97. "drum and bass / jungle is in fact HIP HOP." In response to Reply # 68
i'm going keep my mind open to this, based on the strength of that track.
i mean, i think they share a lot of the same influences (d'n'b/jungle and hip-hop), but I think most of the time they occupy different spaces sonically. What I'm saying is that most of the jungle/DNB i've listened to doesn't have the types of rhythm breaks that I heard in your shit.
But maybe I've just been listening to the wrong stuff.
Anyway, finding a common ground between jungle and hip-hop looks to be a formula for some dope music, keep it up.
11. "RE: i'm kinda new to this, so critiques are welcomed..." In response to Reply # 4
Crackin' - really good melody and a nice vibe to it. Maybe some reverb and/or filtering on the claps? Or maybe that was your thought - to have really "sharp" claps... love the bassline on this!
Boobs - really good too! Groovy, bassy and nice!
337 - this is the one I liked the least. Probably because of the hihats. The samples are good.
22. "bay area stand up!!!" In response to Reply # 4
you've definitely got some cool shit man. I am in agreeance that your claps/snares need a bit of tweaking, but outside of that, good shit man. We may need to collab.
7. "Soulful stuff!!! my constructive criticism follows" In response to Reply # 6
some tracks (not all) need a better way to establish a continuity of some of your melody loops, for instance the Dilla Said So track, the piano loop, you could have those on two different tracks, with one loop on the first track with just that extra stuff continuing on into the next loop, while starting the loop over again in the right place on the second track. Yeah just alternate like that between two different tracks. That why it doesn't so sound like so much of a "switch" But yeah I'm really feeling the flavor of your production. Peace.
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12. "RE: you know the drill." In response to Reply # 6
Dilla said so - real kickass drums on this one! And a very mellow kind of feeling. Maybe I'm a little bothered about the piano-samples being panned to the right...
23. "RE: you know the drill." In response to Reply # 6
They all have a bit of the same vibe, which isn't necessarily a bad thing... very soulful feel as said before. We need to talk... I may need to hollar at you about production. ha! ha!
30. "this is making me feel stoned" In response to Reply # 10
good work on this one (the new one). i know it's an interlude....i could see this as a full-length track though, maybe with an added b section or something....
21. "nice leftfield/downtempo type jointz here." In response to Reply # 15
That Go remix, some of the beat matching with the vocal could use some cleaning up, but otherwise, great remix, including the vocal chops at the end. uhavetogotoschool, that leftfield flavor with some boom bap as the foundation. Jag star, the vocals overpower the track here a little bit, but I am listening with just headphones at the moment, also they sound kind of "dry". Soulish 2, kinda has that electro type of vibe to it. Incidentally, have you experimented with dubstep yet? Peace.
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the 2nd joint (with the funky piano chords) is real nice all around. particularly with the hand percussion in the background.
the 4th joint? I like the muted trumpet horn parts a lot.
the proof joint has a nice vibe to it. good use of the horn section again.
overall, real varied feels here....that's good, means your production style has got depth, width....the percussion aspects of this tracks are prominent --- always up in the mix, very present, I enjoy that in a song.
39. "creativity never goes out of style..." In response to Reply # 24
some of these are heavy as hell, like it a lot!
U've really done a good job with those hihats on the Dilla-beat. That second "drum"-beat or what I should call it is also a really good. And the one with the funky piano in it is a hit - goes without saying perhaps...
46. "RE: I'd say two of my current favorites are" In response to Reply # 45
Quality Work - well-arranged horns & strings. They have an epic feel, like they are underscoring a dramatic movie. I like they way the sections are arranged, and the occasional horn/string swells. Hi-hats are well arranged, also.
Until the Day I Die - Female vocals are a nice touch. I have to admit - I like the intro 16 bars more than the subsequent beat, not sure why. It seems to have a lot more musical energy (the intro part), but maybe you meant for that energy change. The bass is very well mixed in this track, and I like the bassline.
59. "of the two, Until The Day I Die is the strongest track to me" In response to Reply # 45
great mix on that one. perhaps if somebody is to "flow" over that one, take those background vocals to the back of the mix, and perhaps add a chorus effect on them, and a touch of reverb, so they start to sound more like an instrument. Also play around with the "home" part of the vocal, in a sampler that will loop a part of the vowel sound in the vocal, as it is being sustained. Would make a great florish out of and into the vocal.
Quality Work, the drum work seems to be fighting the melody and pads on this track, plus it (drum work) seems to not be fluid or continuous. Maybe some different type of ghost hits here and there, especially after the snares on the 2 beat. I am really digging Until The Day I Die thought, great track. Peace.
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...usually not my favourite style of beats. But I think you have a nice idea here with the combination of sounds and the rythm... however, somehow i feel that I would like a little more punch in the strings and the drums are a little low in the mix perhaps? Seems like I don't get enough from any of the different channels... sorry for my poor english..
61. "nice vibe, my constructive criticism" In response to Reply # 47
The bass, kick and claps are mixed great. I think the vocal edits could be more "withdrawn" or "atmospheric/spacy" and you could add some more PERCUSSION to accentuate the beat, add some toms or bongos are shakers here and there. When I hear those vocal edits, I don't want to be reminded to directly of 50 cent or Pharaoh Monch, so filtering them, chorus, and some delays and or reverb will give them a whole different character. Peace.
_______________________ "Arm Leg Leg Arm Hate." c/o desus _______________________ Divine Ruler http://www.facebook.com/divineruler __gigs__ __stuff__
Don't Cha Know --- nice guitar, smooth overall feel. I'm not feeling that synthetic-sounding percussion hits (sound like tom drums), but the strings add a solid layer.
Chaos --- not really my type of shit, I think this might be enhanced with someone flowing over it.
Beyond.... --- this has got a rainy morning feel to it, I'm digging the super slow tempo. this shit is relaxing. Nice rimshot on the snare.
2thebeat.... --- er, um. Same commentary as "Chaos." The drums are well-arranged, busy, but well arranged.
overall, I'm definitely feeling Don't Cha Know and Beyond, solid joints right there.
64. "strongest ones are Dont Cha Know and 2thebeatchall" In response to Reply # 50
although to me Beyondelohveeheeh is the most original and has the most potential, because it's a straight up lounge jazz track. The Chaos track, the cuts on the horn loops seem to "abrupt" to me. I suppose in the contest of a vocal on top, it wouldn't be that noticable. The only other thing I can suggest over all is to play with increasing the release on some of your synths, otherwise, you have have the fundamentals down pretty much. Sort of a Neptune/Puffy (don't hate, he has some alright joints) vibe. Peace.
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In general, these tracks are bit too choppy for my taste, or, in other cases, the samples you use are too long. I'd try to find some middle ground with the arrangements, and you should be good. There are some good ideas here.
75. "if you beef up the low end, this would be an EXCELLENT TRACK!" In response to Reply # 55 Wed Jun-07-06 11:42 AM by Allah
I liked every thing else about the track, but you could turn up the dynamics on the low end / bass some more, unless you feel it's going to compete with your kick drum. Perhaps turn down the snare on the 2 beat a tad, in order to get some more headroom for increasing the low end volume.
Peace.
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70. "Darksyde, this is nice" In response to Reply # 57
This joint "Gangsta Music" ---- real smooth here. I'm feeling the arrangement of the track, the interplay of the sections....yeah, I can definitely hear this with someone flowing over it. Nice work.
62. "some suggestions...." In response to Reply # 60
I see you used mostly straight up loops for this joint. You could experiment with turning off everthing except the drum track sometimes, and also use fade ins and fade outs on the volume envelopes of some of the tracks, instead of just turn channels on and off, i.e. automation. That bassline, it seems like the attack on the bass is to short, making it "too punchy". Hmmmm, back to the drums, you could use some more chops of flourishes every few bars. Peace.
_______________________ "Arm Leg Leg Arm Hate." c/o desus _______________________ Divine Ruler http://www.facebook.com/divineruler __gigs__ __stuff__
77. "RE: some suggestions...." In response to Reply # 62
>I see you used mostly straight up loops for this joint. You >could experiment with turning off everthing except the drum >track sometimes, and also use fade ins and fade outs >on the volume envelopes of some of the tracks, instead of >just turn channels on and off, i.e. automation. That >bassline, >it seems like the attack on the bass is to short, making >it "too punchy". Hmmmm, back to the drums, you could use some >more >chops of flourishes every few bars. Peace.
I tend to do that stuff once I have an accapella to spit over the beat. Untill then I usually keep my beats pretty simple.
i'm bring the drums up in the mix. bassline is simple, but effective. nice flutes. actually, aside from the bass, i'd bring everything up in the mix, but maybe it's just these speakers i've got.
okay, got them to work. I mean, your guitar playing is nice, but it doesn't seem like so much is happening in these tracks. They need vocals, added instrumentation, or even just some breaks. Something essentially to vary it up. Maybe even a lead guitar would help.
As an overall foundation for a track though, it has potential.
Made U Look - well, I'm biased toward the original, and the sheer energy of that, but your remix works well. Fits the flow nicely, and has a clean feel. I'd throw some distortion or reverb on the piano to integrate it into the mix a bit more, but overall the track works.
Here are two beats that are a little different from my regular style. usually my beats are really detailed and with lots of different parts but these two beats are really basic and the same style the whole beat through, but I really like them anyway. Would be nice to get some comments.
95. "RE: Swedish Freebeats up for review" In response to Reply # 84
the 1st one --- dope. really feeling the soundscape and the strings. i really think this would benefit from some more trumpet --- or more horns of some sort, maybe playing a melody? real nice though overall.
the 2nd one --- cool, lush groove. not really feeling the pitch-shifted vocal bit, but one the vamp kicks in with the drums, this is some smooth shit.
These tracks don't suffer from a lack of variety --- I mean, once you are in the loop, it just kind of stays that way, but the musical material is solid, so it works. Nice job.
The synths are nice --- I'm feeling the way the notes oscillate from down low to up high, that has a real nice feel. I don't know if it's the speakers I'm listening to, but the bass doesn't feel present enough in the mix. Maybe bring it up a bit, or fatten it with some EQ.
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