Candle in the Wind

The past week saw a new round of Double’s Dash Compo, which returned after a hiatus. This time around it included a theme of “beer” that everyone indulged in, at least conceptually. Obtuse’s bass and organ teamed up with MandraSigma’s vocals to pay tribute to the art of juking and driving. As The Hrmmmingbirdz, Mandra tackled the production side of things, coupled with Mirby’s noisefloor-filled singing. Starla and suzumebachi took on a team name originally conceived with Clockwerk in mind, but his early departure from the round caused it to migrate; the song “S.M.O.B.” blends suzu’s moody soundscape with starla’s reflective lyricism. Level 99 and Xenon Odyssey met halfway by merging the worlds of pop-punk and chiptune, planting the banner of beer firmly. Finally Gario’s cinematic composing was topped with Wildfire’s vocal for a “Drunken Waltz” that brought the night to a close. 

People’s Remixing Competition 213 brought entrants to the realm of modern-day first person shooters. The Battlefield 3 main theme was selected for remixing, and thus the tune’s brooding pulses became part of the PRC continuity. Sir_NutS came back after along break to turn the track on its head with an 8-bit influenced arrangement. DusK on the other hand had other plans, and gave the source material the metal treatment ending on a patriotic march. LLCompo: Battle 7 featured a dog-related theme, which perhaps for the first time allowed coda to submit a canine-imbued song after countless dog references in his past track titles. SolidComposer also was home to the debut of the #cobol Comp, a multi-day compo that at one point asked contestants to write a program to generate music.

JHCompo on Tuesday informed the listeners that school s’cool, with mixed reaction. I set the mood for the evening with a read-though of the "School" theme backed with beatnik jazz accompaniment. chunter discovered that “The Tuition Check Bounced” and had to make due with a piano piece augmented by bass and synth. MandraSigma’s distorted electronics represented denied entry, and he posed a question before answering it himself. Kay Faraday started off soft, but then threw in a burst of church organ. skyndileg looked back on his days at school with lyrics and plenty of arpeggios. Shadix wrote about sex education, and retitled his funky pop track to “Super Galactic Automatic Sensual Education” after a second thought. Rounding out the entries that night were MaxVdub with a quick improvised vocal-only piece, and SonicThHedgog who sent along a substitute due to problems uploading his 20MB track. 

Thursday’s OHC chose a “cold mountain wind” theme at a time when certain regions began to warm up, and Roseweave served to introduce the festivities. starla sang a rambling tale through Microsoft Songsmith, which transformed it into a Classic Pop Rock song. MandraSigma urged listeners not to think when hearing his composition, lest they see the title and have thoughts of flatulence. frkygp continued the concept of biological emission by having to pee on top of a mountain, and then made some chillout as a sign of relief. Zovi created gentle wind sounds with his mouth, but put together frantic electronic sounds to jolt listeners awake again. isidor3 somehow brought his grand piano to the summit to become one with the rock face. AutomaticJack used white noise as the basis for his industrial ambience and noted that “all you have to do… is listen.” Fusion2004 prepped himself for a mountain bike race by ingesting carb-rich strings as well as chip elements, which probably contain electrolytes. 

Forty-Two called upon the orchestra to express his interpretation of the theme, bringing to mind Zamfir’s “The Lonely Shepherd”. General Mumble decided to ride down the cliff in a continuous tumble of electro house. Arcana detailed a harrowing experience as a spaced out mixture of synthesizers, violins and woodwind. HarryNilsson'sGhost began his entry with what sounds like an approaching vessel, followed by a headbobbing chip-hop beat. PsychedelicBrony rushed out a combination of jazzy double bass and a bit of incongruent accordion. sci pitched some wind samples for his 100th entry and proceeded to mash up several elements, including starla’s entry from two weeks prior. OMGitslewis worked out the math by determining that he can create a 30-second pizzicato laden dance tune in 60 minutes. Destroid made a noisy soundbed depicting the tale of Mirby undergoing a mountain climb. Trancient’s method for the night involved simply thinking about wind as he composed, the result of which merged the ivories with strings.  

DDRKirby(ISQ) is known for his expansive tracks, but this time the length required his lush work to be uploaded at 96kbps. A-zu-ra resumed the wind-sounds theme of the night, but did so with an 8-bit noise channel before going to work on bloops. IXI admitted to losing an idea shortly after getting one, but managed a mellow tribal tune with occasional chuckles. Misael.K enjoys getting hit in the face by wind and displayed this affection via piano and flute. Hapi-San took in the majesty of the zenith by way of sliding basslines and oboe. Acuity hates his computer but loves composing, so he made the effort of getting his harmonies submitted despite a render error. munchi appeared just as rain started to fall on the mountain and the Joker took over the dance club. At the end of the listening party my Elton John cover served as a closing theme of sorts, wrapping up both the round and my compo experience in a satirical package.