx0dX

I will be working up to the deadline on mine. As usual I’ve already made 3 different versions, nothing is great atm.

Hey Harry, if you’re open to challenge ideas, I would LOVE to do a 1 synth challenge.

Only one synth, of the users choosing, and everything must come out of that. No samples. Only 1 synth for drums, pads, atmos, bass, etc.

https://soundcloud.com/the_shrike/shrike-lampsessionsjuly2018-v005b/s-rIUKe

That’s my wife on vox. Most of this comes from re-sampling NI monark, some from the SG samples.

Threw a few hours at this a couple days ago. It’s pretty simple, especially the bass, but I thought I’d submit anyway.
I tried to use the code to embed soundcloud, but got a 403 error when I tried to submit, so here’s a regular link.

https://soundcloud.com/struktcha/struktcha-lamp-sessions-002-demo/s-KrTaC

Eh, I almost missed the deadline. Not trying to be sneaky, just my time management was pretty bad. This time I started something else because I liked the wobbly bass, but I kinda lost breath with it..

https://soundcloud.com/balron/balron-lamp-sessions-002-demo/s-xrvRm

Unfortunately I had to put focus on getting my other tracks ready for BEC demo submission and more other stuff I had to do so I did not have time to participate in this one (many sad faces).

But awesome stuff guys, good work!! Really bass heavy this month and I love hearing that. I vibe Shrike and Balron tracks. Shrike for his energy in the track and Balron’s bass is just crazy good (especially the crunchy layer in there). Both have good mixdowns as well and difficult to pick which one I like more but if my vote is accountable then I would vote for Shrike.

Damn, once again it’s tough to pick just one. Will need to keep listening to them a bit more.

Harry: Would it be possible to add a rule to make these downloadable (next time)? I would like to dl and make a playlist, so I can listen to all the entries easily on repeat/shuffle.

I make my SC links downloadable, every time, for general purpose. So there is one down.

Balron you are just killing it, son

struktcha
It was tough, but I can only vote one 🙂

Like the oldschool vibe. The intro has a nice atmo, but lacks a buildup imo. Although I guess this is more of a ‘roller’ type of track, so it’s ok 🙂
I am suprised by how well is the small kick working here – my kicks are usually too loud or big. On the other hand… the snare sounds ok, but the ‘oldschool vibe’ could use different kind of snare (bigger and in lower freq…with more crash?).
Also, it feels like some of the synth hits in background are a bit off tempo. I would like them more a bit quieter to keep focus on the main bassline, which provides the main ‘vibe’.
Overall mixdown is nice and there’s nothing that would annoy me 🙂

Nice work.

· Joppa: That filtered sample in the intro is quite annoying for me. The build-up is a bit poor and the last 32 bars before the drop makes it sound less powerful. The basses sounds wide and heavy and the drum groove is nice.
· Shrike: The intro is a bit heavy for me. The breakdown after it has a nice atmosphere and rises good until the drop. I like that hypnotic sounds in the drop, but it feels a bit repetitive after some time.
The overall mixdown is pretty good, maybe I would brighten up the hats a bit but the basses sounds good (in my headphones, I don’t have monitors)
· R4NSOM: Although I think the track is all about progression, I feel like the intro could be a bit more interesting. The drums sit perfectly in the mix and the bass is also sounding great. Maybe I would like to hear some more variations across the track.
· Struktcha: Love that old school kind of bass, reminds me a bit of some old Bad Company. Maybe you could use some effects to hide a bit the sounds that are going to be all over the track, like using reverb or something, just to have a bit more of impression when it drops later. The snare feels a bit weak for this kind of tune and the groove could be a lot better in my opinion. I would take down a bit the effects and the synths across the track and give them more space.
· Balron: Creepy intro working really good. I love the whole drums and low end section, sounds amazing, but the synths and high basses you are using there are quite annoying for me, it makes the track lose the rolling movement you have created with the rest of the elements, after 01:09 is the kind of thing that I would like to hear in this track.

I tried to focus on the “bad” things as I like to have my feedbacks like that in order to improve, but all of guys did a great work with this one, glad to see there’s a lot of talent here!!

My vote this time goes to R4NSOM

Joppa– Bro that intro sound only makes me the tiniest bit insane. THere is some good stuff in here, esp starting around 1min when it really picks up. I think you could push that low sub fundamental much harder, and then the kick and the snare, but that is mixing stuffs. The groove has some good potential, fairly rolly.

Mind Zero – It’s a nice groove, mixing is a little reserved, I think you could get more out of that lowest note. The whole thing is probably a little too polite for me, which is an extremely subjective thing. Everything is just kind of laid back and small, but I think that is the intent…? Minimal stylee? You always have some great stuff, and the craftsmanship is very apparent. Nicely done.

Harry – I really like that snare. Transient holds up throughout. Also a fairly minimal vibe, which is just not my area of expertise. Everything is well mixed and flows nicely. Fun little side sounds, lots for the ear to “eat”.

Struktcha – welcome to the party…I love the talky wide mid sound that scrapes through every now and then at the drop. I think there is a lot of good stuff, just needs some work on the mix. The drums are a little dry and reserved, I think they could be pushed a little more, to be a little more aggressive. This will sound a little strange, it’s my best way to explain: At the moment they feel like they are “pasted” onto a window ride in the front of the stage, and it might help to give them a little air…maybe a few small reverbs just to give a sense of depth, and then you might try and sat them a little for some more overtones. More volume, and not the “gain” kind of volume, but the space kind.

Balron – dark & intense, even with the mostly minimal elements. That sub is mixed pretty damned well, comes through well in the variety of listening conditions that I applied to it.

My vote is Balron. What can I say, I am a fan.

Hi Guys another interesting set of tunes for sure! Well done and thanks for taking part.

Feedback:

Juan,

A strong reese which is mixed nicely forward, making it the main feature, together with the simple beats make this very ‘Drum & Bass’, stripped back stuff can always be a good formula.
The feeling is here it’s now a bit too simplistic, quite old school. Not enough edge, surprise and energy to carry of this style of track with this kind of sound board. Listen through music by PROLIX to get an idea of how to switch up the arrangement and bring elements in and out – also how leads work with basses to add tension and ‘musicality’ to the tune.
Perhaps last months feedback on your 001 submission has caused to you to go too far with stripping back and simplifying? Maybe next you’re looking for something halfway between 001 and 002 to find that magic formula?

Mind Zero,

We love this one. Such a vibe on the intro, really draws the listener in.
Perhaps the drop is a bit sudden and bit of a change? Maybe bringing down or fading out the intro pad earlier and transitioning into a more simple rise will give the drop more clarity and impact when it comes in.
The main tune moves along really nicely. The riff is catchy and deep, very hypnotic.
Overall this tune needs a bit of a bigger mix to really do it justice. More presence, bit more volume and precision throughout – but that can take serious amounts of time to get minimal tunes sounding like that, so understandable on a demo like this it’s more about the music.
Potential here for a cool tune. Finish this!

Shrike,

Wicked texture and top end work on this, the crunch and fuzz is very nice on the ear!
Tune wise has some great elements and definitely not a standard track, very techy and actually quite Psy sounding which is hardly done in dnb so good work there. The mix needs some real clarity for it to really work – the Psy crowd are obsessed with clarity and purity, this tune would do well to be like that. Snare needs to cut through a bit more, as does the kick and more sub in the bass.
Definitely a curve ball tune and that is most welcome. It would be interesting to hear more of this style.

Ransom,

Sick drum pattern, really infectious groove. Nicely mixed beats overall too. Needs more sub and also maybe some more interesting elements in the mid bass. What texture can be created that’s fresh? Even if just for half a bar at the end of every 16 / 32.. something that teases us and sounds like 2019 and then goes away again, we get our heads back into the beat hoping for that bass to return, and it does.. maybe Spend some hours processing bass sounds, pitch enveloping them too to make a fresh sounding turn-around bass samples for this tune.

Struktcha,

Cool vibes, really dark funky business. Great work!
Nice grooves and sound choices. Maybe a little too many peripheral hits happening around the place, distracting from the main meat and bones? Working on that mix, beefing up everything will mean less need to lean on the incidental sounds to make it interesting.
The drum pattern could perhaps do with some surprises hear and there, also a bit more impact in the drums overall would be nice.

Balron,

Epic engineering on this, Sounds huge. Very clear and It’s fair to say the feedback you’ve had from Jade and maybe Prolix too (if it arrived in time!) after your 001 win has made an enormous difference to your mixes. The Sub is on a whole different level!
The completely 180 degree out of phase sounds at the end is a nice touch for the technical producers to appreciate – sounds that vanish in mono and re-appear in stereo, but their absence doesn’t ruin the tune…clever stuff which hasn’t gone unnoticed!
While this is technically a very impressive tune, it maybe lacks a little bit of soul and vibe perhaps? Maybe some music elements and groove updates could really elevate this track to something CRITICAL or INVISIBLE.

So our votes are 2 votes for Mind Zero and 1 vote for Balron.
But this months tunes are all very cool and already a step up conceptually from last month.
Keep it up!

Thank you, Genie(s), for taking the time to give such thorough feedback for everyone.

Nice work all, this is a talented bunch. Excited to start working on the next challenge.

MOTIVATE!!!

Thanks everyone for the votes and feedback! I am surprised I got so many… and having Critical or Invisible mentioned anywhere near next to my stuff is mindblowing 🙂

I personally am kinda unhappy with both of my entries so far – mostly because of the mixdown, which is my long lasting nightmare. But this also works as a motivation for these challenges – since the last month, I got feedback from Jade and Prolix, which was great. Together with the feedback from you guys, it helps me move step by step towards a better production. Hopefully one day, I will be able to fall asleep without thinking about clashing frequencies, loudness, dynamics and muddy sound 🙂

What are the final vote counts here?

Congrats to both the winners!