Brain and superpowers. Nevertheless it sounds exactly like all the other “subgenres” of Psytrance. 
+1000 points - @Etheross Etheross Viléter - Sampleless
Probably one of the coolest tracker modules ever; at very least, legendary category.
1 Like
My big reviews post all at once, several days in the making. If I missed anyone let me know, but I think I got everyone.
Remsky: [2024 Impulses ] I like the drum tones and how much space you left. That said, I wish the patterns were a little less repetitive over the length of the track. I love the ear candy sounds that poke in and out over the course of the track. Makes me think of a soundtrack to an old school cave level in a video game.
H3ADL3SS: [Unbound ] very pleasant soundscape. the breaks and ambience play well off each other. I like some of the effects you did around 2:30-2:50 with the breaks, as well as other locations. I wish the background ambience evolved a little more.
Eretsua: seamlessly blends several motifs together across the entire track while maintaining a consistent feeling. I hope metallica doesn’t sue you.
Mr.Zensphere: trippy sound effects that never clash or overwhelm. a solid underlying groove. The bass at 2:18ish is a delightful change. impressive fitting a breadth of sounds into such a small footprint.
Highway rehab: creative and fun breaks, as well as sound effects, blips and blops. I wish the bass looped a little less and evolved a little more.
Tessier. chaotic and very exciting. really great sound design. a little tough for me to follow. I like the ominous ending as well.
Lneheb: really enjoyed this. the intro sounds were great, then the bass was cool. I like how you tied all of the elements together when the beat comes in. The break was seamless and had a lot of interesting sounds in it. my only thought is that I want to see that crazy bass sound evolve even more.
Make a wish: really great bass tone and solid composition. Loving the contrast from this one to the others submitted.
Kara Kusa: love how much space is in the track. the transience has a great quality. I like how you seamlessly blend and introduce new elements slowly without ever overwhelming. Its like a showcase of “look at what I can do with these sounds” I also like how the reverb makes it sound likes its being played in a cave. ending is also insane. good job.
StartScreem [Memory Failure by StartScreem ] i really liked the part at 1:33ish. and the accompanying bass sound. Really interesting composition, very foley. it makes me think. It moves along with each section unique but tied together.
Dark Clouds: nice tight drums and chords. seamless blending between elements and sections. that part at 1:50ish, really great, didn’t expect it. very smooth and clean track.
Etheross [Viléter - Sampleless nice groovy track, made my head move. The section at 1:40ish was really cool and i like how smoothly it slowed down and changed the vibe. Really nice pitch glides and reese tone.
1 Kara Kusa
2 Prototype
3 Lneheb
best mix: Mr. Zensphere
7 Likes
Right. Everything sounds the same to the uninitiated… Like, wtf is the difference between vaporwave and synthwave, and more importantly, who cares? 
Not me, lol. But I bet that’s a distinction you could make easily, just like there’s no mistaking forest for swamp (for me), any more than most ppl could mistake dnb for dubstep… but to your great grandmother, it’s all just infernal noise 
2 Likes
Thank you!!
I think yes it’s okay for everyone, but @eretsua will confirm.
Voting ends: Monday February 26st, 2024 Hawaii Standard Time.
(information from the other MBC16 thread)
2 Likes
That’s the same kind of question like “What’s the difference between Electronica and Techno?”. They’re different genres. Vaporwave is kinda like a psychedelic art form of Retrowave, it’s characterized by downtempo beats and has a more sample based approach. You could partially compare Vaporwave with Chillwave, which is a subgenre of Synthwave, but there are differences as well. Personally I just think that one can overdo the classification or let’s say the “division” of subgenres. If there are no significant differences there’s no need to divide the genres further and further. Right? 
Did you read the thread title?
Yes, everyone can vote and is encouraged to do so!
Your personal top 3 + what you think is the best mix.
Sorry, I forgot to mention the closing day. Fabrice is correct, voting ends Monday February 26st, 2024 Hawaii Standard Time.
Here is another countdown clock:
2 Likes
nope
2 Likes
My top 3:
1: Dark Clouds - Popshovit
2: H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
3: X∑NøB∆B∆••• no limitations
Best mix:
highway rehab - Blunt
Mini reviews:
H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
Hypnotic dream in amen break land.
Electronic Tiger - MBC#16 - Demo Track
I liked the journey. I recommand.
MISTER GARBANZO - Reduction
Nice industrial track with cool tempo changes.
•••X∑NøB∆B∆••• - X∑NøB∆B∆••• no limitations
I don’t know if it’s trance, psytrance, cybertrance, goa trance… but I’m in a trance!
highway rehab - Blunt
Reminds me some futuristics sounds of the past. And that’s cool.
PR0T0TYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
Very nervous. And I like that. Sounds like some AFX lost files.
Be he n - Amidst sedimentary narratives, geological epochs
Too much compression for me, but that makes it sound unique.
Make A Wish - Space Travelers (free download)
This is funky. I like that. But there are too much low pass filters stuff for me, tho.
Kara Kusa - The Sun Turns Into Satan
A bit dark, but with all the nervous sounds, it makes the deal.
StartScreem - Memory Failure - This Song Was Composed
I’m not sure I like that. I’m not sure I hate that.
Dark Clouds - Popshovit
The intro sound is awesome. The whole track is amazing.
Viléter - Sampleless
I would like to watch some demoscene things while listening to this.
6 Likes
- PROTOTYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
- highway rehab - blunt
- Dark Clouds - Popshovit
Best Mix: PROTOTYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
Reviews/Feedback:
Remsky - 2024 Impulses
A bit too minimal and uneventful for my taste, but cool how small you got the file size.
Eretsua - MBC#16 - Demo track
The samples didn’t really always fit together. It was a fun track because of the wild sample selection.
MISTER GARBANZO - Reduction
The “wash” on the everything grouping made the mix feel a bit hollow. That effect could have been on a send channel to mix in underneath in parallel and also maybe exclude lower frequencies from it. The bass was a bit too low and farty. Otherwise a solid slapping track.
X∑NøB∆B∆••• - no limitations
Great sound design. It could have had some more scaled back sections. The sounds and effects can get a bit tiring with how much is happening all the time.
highway rehab - Blunt
Nice variety of stuff and a chill track. Some of the synths could have been compressed and brought out a bit more, they were sometimes hiding a bit too much in the mix. The panning effect on the drums had too much depth and speed, it was a bit distracting.
PR0T0TYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
This one was my favorite, really detailed work. Full sounding mix but the high-end was on the brink of being too harsh at times. Inspirational stuff!
Lneheb - Amidst sedimentary narratives…
I don’t have much to comment on this one. A bit messy in direction and mix.
Make a Wish - Space Travelers
Catchy tune with a really fun vibe. It was very muffled. The automated filter on the master should instead have been on specific synths or groupings. A tiny bit of distortion and tone on the sidechain group would also have given a bit more brightness to the whole track.
Kara Kusa - The Sun Turns Into Satan
The first part didn’t really have anything to latch on to. The last part of the track could be developed into a great banger with just a bit more melodic stuff.
StartScreem - Memory Failure
It feels a bit too random. Without something to latch on to it’s a bit hard to follow.
Dark Clouds - Popshovit
The drums could be processed a bit more so they all sound more cohesive. Great atmosphere and a good mixture of stuff to keep it exciting throughout.
Etheross Viléter - Sampleless
Intriguing melodies. Technically impressive track. The mix was a bit thin at times and a bit imbalanced so stuff is hiding away.
8 Likes
Good catch. I was revising the track the other day and noticed the modulation was setting the wash to 100% when it shouldn’t have been. Big face palm not catching it before submitting lol. Thanks for the review
1.Remski 2024 impulses
good minimal song i make me felt good,it’s like a tribal song(without cliché).
Repetitive but not boring good song
2.H3ADL3SS Unbound
nice amen break song, i like the peacefull of the melody that feet well with the rythmic amen sound
3.kara kusa the sun turn into satan
litlle breakcore song well made
best mixed :H3ADL3SS Unbound
3 Likes
I missed one mini-review for “Remsky - 2024 impulses” because I was taking notes while listening the soundcloud playlist, and I didn’t see this one was on YouTube, cause once again I didn’t read the thread carefully enough. Sorry for that. It’s a cool minimalistic electro acid track. This doesn’t change my top 3 or my best mix decisions above. But it’s really a good track, sure.
2 Likes
Remsky: [2024 Impulses ] Pretty much insane not only in how good this sounds but using the impulses to essentially do a 0mb sample creation. Evidence that limitations breed creativity and, also, that a limited palette doesn’t necessarily = a limited sounding tune. The little moments of silence are a nice touch.
H3ADL3SS: [Unbound ] Lussssshhhhhhh. The whole song could just be the ambient portions of this, but the breakbeat additions kind of next-level this jam. The sort of music I’d just play because it’s awesome, kinda crazy this is all done within the limits of the comp. Personal fave.
Eretsua: Some of the vocal bits here kind of remind me of Thom Yorke’s side project stuff, with the caveat being that I actually like this (sry not sry Thom). That build starting around 1:20 → moves into definite rave territory but does it so innocuously that you kind of don’t notice that you’ve been nodding your head for the last couple of minutes by the end.
Mr.Zensphere: A proper track this one. Going to spend some time studying the XRNS both for technique but also for the mixing/mastering (spoiler alert, this is my pick for best mastering). Love that everything here is (as per the usual) very crisp and clean. Constantly moving, flitting in/out, a track whose writer is fully in control of their sound. Masterful.
Mister Garbanzo Reduction: Some proper head nod shit. Like the sectioning of the track with the nice ambient dip in the middle. I feel like this and Zensphere’s tracks feel utterly unconstrained by the limits of the contest. I.e., I would have had 0 idea there were restrictions because things sound totally full/well realized.
Highway rehab: Nice movement in the sounds, excellent break choppage going on here. Kind of loving the IDM/braindancey groove to the whole thing. Samples in the end had me grinning. Solid tune. Lots to love here!!!
Lneheb: hahaha god I love this shit. Liquidity, bizarro soundscapes, and just unabashed awesomeness. The drop at 2:26 helps bring things home. Another master of their sound, always love seeing what you come up for these comps (and in general).
Make a wish: As example of the fact that so many different types of tunes can be made in good ‘ol Renoise. Want to ride around in the middle of summer with the windows down at sunset and jam to this. Beautiful track.
Kara Kusa: MMMM, gd love the sound design here. Assuming this is in an odd time signature, which is hard to parse in the early section because of the space – but I actually think that works to the songs advantage, because it leaves you feeling adrift. By the time the hard section kicks in you’re already akimbo and you get this weird sensation of being anchored by the last part (because it’s easier to hold on to the beat) but also being pull asunder (because of the unusual time signature). Random question that probably won’t get seen but: have you ever watched the movie the Outwaters?
StartScreem [Memory Failure by StartScreem ] a track that (this will sound weird), I found almost meditative. The back and forth of the sounds almost have a binaural feel to them, so what in one sense might seem like a sparse track ended up having a lot of mental effect. Nice!
Dark Clouds: Great atmosphere nice lift starting ~45 seconds in. A nice driving tune (and I mean that both as the music propels itself forward continuously and as something that would be good to put on while driving in the countryside with the windows down).
Etheross [Viléter – Sampleless] – good groove that turns into this weird, skiterring, insectoid thing by the end. Sounds like there is (possibly) some BPM adjustment wizardy going on towards the end (which I liked … always forget you can adjust that parameter). If this whole thing was an album, this’d be a great track to end it on
Rankings:
MrZensphere #1
H3ADl3SS #2
Mister Garbanzo #3
Best Mix: LneHeb (by a hair)
8 Likes
My Top 3
- DarkCloudsEverywhere: Popshovit
- H3ADL3SS: Unbounded
- Make a Wish: Space Travelers
Best Mix
- Zensphere: No Limitations
Reviews!
Remsky: 2024 Impulses
Cool seeing what you can do with just effects. I like the filtered noise instrument. I also love a false ending, and you managed to fit two in there.
H3ADL3SS: Unbounded
Wow, this sounds massive. Really melancholy vibe, but teeming with life and movement, like being all alone in a big city.
Eretsua: MBC#16 Demo Track
Not sure if it counts as an official entry, but I like the vibes here.
Zensphere: No Limitations
Great energy here. I like all the effects you were able to get out of mangling percussion samples in realtime.
M. Garbanzo: Reduction.xrns
Lots of cool bass sounds here, and good transitions to each part. Love the downtempo drop in the middle.
Tessier: Server Migrations Never Go As Planneds
Love the drums at the beginning-- Like a demonic LinnDrum. Great push and pull between the sweet synth melodies and the glithy elements.
Lneheb: Amidst sedimentary narratives
Some nice sounds here, especially the bass. I’m still trying to figure out how you made that comb-filtery synth at the start. Great harmony and build.
Make a Wish: Space Travelers
Really cool. Daft Punk vibes like eretsua said. But it also reminds me of some classic future crew stuff, especially that key change near the end. Nice work.
Kara Kusa: The Sun Turns Into Satan
This evokes liminal spaces and being unstuck in time. I like how the glitchy percussion works with the washes of reverb.
StartScreem: Memory Failure
Lots of nice rhythm ideas here. No real melody to latch onto, but I like it as a sound collage.
DarkCloudsEverywhere: Popshovit
I love this kind of atmospheric jungle. All around great vibe with the manipulated vocal and flute samples.
Etheross Viléter: Sampleless
Really fun. The first part sounds like it belongs in an indie puzzle game about a disgruntled robot worker. Still trying to figure out how you made some of these sounds without any samples.
9 Likes
VOTES:
- Highway Rehab - Blunt
- Prototype - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
- Dark Clouds - PopShovit
BEST MIX:
•••X∑NøB∆B∆••• - no limitations
also i wrote some stuff. maybe a little too much stuff. anyways, the stuff :
Remsky - 2024 Impulses
Totally digging the minimalist theme you got going on here. Super liminal and relaxing. Good lounge music or something, or I can totally see this in a video game of some kind. Real heady and cerebral. Does a lot with very little, and i can definitely see the autechre vibe others have mentioned. Impressive stuff, especially the techniques you used to get the sounds. Really cool!
H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
ooooooooo… this breathes deep, and expands just as far, like the ocean… could also feel like standing on a mountain surrounded by open air, buuuuuut… i like the ocean more so im going with that. Either way, ‘expansive’ is definitely a way to describe the feeling. And I love that feeling. Great choice for a title, matches very well. Feels like a drop of ink dissipating into the sea, wonderful work!
Electronic Tiger - MBC#16 - Demo Track
lol I didnt think this was an actual entry, but I still love it. The intro makes me think its going one way, then the drums come in, takes me somewhere else, then ends with screaming about mortality. or at least i think thats what its screaming about… Either way, i love it lol. So now idk if it’s actually a demo or entry or what, but making a demo track was definitely a good idea. Glad you made it, was inspiring! This was the reason I made a second track, my first one didnt really match the theme of the competition and after listening to this I felt pushed to try harder. You certainly know your way around samples, you blended them all very well. Very nice.
MISTER GARBANZO - Reduction
Goin full beans here, i see. nice. Really good choice of sounds and samples, i love all that grinding/whirring/machine-like screeching going on in there. really massages those hard-to-reach synapses. And great job with the speed changes, gave it more flair. i’m not gonna lie, I just want more of those grinding screeching brain-massage noises. Great job lol
•••X∑NøB∆B∆••• - no limitations
I love the dark vibes you always have, and id even call it a little shpongly, sorta. You’ve got a particular style. i dont even listen to trance anymore but you bring back good memories with it. This one in particular… really neat sounds and interesting processes for them. bubbly and weightless, you can really hear renoise doing its thing. feels like you hijacked a UFO or something lol. Also gonna put this down for best mix, really impressed by the clarity.
Highway Rehab - Blunt
You what imma be blunt. I like this track. Ok, onto the next review…
…lol okay but seriously… this is super good. super relaxing but full of energy, i love that in music. you did an amazing job, i love how gentle and carefree this one feels. there’s certainly something nostalgic locked in this, i just cant place my finger on it. kinda like with boards of canada. anyways, you killed it imo, nice work. also, that spacesuit sample was perfect for this track! really fits in there, brings out the surrealness a little more. was a hard choice between this one and the next one, but im gonna go with this one as my favorite because it just strikes a chord somewhere in me.
PR0T0TYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
oh hell yeah! pristine. its got acid, beats drilling into singularities, that wonderful sawtooth warmth, a little bit of mania and whole lotta BOOM. I actually dont have much to say. i mean its super warm, jittery and intense, an absolute blast, but it kind of escapes meaningful words… unless i abandon language. I might as well just say, "muhs somndi poulam di ilfen noosh 
" (… and i apologize if that translates into something offensive in some language somehow, its supposed to be gibberish and im not gonna check every single language with google translate just to be sure. im just saying its too good for words, just to be clear… and despite that i think ive somehow written about it than the other tracks, lmao)
Be he n - Amidst sedimentary narratives, geological epochs unfold. Time’s Chisel carves stratigraphic tales, i
So. my ONLY complaint is that this track doesnt seem to fit the title? because its a very interesting title, was expecting something a little weirder I guess. Like this is a fun track, but I was expecting something that makes me wanna stare into the void. but ignore that complaint, i love it! Definitely lots of energy, maintains a certain darkness despite that happy-mutant-rave feel, blending those two sides nicely. And I love the way it dissolves somewhere around the middle, those are some really neat sounds. very well done, very fun!
Make A Wish - Space Travelers
This track needs a disco ball. Funky melodies lol, I like it. dont have much to say about it, its a pretty simple track. Makes me wanna move, tho. i almost agree with what someone said about expecting it to open up instead of continuing to oscillate the whole time, but the feeling is what matters and it feels great to me, you made it work well. Makes it feel kinda drunk. addictive too. gets stuck in my head, nice going… lol but seriously, nice work!
Kara Kusa - The Sun Turns Into Satan
im hungry
StartScreem - Memory Failure
Oh, wow. nice, glad to see someone get properly weird! This is just… taking a bath lol. Scrubs deep, exfoliates. You got all sorts of synapses firing in my head. Like a neural-circuit audio test of some kind. Actually super refreshing, I really like it. Also, bear with me - but for whatever reason this really reminds me of ‘elephant gear’ by autechre and venetian snares. At least in feel, similar deep vibes and i keep expecting it to go into the same places, but this is much more disorganized and simple and goes somewhere more liminal. its really neat.
Dark Clouds - PopShovit
Proooobably the most well organized track here, I think. Nice haunting samples, beautiful breaks, and a deep jungle-ish atmosphere. Very, very nice. Feels like being lost somewhere in the woods, deep in thought. Its grounding, almost. Especially in the middle once the beat changes and relaxes, its real captivating. Sound quality is great and everything is stitched up seamlessly, too. im super impressed, excellent job!
Etheross Viléter - Sampleless
Oh wow, this is a great follow up to the last track. Vibes match well, but its totally different. Slower but still deep, with a thicker party/lounge atmosphere as a final track to say farewell and kick the casket into ground. if… if that makes sense anyways… But this is the perfect track to end on. Feels like movie-credits music to a weird movie in 2019 thats trying to emulate a weird movie in 1999 about a weird dream someone had in 1979… or something like that. Good mix, too, very clear and nice and heavy. Kinda wish it was a bit longer, but thats no complaint, this is awesome.
Seriously this is a really good competition. lotsa fun, was very hard to choose and i mean every word i typed. glad to be a part of it, and i hope everyone else is glad to be here too because im certainly glad you were - you all made fucking amazing music! ^v^
6 Likes
no, i havent seen that movie. should i?
also about the time signature- its 10/4 for most of it, and 31/4 for the last part. but the last part is just 7/4 three times and then 10/4 one time, repeating over and over, so its just easier to say 31/4. …i think, anyways. the second number (/4) is a little confusing to me lol, but i think thats right.
anyways i appreciate your review, glad you enjoyed it, it means a lot! i was like THIS close to choosing your track as my number one pick.
My votes :
1 - DarkCloudsEverywhere - Popshovit
Very nice jungle track, not too harsh sounding, with a mix of tribal/ethnic ambiance. The sounds have something oldschool in a good way. A kind of psychedelic travel, love it.
2 - Remsky - 2024 Impulses
One byte samples, yeah! For what I’ve understand the build up is quite ingenious.
Otherwise I really like the track, the minimal composition, an electronic gloomy mood, with appropriated blanks, balanced by synth sounds effects.
3 - Viléter - Sampleless
Okay okay, there is even no samples here…
And then, the track is nice! The bass melody is catchy at the begining and the whole composition is well developped with rythms, synth arps and various fx.
Best Mix :
Mr.Zensphere X∑NøB∆B∆••• - no limitations
4 Likes
Just a little note about my track (Make A Wish - Space Travelers):
I kept my first take, due to some difficulties when trying to remaster (clicks and unsolicited saturations), not that easy! It’s okay as it is.
3 Likes