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
My votes:
1: Electronic Tiger - MBC#16 - Demo Track
2: Kara Kusa - The Sun Turns Into Satan
3: H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
best mix: fretlessvibes - “2024 impulses” v2
Some bits about each piece:
H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
Very beautiful dreamy ambient landscapes and solid jungle drums, these two always go nice together to me. I really like the vocal samples.
Electronic Tiger - MBC#16 - Demo Track
That mid section where the percusion and the gated kick comes in, is haunting, and the build up to it is really good. Really catchy stuff with the 303 and the keys after that as well. I don’t know if this was intented as a demo or a proper entry, but i never really cared if a track was “properly finished” or not, as long as i like it. Damn I would really like to remix parts of this piece, i really like it.
MISTER GARBANZO - Reduction
A nice banger, really solid anchor beat with enough space on the percusion + nice design on the bass.
•••X∑NøB∆B∆••• - X∑NøB∆B∆••• no limitations
I could never really make this kind of music and i greatly appreciate the skill and creativity it takes to just keep it going, would love to dance to this.
highway rehab - Blunt
The drum breaks blend so nicely with the random bits of percusion and i love the sound of the key/pads you have created on top.
PR0T0TYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
Really interesting sound design and sequencing, overall nice vibes and aesthetic. I definitely gotta study the xrns of this one.
Be he n - Amidst sedimentary narratives, geological epochs unfold. Time’s chisel carves stratigraphic tales, i
like the structure of this, sounds very narrative to me, kinda like a tale. How did you make this using only so much space for sounds, gotta check the xrns of this one as well.
Make A Wish - Space Travelers
I wanna dance to this all night long. I also want to learn how to drive so i can drive while listening to this. If i could vote for one more piece it would be this.
Kara Kusa - The Sun Turns Into Satan
Insane sample manipulation, gives me “Higgins Ultra Low Track Glue Funk Hits 1972 - 2006” vibes. Very raw and gritty, love your work.
StartScreem - Memory Failure
Damn how did you sound-desinged this. I feel like when i open the xrns of this one i’ll realise that i can’t really use renoise lol. Really good stuff.
Viléter - Sampleless
Nice theme in the beginning, really catchy, i really like the sounds in the faster part afterwards, really interesting sound design.
fretlessvibes - “2024 impulses” v2
impressive piece, lots of space in it which i like. Crazy what you can get out of just impulses, really nice work.
5 Likes
Thank you @DarkCouldsEverywhere! That’s nice to hear!
Go for it!!
Here is the file, I’d love to hear what you’ve come up with
https://forum.renoise.com/uploads/short-url/5uwEzmdjN1K6hbhVQP8aWFLRZz8.xrns
1 Like
The voting deadline is approaching fast. I’ll tally up the votes and announce the winners shortly. If you’ve got anything else to add, now is the time to say. 
Hey friend! First off thanks for the tije signature insights. Going to have to study the xrns to see how you wove all that together. It all sounds… contiguous i guess, which from just a listening experience is deserving of praise!
Lol… ahh. Ok. Amongst the found footage horror community the Outwaters is, like, the most polarizing film of the last year. Some people find it to be one of the most compelling things theyve seen put to film, other people feel like its a self indulgent, maddening, utter waste of time.
The first half (possibly 2/3rds) is so meanduring that it verges on … unwatchable isnt the right word. A lot of these films have a degree of “get to know the characters” setup thats kind of necessary but boring but this one is just kind of weird. Bunch of young artists decide to go into the california desert to film a music video. Some really pretty vistas but not a lot seems to go on until the last quarter where everything descends precipitiously and at an increasingly jarring pace into the horrific. A lot of the complaints in this section come from the fact that so much of it is shot at night, with the only source of light being a flashlight. This isnt a, like, “oh its a slasher” type horror this is a full on mental assault, lovecraftian timespace is fracturing life becomes a nightmare shit. Scenes are repeated from the early portion of the film but with inversions - sun dappled flesh now covered in blood an viscera.
A moment of sublimity, the voice of angels and a rapid re-descent into unreality and madness.
This is all to say: yout track reminds me a bit of the film, probably because it manages to throw in a lot of meter and mood changes but in a way that somehow manages to be cohesive, even though it doesnt seem like it should be. It has depth to it and nuance that appears after reflection. Its good shit.
Endnote: if anyone got this far and is considering warching the movie, I’m not saying its for everyone (its not). I will say that it bumped off Eraserhead as the #1 movie I never, ever want to be forced to watch on drugs. Take that as you will.
2 Likes
My votes:
1: highway rehab - Blunt
2: PR0TOTYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
3: H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
best mix: X∑NøB∆B∆••• no limitations
Reviews
Remsky - “2024 Impulses” v2
Loved the deep dark ride this took me on. Great music to zone out to while typing late at night with just the glow of the laptop.
H3ADL3SS - Unbounded
The intro gets better every time I listen to it. It fulfills that adage that “ambient music should be as ignorable as it is interesting”. It rewards your attention if you have it, but you can swim in it without thinking too.
Electronic Tiger - MBC#16 - Demo Track
I’m not a big Metallica fan, so the intro wasn’t my scene, but at 1:16 when you start that build up to the tail, I feel like I get transported to the motorcycle scene in Akira.
MISTER GARBANZO - Reduction
Sweet foley and industrial atmosphere. The beat switch up in the second half was a headbanger.
•••X∑NøB∆B∆••• - X∑NøB∆B∆••• no limitations
I feel like I’ve only begun to dissect this track. I’m really impressed how you are able to keep things feeling like they can fly off the rails at any moment but so tight at the same time. I mean that from both a technical and creative standpoint.
highway rehab - Blunt
I was so excited to look under the hood on this track and it was so cool to see how much was just about precision sample usage and composition. The breaks are absolutely crunchy. I’m about to listen again!
PR0T0TYPE - Server Migrations Never Go As Planned
Your music is 100% my vibe. Happy to see you found a way to stretch it to the minimum time from what you demoed in the Discord. The acid bass switch up gets bonus points since I didn’t see it coming at all.
Be he n - Amidst sedimentary narratives, geological epochs unfold. Time’s chisel carves stratigraphic tales, i
like the structure of this, sounds very narrative to me, kinda like a tale. How did you make this using only so much space for sounds, gotta check the xrns of this one as well.
Make A Wish - Space Travelers
I want to be on the beach listening to French House now. Honestly great pastiche of a genre I am not used to hearing out Renoise
Kara Kusa - The Sun Turns Into Satan
I appreciate all the sound design work that went into this. The track feels like its being ripped apart as you are listening to it.
**Dark Clouds - Popshovit"
I really like the intro. I could listen to a whole track of you playing with that idea more.
Viléter - Sampleless
Cheers for pushing the contest concept to the extremes. I thought I got anal with the setup in my track, but you have set a new bar for me to try and surpass.
6 Likes
It says voting ends Feb 26 at the top here. Are you sure?
1 Like
I left some notes in the other thread on how I made it, but the basic idea was to take a sample starting point that was somewhere in the ballpark of the instrument I wanted (snare, pad, hats, etc.), apply any modulations I could to get it closer to that sound, and then map those modulations to an on/off macro. Then from there, it was about creating phrases to stitch even more sounds out of really short samples and experimenting with flipping all the switches on and off in the pattern editor.
2 Likes
You’re right, I was a too early with my message. Sorry about that. 
Anway, at the time of writing there are 26hours and 15 minutes left to vote.
Funny you say meditative because that’s kind of where it sits with me too. It’s not at all a track I would normally make. It’s more of a thought experiment and good background music for beard stroking.
1 Like
Nice call out to Elephant Gear. I just listened to that for the first time in ages and I have a new appreciation for it after this competition. I don’t think I could ever be as thorough as those artists are in extracting value out of a sound design concept. I lose patience too quick, lol. I love how much I learned getting properly weird as you say, and I might start forcing heavy constraints on myself every once in a while to see what else I can pick up.
I really enjoyed how much you pushed your song too, especially at the end!
1 Like
Sorry for the delay, I’ve been distracted by the realworld™. I’ll be announcing the winners shortly.
3 Likes