Dirty producers: Song/remix compilation

[Camiel]

Come to think of it, it would be fun if this got mentioned on underworldlive, wouldn't it?

[Professor]

maus track is great, as per usual. kos's track is outstanding as well. nods to tin_foil_hats as well.

[holden]

i just wanted to say, from the first listen, in just alpha-order by artist, this is such an enjoyable, well-paced eclectic mix! I'm going to have this on replay for quite a while!
i know we are getting a track from Luminary and maybe a few more additions, but in the meantime, some comments (all positive!)

"Involuntary Dub" - A Gator Got Her - nice, relaxed tempo dub track to start the comp. There're so many surprises buried in the background, minimal but effective sounds upfront. Very smooth!

"Sidewalk Dramas" - AViD - what can i say, i apologize, esp for my "singing". it is what it is, and i hope you enjoyed the switch from guitar-driven to heavy breaks/electro in the middle, and back. This has been my "born slippy" for 5 years.

"A Whisper, A Glance" - Cranks: nice build from just the bass and beat to a very epic track! The octave-up pattern remains and there are just so many hooks, it's immediately catchy!

"V2/The dumbest thing i ever heard a smart girl say" -Dr. Processor. Well, if it isn't our old friend, the Professor Marshall Watson! As always with his tunes, the glitchy beats mix with the warm organic sounding pads and sonic experiments to immerse you in his musical world.

"Midnight Dub" - Grandbrother/feat. Janie - such a sleek, sexy chilled track! It's nice to hear a female vocal on this compilation in honor of the dreamgirls! very well produced and this could/should be on any number of Chill/House collections.

"DGL" - Lx Nen - this one tackes me on a journey. So many lovely loops (the piano, the pads) and a great drum pattern, it just keps evolving and i keep hitting repeat! Well done!

Island Hopping" - Maus. i already told this to Maus, but in addition to being a swell webhoster, he makes awesome tunes! This one seems like "In Sides" - era orbital: a bit aggro, very epic, but with cutting-edge beats.

"Firefly" - Sputnikk: i've been enjoying your tunes for 3 or 4 years, and they just get better and better! This one builds so steadily and drives without crashing around. It's stellar! i like the simple intro and outtro, too...a sonic firefly in my earphones!

"Weekend Cute" - the Night Owl: Short, but very sweet. Every element is added at exactly the right place, and the warmth of the synths offset by the fenetic hi-hat pattern makes for a lovely 2 minutes, leaving me wanting more!

"Dreamgirl..." - Tin Foil Hats: what a fun trak to finish with! This is the sound of the future by way of the 80's: analog bloopy goodness and that great vocoded robot-in-love!

Everyone, great efforts! No weak tracks at all (well, maybe that AViD sillyness, but every comp. has the dud that makes the rest sound even better! Thanks for letting me sit in with you professionals). Surely a lot of effort went into this and it shows.

Now, Everyone download!

[Leon]

Thanks Holden, nice read

Funny as it sounds, I have had most of the tunes on my computer for a while, but hadn't listened to them yet. I have just started listening to them, and these are my first (short impressions):

A Gator Got Her - Involuntary Dub: (My own track) A lot needs to be done on this track. some live mixing, some change in arrangements etc. Any feedback on this track is more than welcome!

AViD - Sidewalk Drama's: I love the lo-fi production, although, to my idea, you COULD try and make this a 3 or 4 minute version and make it REALLY booming. The length of the track now makes it lose concentration sometimes. Have to get used to the vocals a bit, but the transition in the middle of the song is awesome. Overall very nice. the lo-fi production is great.

Cranks - A Whisper, A Glance: Reminds me of Autechre, which is great. Although the melodies haven't grabbed me yet, but it's my first listen.

Dr. Processor - The Dumbest Thing I Heard A Smart Girl Say: Love the overall vibe of this track. pure bliss.

Grandbrother - Midnight Dub (Feat. Janie H.): Great production, this could be on a Kruder & Dorfmeister album

LX Nen - DGL: At the moment the most interesting track on this compilation. Really nice build up, great sounds in there.

Maus - Island Hopping: Here's another very interesting track. Beats are menacing and the music indeed reminds me of In Sides by Orbital (which is great because I love In Sides). Reminds me to check out your other stuff

Sputnikk - Firefly: Hmmm the bassline gives me visions of a big dancing crowd. This is a lush techno track.

The Night Owl - Weekend Cute: Sweet, should have been longer though!

Tin Foil Hats - Dreamgirl...: Damn, I love this track. starts out kinda "basic, then turns into a great oldskool electro thing. I LOVE the robotic vocals!

[Lx_Nen]

Loving every minute of it, what a lot of talented people we have round here.

I've mailed off my pic and bio (at last), so I'm done :-)

So, I think it's just a matter of rounding up any stray tracks and we're good to go... maybe some sort of announcement to the rest of the board when that this thread has turned into a album and website would be in order? I imagine a lot of non-music-making dirts haven't been following this thread but would love to hear the results.

Oh, and while I remember, I think the ID3 tags on the download could do with some tidying up, so they all have title/artist/album in the same format.

[Camiel]

Holden, I really dig the artwork. Great job. I love all the contributions, but most of all I think that LX Nen and Sputnikk stand out the most.

[Strangelet]

wow you guys did a kick ass job. so many quality tracks. really liked the professor's, avid, lx nen, and probably my favorite is grandbrother and bb's awesome track. You two should cut an album.

[Sean]

Hey, thanks Strangelet. Yeah, I really like the vocals Janie came up with. If anyone's wondering what to get her for Christmas though, I think she wants a really good microphone.

A Gator Got Her - Involuntary Dub: Looking forward to hearing where this one ends up. It has a great spacy quality to it that I hope gets amplified by new elements that are introduced as it moves forward.

AViD - Sidewalk Dramas: I like when the guitar first kicks in on this one. It has a sort of nostalgic feel to me for some reason. I also like the switch between feels midway. Gives the track some great variety. I have found that I need to turn it down when the vocals start though....not because I don't like them, but because the levels on them are quite a bit higher than on the rest of the elements. Would be nice if they were more integrated into the track. But aside from that, it's a very nice track overall.

Cranks - A Whisper, A Glance: This is one of those tracks that I like more and more as it progresses. Starts simple, then adds another element that I really like. And then another, and another, and on and on. And it, like AViD's track, has a bit of a nostalgic sound for me. What is it with you people and zeroing in on my nostalgic feelings?

Dr. Processor - The Dumbest Thing I Heard a Smart Girl Say: Great atmosphere and production on this one. Sounds like you share my two chord tendencies. And actually, this one might end up as part of the soundtrack on the video I'm editing down from our last trip to Thailand.

Grandbrother - Midnight Dub feat. Janie H.: I'll take this opportunity to thank Janie for her vocal contributions on this track. They really did a lot to tie the track together in ways I hadn't expected when I first started working on the music. So thanks Janie!

LX Nen - D G L: I love the lushness of this track. And again with the nostalgia here for me! Fantastic work on creating a strong mood, and great production work to boot. One of my favorites for sure.

Maus - Island Hopping: Great, original sounding beats, layered again into some great production. I'm liking the Orbital-style chords, too. Excellent track!

Sputnikk - Firefly: Very nice, chilled dance track. It's one of those tracks where I don't mind that it's repetitive because I like what's being repeated so much.

tHe niGHt oWl - Weekend Cute: I first heard this track a while back on your MySpace page, and have wanted a copy of it since then. I was very glad to see it was the one you submitted for this compilation. Great late-night relaxing song. Might also end up on my Thailand video...

The Tin Foil Hats - Dreamgirl, I'm Desperate For You: Bust out the shiney silver jump suit and do the robot! Very fun combination of tight, retro dance with lush, atmospheric elements. It's a great, upbeat way to end the compilation.


Overall, this is an impressive compilation. The best I think I've heard out of this group. Thanks to everyone who made it all come together and who contributed tracks!

[maus]

just a quick heads up to everyone...

i still have to update the site with the artwork and a couple of tracks... apologies for not getting to it yet (been in the studio for 13+ hour days working on a deadline).

things should level out this weekend at the latest and i can sort it out.

great work all around...

rock on,
c

[King of Snake]

ok here's my track by track review, I've tried giving some constructive criticism as well

A Gator Got Her - Involuntary Dub
great title and this track has some nice dubby and atmospheric sounds. The production still needs work though, cause some sounds seem to be a bit hard to make out. Still, I know from experience that learning that kind of stuff takes years of practice and afaik you haven't been doing music that long. You're definitely on the right track with the ingredients, and I'm confident that if you stick to it, the technical side will follow.

Avid - Sidewalk Drama's
this opens with a cool, New Order-like groove with guitars, synths and drummachine.
I like the movement to a more intense and dark groove halfway trough the song and then back again. The instrumental outtro is well done as well. I had a hard time listening past the bad recording quality of the vocals though. Not sure what happened there. Your voice itself sounds good enough, but it sounds like it was recorded with a dictaphone or something. The whole track seems to have been recorded too loud as well, looks like it's clipping all over the place and it really messes up the sound. What's you recording setup? Are you checking your input levels when recording?

Cranks - A Whisper, A Glance
a slightly weird old-school and slowed down house beat leads the way into some beautiful melancholic melodies. Starting the hypnosis by repetition thing on me. This is pretty good stuff. Personally I'd try and update the drumsamples next time unless you really want to make it sound like 1991

Dr Processor - The Dumbest Thing I Heard a Smart Girl Say
you could say I'm a fan of Marshall Watso... *ahum* Dr Processor's work for some time now. Continuing his trademark drugged out ambient IDM-ish sound this track doesn't dissapoint.

Grandbrother - Midnight Dub feat. Janie H
this is my favourite track so far. I commented on it already earlier in the thread, saying that imo Sean had really nailed the Kruder & Dorfmeister sound on this one, and I can only repeat that sentiment here. A lovely chugging triphop beat, trademark electric piano, janie's minimalist vocal echoing in the background and the attention to detail in the production make for a nice journey into trippyness.

LX Nen - D G L
moving into Plaid-like territory here. There's fairytale synths combined with rigid drums. I really really like the synth ambience on this track, and good use of reverb and delays creating that floaty vibe. I personally thought the main drum was a bit too rigid and hammering for it's own good esp since the rest of the track sounds so organic, but there's plenty of cool sounds to make this track stand out anyway.

Maus - Island Hopping
the first thing that pops into your head when the first synth melody starts is "ORBITAL". Yes it definitely does sound very much like them, although the breakbeat is probably more heavy and pronounced than on actual Orbital tracks. I like it though Another winner!

Sputnikk - Firefly
well obviously I won't comment on my own track, other than to say I'm pretty happy with it myself.

tHe niGHt oWl - Weekend Cute
yeah this is very short but also very sweet. Not sure why you made it so short, for me you could have easily kept looping the whole thing for a while without me noticing

The Tin Foil Hats - Dreamgirl, I'm Desperate For You
The range of styles on this compilation is great. Here we have a classic electro sound, with robot beats, robot basslines and a robot voice. Dust off your 808's and vocoders! I guess it's a sound that doesn't really get old and it's good to actually have someone use the theme for the comp and make a vocal out of it. Indeed a good way to end to compilation.