Battle 26 voting

General
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1

Here are the entries for Battle 26. Let’s keep the voting open through Tuesday!

@Tribrix
https://soundcloud.com/lenny-timons/let-the-sound-flow

@kln
https://soundcloud.com/dj_kln/did-there

@ceefax (HelloOperator)
https://soundcloud.com/hellooperator-1/wicked

@yoof
https://soundcloud.com/yoof-1/housey-choons-oh-pee-won

@vehka
https://soundcloud.com/vehka/synkee

@lyingdalai
https://soundcloud.com/lying-dalai/laugh-and-peace

@minorremedy
https://soundcloud.com/minor-remedy/reminisce

@mixrasta
https://soundcloud.com/mixrasta/nachts

Here is a playlist with all of the entries:
https://soundcloud.com/ohpeewon-battles/sets/battle-26

I didn’t get a chance to finish what I was working on. I’ll share it when I’m ready. Good luck!

2

Voted @yoof with @kln as a really close second! Good stuff all around!

3

@Tribrix - loved the Chicago acid house feel of this one. The strings, piano chords and vocals make such a great feature together. The vocals especially, they take me right back to '88! I’m very impressed with how authentic it sounds!

@kln - very cool submission. I love how varied it is, but with lots of repeated themes keeping it musical. Loads of nice sample work which I appreciate a lot.

@ceefax - great! I’m waiting for DJ Qbert to come in with the crab scratches any minute… got that turntablist feel about it. I would loved to have heard more of it :wink:

@vehka - such lovely guitar parts in this! My favourite bit is where the solo starts, has a Joao Gilberto feel to it - dead good. I have come to expect some heavily driven, distorted parts to complement the sweetness :wink: nice contrast, goes well. Really good job, man.

@lyingdalai - really high quality entry. Super intro with that laughing going into the arpeggiated synth lines… and that heavy bass (unison?) - wham! I truely love it :slight_smile:

@minorremedy - welcome back! And what a return!! Driven bass, mad warbles, use of every last bit of space in the mix - totally mad sounds throughout. Really good stuff. Sounded a bit like a Virtual Flannel ending… sure there was no Biscuit in there? :wink:

@mixrasta - good work man! I love the subtle sample work on those vocals (I think they are yours from the mic) around half way through. The cheesy ambient youtube nature sounds go really nicely too. I love how you can go to youtube and get 10 hours of practically any sound! Nice work.

Very high standard all round folks! Super hard to choose a winner. I think I’m going to cast my vote to @lyingdalai! Epic stuff!

4

Hi all.

Wow! I'm new to this site; the OP-1 and this concept in general. The quality and diversity of the tracks blows me away, not forgetting how quickly you can all turn around your submissions. My vote went to yoof purely as the beats really intrigue me and I can identify with them (would love to program to that level one day).The other tracks are all great and I suspect the different techniques in worklflow are beyond my grasp at the moment.

I'm looking forward to the next battle: after 3 weeks of op1 ownership, a coupl of questions here and there, 20 tape erases and 12 factory resets I'm going to give it a try. I doubt I'll be giving any competiton at this stage but the challenge inspires me.

Well done everyone and here''s to the next one!

5
Honorable mentions
@kln Playful and a bit "ridiculous" in a totally rad way!
@yoof Epic composition! I like how freely you navigate through a whole 6 minute piece without ever growing stale.
A lot of other cool tracks too.. but for me, when in doubts, I always go with the smile factor. I think @kln gets my vote because you stay foolish, stay fresh, stay playful throughout the whole piece, with Yoof coming in as a master composer close second.
6

@cuckoo I like your default criterion ^^


I voted for @yoof without mentioning it, but I had told earlier that it was my favourite. I’m glad you enjoyed my contribution, mate :slight_smile:
Nice job giving your opinion on each track, BTW.

I have a special feeling for dub+d’n’b : my current exercise on OP-1 is to get that “skonk” sound I used to enjoy on my guitar with some wah and reverb and meet again at the beginning of @yoof’s track.

7

Lot of great entries:


@kln The sound pallet here is super sharp and consistent, it feels very considered and sensitively put together which gives the track very professional, studio quality and serves to allow the musical ideas to shine in the best possible light. And I like the composition a lot. There’s plenty of refrains that remain fresh throughout. Very well done. Kudos.

@ceefax I like how you take found sound and put it in a context that really feels natural and nostalgic. Like taking an old print advertisement, adding some paint and putting it in a frame. The original is there to appreciate but the context improves our experience of it.

@yoof Masterful as always. There is so much happening in this track. With you, we travel to so many different places, seemingly unrelated, yet, we barely perceive the journey as it happens. By the time the music took it’s third left turn, I was simultaneously wishing the first theme would return, but simultaneously curious to know how far away from it we would eventually go. I also feel like you’ve done what’s akin to an entire side of a Pink Floyd album, in only six minutes, I mean talk about skill and efficiency, giving us 22 minutes of content in less than a third of the time. :slight_smile: Really enjoyed. Amazing to hear your work. You really inspire me too.

@vehka First impression, I feel like I’m hearing something from a horror movie soundtrack. Like it wants desperately for you to believe it’s happy, but there’s so much below the surface to suggest otherwise. As the work progresses though, and the guitar comes in, I feel it actually reaches that happy place, which seemed so impossible a minute earlier, and it fades on this upbeat note, as if the composer/listener have escaped whatever doom the opening suggested. Great sound pallet too. Really dug this.

@lyingdalai This reminds me that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but, in this case, insanity is in the mind of the listener, because your composition brings a kind of disjointed outlook to my consciousness, an enjoyable little bit of madness which I think does not emanate from what you put on tape, but your track inspires that in me. It’s really amazing too. I feel like it’s so well structured, if things were moved around a little it might fall apart, but it’s very cohesive as you’ve done it. Really cool. Wow.

@minorremedy That’s so wild, especially how the bass drum sucks all the sound out of everything else. The “big” room reverb suggests to me that I’m in a dark place and don’t necessarily want to know what’s hiding in the corners of the room. A little spooky, but so very cool. Nice One!

@mixrasta Really compelling minimalist vibe, with nice surprises along the way, like the appearance of fireflies at twilight, everything is beautiful and fulfilling but these subtle additions just make it better. Really enjoyable Chill Track, wonderfully executed.

In terms of my vote I’m torn between yoof and lyingdalai, like really torn. The tracks are so different and so equally well done, it’s impossible for me to say one is better than the other. So I am forced to flip a coin in order to vote, and I will say no more than that. :slight_smile:

8

I voted @yoof with @KLN a close second and I love that Gilberto vibe as well @vehka, not to mention the timing for me to hear that song was impeccable! I been cleaning, rearranging, and sorting through stuff in my studio all week. While your track was playing I happened to come across these small beautifully colored geckos painted onto three different silk pieces. Actually two were geckos and the other was some Aztec i think? Or Mayan looking symbol. I bought them years ago and never hung them cause i didn’t have frames and so i hid them as not to get ruined. While listening to your track I hung them in my music room. It totally fit the vibe man!

9

@Tribix — You’ve got classic sound to the T as usual! Great rhythm sections and leads all around, everything works cohesively along with the vocals to let the sound flowwww.

@Kln – The beginning section reminds me of Ninja Gaiden haha. Tasteful chopping of the sample in the track. Love the ebbing of sounds in and out giving a good dimension to what to focus on the track.

@ceefax — So short and sweet! If I heard this somewhere else I’d imagine this was turntabled and not the OP-1.

@yoof — I see your still killing it with your drum programming! Haha, I need to find your post again about your process again. Lots of crazy transitions. Each section section is distinct and transports you somewhere else. Need to listen this along to the Platoon scene where William Dafoe dies :)

(I picked up an Oto Biscuit right before this challenge. So I was bummed to not be able to use it for the challenge but must of inspired me to mimic how it sounds without one :)

@Vehka — I like how everything sounds so bit crushed. I just picked up the Octatrack and it reminded me very much of me crushing things and playing with the filters. Did you play the guitar in this? Love the playing man.

@lyingdalai — I don’t really get the “Laugh and Piece” title when I listen it to it but that’s okay because it surprised me even more! The drum groove is great on it. Really organic. The arpeggiated synth throws me back to Orange Tangerine and John Carpenter movies.

@mixrasta — A more darker vibe than I am usually hearing from you though still has your signature groove in it! Your samples mix with the D-Synth really well and the mix is very cohesive.

Tough to vote as usual but my favorite would have to be @Kln. Just really dig the dubby sound and Chopped up samples of the track!

10

Another Top compilation LP, every track a winner.
If it was on vinyl it would get many rotations off me, but still a lovely memory left in the cloud.
Yoofs house wife on acid sample pushers me over the edge and is a skilled classic.

11

@Tribrix: Love the old-school sounds, the driving beat, the house piano. The harmony between the piano chords and the string pad creates an interesting tension in the song. Great work!

@kln: Playful, great atmosphere! Loved the samples and sounds all around, and it is very well mixed together.

@ceefax: The idea of a jingle-remix (can I call it that?) is great, brought a big smile to my face! Well done!

@yoof: There’s so much interesting stuff going on in your beat tape/sound collage, I thoroughly enjoyed it! Towards the end it has this cinematic, epic feel. And all the different moods fit so well together. Beautiful sounds and a crisp mix all the way.

@lyingdalai: Great counterpoint melody in the beginning & lovely beats, and then when the dark bass synth hits… ! Your song had this weird effect that music sometimes has, it reminds me of some memories I have, but they don’t quite come to the surface. Excellent battle debut!

@minorremedy: Lovely, surrealist peace. Raw and beautiful!

@mixrasta: Your song has a great groove like always. I think I’ve said this before, but your style reminds me of some of the stuff on the now extinct Wall of Sound label. Well done!

The overrall quality of the entries was super high, but after multiple listens, the top two for me was @yoof and @lyingdalai. I voted for @yoof, your entry just kept growing and growing on me after multiple listens. But great work all of you!!

Thanks for all the props on my guitar playing. =) The drums were actually just pitched-down flat tops, I don’t think I used any effects, wasn’t very inspired with the beats! But yeah, most sounds had at least a tiny bit of Phone in them. (I too got an Octatrack a few weeks ago @minorremedy, maybe I’ve been subliminally affected by the bitcrushing effect… =) )

It’s a bit tricky to get a decent guitar volume with the built-in mic, you need to do a bounce for the guitar with extra compression, but then you risk clipping in the final mix. After a couple of tries, I think I had 40 compression in the bounce, and then 17 or so in the final mix. And the solo was still not loud enough…

Thanks for the funny story @Blipsford_Baubie!

12
i like all the tunes for different reasons and continue to be inspired by the other styles & points of view that were submitted. difficult to choose which to vote for.

"Let the Sound Flow" sounds like a classic house track i could have rediscovered after digging thru some of my older crates and dusting ‘em off. @Tribrix it has the authentic feel of that era with the piano riff and 808 and the spoken vocal. cool.

"Wicked" sounds happy and fun. could see using it as an intro to a DJ set or as an interlude. @ceefax nice tune, although short.

"Housey Choons Oh Pee Won" is dope. @yoof

“Synkee" has a good balance of bit-grit and jazzy-calmness. i think someone else mentioned the brazilian jazz vibe, which i appreciated as well. @vehka

"Laugh And Peace" feels like it is from a soundtrack with a lot of drama and nice tones throughout, nothing ugly about the saturation or production. well put together! @lyingdalai

"Reminisce" is also very dramatic, and intense. it has that buzzy drone/growl and subtle modulations in the mix that give it that haunting feel, contrary to the title of the track. bass kick drop has a crazy effect on the mix. really cool stuff! @minorremedy

"Nachts…" the layers of sounds all mix very well together and altogether chill. together makes up a cohesive piece that i’ve listened to a few times over to capture the subtleties. @mixrasta

"Housey Choons Oh Pee Won” gets my vote, after much consideration.

thanks for the comments on "did there” (and votes). i really appreciate the feedback and commentary on mine and others submissions, since it adds perspective when i listen to the other tracks that i might not have had…and continues to inspire my musical ventures on the OP-1.

i also like how folks described their process and what they used. super cool to get that detail! thanks for hosting Battle 26 @lymtronics

13

Sorry I was out on this great battle! busy as can be which pays the bills at least! anyways @yoof wow all 6 minutes and the platter was FULL! great work.

@kln I had to listen again cause it sucks you in. and you get my vote.

Everyone great work. this was a great show of work and tough to choose, it really came down to the state of mind at the time of the listening.

Thanks @lymtronics

14

Already voted for @yoof a few days ago! Yes, those weird noises came from my voice, yoof. I pitched them up and down while playing them with the sampler.thanks.

Thanks for the nice words on mine to @tribrix I like your 808 drumbeat very flowy, @vehka youre right with the Wall of Sound comparison even though I never bought a record from them but from other labels with similar sounds like mowax ninjatune ultimate dilemma etc, @minorremedy You made a tight crazy ambient interlude giving me a relaxed atmosphere, and @kln, enjoyed your funky lil puzzle with the cool bouncy bass!

Not to forget @lyingdalai’s wonderful entry that I enjoyed very much!

Thanks to Lym for throwing another nice creative party for us!


15

@Tribrix Nice! Totally nailed the classic house sound. Love the cowbell and piano. I like the drum dropouts and reappearances. A compelling sound in each section that trades hands with something equally pleasing at every juncture.


@kln Tight ass groove! Love those snaps and rolls. Crushing bass! Great work with the samples. Really like the “ay ay ay” one. I want to play Touch Fuzzy, Get Dizzy to this song.

@Ceefax That scratching stuff is really cool. Strange stuff going on here. Really manic music with a man awkwardly rambling in the background. You struggle to understand what he is talking to himself about and the scratching comes in to remind you of the abstraction you are caught in. It has the feel of an aged radio broadcast, but one that represents an overdose of culture. My compliments.

@yoof I imagine I will have a lot to write as I listen to your song. Your battle entries consistently represent the result of hard work, and I am prepared for a treat as I press play. I’ve said it before, but your drum programming skills are absolutely top notch with so much variance and attention to detail. I love between the second and third parts (if I’m counting correctly) when the bird sounds transition into radio static. A very strange passage from nature to technology. The choir sounds great, going to have to sample one myself. That synth sound with the LFO or whatever in the end is awesome in the harder part after the choir. A great accomplishment to bring listeners on such a varied journey in six minutes.

@vehka Maybe I read that you put this together in one go? I’m just going to assume that and scratch my head. I like how the drumkit sounds all blown to bits. Those resonant sweeps sound great. I love the differing amount of reverb on the lead guitar line. I like the heavy electronic madness coupled with the acoustic instrumentation.

@lyingdalai Love the twinkling bright melody that comes in after the laughter. Great drum work. I like the sparing use of delay and phone (maybe something else) in your beat. Longing and nostalgic, but with a beat to keep your head moving. Great production. Love the wash of arpeggiation at the end moving all around in both ears. Super track.

@minorremedy Good to have you back, pal. Love that knockout compression. Such a dense atmosphere; howling, electric sounds. A shoegaze drone that teases ever so infrequently with a crushing beat, but never long enough to overpower the environment of rust and decay.

@mixrasta Yeah! Really nice beat. It’s fun to hear some of the same drum samples you used being treated differently. I enjoy those common elements that tie these songs together. Some cool back and forth panning stuff I can’t tell if was done on tape or not. Really awesome groove with a slick night-time feel.

Alright. Looks like we have a winner. Congrats to @yoof for a well-deserved win. That was a great track. You’ve had a lot of other great tracks recently that should have won some battles, too.

Alright, here’s what I made:

https://soundcloud.com/lymtronics/fractions

I didn’t get it finished by the deadline, but it didn’t matter so I took my time with it. I used Dsynth extensively with compliments made by Cluster.
The track opens with part of a sample from an old Viacom station identification sound.
There are samples from two guided meditation videos I found on youtube.
The samples discussing sound and frequencies are from a segment on 3-2-1 Contact featuring Suzanne Ciani.
I also used sounds of birds, rain, a playground, laughter, a poem being recited, a staple remover recorded with the mic, and the Dic sound signature.
I maybe wish I didn’t mess around with delay as a master effect, or at least practiced it more before recording.

16

@Lymtronics lovely!

@yoof congratz!


17

Congratulations @yoof! And thanks @lymtronics for hosting yet another great battle! I really dig participating in these.

18

Congratulations @yoof !


Lymntronics, for some reason this snare with reverb makes me feel back in 80’s, like Twin Peaks’ 80’s, while the voice with delay reminds me of a track of High Tone (a dub band from Lyon, France, very famous here) on their album ADN (you got to listen to it) which uses a sample from Lynch’s Dune. So while the track in itself may not be bound to 80’s, it makes me feel a kind of nostalgia and gets related in my mind to the weird feelings of watching Lynch’s work. Interesting :slight_smile:

Some of you did’t allow their track to be downloaded (@Tribrix, @kln, @ceefax, @minorremedy)
No real pb with this, but I would really like to get them cause at work I cannot stream that much…
So I’d be glad if you put this option on :slight_smile:

19

@Lymtronics, as usual, an absolute pleasure listening to your track. It’s gloriously dense with beautiful sounds and the interplay between those sounds and the samples is totally magic. I always come away totally inspired listening to your tracks. Very nice indeed!!

Operators, I’m totally thrilled to have won the battle. Thank you all so much for the nice comments. I’m really looking forward to dreaming up some rules, already got some ideas, just need to do a touch of prep work. Hopefully up by Saturday night.

The standard was so high on this battle. I love how we’re all learning from each other and our own past efforts. But also love how the battles attract newcomers who bring their own creativity to the mix. Long live the battles!

Thanks @Lymtronics for hosting. I hope and expect to see you host again :slight_smile:

20

Congrats @yoof great track, well deserved win. In the end I had to vote for ceefax, I am a sucker for tracks like this.

@Lymtronics you probably would have gotten my vote with that track.

@LyingDali Twin Peaks, huh? I snapped these earlier today. (Season 3 in 2016!)