MBC 14 voting thread! 😺

Yo there!

MY TOP 3:

  • :1st_place_medal: Mr Zensphere - Power of the Puss
  • :2nd_place_medal: Highway Rehab - Loudest Meow
  • :3rd_place_medal: HeartBeatHero - Cats Forever

THE MINI-REVIEWS:

Mrkyk - CAT ELECTRO HIP HOP
I like the slow beat. Perfect to calm down. Perhaps a bit too repetitive. And the cat seems angry… or is it a lynx?

• zen sphere records • - mr•zensphere •••Power of the Puss•••
My favorite track for this contest. This proves if needed that lyrics can fit with Renoise tracks. For some obvious reasons, I avoid to sing it in the street.

AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death
Cool track. A bit dark. A bit loud. Generates some audio feeling of claustrophobia. Kind of dark ambient. The subtle cat meowing fits well the track.

Costume Party - MCLF - (MuTaNT•CaTS•LoVe•FReeDoM) (116 BPM)
To me this tracks sounds a bit like a WIP thing. The result is fun, I like it as is. But it defo needs to be continued.

Panos Kostagiannis - Mating Season-MuTaNT•BReaKS1-14
Explicite thumbnail. Explicite title. Explicite mating sounds. Haha. Great job. The whole thing is coherent. Nice atmostphere landscape sounds.

TheBellows - Sickz Life Leftz
Great sound quality over a very good mixed track. Some surprising beat and tempo evolutions. Each subpart offers its own experience. Perfect to evade.

SimulatedXen - Purr Of The Weaver
There are very impressive textures in this track. It’s hard to note, there are parts I love, and other parts that hurt too much my ears.

HeartBeatHero - Cats Forever
Yet another great synthwave track. The whole thing is consistent. The cat seems to call for help from space. Then the music is like the spaceship that comes to save him.

Kara Kusa - Fetch With Cobra
I love breakcore. This one is accessible. So I really enjoy it from the start to the end. All parts.

Lneheb - Infinite Power of Gwa
Woohoo, some hardcore breakcore jungle chiptune electronica, I don’t know, but whatever it is, I love it, sure.

Olivier - MuTaNT BReaks 14
Something to chill out, here. There are some interesting little variations which help to keep focus until the end.

Krokodildo Audio - Felix Theme
You made the good choice between your two versions. This one is relaxing, like early IDM tracks. In the other version, the drums were ruining this peaceful place.

Adrezonar / TeuTone - Psycadelic Vibes (feat.lilith93)
High level on this collab, the voices are well mixed with the other sounds, the whole thing is nicely structured, well balanced, consistent. Goog job.

highway rehab - Loudest Meow
Yes! You made it again! This remembers me some musics from Aphex Twin Ambient Works 85-92 or the excellent Richard D James Alberto Basalm. With cats. Love it.

ghismart - We Are The Mutant Cats
I know it sounds flat, but I had fun trying to transform voices in diffent ways, and I will enjoy if someone remix it during MBCR#14.1 to come later this year.

PR0T0TYPE - MeowZers!
Very original. Very intense. Very dynamic. Very powerful. And the final meow gave me the smile. 3 minutes that run too quickly. Let me listen this twice.

TNT (FFM) - MBCat
This is excellent. Electro with acid bass in da TB-303 + TR-808 style, but even better. The pads are really cool. The cats too.

Garfferen - Crouching Dog, Hidden Kitty
Yet another acid track, with nice synths playing around. Some parts remind me JM Jarre, Vangelis, Kraftwerk. Other are more like tribal transe. All is OK here.

soundbike - major cat bromance
Yeah! Sounds like a band with electric guitars. Not usual in Renoise contests. And I like how you used a meow sound as a guitar too.

Jek - MinHouseCat
Progressive techno here? Not my fav style, but I like the last part around 3:40 to the end. It’s a bit more melodic, and I like it for that.

Electronic Tiger - The Cat And The Photocopier Incident MBC14
Very interesting. I didn’t study the XRNS, but I’m quite sure there are some subtle tricks on the BPM and/or LPB. The whole track is good.

Memory Canyon - Renoise Mutant Breaks #14
Gliding cats, sliding cats, and I enjoy the cool funky bass. Could have been a bit longer.

7 Likes

HeartBeatHero
Kara Kusa
Lneheb

Good job all around to everyone! It was tough to pick. Every time I thought I had three solid choices, the next track would make me reconsider.

1 Like

Speed-reviewers, 3 days left :scream_cat:

1 Like

If not here, any suggestions on where the trackers who make music that dj’s buy can be found?

I just wondered if it was progressive techno. I wasn’t sure and didn’t want to tell something wrong. But that being said, I like how Renoise is able to make quite all music styles in the world. At least all electronic styles.

1 Like

Nod, but you seem to have a good point; alot of the tracks posted dont seem to be about the tracking,
(I’m a bit more focused on the art and craft than the sound); alot of the tracks tend to lean more towards
the jungle side of things, which is cool, but not a focus of mine.

Also noticed that most of the legendary trackers, who are members on this forum, do not appear to take
part in these events, i’ve got to wonder why, and where the action is.

Thanks for listening and providing feedback = )

2 Likes

I think this would deserve a special thread. Really.

Ok, here’s my comments - for comments on my top three, see my original voting post. Really nice collection of tunes here, always find it interesting how diverse the sounds coming out of Renoise are.
Mrkyk - CAT ELECTRO HIP HOP - it’s funny, although this is called “hip hop” it almost feels more like smooth jazz. The periodic “reowwerrrs” make this me feel like I’m in a 70’s blackspotation flick, like there should be leopard veloure covering everything

• zen sphere records • - mr•zensphere •••Power of the Puss••• - See prior comments

AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death - - There’s some really lovely about the sense of detuned metal in this one. Excellent mixing, and I love that as the track progressing it coheres into something that is decidedly musical (although at the outset one might not have expected that to occur).

Costume Party - MCLF - (MuTaNT•CaTS•LoVe•FReeDoM) (116 BPM) - lol wtf. The pictute that accompanies this track is great, as I imagine the anime girl speaks only in cat meows and this is just her holding forth on the topic of the improtance of felines in the workplace (or something). Might have liked something more bassy/drum to anchor things but that may just be a person preference thing.

Panos Kostagiannis - Mating Season-MuTaNT•BReaKS1-14 - Mmm. Nice build in the first half of this track, with excellent use of mournful cat sounds to establish an unsettling air. Nice minor keys to build additional sense of atmosphere. Something dark and myseterious about this one - I like it!

TheBellows - Sickz Life Leftz - As usual, a very well mixed track with great attention to the sounds/texture. The drop at @3:00 is the gooooood stuff. It’s somehow incredibly uplifting, but maintains a sense of melachnoly. Interesting use of increased tempo towards the end. Nice!

SimulatedXen - Purr Of The Weaver - see prior comments

HeartBeatHero - Cats Forever - Fantastic. Def one of the “runner ups” for me in this contest. Take this as a compliment, it kind of makes me think about playing video games from back in the day, like F-Zero and just jamming out while careening at lightspeed around a racetrack. Love it.

Kara Kusa - Fetch With Cobra. YEAAAHHHHHHhhhsssssssss. Also a “runner up” for favorite track. Fantastic, shades of Squarepusher at point, some Vsnares but very much it’s own thing/voice. Very aggressive, which I like, but fatiguing for an old guy like me. That could be a critical note or a compliment, it depends on what you’re going for (as a point of reference, Menelec is a spectacular Squarepuser track, but I also have a hard time listening to the whole things because it can be overwhelming).

Lneheb - Infinite Power of Gwa - See prior comments.

Olivier - MuTaNT BReaks 14 - very minimal/spare, with a nice bit of variation at the end. I’d like the drums to be a tad softer to allow some of the background sounds to ring through, but overall enjoyed this.

Krokodildo Audio - Felix Theme - A good example of how Renoise can be used for so many different types of tracks. Light, ethereal, excellent timbres on the instruments. Kind of feel like I’m floating through a Studio Ghibliesque landscape while listening to this. Nice!

Adrezonar / TeuTone - Psycadelic Vibes (feat.lilith93) - Another example of Renoise used for something other that “tracker” tunes. Ethereal vocals drifting across glistening keys, in the first half, but really love the drop at around 1:45. Appreciate the continued evolution of the track across the duration. A proper “song” here, and the mixing is impeccable. Love it, but wish I could fee the “cat sounds” more

highway rehab - Loudest Meow - This one does a great job of weaving in the cat sounds in/out. Feels like a lot of sounds, if not ever directly apparent, were concocted out of cat sounds. Great movement through the track - again, feels like a proper “song”

ghismart - We Are The Mutant Cats - hahahahahaha. fuck yeah. this is another one that’s both musically tight but also hilarious. I really want to see a throwback video for this with people wearing, like, Devo hats and that old school strobe effect overlaid while people line dance wearing cat costumes.

PR0T0TYPE - MeowZers! - no comment.

TNT (FFM) - MBCat. Bring on the cat acid! Christ, another “runner up” this one is so good. Unsurprisingly incredibly well mixed (a browse by the template thread would let one know why) but also a reallll groove on this one. The use of the cat samples almost like a dj scratch are fantastic. Just a solid tune all around. kudos!

Garfferen - Crouching Dog, Hidden Kitty. This is an interesting one, I wasn’t quite sure where it was going to end up. Lots of space in the early portion that gives way to some lovely synthwork later in the track. i feel like the last half of this track really shows off your ability to not only balance sounds, but also melody as well. No frequency range is ignore, yet everything works together well, both musically and sonically. A+

soundbike - major cat bromance - Wow! Another example of a “non-traditional” Renoise track. Love the guitar here, very uplifting rock. I actually think you should fully “release” this but would want the guitars to be a little more forward, and the synths and cat sounds a little farther back. I actually struggle with this with my own guitar stuff - it never quite feels “meaty” enough to me. You might try throwing an Xfer Serum OTT on there and see how that feels - find it helps guitar really punch through a mix.

Jek - MinHouseCat - minimal techno + cat sounds? sign me up! It’s not my usual type of song, but I enjoyed the almost trancelike state this song induces. Very meditative. Nice work!
Electronic Tiger - The Cat And The Photocopier Incident MBC14 - By turns soothing, unnerving, uplifting, and blissful. This is a great tune - I love songs where you feel like you’ve been taken on a journey, and this fits that bill. I also love your use of cat sounds, particularly whatever you’re doing to make them dip into what almost sounds like a 303 style acid bass an back again. Ace track, nice work!

Memory Canyon - Renoise Mutant Breaks #14 - another great one! I particularly like bass in this one, especially around :30 → Not sure if you’re using an actual bass or keys, but the feel is of someone who actually plays bass. Very chill, head nod shit. Nice work!!!

8 Likes

First my votes in no particular order:

AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death

SimulatedXen - Purr Of The Weaver

Lneheb - Infinite Power of Gwa

These are the ones i like the most regardless of cats or whatever. :slight_smile:

I find it hard to write reviews and can’t make myself give the impression i like what i hear when i don’t really feel it.
We all have different taste and i’m very picky about what i like and some styles just don’t resonate with me, so i can only offer you my subjective thoughts. Even though it’s nice to get compliments it’s usually a lot more helpful to know what is not that great. Hopefully i won’t offend anyone as that is not my intention, but here we go:

Mrkyk - CAT ELECTRO HIP HOP
It sounds good and i like the cat sounds, but it’s a bit short and repetitive. Could be nice with some variation.

zen sphere records - mr zensphere - Power of the Puss
The execution is good, well mixed and good sound. The only problem i have with it is that it’s absolutely horrendous. :smiley:

AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death
It’s cold, it’s warm, it’s dark, it’s light, it’s ugly and it’s beautiful. I like it very much, however the cat is not very strong with this one.

Costume Party - MCLF - (MuTaNT•CaTS•LoVe•FReeDoM) (116 BPM)
This sounds like a kid that does it’s best trying to annoy you to death.

Panos Kostagiannis - Mating Season-MuTaNT•BReaKS1-14
I like it, it has a nice structure and some interesting ideas, but musically i really don’t like the cat sounds and i think it could be a bit more dramatic with more impact in the transitions.

TheBellows - Sickz Life Leftz
No offense , but i could probably have made this myself. Great cat speak in the title though. :stuck_out_tongue:

SimulatedXen - Purr Of The Weaver
Very nice and very much in the vein of what MBC is about. I got a tad bit annoyed by the chord that kicks in at 0:47, but apart from that i would have to say it’s pretty much perfect.

HeartBeatHero - Cats Forever
Nice composition and good sound, but i can’t help but feel it’s just another synhtwave and unfortunately i’m no fan of the genre.

Kara Kusa - Fetch With Cobra
Some proper mutant breaking here, though a bit too noisy for my taste. Instead of taking me on a journey i feel instead that i’m taken by an avalanche.

Lneheb - Infinite Power of Gwa
It sounds very compressed, loud and dirty, but at the same time it sounds quite refined. When i first heard the intro i thought for a moment this was going in the wrong direction for me, but then it got some context and i was caught on a joyful derailed theme park train through all kinds of fairs and rides. I forgot about cats.

Olivier - MuTaNT BReaks 14
This has some qualities to it, but it lacks depth and feels too staccato and is not glued well together. I kinda waited the whole track for the bass to kick in.

Krokodildo Audio - Felix Theme
This one has a nice feel to it, a bit like a little adventure in a nice forest, but it really bothers me that the melodies doesn’t go anywhere. It’s like i got lost in the forest and now i found myself just going in circles. Some harmonic resolution would have taken me where i want.

Adrezonar / TeuTone - Psycadelic Vibes (feat.lilith93)
The first 8 seconds made me think it was going to be great, but then those awful vocals kicked in and killed it for me.

highway rehab - Loudest Meow
Very nice, i like the dreamy sounds accompanied by pleasant beats. I got a bit annoyed by the clonky ride around 3 minutes in, but apart from that it’s quite tasteful.

ghismart - We Are The Mutant Cats
This one is quite funny. Wouldn’t call it a great production, but it has its charm.

PR0T0TYPE - MeowZers!
I like it, a good mix of crazy and beautiful.

TNT (FFM) - MBCat
Good mix and production, but i’m afraid that beat gets a bit on my nerves. :black_cat:

Garfferen - Crouching Dog, Hidden Kitty
Nice track with a good mix and smooth sound. That bass riff made me hope for it to turn into a full blown rave track though. :stuck_out_tongue:

soundbike - major cat bromance
This sounds like a potential hit in Japan :smiley:

Jek - MinHouseCat
Sounds nice and smooth, but gets too repetitive for me. The ending is a bit anticlimactic.

Electronic Tiger - The Cat And The Photocopier Incident MBC14
There are some good textures and effects in there, but the drums do not sound good and the track lacks development.

Memory Canyon - Renoise Mutant Breaks #14
I like the groovy bass, but i think the drums could compliment it more. To me it seems a bit too short and unfinished and i’m not to fond of that ugly chord.

7 Likes

If i counted correctly we are missing 11 voters and only 1 day left for voting?
:scream_cat:

Tactical voters! :wink:
Even though it’s already clear that SimulatedXen will probably win.
He already got 6 votes followed by Mr.Zensphere with 4 votes.

He probably wins the votes, but i presume the top 14 or something tracks are being picked randomly by a cat? :smiley:

top 14 by votes, prizes randomly within that top 14. my cat will be useless for the proceedings. I’ll probably just roll some dice :game_die:

I do have some votes and mini reviews forthcoming, but it might not be til tomorrow that I can post them.

not super strict on the deadline for this thread, but if everyone can get their votes/reviews in by the end of tomorrow, wherever you are, that’d be great :smiley_cat:

I don’t know if there is an official way to contact easily all the contributors from a thread, but I can easily find unofficial ways to do it if necessary… but it will be a bit violent :badteeth:

I’ll post my votes and reviews tomorrow.
Sorry for the delay! I’ve been unbelieveably busy and I really want to give all the tracks a focused, uninterrupted listen before voting.

You could write the names on a piece of cardboard and then cover them up with liver paste. The first one that is readable wins. Your cat can do it. :stuck_out_tongue:

ok… well, I had a post with everything typed out onto a file on my computer, but that file got corrupted and is now filled with random garbage. lol.

Anyways, my votes:

  1. PR0T0TYPE - MeowZers!
  2. AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death
  3. ghismart - We Are The Mutant Cats

There were others that definitely could’ve gotten a vote from me, but I tried to keep my votes separate to different musical styles to help me decide. other than that, reviews will be in another post if I get to them in time, because cats apparently ate the first post I was working on.

1 Like

OK, my votes go to @_kara , @highway_rehab , and @t35513r
hard to choose, but wanted to spread the love since @SimulatedZen is getting so much :upside_down_face: Otherwise, he woulda got my vote, too

Mini reviews, for whatever they are worth:

Mrkyk - CAT ELECTRO HIP HOP
Nice, chill tune. The snare should slap harder and I’d love to hear some skittering trap hats instead of the steady 8ths. A bit static compositionally.

• zen sphere records • - mr•zensphere •••Power of the Puss•••
WTF even is this shit?

AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death
Nice brooding vibes. Kinda too slow in the build for my taste and when the beat drops it should have more impact. Moar cats, pls since the synth lines are kind of carrying the tune, they should have more interesting sound design.

Costume Party - MCLF - (MuTaNT•CaTS•LoVe•FReeDoM) (116 BPM)
More of a loop than a song, really… plenty of cat happening, though! Needs some more elements to drive some movement.

Panos Kostagiannis - Mating Season-MuTaNT•BReaKS1-14
Digging the darker vibes from you! Reminds me of some early afx… I like the direction this takes. Drums need help in the mix, imo. I like the cat scratching (no pun intended). Nice work

TheBellows - Sickz Life Leftz
Sound design needs some help… breathe some life into those sounds! Cool drop, though. I like the rhythms you’re exploring, and the pads sound nice. Needs moar cats

SimulatedXen - Purr Of The Weaver
Fucking dope as usual. Sound design is on point, interesting rhythms and glitched out spaces. Kinda reminds me of machinedrum. Lovely melodies. The bass drop is dope af. Tops. BUT, needs moar cats!

HeartBeatHero - Cats Forever
Nicely executed, and the drop hits just right. I have a hard time enjoying synth wave, but this was very nicely done. I feel like the last section could use some more variation.

Kara Kusa - Fetch With Cobra
Mmmmm…. Harsh and tasty beats. Love it. Mix sounds great. Especially the low end hits just right. Awesome work. The distortion gets grating after a while, but that’s just me.

Lneheb - Infinite Power of Gwa
Love the ragga breaks vibe. Goes hard af. Vsnares vibes in the middle>end section for sure. Needs moar cats.

Olivier - MuTaNT BReaks 14
Needs some help with the mix, and the composition is pretty static. Guessing you’re probably fairly new to production. Keep at it!

Krokodildo Audio - Felix Theme
Interesting piece. Doesn’t really gel together for me. Some interesting melodic elements, though. Needs moar cats.

Adrezonar / TeuTone - Psycadelic Vibes (feat.lilith93)
Lovely intro. Nice ambient trance vibes. The melodic noodling doesn’t really move me and the whole thing feels fairly static, but the production value is quite good, imo. Obviously needs moar cats

highway rehab - Loudest Meow
Brainwaltzera vibes. Lovely sedate tonality and chilled out breaks. Very pleasant listening. One of my favorites.

ghismart - We Are The Mutant Cats
Lolol. Very fun. Sound design and mixing could use a little more love, imo.

PR0T0TYPE - MeowZers!
Squarepusher lives :slight_smile: Great track. Love the melodies and breaks. Very nicely done. Another favorite

TNT (FFM) - MBCat
Just the right amount of cat. :slight_smile: Dope electro vibes for sure. Great production, too. “He’s very very very hostile” lol. Love the cat synth line

Garfferen - Crouching Dog, Hidden Kitty
Dig the drop/breakdown at 1:34 and the synths that come in at 2:00. Some really nice melodic work. I’m not crazy about the main acid baseline, but that’s just me. Very nicely done. Needs moar cats.

soundbike - major cat bromance
Noisy, punky, major cat fun. Mix and master could use some more love. The balance of the different elements is all off for my tastes. Synth sound design could use some more polish, imo. Good amount of cats :slight_smile:

Jek - MinHouseCat
Dig the chilled vibes. Kinda long and static for my tastes. I’d like to hear some more dynamic elements moving throughout the track. The cheerful, major tonality at the end seems incongruous to me. I’m impressed now knowing that you don’t use the pattern matrix! Could benefit from moar cats. Nice work :slight_smile:

Electronic Tiger - The Cat And The Photocopier Incident MBC14
I like the multi-layered sound and subtle distortions. I feel like maybe the mix needs more low end/ less midrange maybe? Might just be my listening setup. The outro is sweet

Memory Canyon - Renoise Mutant Breaks #14
Love the cats morphing into synths, dope. Bass synth, kick, and clap all sound kinda weak to me. I like the track though! Should be longer with a second section for contrast. Good amount of cats :slight_smile:

Last day for voting!!

I’ll tally stuff up over the weekend and post the results in this thread :v:

6 Likes

Ok, I finally got around to cast my vote. So many good tracks, it was really difficult to pick the best three. But after careful consideration, here’s my top 3:

1
Electronic Tiger - The Cat And The Photocopier Incident MBC14 :1st_place_medal:
I absolutely love this track for how abstract it is! It has a very nice narrative arc and lots interesting sound design. The cat in the end made me smile! And overall, most of your sound choices are absolute fire! I especially enjoyed the plucked instrument in the end (sounds a bit like koto to me?). I also really like the lopsidedness of the rythm, it feels like it’s sort of struggling to go forward and hesitating every now and then. And even though the track has a wide range of emotions in it, it still manages to feel coherent and musically logical. My favourite composition in the whole compo! Extremely original, abstract and enjoyable story!
On the mix side, couple of sounds did feel a tad bit sibilant and piercing, but nothing too bad. And that’s my only gripe.
I really like this track! For me, this track a winner! Stellar job! :metal: :alien:

2
highway rehab - Loudest Meow :2nd_place_medal:
I like this one a lot! A very comforting and warm atmosphere! I somehow associate the feeling of this track with a feeling of summer breeze on a really hot day. Something so comforting and refreshing about this, rejuvenating even. Well composed, well mixed. Just the right amount of contrast between different sections. I like your sound choices, especially the drums and the bass. Compositionally this track has a quality that feels somewhat similar to some Boards of Canada. And I absolutely love it! Wouldn’t hurt to hide some subtle tape hiss or vinyl crackle in there somewhere. :grin:
This could very well go on my chillout playlist. The most enjoyable listen of the compo! Extremely nice track! Great work!

3
HeartBeatHero - Cats Forever :3rd_place_medal:
A very nice, forward driving track. Well composed, and the mix feels nice. The first thing popping out for me was that the snare is really fire! I really dig the way you handle your harmonies in this track, the chorus has a distinct chord progression of it’s own. And you’ve managed to pull the track together in a way that accentuates the power of the chorus. I also really like your sound choices across the board! You managed to even make me dance a bit! :space_invader:
My only gripe with this track was that I was left wanting a separate intro section.
Just a fantastic track that’s extremely well put together! Good job!


And the runner-up:
AQBree - To Achieve True Homeostasis Is To Achieve Death :medal_sports:
This was the first track that made me turn my monitoring up. Not because it was too quiet, but because I liked what I heard so much, I just wanted more of it. The track feels very abstract in an intriguing way. The repetitive kick drum pattern against the sustained elements creates a very nice atmosphere. And I like the beginning A LOT!
My only gripe with this track was that the main chiptune-ish lead sound (the very last sound heard in the track) was very much on top of everything. I wished that I could have turned it down a dB or two. Towards the end, the track gets soaked in layers, approaching more and more “noisy” quality. I actually wished that that precise effect would’ve been accentuated even more. Something like driving the mixbus into more and more distortion would’ve probably worked for me. I like the speech sample (sounds a bit like Alan Watts to me?), but I probably would’ve put less of it into the track myself. That being said, the phrase at 2:50 is extremely well placed!
As a whole, I’m really digging this one! I like composition, I like the sound choices, I like the mix, I like the artwork. Good job! :+1:


And the rest of the track reviews:

Mrkyk - CAT ELECTRO HIP HOP
A shorter track with some very angry big cat sounds (there’s no way that’s an ordinary housecat!). The drums feel nice and groovy, the mix is pretty well put together. My only minor gripe would be that the tremolo soaked keyes are maybe a tad too forward/loud for me, being all repetitive and everything. I was left wishing that I could just turn them down a few dBs. But then again, they are the element that holds the whole track together and gives it coherence, so I guess it could just be a preference thing. As a whole, the track is well done! Good job!

• zen sphere records • - mr•zensphere •••Power of the Puss•••
A funny psy-ish track. I like the mixing. Considering how repetitive and “trancey” the track is, it’s extremely well constructed. The energy doesn’t feel stagnant, which is an extremely hard pitfall to avoid with these kind of tracks. I guess the vocals help with this, since they create a structure with the lyrics and all. And the addition and muting of elements also is well thought and contributes to a coherent totality. Nice sound design too, I really like your “psytrance-ish” leads and SFXs! I also absolutely loved the way the vocals are faded out, with the metallic, dissonant processing. I really gotta look into your xrns to see how you did that! A well made track for sure! Great work!

Costume Party - MCLF - (MuTaNT•CaTS•LoVe•FReeDoM) (116 BPM)
Well, there’s cats, that’s for sure! I don’t know what to say about this one. I kinda feel that this actually has potential to be built into a very nice track with not too much effort. Now all the sounds seem very stagnant and just seem to stay on a single note all the time. There’s a rythm, but musically that’s about it. I feel that if you’d take the instruments, and played them with a keyboard, quantised pads, or some other way of putting in some harmony and human element, it might have turned into something emotionally resonanting. As it is now, it feels a bit like a draft to me. It’s not a bad idea at all, it just would benefit from some more loving attention and elaboration. Every now and then you get a hint of something resembling Steve Reichs “Music for 18 musicians”, which is just beautiful to me.

Panos Kostagiannis - Mating Season-MuTaNT•BReaKS1-14
Probably the best mix I’ve heard from you! Well done! I really like the clarity and simplicity you’ve managed to pull together with the arrangement too. Just as with everything I’ve heard from you, I really like the way you approach composing your tracks. It feels very deliberate, thought-out and musical. The composition is coherent, the production is coherent, and it’s soaked in cat sounds. Good job!

TheBellows - Sickz Life Leftz
On the composition side, there’s some very nice ideas in this track! I was literally just thinking in my head “this feels like it could use some double tempo stuff” when the ending part hit! I do get a slight feeling of disconnection between different musical ideas. Some very nice ideas come to the stage, only to leave almost straight away, while I’m left wanting to hear more of them. Yet, somehow, the track does manage to feel whole and logical musically.
On the production side, I get a feeling that the track is a bit rough around the edges. The feeling of disconnection between different musical ideas is probably accentuated by the production side of things. I almost feel like the mix somehow is fighting against the music every now and then. The most clear example of this is the transition after the riser at around 2:57. It feels like there’s more energy before the end of the riser, than after it. Musically the riser makes total sense, but I´m not so sure about the execution. The “wobbling” bassy sound could really use some more changes to the frequency of the “wobbling” IMO. Overall I get a feeling that some thoughtful automation could really help this mix. And the same applies to some thought-out sub layering (to me the track feels a bit thin on the low end here and there). Maybe some busprocessing would help with gelling everything more together? IDK, I’m not a huge fan of the mix, but I do like the track musically.

Kara Kusa - Fetch With Cobra
Oh hell yeah, finally some breakcore!!! I like it! Amazing drum programming, nice contrast between different sections. The most “Renoise” track in the compo IMO. I enjoy the way cat samples are integrated into the track. The composition was maybe a tad bit stagnant towards the 5 minute mark, where I was left wanting somekind of a radical change of pace. But then again, your sound choices kept me interested even there, so it didn’t bother me at all.
On the mix side, some foley (the tambourine-like jingles in the quieter part with the cat samples) had a slight sibilant edge to them. It wasn’t bad, didn’t hurt my ears, just felt a bit too sharp for my taste. I also feel we’re in the same boat in regards to very short, transient-like sounds. I love that shit, but they can be extremely hard to balance properly. For me it’s pretty much impossible with headphones. 90% of the time you totally nailed them, but towards the end they got a bit out of hand here and there. Just felt a bit too loud for me when listening on speakers, poking out too much.
This track has easily the best drum programming of the whole compo IMO! I liked it, I liked it a lot! Well done!

Lneheb - Infinite Power of Gwa
Well this is hot! I like the sound design, I like the strucutre. A very successful meshing of different styles and vibes. It feels very contrasted, and yet very coherent. I wasn’t a fan of the vocal sample in the beginning, but with the distorted bass it does work really well! I enjoyed the chiptune-ish stuff too! For me the basses in this track were the most enjoyable in the whole compo!
And this is probably the loudest track in this compo too? I do get a feeling that this track could use some more “breathing room” dynamically, just feels a bit squashed to me. Like it was pushed into limiter a tad bit too much. Some things are distorted in a way that I don’t feel helps the track at all. Might be a preference thing though, so take with a big grain of salt!
Overall, I liked the track! Good job!

Olivier - MuTaNT BReaks 14
A very nice, simple, enjoyable and straightforward track. It does have a quality of a first draft though. Some deliberate automation and some ear candy here and there would probably make it feel more finished. The drums did feel a bit stagnant and repetitive. And the track as a whole could use some syncopation to make it groove more.
I really digged the cat sample! It brought a very nice harmonic element to the track and sort of tied everything together for me. And it is a nice, coherent track throughout! Very enjoyable listen, good job!

Krokodildo Audio - Felix Theme
A very personal track. This could very well be in a video game and I would absolutely be jamming away to it. I like that the track is pretty much completely composition driven (as opposed to “production driven”). There’s no fancy tricks to hype the track beyond what the music itself is doing. And I feel that with this track, that really serves the track well! I also like your sounds choices for their coherency: everything feels like a part of a greater totality. This is a really nice composition! I like it a lot! Extremely well done!

Adrezonar / TeuTone - Psycadelic Vibes (feat.lilith93)
A very good mix. I dig the energy and the vibes. The track is relying on some cliches from similar dance music, and that serves the track well. Good sound choices, I like the clap/snare. I also really like the overall atmosphere. This track has managed to pull off the effect of having long, sustained sounds that sort of “float” above the beat in a very pleasing way. Gives the whole track a sort of floating feeling. Vocals and the guitar lick bring a pleasing melodic element to the composition. Everything feels intentional and well tied together.
So overall a very well made dancey track! I could shake a few moves to this on a festival.

ghismart - We Are The Mutant Cats
A straighforward track with some extremely “meowy” sounds. :laughing: I like the way this track is very true and honest to the ideas it presents. Drumloop and the melody are very very nice in their simplicity, and the track doesn´t pretend to be anything else than what it is. The vocals are my favourite vocals in the whole compo!
The track is musically coherent, well mixed and a very fun listen. Good job!

PR0T0TYPE - MeowZers!
I like the opening purrs. I like the drums and synths. I like the dynamics and the structure of the track. And I especially like the piano, it sounds fantastic! The cat samples are integrated in a very nice way too. I like what you´ve done musically! And I like the mix too!
This track instantly grabbed my attention and held it troughout. Well done!

TNT (FFM) - MBCat
Now there´s a cat I wouldn´t want to get too close to! Nice touch with the emergency call, it gives the track a narrative continuum and suddenly the angry cat in the opening is given a new meaning.
I like your synth sounds a lot. The way you´ve “gated”/chopped the cat sample rythmically makes this track really shine. The mix is clean and coherent, nothing pokes out. And Phoscyon does sound fabulous! That filter could just as well be from a real 303. I do love me some acid squelching, and this track did deliver! Great job!

Garfferen - Crouching Dog, Hidden Kitty
I like it! Veeeery nice sound choices! Well mixed too! And also I really dig this compositionally, there´s some drama in the arc of the track. This track has the best build up of energy in the whole compo: from around 50 seconds onward really grabbed me. I absolutely love that synth riff! At times this track actually reminded me of something like Merkaba or Tetrameth. It´s probably the percussion against the synth, the kick and all the non-repetitive accent-like sounds.
I like it, got my head bopping a bit. Well done!

soundbike - major cat bromance
This track made me say out loud: “That I certainly did not see coming”. A very quirky, personal and musical composition! It´s like the track is loudly and proudly exclaiming: “hey, check it out, I´m in a happy major scale and I can make it work musically like you never could!”. Even the meows are in tune with the silly major goodnes! I love it!
The mix could maybe use some more work, it feels a bit congested to me in some places, mostly in the middle part. I don’t know what I would do to it, but I get a feeling that things are somehow overlapping eachother a tad much for me. Though bear in mind, that this might very well be a preference thing, since I tend to get that feeling very easily with music that involves distorted guitars. I got a weird love-hate attitude towards guitars.
It’s a jolly good track with some very enjoyable meows and melodies. I like it! Great work!

Jek - MinHouseCat
I see where the track got it’s name from. It’s the good old groovy “boots-and-cats” with a real cat for once! And it is very house-y!
Compositionally the middle part is my favourite, and the last part (after the vocal sample) my least favourite. I feel the last part is in a slightly dissonant contrast against what came before it. It feels disconnected. It’s probably because of the sudden change of tonality, or because to my ears the “stab” that’s played in the parts before the vocal sample has distinctly different feeling emotionally than the steeldrum-ish melodies in the last part. It sort of feels like a totally different track that’s just sliced to the end of another track. It’s not bad, it just breaks the coherence of the track for me. But bear in mind, this might be just my own aesthetic preference/ignorance (I don’t listen to house much, and hence am not too familliar with all the idiosyncrasies of the genre).
As for the mixing, it’s a good mix, nothing to critique really. Maybe could use some more air and sparkle here and there? After listening to this track, I was very much left pondering about a question I have never seriously thought about before: is this mix too dynamic? I don’t know, probably no, because the whole concept of a mix being too dynamic sounds kinda silly (for me at least, being a classical music lover and all). Mix can be incoherent and all over the place dynamically, and a mix can feel like it’s “shy” and could use some more muscle in the form of compression and other squash etc. But can it be too dynamic, if the dynamics are intentional and make sense musically? I don’t know, maybe? All of this thinking was sparked by the quiet transition at around 1:52. It just somehow felt extremely quiet to me, at least in the context of the levels in other parts of the track. But it being that quiet might also have been exactly what you were going for, or you might completely disagree with me and feel that it is not as quiet as I make it to be. But regardless of wheter or not it is what you were going for, in the end precisely that quiet part made me feel inspired. It’s a bold move to make something extremely quiet, and I like it as an idea! I like it a lot!
My aesthetic preferences aside, it is a very nice track with a very fitting name! Good work!

Memory Canyon - Renoise Mutant Breaks #14
A shorter, straightforward track. I like the cats in the first 30 seconds! I like the slightly syncopated bass riff! I like the chirpy arps! For my ears, this track still feels a bit like a sketch of a track. There’s some very clear ideas that do work, but the music could use some more elaboration. It has all the necessary ingredients for a full length minimal track, maybe could use some more ear candy and some “production elements”. Some of the sounds are very interesting already though: I especially like what you’ve done with the abusement of the streching algorithms. Extremely cool sounds there!

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CDP, baby :grin:

thanks. every single sound (aside from the vocals) were synthesized from cat sounds. all the synths & percussion, too