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[MoritzPGKatz]

Time for TIGMuC, Round III - grab your magnifying glasses, 'cause this round's theme is:

INVESTIGATING A CRIME

Sherlock Holmes? 1930's private eye? CSI New Jersey? DetectiveBot 3000? Or something completely different?

Your pick.

Any genre and sound palette is welcome, as long as you can use it to convey that feeling of finding and combining clues to find the culprit and bring him (or her) to justice.

Please note I can't move the deadline, I'll be abroad for a week starting March 14th.
Sorry in advance to those who'll miss the challenge because of that.

And now, go and make some kick-ass music. I'm excited to hear what you guys can do.

[JudahRoydes]

Sweet! This should be really fun. I didn't expect a theme.

[Calum Bowen]

Cool challenge! Gives me a lot to think about... haven't started yet buuut really want to get something in before the deadline!

[Sam English]

 

Detective James Murphy goes undercover into criminal territory attempting to gather enough evidence to put the bad guys away FOR GOOD. Tensions are running high...

Criminals, Clues & Cover-Ups

I might not have time to wrap this up before the deadline, so this is what I have so far. Still a little rough around the edges.

[Audiosprite]

That bassoon is a pretty sweet addition to the traditional vibes vibe. VERY Uematsu. 

[JudahRoydes]

OK Humans here is what I have for the mystery theme.

http://soundcloud.com/judahroydes/rosemarys-not-so-naked-city

@Sam English, very cool piece. I will have to give the rest of your stuff a listen.

[Ozoh]

Guys your stuff is awesome!

I guess this's my entry, then.
http://soundcloud.com/redapricorn/ice-coffee

[MoritzPGKatz]

Nice music so far! 

Keep 'em coming, I'll follow the tradition and give thorough but friendly feedback at the end.

[Calum Bowen]

http://soundcloud.com/calumbowen/piece-by-piece-tigsource

Here's my entry. I took the idea of piecing together different clues to find the answer as a compositional game/process. It immediately reminded me of minimalist processes so I kinda sought to make a big minimalist piece that was sort of a detective game. I went about treating each note as a clue and creating different chords out of it slowly, shifting them along, seeing what fits together and what (musical) deductions (chords) one can make. The first section is quite polyrhythmic and shifts into more dissonant chords before finding it's footing with a more consonant chord (one suspect, perhaps!), then after several suspects were made there is a moment in the middle where they all play unison and this is the realisation of the culprit! This is followed by the chord sequence played more locked together and celebratory and the detective thinks about the clues in light of the culprit he has now found - no more dissonances... the piece ends with a repetition of the culprit found unison section.

This was a fun challenge, thanks Moritz!

[MoritzPGKatz]

I'll give this a bump while discussion is flaring up again in the Composition Discussion thread.

If I had to move the deadline, I'd have to move it to March 22nd.
Which would be fine with me if it means there's more people contributing. Opinions?

[PostPre]

A 32 second looper that's supposed to bring out your investigative blood! Features retro synths and lots of crunchiness, as I was trying to meld that cheesy 80's investigative feel with modern hip-hop production sensibilities. So, throw on your 3d glasses and your tan trenchcoat and solve this mess!

[somnia]

Aaand here I am with a last second entry:
http://soundcloud.com/polimat/dreams-of-a-drunken-detective

All the other entries are superb though, I don't think I stand a chance. 

[MoritzPGKatz]

Okay, no one contacted me asking for a new deadline, so here goes:

"Criminals, Clues & Cover-Ups" by Sam English

I love the jazzy mood and the odd meter. You've managed to mix blues elements with curious surprising elements.
The woodwinds work especially well in the mix! If there's one thing that bothers me, it's the sound of the drums - but I know how hard it is to get organic sounding brush sounds out of a virtual instrument. Overall a great track that hit the nail on the head.

"Rosemary's Not So Naked City" by Judah Roydes

Quite mysterious indeed! The plucked arpeggio (Kalimba?) immediately reminded me of Mark Snow's iconic X-Files theme, but you let it develop into a song that to me sounds like the soundtrack to a crime thriller taking place in a distopic metropole. I thought I heard Vangelis in there, too... I wish you had given the track more surprising twists, but as an ambience it would work very well. Kudos!

"Ice Coffee" by Ozoh / redapricorn

This funky track somehow reminds me of the good old DOS shareware days - probably because of the sounds you used. I was hit by a small fit of nostalgia, especially when the clavinet kicked in at 1:36. Really nice, the whole groove gives your music more of a smooth/confident copper vibe. For my taste it's a bit too busy though, I would have reduced the drum beat and used less open hi-hats. Nevertheless, a track worthy of running in the detective's car while on his way to the crime scene.

"Piece by Piece" by Calum Bowen

I daresay one can hear it's your music, Calum: you've got a distinct style going on. This has got quite a different mood than the other entries, it sounds less dark and more determined and has more twists to it. From gathering clues (start) to making progress (1:25) to facing danger (end), there's pretty much everything in there. What I'm missing is a motive that really sticks, but then again, that might just be me. Anyway, nice going!

"Investigation" by Postpre

Short and catchy! The greatest thing about these challenges is the diversity, and here we have a driving hip-hop beat with dirty claps and retro-sounding synth lines. I didn't expect this style, but I can imagine it could fit pretty well with urban-themed headhunter imagery. If only it were a bit longer... thanks for this smooth track!

"Dreams of a Drunken Detective" by somnia / Doğaç Yavuz

Nice ambience sounds, interesting melodies and a broken-sounding beat give this track a very chilly and tense feel. The title is quite appropriate, too. The coolest thing about your music is the way the chords intertwine, conveying the search for more evidence in a strange setting. Although I have to admit the effects on the drums may be a bit too much and tired my ears pretty quick. On the other hand, that can be the whole point. No need to be to humble!

__________________

And the winner is... (drumroll)

...
..
.

"Criminals, Clues & Cover-Ups" by Sam English !

It was quite a close call! Thanks for contributing, everyone!

I look forward to the next challenge, though I probably won't be able to participate this time.

Hope you all had fun, see you around!

Cheers,
Moritz

[Audiosprite]

OK Humans here is what I have for the mystery theme.

http://soundcloud.com/judahroydes/rosemarys-not-so-naked-city

@Sam English, very cool piece. I will have to give the rest of your stuff a listen.

Not gonna lie, I was hoping this would be a Naked City-style cover of Rosemary's Baby. P sweet track tho

[JudahRoydes]

Congrats Sam!!!!!! Please give us something fun to play with. Thanks for the hosting this Moritz.

[/quote]Not gonna lie, I was hoping this would be a Naked City-style cover of Rosemary's Baby. P sweet track tho
[/quote]

Yeah that would have been amazing!! The whole Zorn, fantomas, Secret chiefs scene is definitely right up my ally.

[somnia]

Congratulations Sam, I'M curiously waiting what you will throw at us next time. Don't take too long!

"Dreams of a Drunken Detective" by somnia / Doğaç Yavuz

Nice ambience sounds, interesting melodies and a broken-sounding beat give this track a very chilly and tense feel. The title is quite appropriate, too. The coolest thing about your music is the way the chords intertwine, conveying the search for more evidence in a strange setting. Although I have to admit the effects on the drums may be a bit too much and tired my ears pretty quick. On the other hand, that can be the whole point. No need to be to humble!

Thanks for the detailed feedback Moritz, and I agree with all of your criticism actually. As I said, it was kind of a rush job, so I didn't have time to refine things, and especially the drums needed a lot of cleaning. Next time I won't start so late I hope. 

[Sam English]

Thanks, guys! I enjoyed listening to everyone's entries. So much talent in this place. Also, thanks Moritz for an awesome challenge and great feedback.

I'll try and come up with an interesting challenge as soon as I can!

[kz012]

Congratulations Sam! Just a wonderfully balanced piece. 

[Calum Bowen]

Great feedback Mortiz! Congrats Sam!