The Official dnbforum/Detached Audio remix compo WINNERS!

[Dark Lizardro]

Ladies and Gentleman,

Here they are! The winners of the first hybrid remix competition between dnbforum and Detached Audio!

We would like to thank all of the members involved and their hard work, top quality tracks!

Remiding you all that we had 6 judges (thank you guys for your time and ears), and they gave notes from 0-10 according to the Musicality, Production Techniques and Mixdown for each finalist, to a total of 30 points per judge for each track, 180 points for all judges for each track.

And here they are:

Winner: Track D made by @IV4, with a total of 151 points out of 180
2nd place: Track C made by @Mania, with a total of 150 points out of 180
3rd place: Track E made by @scrTchs, with a total of 148 points out of 180
4th Place: Track I made by @BinstonVanGogh, with a total of 134 points out of 180
5th Place: Track J made by @Kyba, with a total of 133 points out of 180

Great work, guys! You surely put out some quality tunes out in this remix compo and you represent the quality of the producers in this forum!

The personal reviews of each judge are going to be posted in this thread during the day, and you all who didn't make it to the finals (and of course the ones who made it) feel free to name your tracks and, if you want to, share some techniques used to all can learn new things!

HOORAY FOR IVAN! THE GREAT WINNER IS YOU!

 

[scrTchs]

Congrats Ivan!!! Big up to everyone involved, and a huge thanks to @ManuForti and @Dark Lizardro for putting all of this together!

 

[Manu Forti]

Id also like to take the opportunity to thank everyone involved in particular @Dark Lizardro for running the whole shabang top man DA is forever in your gratitude bodo! And of course the judges @Gloxxy @jmzmaloney @Dark Lizardro @Reefleks @Pelegrim, @miszt for Mix/Master, the forum in general and last but not least everyone who participated. The standard was high and ill put the same standard into promoting the release.

 

[BinstonVanGogh]

Woohoo!!! Well done everyone and big up to the organisers and judges!

 

[Manu Forti]

I know theres going to be some issues getting the master done here. Ill answer any questions of course but could everyone ive inboxed also email John Miszt immediately so he can give you exact specs for the file format etc

@IV4 @Mania @scrTchs @BinstonVanGogh @Kyba

 

[IV4]

There was a lot of good tracks in this compo, and I want to give a shout out to tracks j and b. They were my favorite dnb and non-dnb tracks. E and G were a close second for me. Congrats to the winners!

 

[Dark Lizardro]

Alright, it's time for the judges reviews on each of the finalists!

Here's Gloxxy's:

Mania Remix - C

This is a superb remix! Love the suspenseful intro and the drums are tight and punchy. The drop is immense. Synth lead and bass work perfectly in tandem. The drums hit perfectly through the mix. This tune is extremely well put together. The bass sound design is excellent. Production techniques are very advanced. This producer knows their way around their DAW of choice! This remix still stays true to the original while taking it to a completely different place.
I would bang the shit out of this in my sets.

Musicality 8/10
Production Techniques 9/10
Mixdown 9/10

Total: 26/30

Iv4 Remix - D

An excellent breakbeat/house remix. Very true to the original. The build up to the drops are perfect breakbeat drops. It sounds reminiscent of Breakbeat tunes by Drummatical Twins, Freestylers or The Plump DJs from the early 2000’s. The 16 bars before the 2nd breakdown is pure fire! Really raw sounding. I was nodding my head badly to this phrase! The drums are loud, crisp and punchy.
Kenny Ken would be proud of this Hau5 remix! Kenny Ken/10!!!!

Musicality 8/10
Production Techniques 8/10
Mixdown 9/10

Total 25/30


Option Remix - E

Love the choppy drums. The actual drop is a little underwhelming. The producer might have wanted this understated drop with subtle sub bass stabs but it lacked impact. The mix down sounded nice and balanced. The low frequencies could have been pushed a little more on the drums to be a bit more prominent in the mix. Second half time drop sounds great with the choppy drums rearranged.

Musicality 7/10
Production Techniques 7/10
Mixdown 8/10

Total 22/30

BinstonVanGogh Remix - I

Intro sounds very eerie and haunting. Sets a great vibe from the start. Drums sound a bit lost in the mix. The mix down of this remix is very quiet. I don’t know if this was intentional or whether the producer’s knowledge of mix downs is limited. Better EQing of drums or better quality samples would have resulted in crisper drums in the mix. An interesting downtempo take of the original.

Musicality 7/10
Production Techniques 6/10
Mixdown 6/10

Total 19/30

Kyba Remix - J

The intro drums smack you in the face from start. Crisp punchy drums sound good with the string samples. The ghost snares really give the drums groove. Makes me want to skank………..on one foot! I’m not overly keen on the vocal samples. They sound a little loud in the mix and over power it slightly. They just sound out of place within the context of the remix.The one note drone bass is nice and warm sounding. This remix sounds the least like the original of all the finalists.

Musicality 7/10
Production Techniques 8/10
Mixdown 8/10

Total 23/30

 

[Dark Lizardro]

Here's jmzmaloney's:

Mania Remix - C

Really like the intro, great job with that. Might be taking too much of a personal view with it, well that's what I think I'm supposed to do, didn't really feel the tune from the drop, but its not really my bag. Technically the tune is amazing though.

Musicality - 7/10
Production Techniques - 9/10
Mixdown - 9/10

Total - 25/30

IV4 Remix - D

Musicality - 8/10
Production Techniques - 8/10
Mixdown - 8/10

Yes Ivan 4/4 out of nowhere, didn't think anyone would take this route, very inventive. Love all the switches in the tune, technically very good.

Total - 24/30

Option Remix - E

Voted for this. Personal favourite, love the vibe, really like the break. Great job all round.

Musicality - 9/10
Production Techniques - 9/10
Mixdown - 8/10

Total - 26/30

Blinston Van Gogh Remix - I

The other one I voted for. Love the all round eeriness, sounds similar to late 90s Skam, some of my favourite music, sadly not as technically good as the others

Musicality - 8/10
Produciton Techniques - 6/10
Mixdown - 7/10

Total - 21/30

Kyba Remix - J

This could of been the winner, personal view is either the vocal is overused or its the wrong vocal, love to here it without the vocals, takes over the whole tune. Everything else sounds real nice.

Musicality - 6/10
Production Techniques 7/10
Mixdown - 7/10

Total - 20/30

 

[Dark Lizardro]

here's Dark Lizardro's:

Mania Remix - C

I loved the intro with all the percussive elements. The fast break seemed a little off, as it gave me the feeling of a "false start" after the break. The bass is well designed, works pretty well with the drums. The song went very far from the original, to the point I'm intrigued on what samples were used for this. The mixdown is pretty crisp and low end tight, just as a dnb song needs to sound.

Musicality - 8/10
Production Techniques - 9/10
Mixdown - 9/10

Total - 26/30

IV4 Remix - D

You can tell it's a PLtM remix right from the start, with the very distinct samples used. Very atmospheric intro that leads directly to a great break and then (as jmz said) out of nowhere, a 4/4 pattern. That's something that surprised me. The vocoder voice samples were very neat. The drums seem a bit loud in the mix, but the overall mixing is good. Very clear mixdown.

Musicality - 8/10
Production Techniques - 8/10
Mixdown - 8/10

Total - 24/30


Option Remix - E

I liked the more liquid approach to this remix, even though it isn't my cup of tea in terms of dnb. It shows how creative you can get and what you can achieve even when the original song is of a more dark nature. The break is good, but the bass sound a bit too repetitive. I couldn't feel much of the sub, but this can be my setup. The overall mixing and mixdown are pretty good.

Musicality - 9/10
Production Techniques - 7/10
Mixdown - 8/10

Total - 24/30

Blinston Van Gogh Remix - I

The mood of this song surprised me a lot. Loved the percussion sounds and the "stop and go" arrangement of the drums. The break is good, but the song could use of more variation. From my experience, the audible sub can make things nasty and muddy on smaller setups, like earbuds.

Musicality - 7/10
Produciton Techniques - 7/10
Mixdown - 8/10

Total - 21/30

Kyba Remix - J

This one called my attention to the use of an overused sample (the Uh! in the break, I remember listening to this on the first Pendulum album or something), and I don't think the vocals fit the mood of the song. I'd personally ditch the vocals, as when they're playing, there's too much info on the song that draws the attention of the listener. I'd make the sub move more, and be less audible (the same reason as the previous song). Mixdown is good and clear.

Musicality - 6/10
Production Techniques 6/10
Mixdown - 7/10

Total - 19/30

 

[Dark Lizardro]

here's Manuforti's:

C

Musicality 7/10

Mixdown 7/10

Prod Tech 9/10

- Love the bass sound and its relentless attack on the senses.
- Song keeps the same vibe as original pushing the already sinister vibe further.

Ok so Nuero personally isnt a style I get excited about however Reefleks who works for DA experiments with this style and loves it. I also touch on it with a more minimal/techy feel so we are as a label looking to explore this harder style. With that in mind I enjoyed this song more than I thought I would. The bassline and sound makes me incapable of any dislike and youve done really well too keep the original tracks feel but in a completely different way. Some might feel this moved away from the original I dont I get it and love the direction youve taken it. Since this style relies on the drums so much I feel they could have had more impact but theyre not bad by any means just felt they could benefit from a boost in volume.


E

Musicality 10/10

Mixdown 8/10

Prod Tech 8/10

- Detuned FTW
- Early Jungle vibe with the bubbles and amen sounds great.
- Closest to the direction I want to take the label and my own sound so my personal favourite.

Yeah as soon as I heard the pad I knew this couldnt do any wrong, its moved away a lot from the original though... Still it feels like a remix from the sounds used I assume (like myself) a lot of resampling involved? Song progresses well and never felt bored hearing the nice little drum rolls just the right length id say. Love the foley coin thing, foley I use in all my current tracks and would never not add it now since it gives any song a personal touch. Im not entirely convinced about the mixdown everything is audible but I think you could put some more time into that. This to me is Detached Audio!










I

Musicality 7/10

Mixdown 8/10

Prod Tech 8/10

- Great minimal breakbeat sits very well in mix.
- Very much Detached Audio.
- Top work keeping this as eerie as the original and still pushing the minimal vibe.
This song is great but it could have been so much better I mean everything about it oozes Detached Audio and of course the original track but for a just over 4 minute song it got a little repetitive. And I think you could have just held back on some sounds and brought them in a little later and resolved that. The drums are nice but a little repetitive also and mabye a little lost in the mix. Still I mean this is actually really good sound design all the sounds used feel unique somehow and its a really strange track. The mixdown sounds great to me everything in its place.


J

Musicality 8/10

Mixdown 9/10

Prod Tech 8/10

- Drums are punchy and sit perfectly with the clean bass.
- Liquid feel in-keeping with original works very well.
- Picked the “Hook” well and used it too perfection.


This was one of my votes and it sounds closest to a pro remix the drums the bass all sound amazing the hook is paramount here though and makes the song interesting all the way through again making sure we know its a remix of Pale Like The Moon. An unforgettable remix with very little bad points apart from mabye an overused vocal sample that distracts at times. Is that some Hospital sample? Im not up to date on anything outside of all things minimal and mabye a little Critical these days. Still top work and for sure ill be looking forward to more in the future.


D

Musicality 7/10

Mixdown 10/10

Prod Tech 8/10

- Commercial and keeps it experimental.
- Never a dull moment.
- Another flawless mixdown.

Since this has an Electro feel I overlooked it on my first listen because in all honesty im not a massive fan of the sound. But I seen it getting some votes and revisited and thought wait a minute theres more here than first thought. So its electro or breaks or I dunno something I might hear on the radio right? And thats whats amazing about this it actually sounds like something not from the underground music scene and I mean that on all levels. The mixdown and intrest on the track are key here and if your in the mood for something that doesnt strain the mind so much this is the one. Is that Detached Audio? Mabye not but it probably should be. All in all a clear favourite and if I was into this style it would defo have top marks from me.

 

[Dark Lizardro]

Here's Reefleks (from dnbforum and DA):

C

Musicality 9/10

Mixdown 9/10

Production Technique 9/10


- Good flow and pads work really well.

- Good Variation of drums throughout especially regarding the drums and their space.

- Good dynamics.



D

Musicality 9/10

Mixdown 8/10

Production Technique 9/10


- Drums are are very clean everything sounds perfect in the mix.

- Having too nitpick but mabye overlimited/crushded too much.

- A very comercial feel to the track yet still keeping it experimental.



E

Musicality 9/10

Mixdown 8/10

Production Technique 10/10


- Minimal vibe works well with this track.

- Best place the remix could have gone IMO.

- Mixdown has room for improvement but mabye thats what was intended id like to hear more from the artist.




I



Musicality 9/10

Mixdown 8/10

Production Technique 10/10



- Closest to the original.

- Another good minimal remix not as creative as E but still great.

- Feel this was the closest to what Detached Audio has been doing so far.




J


Musicality 7/10

Mixdown 10/10

Production Technique 7/10


- Brilliant rolling vibes.

- Best mixdown here. Drums... Bass all so clean, Flawless IMO

- Felt vocal was overused mabye.

 

[Dark Lizardro]

Here's Belial Pelegrim's (from DA):

C - PALE LIKE THE MOON (MANIA REMIX)


Nice arps and a haunting ambience in the intro. Great groove. Real sweet touches of synths and baseline. Well-arranged and a great propelling feel. Love when the beat drops and the ambience kicks in again. Love how the tune takes you out. An overall excellent production.


Musicality 7/10

Mixdown 8/10

Production Technique 8/10

D - PALE LIKE THE MOON (Iv4 REMIX)


Dig the dissonant textures during the opening. Killer ominous percussion...really drives the tune forward. Excellent synth work. Some really cool effects and techno flavors used. Very compelling remix.



Musicality 9/10

Mixdown 9/10

Production Technique 9/10

E - PALE LIKE THE MOON (OPTION REMIX) (scrTchs)


Great groove and sonic textures swirling around. Dig the bubbling FX and synth flavors and metallic klangs. Nice, laid back feel.


Musicality 8/10

Mixdown 7/10

Production Technique 8/10

J - PALE LIKE THE MOON (Kyba Remix)


Nice juxtoposition between the strings and beat. Interesting samples...work well with the groove.


Musicality 8/10

Mixdown 8/10

Production Technique 7/10

I - PALE LIKE THE MOON (BinstonVanGogh Remix)


Quality sounds at every conrener can feel a little repetitive but clean and unique flavour.


Musicality 7/10

Mixdown 7/10

Production Technique 8/10

 

[Kyba]

Congrats Ivan! C and D got my votes coz they were awesome. I really liked track I too, it's not something I would go looking for in terms of style but damn, that was lovely.

I wanna thank all the judges for their comments (sorry for over used sample), I'll try and carry them forward in my future productions.

But more importantly I wanna thank everyone who voted for my track U da real MVPs!

 

[Manu Forti]

I think also track F deserves to be notable i really enjoyed this one... Kinda like a camo n krooked tune remixed by someone decent ;D

 

[MARKLAR]

good job ivan (russian name)
also nice one mania
i voted for both these tracks

and big ups to everyone else who entered some top notch tunes all around

 

[Manu Forti]

Was that your sub @xiris ?

 

[xiris]

Congrats @IV4 on your win! Great remix, had my vote. My other vote went to track C, great job to both of you! Thank you to @ManuForti and @Dark Lizardro , DNBForum and the Detached Audio crew for making this whole thing happen. Well done to everyone, the quality of tunes this time round was impressive!

p.s. I was track F.

 

[Manu Forti]

Congrats @IV4 on your win! Great remix, had my vote. My other vote went to track C, great job to both of you! Thank you to @ManuForti and @Dark Lizardro , DNBForum and the Detached Audio crew for making this whole thing happen. Well done to everyone, the quality of tunes this time round was impressive!

p.s. I was track F.

Dude i loved that track btw... very cool!

 

[Sulihin]

I was track H, if it wasn't obvious from the mixdown

Congrats @IV4, and everyone else. Was really hard to pick two favorites, as they were all good! I went for what I thought was more experimental. B was also very cool, I kept waiting for Ogre to start singing...

 

[jmzmaloney]

Yes well done to all, winners, competitors, organisers, great competition. Kyba, theres a really good tune in there, I'll keep an eye out for your future stuff, and scrTchs for that matter.