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.
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.
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.
This is the collection of samples submitted by AudioSpaceship (Nashville, TN) and Studio-T (Denver, CO) for Round 3 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 (Oct. 26 - Nov. 2nd) and when the voting is over, the top four samples will be used in an original track by both AudioSpaceship and Studio-T.
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. 2nd - Nov. 30th), the groups will present their tracks to the public and a judges panel.
Please listen and vote as many times as you want.
You can vote for up to four samples at one time.
UPDATE:
The polls closed on Tuesday Night, November 2nd at Midnite with the winnings samples:
#3, #4, #5, and #7!
You can hear the winning samples on the player below as well as review the overall votes.
AudioSpaceShip and Studio-T will release their final tracks for Round 3 on Tuesday, November 30th. 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 7th! Stay tuned, Winslows...
UPDATE: The Winner is The Biz with 6 judges votes!
Fresh Hats Tight Beats won the public vote as well as one judge vote from BGK of Maps & Writings.
You can read the feedback from each judge to hear more behind their decisions:
RAW RUSS aka Berk Visual:
i thought the fhtb track was dope ...wasnt that stoked on the drum sounds def loved the shout out to eyedea RIP! and def overall a dope track
....i was really feeling the biz track for sure! CO just has something right now ...it def sounds very co to me too ...overall i will say that i feel like the sounds make this track the winner ...both had fgreat ideas and used the samples in a stellar fashion ...but the biz just crushes from the start with that beautiful arpeggiated sound! dope shit!
love all you guys thanks for involving me!
Official vote: The Biz
BGK aka Writings of Maps and Writings:
I liked both tracks and loved the fact that they had two different vibes.
FHTB : this track is chill and upbeat at the same time, the flute sample was my fav and i love the tweek that was done to it, its got a vintage, vinyl record spinning dj vibe...i dig it, and the best is at the end...it sounds like they're saying BGK :)
The BIZ: I really dig the vibe, Its as if I am flying into the future on a wave of music... it reminds me of a dream soundtrack, its calming and moving, tribal yet cosmic, the flute is my favorite part....
It was really difficult to choose because they were both awesome in their different ways, so for me it came down to whose flute I liked more... This one goes to Fresh Hats Tight Beats
peace!!! BGK
maps and writings
Official Vote: Fresh Hats Tight Beats
AudioSpaceship:
I thought that both tracks were really great overall. FHTB had more of a hip-hop flavor to it and they used their samples well. FHTB might sell more records in my opinion, because their sound is more sought over by hip-hop artists. However, that said The Biz was more original and had a Pretty Lights feel to it. I have to say that the Biz had a better beat and this is called battle of the beats. Therefore, I vote for the Biz on this one.
Official Vote: The Biz
In.Surge.Ant aka Moe Velez from Gravity:
Both tracks were dope as fuck.. The biz track got my head nodding just a bit harder.. Good production lots of twists and turns and a heavy ass low end. I liked the use of the samples in the fhtb mix a lot, esp bringing new ones in.
Official Vote: The Biz
Rob MF Knugg aka Maps of Maps and Writings:
both tracks are good. it really came down to the biz track feeling more whole
Official Vote: The Biz
Dj Kidsmeal
I liked both tracks a whole lot. It was tough for me to decide... But after listening to each track several times, I enjoyed the Biz's take on this sample set more. I feel like the composition of The Biz's track was more cohesive and well thought out. It made it harder to decide being that these two tracks were so different from each other... I loved the classic feel of FHTB's track and the high energy. And it's hard not to pick their track with the shout out to the late eyedea R.I.P tagged on the end. Great work on both sides!
Official Vote: The Biz
TK 421 aka Mark Cooley of Gravity
Both of these tracks got my head bobbin. I thought FHTB's had better use of the selected samples but I really loved the overall vibe and production value that The Biz brought. I loved their use of space and ear candy in the track. Then you got that bass line they drop at the 3:00 min mark then reintroduce at the 4:28 mark. That was the hook for me. I did like how FHTB's brought in the other vocal sample to coincide with "music is a weapon" sample. That was nice but I felt their track was lacking a hook. Nice work but I had to go with The Biz on this one.
This is the collection of samples submitted by In.Surge.Ant (Denver, CO) and The C.Note Soundsystem (New Orleans, LA) for Round 2 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 (Oct. 5th - 12th) and when the voting is over, the top four samples will be used in an original track by both In.Surge.Ant and The C.Note Soundsystem.
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 (Oct. 12th - Nov. 9th), the groups will present their tracks to the public and a judges panel.
Please listen and vote as many times as you want.
You can vote for up to four samples at one time.
UPDATE:
The polls closed on Tuesday Night, October 12th at Midnite with the winnings samples:
#2, #7, #8, and #3!
You can hear the winning samples on the player below as well as review the overall votes.
In.Surge.Ant and The C.Note Soundsystem will release their final tracks for Round 2 on Tuesday, November 9th. 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, November 16th! Stay tuned, Winslows...
