Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Vote and choose the samples for MattntheHat vs. z.matt.33

This is the collection of samples submitted by MattntheHat and z.matt.33 for Round 7 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 (Jan. 18th - Jan. 25th) and when the voting is over, the top four samples will be used in an original track by both MattntheHat and z.matt.33.

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 (Jan. 25th - Feb. 22nd), the groups will present their tracks to the public and a judges panel.





Find all the previous posts from the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats by checking out our blog at http://winslowfamilybattleofthebeats.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 11, 2011

Vote and choose the samples for MaxPtah vs. Willbur

This is the collection of samples submitted by MaxPtah (Memphis, TN) and Willbur (Denver, CO) for Round 6 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 (Jan. 11th - Jan. 18th) and when the voting is over, the top four samples will be used in an original track by both MaxPtah and Willbur.

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 (Jan. 18th - Feb. 15th), the groups will present their tracks to the public and a judges panel.

UPDATE:

The polls closed on Tuesday Night, January 18th, 2011 at Midnite with the winnings samples:
#4, #8, #3, and #7!

You can hear the winning samples on the player below as well as review the overall votes.

Max Ptah and Willbur will release their final tracks for Round 6 on Tuesday, February 15th. 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, February 2nd! Stay tuned, Winslows...

Round 6 Sample Compilation by WinslowFamilyProductions



Find all the previous posts from the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats by checking out our blog at http://winslowfamilybattleofthebeats.blogspot.com

Vote and choose the samples for Redeye Jedi vs. New Bang Productions

This is the collection of samples submitted by Redeye Jedi (Memphis, TN) and New Bang Productions (Nashville, TN) for Round 5 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 (Jan. 4th - Jan. 11th) and when the voting is over, the top four samples will be used in an original track by both Redeye Jedi and New Bang Productions.

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 (Jan. 11th - Feb. 8th), the groups will present their tracks to the public and a judges panel.

UPDATE:

The polls closed on Tuesday Night, January 11th, 2011 at Midnite with the winnings samples:
#1, #4, #6, and #8!

You can hear the winning samples on the player below as well as review the overall votes.

Redeye Jedi and New Bang Productions will release their final tracks for Round 5 on Tuesday, February 8th. 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, February 15th! Stay tuned, Winslows...
Round 5 Samples Compilation by WinslowFamilyProductions



Find all the previous posts from the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats by checking out our blog at http://winslowfamilybattleofthebeats.blogspot.com

Tuesday, January 4, 2011

Round 4: Decision Day: Quiet Entertainer vs. Little Miss Mr

The official tracks from Quiet Entertainer and Little Miss Mr for the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats are available for high-fidelity listening:


Loose Wire - Quiet Entertainer


The Winds of Shit - Little Miss Mr

Remember the Winslow way: Honesty and Values! Please only vote once!


This is a compilation of the samples used in Round 4:


Original Samples from Round 4 by WinslowFamilyProductions

UPDATE: The winner is Quiet Entertainer with 6 judges votes and the public poll which counts as 2 judges' vote!

You can read the feedback from each judge to hear more behind their decisions:

Mr Anonymous:

ok by far my vote is track #1..."Loose Wire" by Quiet
Entertainer...since i live in the dancehall/dub realm and channel most of my ideas from the streets of Kingston and jungles of Jamaica (and robots from Mars), I can feel this track the most!!! lol.....Like my favorite Bruce Lee quote: "The height of cultivation always runs to simplicity" this track personifies the impact of less is more...like a minimalist robot dancehall track from saturn...I love it!!!
cheers
Mr Anonymous

Official Vote: Quiet Entertainer

DJ Not So Much:

Little Miss integrated samples in a seamless manner and appeared to have a better grasp on the recording/studio cycle.

I love the choice of samples on QE, and with some mastering (?) and more of a "woven in" rather than "stapled into" feel my vote may have been different.

But then again, LMM sounded like the jam-tronica I am a sucker for anyway...

Great job guys, I will do more of this for sure!

Official Vote: Little Miss Mr

Schtompa:

Both tracks were great with very original ideas and exemplary use of the given samples. QE's track was a arranged nicely, with a reoccuring theme throughout the entire piece, so I selected this track. Thanks Winslows

Official Vote: Quiet Entertainer

Miles Cramer:

The production value of Quiet Entertainer's track was very clean and strong and there was alot of originality in Little Miss Mr's although the production value was a little lacking. As a drummer I appreciate harder, more shaped back beats and I found that more in Quiet Entertainer's. I enjoyed the Little Miss Mr song itself more but the production value of Quiet Entertainer's is the deciding factor for me to give him my vote. The nostalgia of Espaso makes me reconsider but that wouldn't be a fair reason to give a vote.

Official Vote: Quiet Entertainer

DJ Redeye Jedi:

Just didn't see the use of samples in the Little Miss Mr, so it made it hard to tell what they did in their production.
Where as Quiet Entertainer made obvious use of the samples with out a lot of tweeking to theme, but made up for it with the hypeness of the track.

Official Vote: Quiet Entertainer

Jimmy of the Tunnel Clones:

Listen to Round 4: Verdict podcast to hear Jimmy's feedback.

Official Vote: Quiet Entertainer

Replacement judge for BlackCat Slyvester - MattntheHat:

Listen to Round 4: Verdict podcast to hear MattntheHat's feedback.

Official Vote: Quiet Entertainer

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Round3:DecisionDay - AudioSpaceShip vs. Studio-T

The official tracks from AudioSpaceShip and Studio-T for the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats are available for high-fidelity listening:


Dancing in the Rain - AudioSpaceShip by WinslowFamilyProductions


TKO - Studio T by WinslowFamilyProductions

Remember the Winslow way: Honesty and Values! Please only vote once!



This is a compilation of the samples used in Round 3:


Original Samples from Round 3 by WinslowFamilyProductions

UPDATE: The winner is Studio-T with 6 judges votes and the public poll was tied which counts as 1 judges' vote for Studio-T (and one judges' vote for AudioSpaceShip)

You can read the feedback from each judge to hear more behind their decisions:

Quiet Entertainer:

Without overanalyzing it and listening too much; I liked Studio T's track more. It seemed a lot more cohesive and drew me from one song phrase to the next a lot easier than AudioSpaceShip's track did. I liked both songs in their use of samples, but I liked the overall groove of Studio T's song more. I was a little confused by Studio T's outro, but overall it didn't take away from the song. It seemed as though AudioSpaceship's song had a lot of different parts. I'm sure each song does, but I felt like Studio T's track had one voice.

Good job guys!

Official Vote: Studio-T

Jon Furr / Furrious One:

Yeah the Audiospaceship was really nice, reminded me of oldskool DJ Krush with some more modern production. really good eqing and mixing , everything was really clear and had its own frequency space to breathe.

Im really into the Studio T sound because its more what i am interested in. Atmospheric, out the box creativity mixed with more musical ideas but with solid production. the beat, which i consider to be the whole thing not just the drums, was crafted with a life of its own with the samples as just a piece of the puzzle instead of just a beat with some samples over top. and of course good bump and present bass. the drum fills were great too. tweak the sounds make music out of them no matter what form, thats the business. im no "judge" of anything or one but thats just my opinion and what i dig, peace winslow 2011

Official Vote: Studio-T

Zac Rachid - The Acidophiles:

Loved the flow of the song and the xtra samples :) very groovy

Official Vote: Studio-T

Amandha Gilson - The Acidophiles:

STUDIO-T's mix flowed much better and had a much stronger overall vibe that created a stronger feeling of openness and movement.

Official Vote: Studio-T

Taktix:

Both tracks were good. looking foward to hearing more.

Official Vote: Studio-T

DJ Matt B:

. (DJ Matt B did not provide any feedback in his vote)

Official Vote: AudioSpaceShip

Chris Nicotera - C.Note Sound:

Dancing in the rain: Had the feel of a dance track. I could hear this song being mixed in a club somewhere. I thought the drum programming was excellent and the most focused part of the track. The mix was balanced and punchy. I thought the change to the bridge near the end was rough. I wasn't crazy about the way the orchestral hit sample was used, it seemed to be just tossed in

TKO: Nice modern electronic track. I enjoyed the dynamic changes and how the lead voice changed with the different sections especially. Nice ideas and sounds in the track. I really enjoyed how the track slowed down and bumped out at the end. I didn't enjoy the mix, especially in the beginning. The bass overwhelmed the mix in most of my monitoring scenarios which included my studio monitors, my car which has a sub woofer, 2 different sets of studio headphones and my laptop's built in speakers. T might need to calibrate his monitoring setup or get a more accurate set of speakers. There was also a drum fill used several times that was a phaser away from evoking Right Said Fred's "I'm Too Sexy". I'm not saying it's a good or bad thing, I'm just saying, you know.

Decision: Although I said I would base my decision on which track sounded better in the car with the windows down, I considered other factors as well. Both tracks had their strengths and problems, and despite my problems with the mix, my vote is for Studio-T. I thought the use of samples, the dynamic changes, and the melodic content pushed it ahead in the battle. Chad's mix and drums were better, Tim's melodies were more prominent and the changes flowed better. I can see why they make a good production team and hopefully they will work together more in the future. p.s. Chad's sounded better in the car, but I only had the windows half open b/c it got chilly.

Official Vote: Studio-T

Find all the previous posts from the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats by checking out our blog at http://winslowfamilybattleofthebeats.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Vote and choose the samples for Quiet Entertainer vs. Little Miss Mr

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...

Original Samples from Round 4 by WinslowFamilyProductions



Find all the previous posts from the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats by checking out our blog at http://winslowfamilybattleofthebeats.blogspot.com

Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Round 2: Decision Day - In.Surge.Ant vs. The C.Note Soundsystem

The official tracks from In.Surge.Ant and The C.Note Soundsystem for the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats are available for high-fidelity listening:



Porcelain Goose from China - In.Surge.Ant by WinslowFamilyProductions



Free to Be(at) - The C.Note Soundsystem by WinslowFamilyProductions



This is a compilation of the samples used in Round 2:


Original Samples from Round 2 by WinslowFamilyProductions

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.

Official Vote: The C.Note Soundsytem



Find all the previous posts from the Winslow Family Battle of the Beats by checking out our blog at http://winslowfamilybattleofthebeats.blogspot.com