This is the collection of samples submitted by Quiet Entertainer (Nashville, TN) and Little Miss Mr (Nashville, TN) for Round 4 of the Battle of the Beats. There are 4 samples from each competitor.
We will not reveal who picked which sample in order to reduce the bias of the voters. You can vote for the next week (Nov 16th - Nov. 23rd) and when the voting is over, the top four samples will be used in an original track by both Quiet Entertainer and Little Miss Mr.
Both acts MUST use ALL FOUR of the chosen samples, but they can use the samples any way they like.
At the end of a one month production period (Nov. 23rd - Dec 21st), the groups will present their tracks to the public and a judges panel.
UPDATE:
The polls closed on Tuesday Night, November 2nd at Midnite with the winnings samples:
#1, #2, #4, and #3!
You can hear the winning samples on the player below as well as review the overall votes.
Quiet Entertainer and Little Miss Mr will release their final tracks for Round 4 on Tuesday, December, 21st. There will be a public poll open for one week where anyone can vote to help choose the winner for this round of the Battle of the Beats. We will also have many celebrity judges who will each cast their own vote. The public poll will count as two votes along side each celebrity judge vote at the end of the week. The winner of the battle will be announced on Tuesday, December 28th! Stay tuned, Winslows...
UPDATE: The winner is the C.Note Soundsystem with 3 judges votes and the public poll which counts as 2 judges' votes!
You can read the feedback from each judge to hear more behind their decisions:
PhatMattWinslow:
C-note : Loved the bass, shook the walls in my house. Used all samples well. On the other hand, their was not enough variation for a beat so long. Kinda dragged out a bit.
In.Surg.Ant : No complaints here! Original, lots of variation with tight transitions , incredible use of samples, mixed very well. PRESS THAT SHIT!.... loved the drums..
Overall : Samples were a little harder to use than round 1 , so I can only imagine how tough it was to pull out a banger. Loved both the tracks but my vote will have to be for IN.SURGE.ANT
Official Vote: In.Surge.Ant
CJ of Calvin & Little Miss Mr:
I like what In.Surge.Ant brought to the table with that bass line making major movements. That really appealed to my ear. I was also a big fan of the way C. Note's track brought some more bump hitting that nasty sounding bass line in the beginning with the very nice complimentary texture of the brass lead.
There are many things I could elaborate on, but there was one thing that stood out the most to me. That is how sample #2 (from the compilation of samples) was used by each artist. Honestly, C Note's repetitive use of the female voice in that sample was a little too much to handle. In.Surge.Ant used the part of that sample that I liked way more, and that was the high "woo" going on in it. It sounded like something the Talking Heads would've really taken advantage of, and I'm all about that.
Official Vote: In.Surge.Ant
P Buck:
In.Surge.Ant definitely had that CO sound that I have heard us discussing on the show. I really enjoyed the depth of the bass lines, the slight rising in pitch of the bass really did it for me. Also I liked the way Moe used the "Grunts" sample sticking in that WOO sound as a prominent part of the rhythm track. I enjoy his use of the tv tuning in and out of channels as an intro and outro although I did feel that it also was an easy way out instead of actually orchestrating a musical intro or outro. I also felt like the beat was too quiet in the mix for my liking. I really liked to be hit by the bass and even the snare of clap sound and that just wasn't there for me. Also the tempo of this track was kinda slow for me and I felt like to was dragging sometimes. But overall I felt like In.Surge.Ant really made the best out of the samples with the sitar sample making a very prominent riff at the outset of the song and the woo in the beat kept drawing me back in. And I also just felt like this track had a great overall compensation. It managed to keep pulling me back in and kept me listening deeply even after multiple listens.
C.Note's track didn't really pull me in immediately as the beginning of the song was slightly repetitive and the bass line didn't move the song a lot. I did really enjoy the straight forward nature of his beat. It didnt have as many glitchy and abstract instruments and I appreciate that style of beat that just gets your head nodding right away. The change in the track at roughly the halfway mark totally changes my opinion of this track. I like how the orchestral samples help transition into another section of the song smoothly. The beat picks up a lot and I was really feeling the up tempo feel of the last couple minutes with the orchestral sample coming back in again. The one thing that sets this track off is the building atmospheric sounds of CNote's guitar work. I think that was a secret weapon he put to excellent use. Overall I would be more inclined to pick CNote's track if it was just shorter. If the first section of the song has been maybe 30 seconds and then led into the second half of the song I would probably have voted for Cnote's track.
In the end, I gotta vote for In.Surge.Ant because he track really had more depth and explored more soundscapes in less time. I think the fatal flaw in the CNote track is mainly an editorial error as just shortening this track could have made it the winner. Great job to both competitors. I will definitely be bumping these tracks for a while!
Official Vote: In.Surge.Ant
Stanley K:
i thought c-note's beat was just more well rounded. I liked his use of the samples, and the overall production value was better. But overall i think both of these tracks kind of dragged a bit, maybe if they where a bit shorter i wouldn't feel this way.
Official Vote: The C.Note Soundsystem
Studio T:
The track from CNote SoundSystem was a listening odyssey. I enjoyed the incorporation of so many ideas and changes into the composition. I like the deep bass drum hits and the bass line is quite catchy. I really like the spacey parts especially towards the end with the guitar and keys. This track contains many interesting ideas but ironically, in my opinion, it is also a bit too repetitive.
I think the vocal samples became distracting through parts of the track. I would have liked this one more if it was more instrumental and maybe shorter. I really loved parts of it, but there was some vocal sample usage that I just wasn't feeling.
And in the end, I think the vocal parts are really what decided this round for me.
I really enjoyed the way that InSurgeAnt chose to use the vocal samples and also added in some new ones as well. I like the radio station intro / outro and it seems to fit well with the overall sound of the song which is quite gritty. This track also seems more cohesive to me as a whole. That was another big deciding factor. I think the InSurgeAnt track ends on more of a high note.
My vote goes for "Porcelain Goose from China" but I enjoyed both tracks. I think both contenders were super creative and inspiring in their own way.
Official Vote: In.Surge.Ant
Z.Matt.33:
Free to Be(at)
I really dig the "hyphy-ish" feel of the vocal samples and beat at the beginning. I like the chopping of the samples. You can still tell what was what but subtly. Nice atmospheric ending. The track has some nice stereo panning. Nice attention to detail. The track definitely has a southern feel to it as well. Bass line is simple and repeats, it lets the samples do the talking.
Porcelain Goose from China
I was definitely digging on the radio frequencies on the beginning and end of the track. Original and fitting for the competition. The sitar sample at the beginning is great. I like the use of the samples in the beginning, but it seemed to go downhill for me. It builds up to a breakdown and then rides out. The bass sound is generic and although part of what separates the track regionally, it is just overused these days, in my humble opinion.
Overall though I felt like the track was pretty good.
Decision
For this round, I have to go with C.Note's track. I just felt it more and I feel like he made better use of the samples-chopping and blending them.
Overall, C.Note's track is stronger.
Official Vote: The C.Note Soundsystem
MattntheHat:
I dug the overall vibe of "Free to Be(at)" more so than that of In.Surge.Ant's track. Although both artistist used the samples in creative ways, the glitch factor on In.Surge's track created an attention loss. Just not my style. Both tracks were also a bit long in my opinion, but my vote goes to The C.Note Soundsystem for holding my attention more and creating a more laid back track.
