Accountability and Feedback Group
General Producer Chat
Hi everyone,
Just wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who had a crack at the Ecstasy remix competition. I had a great time listening to all of your submissions, and I hope you enjoyed getting a chance to remix the track.
I've spoken to Fabich and our label Unity Group, and we're happy for everyone to upload your remixes to Soundcloud, and then I'll repost them in a playlist. Once you've uploaded your remix, send me a DM on Instagram with the link to the track and a short message with something like 'this is my remix for the ecstasy remix comp' and I'll repost it.
Also, for the 10 finalists I've written some more detailed feedback, which is hopefully constructive. Please do take my comments with a grain of salt, as at the end of the day it's only my opinion, and don't let anyone (including me) deter you from making the kind of music you love!
- - - Ecstasy remix competition finalists notes - - -
- Noprays Mix
- Groovy, great jazzy chords, incorporation of stems in unique ways, sax and brass samples were hot, and a sexy mood overall, engineered nicely, well balanced elements. Cool talk box in there. The vibe of this one was really on point. It was also very simple and effective, all the elements had space to shine.
- Loved the sexy club energy here and incorporation of the new ‘ecstasy’ sample in the drop, thought that was clever. Not a super high score here as there are a lot of these jazzy house style tracks out there, but I still love it, I’m a sucker for this vibe.
- Great chords, use of samples, sax, groove was tight.
- Great how it varies throughout, those chords at the end were super jazzy and the sax over the top of them was very vibey. Nice variation throughout the song, even though it is quite a loop based track it somehow feels very fresh throughout and I didn’t get bored.
- Incorporated lots of the stems in a unique way, and brought a nice club energy with it.
- Overall Quality / Mix 8/10
- Originality 7/10
- Musicality 7.5/10
- Arrangement 7.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7/10
- TOTAL: 37/50
- R7 Mix
- Great vibe with the clav sounding chords, guitar was a great touch, vocal chops at the end were cool! Bass is funky, and drums work well and have a good groove. Could have a little more sparkle on the top end in general, it was little muddy mix wise, lots of elements in the mid and lower mid range, could space it out more so the elements have their own place in the mix. Would like to have heard that guitar some more because that was a really nice element!
- Loved the combo of house groove and the funky synths, however there wasn’t one ‘hook’ sound that was really memorable and grabbed me. All the elements were super nice, however with one really catchy element it could go to the next level.
- Smooth vibe overall, nice lush jazzy chords, funky synth bass. Could maybe be some more movement musically throughout, ie some chord changes, bass licks here and there
- Nice groovy beat throughout with some cool subtle breakdowns and builds. Again, feel some accompanying chord changes and music changes along with taking the elements in and out could breathe some more life into it.
- Incorporated lots of the vocal which is nice, good chopping of the vocal at the end which showed creativity. Lots of good remixes incorporate the vocal only and add their own music which is what you’ve done
- Overall Quality / Mix 7/10
- Originality 6/10
- Musicality 7/10
- Arrangement 6.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7/10
- TOTAL: 33.5
- Connor - Carnival Tech House Remix
- Very cool remix!! Had me grooving in my chair. Saw on your profile that you’ve been making music since start of 2021, very impressive for such a short amount of time. Loved how you really played on the carnival energy of the original, but did it in a more percussive way that also sounds quite Brazlian, whistles were a cool addition too. Great groove overall, nice mix, every element had its place, nice punchy kick and percussion, and you kept it simple but still sounds full - not easy to do.
- Super cool drums, loved the big percussive energy of the drop, makes u wanna move. Very dry and in your face which really hits hard. Also really liked the changeup at the end where it goes breakbeat for a moment.
- Breakbeat thing at the end was great. Percussion was great, nice rolling bass line. Only reason I didn’t score it that high was the overall ‘musical’ parts ie chords / reharmonisation was limited, but that’s also typical of tech house so can’t be too harsh there.
- Nice builds, groovy drops that go on long enough for you to get into it, and cool breakbeat bit.
- Loved how he played on the idea of the original tracks ‘carnival’ energy and took it even further with the nice percussive elements and the whistles. Really felt like a Brazilian carnival.
- Overall Quality / Mix 7.5/10
- Originality 7/10
- Musicality 6.5/10
- Arrangement 7/10
- Fidelity to Original 8/10
- TOTAL: 36/50
- Bergwall Remix
- Love this remix! Super unique and fresh take on the original, great musicality, groovy, and awesome arrangement. All the sounds used are cool, classy and fun. The mix was great, all the elements had their own space, and the drums were a good blend of acoustic and electronic. I love how you used some alternative vocals initially for the Bah bah bits rather than the original mix, makes it sound really fresh. Funky bass, and guitar licks. Lots of cool stuff going on here. Brass that comes in during the second half goes HARD. Only criticism would be that it is slightly loopy for my taste, would like to hear a bit more variation or a longer loop.
- Very unique, don’t know a lot out there that sounds like this. Very fun, quirky energy. Definitely got your own style.
- Nice chords, funky bass, cool brass stabs and nice groovy drums.
- Very fun arrangement that is always interesting throughout, no 2 sections are the same, great builds using fills, adding and subtracting percussion and musical elements, and brass stabs rather than using white noise and other less subtle methods. Kept me engaged throughout by constant variation.
- Loved how you used alternative parts of the vocal - the more background vocal parts. Respects the original well and also made it your own.
- Overall Quality / Mix 7.5/10
- Originality 7/10
- Musicality 7/10
- Arrangement 7/10
- Fidelity to Original 8/10
- TOTAL: 36.5/50
- Jez Harris remix
- Great soulful vibe that grabs you as soon as that first chord hits in the intro. Like how u chopped up the piano. Nice funky, percussive drums and love the super wide disco claps. GREAT funky / driving bass line, can see this working in the club. Love how it keeps the soulful funky vibe but changes the vibe to your own thing.
- Very nice vibe, kind of purple disco machine-esqe which is cool, but also there are a lot of tracks with this type of disco / dance vibe so I couldn’t score super high on originality. In saying that I loved this style, and I can’t get enough of it so I don’t mind personally that it’s not super original, but for your own development as an artist and uniqueness that will make you stand out you might want to think about this, gotta bring something unique to the table. Also something I think about a lot as I’m not the best at it. Either gotta be unique, or the absolute best at what u do. Purple disco imo isn’t the most unique but his mixes are killer and the tracks really pop out of the speakers like no other.
- Lovely soulful chords and funky bass line, great percussive elements. Loved the synth lead too doing the bah bah line and then goes off and does its own solo, that was great!
- Nice groove throughout, good build up and final drop, everything makes sense. Nothing game changing so couldn’t score super high here.
- Lots of original elements, cool how u did the bah line with the synth, and chopped up the piano chords into your own thing which changed the vibe but kept it soulful.
- Overall Quality / Mix 7/10
- Originality 6.5/10
- Musicality 7/10
- Arrangement 6.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 8/10
- TOTAL: 35/50
- Half Monster remix:
- Very fun energy with a dancey vibe. Mix was decent with all the elements well balanced, having their own space. Bass and drums locking together well. Unfortunately for me the genre of this track isn’t my favourite, and the sounds used sound a little ‘cheap’ for my ear. Would like to hear some more interesting sounds and more daring chord progression. Could also have more groove by experimenting with some different swing and groove styles.
- Couldn’t score this one too high unfortunately as it did sound very similar to a lot of tracks out there that have that triad style chord progressions and saw synth vibe. I would try to experiment with some richer chords, and different patch sounds. Then again, if this is the style of music you love, keep going!
- Everything works together well, and however once again it was a bit too predictable for my taste as I explained above.
- Nice arrangement, everything makes sense and flows well, good fills in the transition and builds a lot of energy going into the drop. Slightly too predictable, and could use some more surprises.
- Uses lots of the vocal which was great, and incorporated your own style instrumentally.
- Overall Quality / Mix 6.5/10
- Originality 5/10
- Musicality 6/10
- Arrangement 6.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7/10
- TOTAL: 31/50
- Phillip Cerveau
- Very groovy! Love the UK funky feel, nice punchy drums, cool chords, and funky bass line. Loved those reverse samples that come in. Interesting how the second verse had slightly different timing to the original, gave it a different feel. Good mix, very clean and all the elements have space. Nice bright tops and percussion. Sounds could be slightly more classy to elevate the ‘expensiveness’ of the track.
- Unfortunately couldn’t score this too high as this genre has been done a lot, but it was great to hear a remix that wasn’t 4 to the floor so this was refreshing in that sense.
- Good use of chords, funky bass, groove and arrangement, solid overall. Maybe throw in some more surprising chords here and there, little chromatic things to keep it fresh.
- Build was a bit long in the intro, could get a bit more straight to the point, but other than that it built nicely throughout the song.
- Used a lot of the elements in your own way, respected the original well.
- Overall Quality / Mix 6.5/10
- Originality 6.5/10
- Musicality 6.5/10
- Arrangement 6.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7/10
- TOTAL: 33/50
- Figgo Remix
- Nice remix! Very light and fun vibe overall, respects the original well and brings its own flavour to the table. I liked at the end how you incorporated the laugh samples in the outdo that was fun. Touch too busy, lots going on in the drop in particular, could simplify it more with less elements, but elements that have a lot of character. Felt there were a lot of synths there unnecessarily. Vocal was a bit thin, maybe EQ’d it too much.
- Liked how the vocal was chopped up and the steel drum sample was fun. Some quite unique synths in the mix. Feel like this kind of style has also been done quite a lot.
- Solid musicality, cool use of melody with the synths, and a nice funky bass line. Solid overall. Again I would recommend simplifying the amount of synths you use so that your musicality doesn’t lose it’s shine by getting lost amongst so many elements.
- Solid arrangement, everything makes sense and I didn’t feel that anything was out of place. Nothing groundbreaking so I didn’t score super high here.
- Used a good amount of the original elements and also incorporated your own elements well. Overall a nice mix between the 2!
- Overall Quality / Mix 6.5/10
- Originality 6.5/10
- Musicality 7/10
- Arrangement 6.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7/10
- TOTAL: 33.5/50
- Alv Martin Remix
- Great vibe! I really liked the musicality in this one, lots of different sections and each one had a cool vibe. Only thing was I thought the sections were too different to each other, it sounds almost like 3 tracks in one with the super chill vibe chords in the beginning, the funky bass section in the chorus, and then the crazy percussive Brazilian carnival energy at the end! Wild. Some of the fx in the verse were a bit much, and the track was a bit busy in places, I would try to simplify it a bit and work on parts of the song fitting together more. Fine to have lots of sections they just have to gel. Mix was fine overall, well balanced.
- Very unique! Loved the slower tempo and then the switch at the end to the faster tempo. The track kept surprising me throughout which was a good sign. Initially I thought it was going to be super smooth and vibey, but it just kept getting funkier and more energetic throughout!
- Actually some great musicality here! That part in the middle where it modulates was wild! Really loved that chord change, was super surprising which is what I like. Only issue for me was that the sections didn’t blend that well together imo, could have flowed better between them. Particularly in the first chorus where it goes from bambis singing to the bah part, the transition didn’t sound super natural, but it was a good idea.
- Solid arrangement, as I said above, only thing was the different sections could have gelled better together, and it was a bit too busy in some sections, simplify it more.
- Really well done here, incorporating lots of elements from the original, and making it unique with your own elements. Great combination, really made it your own.
- Overall Quality / Mix 7/10
- Originality 7/10
- Musicality 7/10
- Arrangement 6.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7/10
- TOTAL: 34.5/50
- Cess & Edwick John Remix
- Loved this remix! Great intro which grabs your attention straight away with the big strings and jazzy piano chords, and then the super interesting funky bass line that showed great musicality. Loved those synth chords too, and then the big piano chords in the drop with the chopped vocal. Mix was nice and punchy and well balanced. Also loved those smooth Rhodes in the 2nd verse and the guitar at the end, really nice arrangement that stayed interesting. Only criticism would be that I’ve heard that minor 9 chord vibe a lot, I would experiment with some different chords and voicings to add new colours to your music.
- Definitely got your own style, and stood out amongst the other remixes here.
- Great use of rhythm with the synth and piano chords, super funky bass, nice synth leads at the end, strings, all in appropriate places where they add value and don’t make the mix too busy. Good swing and groove to the track, nice drum fills throughout the track that break it up nicely too.
- Great build ups, love that section where it drops out to the filtered synth chords, big vibe there. Good transitions with the fills, and fx, and the arrangement stays interesting right up until the end, even that last 20 seconds was super vibey! Maybe could have had that section somewhere else as it was really cool.
- Incorporates a lot of the vocal and nice vocal chops, and also has your own style. Good blend.
- Overall Quality / Mix 8/10
- Originality 7.5/10
- Musicality 8/10
- Arrangement 7.5/10
- Fidelity to Original 7.5/10
- TOTAL: 38.5/50
