Taco Tornado

Sunday became the submission deadline of the Grand Robot Master Remix Battle’s climactic face-off following a 24-hour extension. The final battle pitted Mega Man against Proto Man; both remixers covered the Spring Man and Elec Man themes in their attempt to claim the tourney top spot. Despite the competitive nature of GRMRB, DarkeSword playfully admitted that “This is not actually a competition. I just made this thread to trick all of you into making Mega Man mixes.” In total, the tournament brought about 57 arrangements. prophetik’s track made use of tribal drums offset with glitched synths, carried by Spring Man and then cooled down with Elec Man in a minor mode. WillRock also took Elec Man into minor territory, putting in a bass growl as the arps continue to the left of the stereo field; the melding of both themes is aided by this panning separation, particularly as the beat drops and the remix goes for an extended solo.

Monday Night Madness took off after a false start, since the previous round jumped forward one week due to lack of entrants. The theme for the night was “Amnesia” providing an excuse for my spoken-word “Intro Reminder”. zorg’s track involves a man who “forgot how to use his DAW” along with a drummer who suffered brain trauma; the result is expectedly disjointed digital tunage. Xarnax42’s “Wisps of Remembrance” starts with a flourish of piano and follows up sparsely on the keys for its duration. Akogare Zephyr made another rare appearance, serving up arpeggio and filtered drum loops under her echoed pop vocal. coda experienced “GameNesia”, which apparently involves a four-note vibraphone motif, continuous buzzing bass, strings and crushed percussion. MisfitBYTE raced across varying and frenetic riffs, the effect of inputting "Amnesia: Lost My Mind" as notes in binary. swordofdestiny submitted possibly the thinnest waveform ever seen in SolidComposer, consisting of sporadic hand drum strikes.

Soundevotion Competition round 59 reached its deadline for entries on Monday. A samplepack served as the basis for the tracking compo, including a wide palette of instruments. Despite SDCompo being a month-long competition, andyray decided to restrict himself to a few hours; his entry carries gated chords with an industrial sound that gives way to funky drums. Chotoro’s pads swoop in for an atmospheric jaunt supported by a repeated melody line and several stylistic change-ups. chunter used the singing speech synthesizer UTAU for his electro pop tune garnished with guitar licks and a diverse collection of textures. cralias’s “Reaching for Stars” begins with gentle, rhythmic ambience and assembles layers of harmonic elements, peaking in density halfway through. fladd’s flattened synth riff bows under sustained bass notes, clearing the way for trip-hop.

hseiken preceded his entry with a spoken notice protesting the option to record voice in a samplepack-based compo; he goes on to sample his own speech, creating a quirky groove without the pack to help bolster his point. CAG strummed a heartfelt song on guitar, strings and percussion before dropping everything in favor of a more active mood and unrestrained yelling. juolac discovered a effect when using synchronization on sample drum loops, and went on to layer multiple loops across the stereo spectrum. OneTrackMind did “Indeed” submit a dance entry nailed down by unrelenting kick drum. At the end of the artist name alphabet, waterhead served up electronic minimalism, human beatbox and elements of “Rapper's Delight” complemented by narration spoken by his younger brother.

JHCompo on Tuesday had its largest turnout yet, and with it a large set of site bugs. The “Deal with the Devil” theme was met with a positive response and an eclectic set of entries. After my emphatic “go to hell” intro, americanwarewolf guitared a track in five minutes; he put out his blues rock quickly because he was preoccupied with real-life duties. OverCoat agreed to a deal, but insisted that he see “the cake egg-man” and uploaded the ebb and fade of a string section. Brandon Strader had acquired a saxophone and practiced it over the course of a day, then used the compo to riff on the values for a minute. MisfitBYTE attempted to blend blues with glitch-drums, but ultimately felt that “I need a new deal.” Tomapella managed his time wisely during the round, having time to compose a Rhodes-centric jazz section, a segment of country music, and a thorough description.

zorg posited his thoughts on religion and showed off anthemic pads at the same time; he set down drums to keep the vibe going and took a left turn to moody bass at the end. Xarnax42 tossed in an incomplete work of keyboard synths, apparently deciding to go lounging with the devil. mv once again failed to disappoint, bringing along his mixture of violins and trip-hop filled with e-soloing and filtered vocals. chunter chose to be the master of his own destiny by layering piano, bells and glockenspiel for a dense lead melody backed by drum funk. coda advertised a crash course in slap bass, piano-pads and organ provided by the devil himself. MandraSigma seemingly found the escape clause by signing his contract in ketchup rather than blood; his entry similarly reverses its way through the situation with a fair amount of glitch.

Newcomer shojin sang his Adele-inspired entry with bass accompaniment, gradually adding guitar chords, wordless harmony and a rolling beat. americanwarewolf’s brother trenthian suffered technical issues, but worked out some jangly strumming backed with percussion and a horn section. Rexy made her first JHCompo appearance, inspired by a scene in The Little Mermaid; the initial harp and orchestral elements step to the side as drums and harpsichord move in, trading turns as the tune progresses. Jarski seemed to be going through a rebellious phase for the title of his dance entry containing a count up among other quirky aspects. MVM offered an affecting musical cue while irrelevnt rounded out the entries with his electric and acoustic guitars.

OHC on Thursday featured a "Distant and foreign" theme, and so I recorded my vocal intro with an app I had scarcely used before. Acuity was unable to make it to the round, but created a trippy piano-and-strings-centric entry ahead of time that was submitted by DDRKirby(ISO). Making his return from two weeks ago, Trollgate produced in a similar guitar style than before with the addition of sampling. siebensus4 professed to being "rusty" and submitted high-gain bass and pads with an undercurrent of choir. B-Type appeared after a long compo hiatus, delivering effect-laden flows with such rhymes as "poop chute" with "does not compute!" RAMPKORV met the "Benis Brothers" playing swiftly on the keys and swooping in and out of discordance.

Tomapella also performed on piano, in his case bluesy riffing inspired by his recent travels. Usabell's spacey chords and industrial percussion meet a prominent bassline and a go around the ivories with bongos. MandraSigma chose his forthcoming gaming convention trip as his foreign experience, submitting a "tone poem" that ultimately implodes. Arcana's lo-bit lead is accompanied a pulsing pad at first, then by high strings and a set of dance patterns. CJthemusicdude made use of the half hour he had available to work the pentatonic scale and a laid-back beat. mv put up his usual thought-provoking entry description for his lush ambient bed of sound. DDRKirby(ISQ) uploaded his actual entry for the night, a noise-filled build up that leads to a bevy of chips and glitch.

sci showed his offbeat approach to voice sampling using a start-and-stop electro backing. Forty-Two was surprised his song came together as effectively as it did, harmonizing chimes and woodwinds with pizzicato strings. Bren admitted to having a lack of time, but pulled through using his signature synth lead and chord structure. Appearing in the chatroom in the guise of ThomasTryst, ProjektZero made his compo comeback mixing together acoustic rhythms, electronic bass and his lyrical stylings. jarski appeared to be "lost in sewers" and found his way along with noise filter sweeps and funky snare. Suzumebachi may have to mail his tunes via the postal service to send them in on time, but he nevertheless submitted a densely layered production ending with a gentle 3-4-5-1-8.

I guess I’ve gained some visibility as a result of participating in so many competitions. Gradually I went from being an unknown member of the community to being "that guy who does compos a lot." It makes me well suited to chronicle the gatherings that happen every week from such varied communities.

*Title of blog post selected by LuketheXjesse.

A Tale of Two Cheese Balls

On Saturday the Grand Robot Master Remix Battle reached the end of the submission stage for Proto Man Bracket Round 4. With it the brackets of both Proto Man and Mega Man move closer to the eventual finals. WillRock’s take on Elec Man and Plug Man sets high arpeggios with growling bass frequencies, off-the-wall synth soloing and a cool-down section. Neblix went for frenetic breakbeats and an undertow of tension punctuated by piano chords and momentarily paired down the drums to an accentuated kick pattern. Both entries show that the level of interpretation and approach can result in uniquely different remixes of the same source material.

Lazy Sunday Compo featured its usual lengthy theme description, which I hastily read and recorded for my vocal narration. The organizer swordofdestiny warned in the page’s rules that he would be away during the compo and therefore could not provide deadline extensions. SolidComposer newcomer madbrain submitted piano and violin lines and electronic stylings that mesh into a fanciful collection of moods. MandraSigma appeared proclaiming “I'm a SEAHAT” submitting a dance tune containing an arrhythmic breakdown and an extended soliloquy.

Monday Night Madness Compo held its first round at SolidComposer with a fair turnout based on a “Cosmic Cycles” theme. The concept of the competition is to get people out of their comfort zone and experiment with techniques that participates may not be well versed in. After my read-through of the theme, gameguy08 presented his “House of Cards” with a foundation of compressed kick, bass and searing lead synth. z0rg’s entry begins with a roomy thud and male choir, gaining volume and intensity with lo-bit harmonics. In a break from his usual style, Xarnax42 produced a barbershop number speculating on the insignificance of mankind in the scope of the universe. liquid wind’s FL Studio drum machine took center stage in his minimal “end of the fifth era” coasting along an e-groove.

The theme for Tuesday’s JHCompo was “Battle of Giants”, which came as the result of joining two smaller ideas I had listed for possible use in the past. liquid wind took great pains to subvert my usual intro by uploading his entry before it; the track places guitar distortion with dance rhythms. In MandraSigma’s entry the extemporaneous percussion pans around the stereo field, leaving the pads and arpeggios in the center. irrelevnt’s lengthy-titled track consists of sub bass and ambient crackle, which he states is his “perception of the perception of Man (or huMankind) perceiving Giants.” Obtuse made a rare appearance posted his homage to Deadmau5’s "Ghosts and Stuff" and Benny Bennassi’s "Satisfaction". k-wix made his first JHCompo tune serving up degraded bass alongside drums, timpani and strings with a mellower piano end section.

chunter’s “80s Epic Giant Thing” contains filtered guitar and a laidback rock beat to go with electronic melody and choir. MisfitBYTE labeled his own entry as “Prog Oriental?” apparently marrying snares with Eastern scales. zorg explained his desire to use a harpsichord in his composition, but cultivated a multitude of timbres to express “lush fields” including a bed of violins. coda sent over his own reverb snares and choral backdrop for his “giant dogs” introducing an synth solo partway into it. zebra mixed together ominous pulses, low frequencies and glitch signaling the onset of a “BERY BAD MONSTA”. Finally Xarnax42 used the round to work on drums for the first time in a compo, and the percussion guides the spacey chords to their conclusion.

OHC on Thursday featured "Clean Slate" as the theme, raising the concept of starting things fresh. I had just undergone oral surgery, so I handed over the vocal introduction duties to mv who came up with an amusing gag for it. BrandonS took this recording and placed it among his acoustic guitar and wails, deciding that the concept was "very difficult, apparently." This was followed by an entry by Brandon's alter ego Oinkness featuring more guitar and spats of singing. Zovi applied the theme to his DAW crashing and having to improvise a dance tune in the final minutes of the round. Trollgate succinctly summarized his composition as "bass, drums, synthesizers, and many guitars", beginning calmly and then tossing it over to harder rocking.

zorg grabbed his synths and took a "Journey Into my hands", presumably with sanitizer since he claimed it was "as clean as it can get". Tomapella delivered more of his lyrical foray with bright electronic backing sounds for his "Bob Dylan's 115^314th Dream In Space". Suzumebachi graced OHC with his presence by putting up acoustic drum stylings fused to chip burbles. sci served up trip-hop topped with vintage keys and Auto-Tune'd vocals. Obtuse uploaded trance in the form of a "remix of a remix" making sure to credit the authors in the track title. Forty-Two took the theme to mean the start of a new day, with gentle marimba leading into piano and woodwinds.

Arcana followed through on his plan of "Cutting off the Network" by composing pads with a sharp lead tone, stomping kick and bells. mv went for dance pop after getting up from the bed, putting his voice to use again with harmonized singing. Fittingly the end of the listening party was also the end of DDRKirby(ISQ)'s "Journey" reversing a cymbal into a smooth bassline and running the gamut of club friendly beats, ambient sustained chords and finally 8-bit blips.

Prior to the end of the OHC's submission period, someone appearing in the IRC chat asked for suggestions of what to title his entry. One of the titles offered was "a tale of two cheese balls". One day there may be a writing compo where this story is told. For now I'll settle with listening to great tunes each week.

Mi Vida Compo

June’s theme for Dwelling of Duels pitted contestants against each other by choosing sides. With “One vs. Many” participants could choose to remix a game featuring one main character, or a game with an ensemble. Pumpkin King decided to go solo with his Donkey Kong Country piano arrangement, building tension on the keys as he progressed and cooling off near the end. tibone and Paragon tackled the game ESWAT and centered a track on chugging chord progressions, sprinkled with 8-bit riffs and switching up with acoustic strumming. Brandon Strader appropriately started his Heavy Rain remix using the sound of falling water, a sample of dialogue accompanied by violin and opening up to shredding with drums. Technodrone brought along a versus of his own by arranging Marvel Super Heroes vs. Street Fighter, displaying deft soloing and a mellow piano section. bjkmenu incorporated a 3DO console introduction to his take on Pebble Beach Golf Links offering his distinctive quirks to the funk rock stylings.

BlitzChris urged “Poly! Stop Dancing I’m Trying to Be Dramatic!” and submitted a somber piano rendition of Pokémon Red using varying tempos. Harjawaldar’s entry was one of the few that took the “Many” path, serving up pads and sporadic percussion before laying down various tones. Wasting no time on the introduction, Dr. Manhattan’s Sonic 3D Blast arrangement “Rusty Fingers” begins with a crash and melds the swingy nature of the source tune with rolling guitar and thick bass. Scaredsim selected a relatively new tune to cover from VVVVVV and placed prominent lead synthesizer driven by acoustic drumming. Adam the Careless Horse took things back to Zelda II providing call-and-response guitar screams that settle into harmony, and then galloping along an extensive medley with accordion. The alternates for the month were from Daragen arranging Killer Instinct in a style that recalls Linkin Park, and Dr. Manhattan again sending along a different version of his “Rusty Fingers”.

OLRmageddon returned after a month-long break, during which the organizer Xenon Odyssey tended to real-life affairs. The theme for the month was Sonic the Hedgehog: any main title or spinoff of the series was open for remixing. For bonus points participants could also include sound effects from the games into their arrangements. Brunzolaitis’s sped-up “criminal insanity zone” intermittently resembles Sonic 1 zone themes on harmonica with a fair share of humming and strumming. In “Metronomes Are Overrated” Brunzolaitis apparently thought it would be a good idea to actually plug his guitar in, and took the time to layer them together. cotti submitted the placid “Mobius Bogus Boogie” which may or may not be as danceable as the title indicates. ShinnyMetal threw in the classic “SEGA” Genesis vocal intro and other effects for his take on Chemical Plant Zone, sung with such spontaneity that the singer at one point wonders “what’d I just say?”

The Grand Robot Master Remix Battle reached the Saturday deadline for Mega Man Bracket Round 4. Like the previous rounds, it served as an example of how artists can go about the same source tunes in drastically different ways. TheGuitahHeroe’s remix of the Bubble Man and Spring Man themes slowly pushes its arpeggios out of a sea of pads before proclaiming “go” and slamming into dubstep with authority. prophetik’s “thirsty” is bright acoustic pop with guitar and piano chords supporting his saxophone, synthesizer lines and rising strings.

Lazy Sunday Compo occurred during Independence Day weekend in the United States, and brought in a handful of entrants. Due to forgetfulness and preoccupation, at least two contestants missed the deadline and were locked out for the night. In my absence, Xarnax42 saw fit to record his own voiceover introduction describing the fireworks theme “as JH Sounds”. The incremental fade in of zebra’s entry leads to panned kick drums, arps and eventually sustained chords. Jarski’s tinny drum beat carries along his “dubidub” for which he was “too lazy to continue” even for a competition that has Lazy in its name.

Peoples Remix Competition round 197 wrapped up on Monday with another trio of entries. Inrade, the winner of PRC196 selected a tune from Ninja Gaiden III for the new round. Xsquader submitted his entry early on featuring a slower tempo and electronic leanings, as well as his first attempt to work in guitar. beckett007 took a cinematic approach to his “Ninja Doomship” similar to what he did in a prior submission: the lo-bit sounds of the original are replaced by an orchestra, eastern instrumentation and live rocking. Zerothemaster rounded out the three entries with a minimalized, ambient take on the source that unfurls and intensifies over the course of the arrangement.

Tuesday’s JHCompo theme was “Nightfall”, which may or may not have been inspired by the newly-released remix album NiGHTS: Lucid Dreaming. I recorded my introduction near an open window to give it an outdoorsy feel reflecting the round’s description. dusthillguy’s “soundmusic” brought to mind the game Herzog Zwei during the listening party, creating musical tension over a four-on-the-floor beat. MandraSigma claimed he was “too white to be tight” for his rap entry containing repeated “uh”s and “yeah”s. ShinnyMetal composed his subdued electronic tune using the NanoStudio mobile app, momentarily facing issues with exporting and uploading it to the site. mv set the mood for his “Only at Night” with plucked cello and synths until the degraded drums, bowed strings and piano drop in.

Jacob continued the tickling of ivories during his “Tenuous Stroll” preceded by soft noise and later grafted onto violins, jazzy percussion and brass. irrelevnt had intended to incorporate lyrics into his track, but settled on an instrumental featuring live guitars and rocky rhythm. coda resumed his canine-themed song titles with “nanodogs”, a collection of spacey pads and high frequencies inevitably locking into trance. MisfitBYTE mixed together a series of affected guitars accompanied by the enigmatic description “Here we are again, smoke scenting your skin.” Newcomer Maraki showed off a promising display of piano, with the rationale that visiting nightclubs evokes thoughts of jazz. Detective Tuesday also arrived on the scene for the first time and submitted Rhodes-tinged electronica that uploaded just in time for the listening party.

Thursday’s OHC theme description was unexpectedly brief, so I resorted to reading it twice: once in English and again in Spanish. RAMPKORV sent along filter sweeps and rhythmic notes joining up with additional harmonic elements in under a minute. dusthillguy submitted his guitar and characteristically lopsided drumming, ending with a flurry of soloing. Tomapella's synth-laden pop song invites listeners to sing along to the happy-go-lucky lyrics. Dyne made a rare consecutive OHC appearance going for distorted chords that fall away in favor of constant bass notes, e-melody and drum fills. MandraSigma made another go at rap, this time with a stop-and-go beat, scratch effects and partial singing. bjkmenu faked out an intro followed by his more familiar electric noodling, urging others to "remember the hucklebuck". DDRKirby(ISQ)'s flattened percussion invariably widens into stomping electro, squashing down again for the breakdown and letting the pads take over.

Newcomer Zovi let his hair down for headbobbing synthfunk, murmuring the theme description as he went along. zorg also newly joined the OHC table with a dance tune postulating that "mr. greenbeam" could turn the White House into a dancehall. sci showed off a quirky collection of electronics and vocal segments galvanized into a cadence. Destroid's cheerful arpeggio brings out the notion that "Deven Gallo Wins the Lottery" growing more dense along its duration. Acuity's piano entry meets up with synthesizer, snares and builds up to a dominating kick drum. Arcana melded glockenspiel and tubular bells with dance components while admitting to being "Happy with the Girl". At the end of the party Shadix made his nod to the Progressive Era using hyperspeed piano and a tip of the top hat.

At one point during the party, someone suggested that I do a different language every week for my vocal introduction. I was amused by this particularly due to the idea of bringing people in from various cultures. Anyone can participate, and compos should be universal.

How to Fire a Blog

Friday saw the debut of Super Smash Compo, a co-operative composing competition. The organizer Obtuse acknowledged the influence of Doubles’ Dash in terms of concept, but wished to have a compo where vocals are optional. In an effort to follow these rules, I asked fusion2004 to record spoken word with me to form a joint introduction. Fusion went on to collaborate with Obtuse and created the first proper tune of the night, funk punctuated by trumpet stabs and synth melodies. Andy Kelley dashed in to submit an electro beat, apparently teaming with up his alias superjoe. An Obtuse track was put up at the end by Fusion2004 due to upload restrictions at SolidComposer; it serves up dance in ¾ time, an unusual meter for the genre.

On Saturday the Grand Robot Master Remix Battle reached the third round submission deadline of the Proto Man Bracket. WillRock’s take on the Elec Man and Napalm Man themes offers subdued electronica and tremolo-tinged lead, occasionally changing over to plucking and doubling the snare rhythm. Main Finger’s fake-out chip intro gives way to an upbeat Street of Rage nod complete with accented piano chords, slowing things down halfway for organ support and brass hits. Neblix squashed the beginning of his arrangement of Plug Man and Jewel Man, and then opens up a can of frantic beats and guitar shredding. Finally pixelwave let loose a group of delay-affected instruments along with pads, twangs and distant metal clanging.

Lazy Sunday Compo had perhaps the most specific theme ever used on SolidComposer: “The Electric Eel”. I played up the suspense in the narrative in my vocal introduction. Clockwerk took note of the buzzing sound mentioned in the theme summary and included grating noise in his chilled minimal entry. MaliceX stopped working on his track partway through the round, submitting a self-described “wip sketch” of lo-fi trippyness. AkogareZephyr made a rare compo appearance with mellow electronic containing a whisper increasing in volume. Clunkst wrote a tension-filled 8-bit track with a description simply stating “noises”. Jarski’s tune builds unsettling intensity using a discordant melody followed by the beat drop, and then dances away for the remainder. swordofdestiny tended to company as the night went on, and put up a small “Eeliscious” club riff. Rounding things out was liquidwind, who made a groove-based set of loops, pads and playful sonorities.

JHCompo on Tuesday featured a “One with Nature” theme depicting the situation of moving away from civilization to live among the shrubbery. After my read-through of the description, MandraSigma offered a follow-up introduction acknowledging the one preceding it. null1024’s distorted lead is carried along with acoustic drumming and low pads. liquidwind admitted that he “I pretty much ignored the theme again” and uploaded FM synthesis and an unusual time signature. Xerol joined the party serving up his characteristic orchestral entry, this time with an air of uncertainty in the “Some Kind of Forest” title. coda layered multiple instruments to express his melody in a sparse fashion accompanied by strings and piano. CFX Music’s entry evokes a dirge calling out from the distance and topped with white noise.

Clunkst ran into a “Womping Willow” housing rousing chiptunes and extreme stereo panning. soundshift’s tune supplies a generous amount of field recordings, taking the listener on an ambient trip. MisfitBYTE similarly put up spaced out sounds, but goes further by incorporating vocal clips with the rationale that “Sometimes nature tries to become one with you”. Amphibious’s acoustic guitar playing, piano and drumming meets sounds of the ocean as he went “Beyond the Oasis”. Coincidentally irrelevnt also started with nature effects before going into guitar noodling placed alongside violin and percussion. mv continued the birdsong intro chain, but as a lead-in to his signature tribal percussion, strings and koto. mu begins on the high end of the frequency spectrum and gradually fades in the bass in his entry simply titled “z”. Finally chunter made use of vintage drum machine samples and lead guitar to set a relaxed mood.

The theme for Thursday’s One Hour Compo was “water bridge” though this wasn’t immediately clear when I recorded my soliloquy. Instead participants were given a news blurb and photo to work with for the night. dusthillguy threw up a blend of jangly chords and pedal-affected lead creating a constant sense of disorientation. Dyne delivered one self-proclaimed "bar of BS" of a Castlevania tune on synth keys. Forty-Two laid down a bed of cellos, brushed drums and a flurry of flute, guitar and bass. sci injected fear into the night's theme by bringing up the possibility of bridge collapse with his otherwise chilled electronic tune.

Arcana again discovered a groove with his OHC entry while lifting elements from Haddaway. DDRKirby(ISQ) went for the lo-bit route as his chords ebb and fade, then settle into a beat. jarski apparently subscribed to the same philosophy as fellow composers RAMPKORV and dusthillguy for the song title and description of his synthesized entry. Late but not least was munchi, who chose the arduous task of "Crossing the Great Divide" bringing along woodwinds and dropping the funky drum loops to wraps things up.

I’m amazed that the compo community has spread out so far over the years. At one point in the past, it seemed as if everyone was compressed into one spot on the calendar. Then life happened: people's schedules shifted and everyone found their own space. In that way, it's like graduating from school.

Finite Water Droplets

Friday marked the return of Doubles’ Dash Compo after being in hiatus for several months. Round 10 was declared MILESTONE ED, a truncated form of milestone edition. I offered my standard narration intro, which was disqualified since I recorded it alone. Level 99 and Wildfire co-created the hooky pop-rock song “If I Were a Dinosaur” with both members serving vocal duty for Level 99’s production. Obtuse’s un-tiss complemented Cyril the Wolf’s singing in “You Know…” breaking down halfway for layered murmuring. I sought out Xarnax42 and recorded a stream-of-consciousness speech, which became the basis for his ambient production “We didn't not enter. We win!”

Beigh effectively outperformed me with his combination of spoken word and singing, backed by Jakesnke17’s beat. mv served up his trip-hop and stepped up to the mic to perform alongside Wildfire’s choral harmonies, arguing that “reality isn't real”. As an act of spontaneity near the end of the submission stage, I showed AkogareZephyr a partially lyricized demo of me singing that she used as a vocal guide for what became “Before You Speak”. As Team Two Guys, One MIDI Controller, Fusion2004 and bjkmenu professed their love for burgers with piano, guitar and synth-laden waltz.

Saturday was the Grand Robot Master Remix Battle submission deadline for the third round of the Mega Man Bracket. All four entrants for the bracket successfully sent their entries along before the time ran out. TheGuitahHeroe did a dance-fied take on the Bubble Man and Heat Man themes garnished with chip sounds of the past. Sir_NutS’s “Encapsulated Heat” continues his retro streak, going for vintage vocoded electro that would not be out of place in a 80s club. prophetik offered a somber arrangement, putting together strings and harp with a pulse of acoustic drumming, shakers and layers of synthesizers. At the end of the bracket Hylian Lemon paid tribute to Hard Man and Spring Man using spacey arps, Theremin and lo-fi glitch beats next to flute and violins.

Lazy Sunday Compo went off to a slightly confused start as two instances of round 3 had been set for the night. One had a Father’s Day-based theme as the compo fell on the U.S. observance of the holiday; the other instance covered “The Overworld” as its topic. After being directed toward the correct one and doing my vocal intro for it, I went over to the alternate and recorded a narration for that one as well. mv shared “Fond Memories” using synth arpeggio and robust vocals accompanied with piano, strings and degraded drums. Jacob summoned exotic acoustic plucking into his entry, inviting listeners to journey through the jungle with a variety of ethnic percussion. Clockwerk uploaded a minimal techno blend of TR-808 and various pitched tones for “The Explosive BBQ”.

Pongball’s brief entry displays a whimsical tickling of the ivories, flute and wind chimes. Arcana’s opening kick-hihat pattern and violin expands with piano chords, snare and tom fills, adequately providing a backdrop for “The Last, Sweet Dance”. swordofdestiny sent off a series of horns for a somber orchestral tribute to his late father. Xarnax42 initially composed his bubbly, overworld-themed track for the alternate round 3, and then moved the tune to the correct page. liquid wind created two one-hour compositions and uploaded the second, an ambient set of airy pads and steady beat. Steam Dreams carried piano and acoustic strumming as he reminisced about his father attempting to teach him to appreciate baseball.

On Monday, People’s Remix Competition 196 reached its deadline with a trio of entries. The source tune came from Shinobi II and was selected by first-time PRC participant Amphibious, the winner of the previous round. Inrade submitted his first entry, a chilled out electronic take on the composition that he felt was developed on impulse rather than predetermination. toilet goat called upon tribal drums for his arrangement evoking eastern influences and fleshing things out with guitar shredding, all within the space of 38 seconds. Xsquader stated that he found the material difficult to work with, but nevertheless delivered a pounding dance remix and distorted rock solo.

For JHCompo on Tuesday I chose the “Fever” theme, but initially forgot to record an intro track for it. MandraSigma managed to put his extensive bass entry in first, prompting me to acknowledge this in my narration immediately after. The beginning of coda’s “dog disease” brings to mind THX’s famous “Deep Note” joined with a disaccord of various sounds. Jakesnke17 expressed a trip filled with hallucinations and impediments via glitch-tinged electro. bjkmenu showed off his guitar with his tune per usual, this time expressing “big daddy cain fever”. mv got down with “The Sickness” implementing his brand of trip-hop, singing the repeated line: “I don't want to feel so dead again...”

CFX Music was convinced that it was “ALl In YoUR HeAD” utilizing panning, compressed tones and distortion that falls away in favor of ambiance and coughing. chunter’s dance tune made use of Haruka Nana, a voicebank he programmed to sing “give me fever” among other things. Txai brought in the ghosts of the Sega Genesis with his short-but-rousing “nightmare headdy”. irrelevnt’s rock n’ roll interpretation of the theme contains heavily overdriven vocals, ending with breathing and an organ solo. mu submitted an electronic tune including elements of salsa and wah-affected melodies, topped off with crashing keyboard chords. The dark mood of soundshift’s track is steadied by a dance rhythm and generous helpings of cowbell. Finally Beigh’s heartbeat leads to piano ambience broken up with industrial percussion.

Trippycompo on Wednesday was based on a larger samplepack than usual, totaling over five megabytes. The pack contained a wide selection of bass sounds that MandraSigma had featured in his JHCompo entry the previous day, as well as the repeated spoken line “I love moltres.” Jakim’s entry logically puts the speech over the bass playing for his “Whatta” entry whilst fashioning a melody out of other clips. MandraSigma worked up a danceable beat, slowed down the moltres line and ran through a light piano-like riff. coda also stuck the speech within a flurry of arpeggiation in a little over half a minute. Shinyboom sped up the love for moltres in “Articuno's Lullaby”, employing a series of glitchy and discordant effects. passing_by’s “8192 hr sleep deprivation” seemingly goes through every sample in the pack, falling just short of two minutes and rounding out the edges of the compo that night.

The theme for Thursday’s OHC was "Stranded", and I decided to change things up by including a clip of the compo organizer starla speaking in my spoken-word intro. Tomapella's track rolls in the waves with e-piano, violin lead and soft drumming. Suzumebachi pushed his electro tune as quickly as his 56k modem would allow and worked in a climactic 3-4-5-1-8. Fusion2004 composed a solo piano piece in the final 15 minutes of the round. Bren typed up an alternative theme description to accompany his signature synth chord structures. jarski used the summary space to post a squirrel in a vending machine, and let the breakbeats do the talking. As he was "Stuck in the Middle of 500 Synths" sci had no choice but to be subjected to "something loud" and derisive laughter, surrounded by loosely jointed cacophony.

DDRKirby(ISQ)'s ambient entry evokes "Madness" before laying down hip-hop and eventually stomping dance. Arcana similarly starts off with one genre and layers in another, in his case an orchestra with four-on-the-floor. Destroid pondered the possibility of being stranded at the base of Rampkorv Industries and heightens this notion with frenetic electronics. dusthillguy brings along his FM snare and pitched voice-like tones, yelling out a certain part of the male anatomy. Despite his illness, mv submitted yet another vocal entry backed up by strings and funky drums. At the end of the listening party, munchi sampled various Batman-related dialogue and dropped the big beat with lo-bit chords.

For my Doubles' Dash stream-of-consciousness entry, one of the many random things I uttered was "finite water droplets". I can only imagine how amusing it would be if the weather forecast was announced this way. It's not nearly as strange as saying, for example, "cloudy with a chance of artichokes".

When I Blog You

On Saturday the Grand Robot Master Remix Battle at OC ReMix reached the second round of the Proto Man Bracket. All entrants for the bracket successfully submitted their tracks before the submission deadline. WillRock dipped synth arpeggios in echo for his “Bleets of Lightning”, bringing in soaring harmonies ¼ of the way in and complementing the source material with an e-solo. fredrikd accompanied the familiar Elec Man theme with acoustic strumming, strings and horns for his entry along with lead guitar noodling for Sheep Man. Chernabouge sent along a cinematic orchestral take that suggests he likes the smell of Napalm Man and Crash Man in the morning.

Main Finger’s remix filters its way into a throbbing beat with piercing trance leads, operatic vocal, a glitch section and rock guitar solo. Jakesnke17 starts off using heavily affected drums, widening things with a breakbeats and fat bass. Neblix paid tribute to Plug Man and Snake Man by offering layers of pads and hyperfast drums supporting a group of melodies set somewhere in the reverberated distance. pixelwave’s steady hi-hat and sub-bass form the peak and lowest points of his tripped out sonic spectrum, “The Toad Gang’s Heist”. Finally AeroZ used a synthetic drone to begin his tune, and then dropped in start-and-stop electro for the Toad Man and Jewel Man themes.

Lazy Sunday Compo held its second round for an enthusiastic if small crowd. My vocal recording of the night’s “Hope Within Chaos” theme contained more white noise than usual, as I spoke near an open window at the spur of the moment. Amphibious’s ringing low end is disrupted by reverse cymbal followed by piano and electronic elements, steadied by a sparse kick and snare. eilios put up synthesizer chords broken up by cymbal rides and settles on a swing-beat for the duration of the piece. Xarnax42’s entry is a scattered selection of woodwinds, brass and percussion that builds to cacophony of discordance resolving somewhat in its middle section.

On Monday, Soundevotion Competition round 58 met its submission deadline. With an optional “uplifting music” theme, the round featured a sample pack including a wide selection of instruments such as bass, woodwinds, tuba and a TR-808. chunter’s entry begins with filtered drums and industrial hooks giving rise to a steady dance beat and distorted lead. Hiss occurs for the first few seconds of keith303’s track, growing in intensity as a minimal percussive groove dominates the aural space. A cymbal crash cuts to the chase of Knetter’s tune and wastes no time to establish a mood of growling horn and dubstep influences. Marko went for a soft mixture of oboe, orchestral percussion and flute, building harmony with acoustic twangs and layers of melody. Shadowbane’s thudding bass notes support e-chords, shaker loops and high frequency riffs, ending with a series of splashes to round out the entries.

JHCompo on Tuesday was again welcome to a wide selection of participants, with over a dozen in attendance despite persistent site glitches. The theme of “The Buzz” may or may not have been inspired by the medication I was taking after I had undergone oral surgery earlier in the day. Following my gauze-muffled spoken word, Dash put up a set of violins pronounced by punchy drums, pianos, piercing organ and an undertone of wub-wub-wub. RAMPKORV created a brief foray into off-piste jazz with clarinet, e-piano and a distinct high end of distortion. Amphibious took a swinging journey “Down by the Lake”, noting that the music might have been influenced by an excess of Animal Crossing playtime. Dj RoboRob described his entry as a blend of electro, fidget house and chiptune, with the rationale that the “buzzy” bassline is in keeping with the night’s theme.

MisfitBYTE offered three minutes of avant-garde and ambient instrumentation lapsing into moments of chillout. chunter’s up-tempo funk is centered on a constant bass riff, and occasionally breaks into a second section. irrelevnt settles into acoustic strumming at the outset of his tune, padding out the empty corners with hand percussion before introducing a drumkit. ShinnyMetal felt that his composition was “QuiteSimple” using detuned electric piano, light pads and lo-bit melodic improvisation. CFX Music’s harsh lead lines meet up with hi-hat patterns and a stomping dance beat. Totaling under a minute, nysnamovois constructed an entry out of an assortment of Kirby’s Dream Land 3 samples. Finally Jarski took a page out of RAMPKORV’s book when titling his track and submitted a chip-centric sendoff for the listening party.

The theme for Thursday's OHC, "The Sacrifice" was inspired by a charity song by Big Giant Circles titled "You Can Have Mine". After my read-through of the theme summary, BrandonS put up recorder-flute drenched in effects for his "Turning Japanese" entry. Due to a scheduling conflict, CJthemusicdude was unable to participate and uploaded a clip from his worksite in order to explain his circumstances via the description field. OCRE made an "Offering to the Volcano God" using tribal drums, male choir and electronic lead. Obtuse chose to appreciate nature with a drum machine, dulcimer and the sound of falling water. diotrans appeared following a significant absence with an a capella performance of layered harmonies and lyrics. sci's composition features a lengthy buildup leading to an upbeat, chippy end section.

Arcana continued the lo-fi vibe with a constant kick and his vow to "save the city... again!" Amphibious settled for a minor key and oboe backed by strings, piano and hand percussion. Bren typed up an indecipherable blurb for his entry and showed off his usual moody combination of guitar chugs and synth arps. Jakesnke17 used the theme to display his philanthropic side, serving up chiptunes for a cause and topping things off with violins and drums. Fusion2004 joined the compo with some 8-bit melodies of his own in a rare appearance. With a surprised emoticon, jarski underwent "mechanization" including an acid bath and rigorous sub-bass treatment. At the end of the party mv exercised his vocal talents for a trip-hop ballad with a fair share of string sections and rolling guitar.

As the entrants mulled over the compo entries they were composing, I joked that simply appearing that night was deserving of an "A" for effort. After hearing the kinds of compositions that people here are capable of, I give them a hearty "A+".

The Next Generation

The Grand Robot Master Remix Battle at OverClocked ReMix continued on Saturday as the submission deadline for Mega Man Bracket Round 2 was reached. Of the eight people set for the round, six successfully submitted their remixes before the deadline. TheGuitahHeroe’s combination of Bubble Man and Pump Man builds a rising ambiance with arpeggios that leads to a steady dance kick. Sir_NutS took the vocoded electro route with “Total Eclipse of the Sun”, a remix of Heat Man and Shade Man that would make Giorgio Moroder proud. The springing sounds in Brandon Strader’s entry punctuate layers of violins, followed by the inclusion of rock drums, guitars and flute.

Guitaring is also apparent in prophetik’s arrangement of the Spring Man and Splash Woman themes, along with strings and piano eventually accompanied by a funky beat and a bongo-filled interlude. Hylian Lemon continued the acoustic strumming streak with his “Save a Horse (Ride a Transformer)” emphasizing the off-beat for a reggae-like vibe, but switching to a more conventional rhythm at the halfway point. At the end of the bracket PrototypeRaptor unleashed his technorchestral “Hardly Clubbed to Death”, a blend of Nitro Man and Hard Man that could probably turn heads, or at least Rob Dougan’s.

Lazy Sunday Compo debuted at SolidComposer this week, providing a place for entrants who may not be able to attend competitions on other days. The theme was “The Beginning”, which inspired me to record a spoken-word rendition of my song of the same name. Amphibious delivered delay-affected piano accompanied by woodwind, paving the way for electronica. liquid wind’s pads are joined by earthy percussion loops, pan flute and layered with a synth drumkit. Due to a technical error, Steam Dreams uploaded a one-second entry consisting of a segment of violins. Another flub occurred with Xarnax42, who submitted two instances of his ambient entry. swordofdestiny went for moodness in his track “Onto Our Epic Journey” before dropping acid bass and a marching rhythm to go with an extended melody. MandraSigma faced the quandary of segueing to and from dubstep in his attempt to “Race the Sun”.

The Monday deadline for People’s Remixing Competition 195 was met with a larger-than-usual turnout. The Metal Gear spinoff Snake’s Revenge was chosen as the source tune for the round; incidentally an arrangement at OC ReMix is titled “Snake’s Revenge”, but is actually a remix of Metal Gear. Amphibious put up a rock take on the material embellished with synthesizer work and a mellow piano-backed section. Mizu recorded an electronic keyboard entry that picks up speed one third of the way in. Chevamiah implemented Daft Punk and dubstep influences for his remix, displaying vintage e-drum sounds and interplay between various synth instruments. The winner of the previous PRC round toilet goat submitted a bonus entry of trance featuring echoed claps. Gilleece’s track opens with strings, and then adds piano before smash-cutting to a rapid dance beat. marcusg completes the circle of entries with a hip-hop iteration of the tune, “Snake for fun”.

Tuesday’s JHCompo encountered a few website glitches, most particularly lag in the chat window. Despite the problems, the night brought in a dozen participants. I chose the “Hyperdrive” theme specifically due to the wide appeal of futuristic space settings for compos. After my quick read-through of the description, OverCoat initiated the “Warp to Zero!” using a set of emulated Sega Genesis instruments. liquid wind saw fit to make a song about “space cats” reminiscent of eastern ethnic music, lifted up with a drum machine. coda’s frantic “hyperfartX” drew comparison to Metal Gear Solid and features its own vocal narration of the night’s theme. Xarnax42 offered an appropriately spacey tune with dynamic arps and airy pads.

mv mixed roaring engines into his entry, characteristically using a broad spectrum of orchestral components and synths. Clockwerk called upon the “Interplanetary Space Police” with a rolling groove and gradually added electronic layers. ShinnyMetal showed off a lo-bit bassline, distortion and high pitched melodic lines. Jarski’s deliberately-flatted intro opens up to a wealth of un-tiss and chip-like harmonic elements. nysnamovois continued the oldskool video game vibe with his “Hard Wired” entry, which due to a site glitch was followed by over two minutes of silence. After the unintentional intermission, newcomer MisfitBYTE had his moment in the sun by putting up a loosely jointed collection of musical sounds. At the end of the listening party, MattInc fled through a “Wormhole” filled with subtle pads, low thumping and repeating motifs.

Trippycompo on Wednesday featured four entrants and a samplepack. The pack contained a variety of pitched clips as well as a song fragment and bits of percussion. bw offered up a bouncy composition with a song-like multiple section structure. MandraSigma submitted a laidback take on four-on-the-floor rhythm with cascading arpeggio. Storlek made prominent use of the song fragment from the samplepack, stuttering it to generate a tripped out effect. Finally GreaseMonkey’s “slow song” belied its name by being noticeably up-tempo, playing out sustained chords at a flat decay rate.

The theme for Thursday's OHC was "Larger Than Life", and in an unusual move included a description written as if part of dialogue. I used this as an opportunity to do a bit of voice acting for my entry. RAMPKORV's unabashedly obscene song title sets the mood for a minute of tickling the ivories. Forty-Two longed for a one-and-a-half-hour compo, but managed to upload an swingy tune with piano and violins tailed off by ambiance. DarkSim made it to the "Top of the World" with the help of elevated breakbeats. sci's e-piano intro leads the way to a chaotic assortment of styles, beats and a vocal clip. Arcana lays strings and synth to impart "My sadness on the world". In a self-proclaimed return to his roots, cyrilthewolf submitted a rock entry accompanied by an extended rap and metal singing. jarski followed up with corrosive bass and punchy drums. mv chose to express his "Badassery" via the power of chiptunes, slowing down the tempo to a crawl to end the track.

Ever since I’ve started blogging the compo experience, I’ve noticed there's been a new wave of sorts in terms of participants. A significant number of new names have joined the community while others has been absent. People come and go, but the huge amount of talent displayed remains the same.

Under Pressure

Saturday was home to a number of competitions, some of which suffered from deadline delays or disappeared entirely. The Grand Robot Master Remix Battle at OverClocked ReMix actually raised an issue about entrants beginning work on their remixes early, but the matter was settled on the condition of assuming good faith. Out of the 16 people who signed up, 15 successfully submitted tracks for the Proto Man Bracket. DusK started his entry off with a shredded rendition of Elec Man with synth melody that segues into Wood Man on lead guitar. The honky-tonk piano intro of WillRock’s “WoodChipper” leads to synthesizer arpeggios and acoustic drums. Geoffio used choir and church organ for “Sheep in Skulls Clothing”, blending Skull Man and Sheep Man and rocking the drums with harpsichord. fredrikd went to “Where Sheep Go to When They Die” breezing though Sheep Man and Skull Man with electronics and cymbal crashes.

chroxic sent along a quick “GnB” entry covering Gravity Man and Crash Man. Chernabouge’s track begins with bass playing the familiar line from Crash Man before breaking out electric guitar and then switching over to Gravity Man. Main Finger followed current trends by submitting a dubstep-tinged arrangement of the Napalm Man and Chill Man themes utilizing heavy compression. Rozovian delivered the unusual meal of “Ice Cream Nachos”, a dance tune working together Chill Man and Napalm Man. Jakesnke17’s “Switchable Fangs” brought along funkified percussion joined with strings, woodwinds and synthesizers, ending with solo piano. The defiant declaration “I am Blade Man” opens Cyril the Wolf’s track “Slice the Snake” setting the tone for e-harmonized vocals singing over thrashing drumming, followed by metal screams for Snake Man.

Xarnax42 chose to “Plug into the Order of the Groove” and served up a loosely connected set of instruments interpreting Knight Man and Plug Man in varying tempos. Neblix’s “Power Plant in the Kingdom” marries drum and bass with gasping sounds, an array of synths and acoustic plucking. pixelwave’s trip-hop entry features string sections, a pervasive bass tone and distant, reverberated twanging along with a degraded breakdown. Geeky Stoner belied his namesake by creating a sober electro remix of Flash Man, bringing in elements of Toad Man as the song progresses. At the end of the bracket, AeroZ's “Jumping Flash” uses a flatted intro as the quiet before the pulsing dance storm of Toad Man meets Flash Man.

The listening party for Dwelling of Duels took place on Sunday. It featured “Sony Month” as a theme, which coincidentally had been chosen before the PlayStation Network security debacle. Kefka’s Chrono Cross arrangement “A Tiny Dragon” settles on acoustic guitar layered with electric lead playing. Brandon Strader and Rexy teamed up to create “Hogging Molly”, a stomping take on Crash Bandicoot alternating between 2/4 and 4/4 time signatures. Greg felt there was “No Need to Hurry” with his Dark Cloud 2 remix with overlaid takes of acoustic-electric strumming. Lost in Magicant submitted a rendition of a Final Fantasy VII tune mixing together a drum loop, wind chimes, an ominous breeze and lead guitar, ending with traces of string pads. Paragon works the bass at the start of his Final Fantasy Tactics entry, and then coasts though a multitude of rhythmic patterns amidst guitar lines.

Ambient pads lie under electric chugging in jvincion’s “Wanderlust in a Burning Soul” covering Final Fantasy X. thesamareaye led a “Railway Chase” paying tribute to Mega Man X4 with keyboard synths and panned guitaring. Scaredsim’s was the first of two Okami arrangements for the round, deciding to “Follow the Wolf” using tickled ivories and lead licks playing off of each other. The second Okami rendition came from Pumpkin King with his solo piano excursion “Kaguya’s Journey”. Daniel Alm’s Resident Evil remix brings a quiet bubbling to the surface and nimbly noodles the lead with soft-styled drumming, then crashes into a louder section. A pair of Silent Hill tracks round out the Sony theme: Skummel Maske’s “Empty Promises” deftly goes through guitar arps while tibone’s “Overdosis Fatalis” throws a wah pedal into the mix.

For Tuesday’s JHCompo I chose “The Heat” as the theme to reflect the concurrent humid weather I was experiencing. Following my vocal read-through of that description, MandraSigma submitted a bouncy, tinny composition including various screaming voices. OverCoat sensed the hotness with gloomy “Calor” using arpeggios and stereoized pads. mv’s dynamic electronics were put through the glitch treatment alongside steeldrum-like synths and violins as he ravaged the “Burning Landscape”. coda defied all theme expectations by making an energetic dance track about a dog volcano. Finally Dash served delay-affected arps, frenetic hi-hat patterns and fat drumming.

Trippycompo occurred on Wednesday, centered on a samplepack. The pack contains a collection of drum clips and tones, including an organ-sounding loop and electric guitar. bw’s “friendlyfatman” assumes a sparse beat until speeding up and using the organ for a breakdown. trough submitted “lalala”, a 7-second rendition of ATC’s “All Around the World”. nysnamovois’s “smack” delves into a funky rhythm before rocking out with the guitar sample. MandraSigma entered a dancey “spacetavern” with 30 seconds of riffing. freedrull composed “a trippy dog” with mellowness befitting a kennel, and submitted “xaimoois” as a brief dnb alternative. passing_by put together “Blam! Analhead” and conjured the image of a ticking clock, then progressed with organ stabs and concluded with a holler.

Thursday's OHC featured "High Stress" as a theme, accompanied by a thorough description to incite creativity on the part of the entrants. My "Stress Introduction" uttered that theme with an unusually large amount of breath pauses. RAMPKORV was preoccupied and quickly recorded his keyboard playing for the compo. A wild Garian appeared with a Simpsons quote in his description and glitch-hop in the entry itself. The glitches continued in sci's "that can't be good..." containing forceful basslines. bjkmenu's singing fed through distended echo supported by drums and rhythm guitar. Flexstyle remade his song "A Sense of Urgency" for OHC, displaying dub influences and police sirens in equal measure.

Arcana expressed a "State of Readiness" with a dance beat and slightly detuned organ among other sounds. Usabell's schizophrenic entry and vocal samples brought up comparisons to RAMPKORV and dusthillguy during the listening party. ProjectSpam's mechanized track is punctuated by the repeated line "I'm so stressed right now..." and augmented by bongos. CJthemusicdude's vocoded "CADBFAF" was effectively co-written by starla, since she had suggested the chord progression for him to use. Suzumebachi managed to upload his entry despite a sluggish internet connection, serving up heavily compressed drumming and headbobbing powerchords. DDRKirby(ISQ) came up even later with a whopping 7-minute composition running though various genres and moods.

Fittingly enough, my procrastination on my recent blog post and subsequent catching up served as a stress test of sorts. I really pushed myself to write down the words you are currently reading, and I believe I have grown from the experience. Now I know that, if I really have to, I can cram my writing into an intense session and still come out of the ordeal with a grin on my face.