The Challenge January 2012 - Please Vote

Renesongs

We have 4 contestants for the Reggae challenge (not to shabby for this time of year). You have till midnight on the the 31st to cast your votes (The close time on the poll is in Jovian time.) We only have 2 categories so you can cast 2 votes each (one in each category please)

[quote author=Highway Chile link=action=profile;u=3960 date=1327538613] Here, is my entry. http://www.box.com/s/82er78noqsvcq2qu9qb8 Thanks. [/quote]

[quote author=Adrian Rogowski link=action=profile;u=2434 date=1327589214] link: http://www.box.com/s/vx5hxcuhojlps4o5emxv Not much to say other than sit back and enjoy! *I must credit my talented friend Joshua Prinsloo for the vocals. [/quote]

[quote author=Manfred Klose link=action=profile;u=144 date=1327604805] my reggae entry, intermediate. i got a bit side tracked, but this is what i came up with, something a little different. imagine a scene at a coastal bar at sunset. http://soundcloud.com/manfredmusic/manfred-klose-reggae-sunset-in [/quote]

[quote author=Warren link=action=profile;u=2258 date=1327608701] My entry, a bit rough, but hey: http://www.box.com/s/xiniiic88y216p044ofz [/quote]

(old forum) Poll Results: Summer Reggae song

Highway Chile (A): 14
Adrian Rogowski (I): 14
Manfred Klose (I): 4
Warren (I): 8

dee

Sjoe, some nice entries there. ?

FruitarGeek

4 entries? Alan Ratcliffe? I was looking forward to sharing the online stage with you. ha ha

None the less, honoured to be sharing it with such fine contestants. I enjoyed every one of these!

mity88

i will listen over the weekend..so bummed that i didnt get to enter though...next time!!!

Warren

Geez, great entries guys. Serious competition here!

Adrian, your vocalist did a great job!

AlanRatcliffe

Adrian Rogowski wrote: 4 entries? Alan Ratcliffe? I was looking forward to sharing the online stage with you. ha ha

I made the mistake of "upgrading" my recording machine a couple of weeks ago and am still struggling to get it to stay stable enough to record more than a few seconds at a time (driver issues with W7/64).

deefstes

Yaaaaa! Looking forward to this. Will download now, listen tonight and vote shortly after.

Looks like it's gonna be a hotly contested race in the (A)dvanced category 8)

Manfred-Klose

that why i entered into intermediate, cause i thought alan was gonna enter ?

Manfred-Klose

wow the entries are very good.

lol, i am way out on this one.

deefstes

Votes are in. Well done guys, these are great pieces.

Renesongs

Nice to hear vocals in entries Warren's is technically more Ska than Reggae but it came out top on the summer feel for me. Damn good entries all round including yours Mr Klose.

V8

Seriously Impressed by all - as usual, the standard of entries are excellent!

Particularly enjoyed Adrian's entry, would have this pumping in the car, while cruising off for sundowners :?

FruitarGeek

Schucks :-[ Thanks guys. It means a lot.

The difference is that I got some new recording toys to play with, and I did some extensive research on reggae music. I had fun with this one.

@Warren - My singer is flattered. Thank you

Bob-Dubery

I particularly enjoyed Adrian's entry because it had some fervour to it. I think that reggae too often becomes this stoned, laid back thing these days. But listen to the earlier stuff, listen to the live Marley and the Wailers album, and it has the skank, yes, but it's emphatic and fervent and packs a punch.

mity88

well done guuys, i was blown away by every one of them!!!brilliant pieces from u all!!!so jealous i didnt get to enter this one!!!

Highway-Chile

Yeah Adrian your entry is supercool. To me it has most of the old school vibes I am used to, from when I used to hear a lot of reggae as a youngster surfing Durban. I loved that you would hear it pumping out the cars and combi's down at the beach.

You have to look for reggae in Los Angeles as far as the radio or satellite. It is not everywhere as I remember it in the 80's. Way died off. I am sure there is a ton of really good stuff but I went to iTunes and the only reggae I liked there was Bob Marley....the old stuff that seemed so pure to me......so honest and natural. The newer stuff sounds like shite to me.

Nice entries as well Manfred and Warren.

So.......I get two votes? One for Intermediate and one for Advanced? ? ? ? :yup: ?

Hammeron

So if i get it correctly, if EVERY voter excersises his right to 2 votes { 1 for each category } then EVERY voter will vote for Highwaychile?

Squonk

Tamla Kahn 'Hammeron' McMahon wrote: So if i get it correctly, if EVERY voter excersises his right to 2 votes { 1 for each category } then EVERY voter will vote for Highwaychile?

That should be the case, but it looks as though forumites have not followed the instructions yet again

Renesongs wrote: We have 4 contestants for the Reggae challenge (not to shabby for this time of year). You have till midnight on the the 31st to cast your votes (The close time on the poll is in Jovian time.) We only have 2 categories so you can cast 2 votes each (one in each category please)

deefstes

Squonk wrote:
Tamla Kahn 'Hammeron' McMahon wrote: So if i get it correctly, if EVERY voter excersises his right to 2 votes { 1 for each category } then EVERY voter will vote for Highwaychile?
That should be the case, but it looks as though forumites have not followed the instructions yet again

Renesongs wrote: We have 4 contestants for the Reggae challenge (not to shabby for this time of year). You have till midnight on the the 31st to cast your votes (The close time on the poll is in Jovian time.) We only have 2 categories so you can cast 2 votes each (one in each category please)

Which I reckon, once again, just proves how confusing these categories are. If those voting rules are to be applied, it means that Highway Chile wins by default and we can forget about this whole formality of voting altogether.

Personally, I feel Adrian had the best entry but there is no way he could hope to win this challenge and pick the next month's theme because the best case scenario for him would be if Warren and Manfred (two very good entries) received not a single vote between them, in which case Adrian would still only draw with Highway.

Warren

Cool, I have a little more time for some proper comments.

@HWC
The most sophisticated entry of the lot, tight rhythm section and strong combination of all the instruments, and overall very polished. Great tone as well. Personal thing: I thought that you had some really strong melodic lines in there which are very nice to listen to, right from the opening hook, and I would have stuck with those and dispensed with the fast runs which were a bit distracting in comparison - but that's just personal taste.

@Manfred
Great entry, you have a cool stereo effect going on with the rhythm guitars, and I love the staccato chord jabs midway through and toward the end. You also have a nice, melodic bass line going, and you allow your tune to breath a bit: there's a lot of space in some places which I think is vital for this style of music, and something us guitarists are not always so good at getting right.

@Adrian
Definitely the best of the bunch for me. Your entry sounds like a real song, everything is tight and polished, and your playing is tasteful and exactly what the song calls for. As mentioned before, your vocalist is great: he gets the phrasing spot-on and the melody sounds very authentic (keeping in mind I know bugger-all about Reggae ?). This is a great number that is worth developing into a full song, if you haven't done so already! Clearly, your research and attention to detail on this challenge have paid off big-time!

@Me
This one needed a bit more work. I put it together around halfway through the month and then forgot to finish it up, so on deadline night I did what I could and tossed it in. Vocals are a bit pitchy, the bass runs out of time with the rest of the rhythm section towards the end of each measure. The lead guitar is much too loud in the mix and the overall level of the song is too low (very soft). I did want to have a little bridge transition in there which I'd worked out but didn't get round to. Still, I'm reasonably pleased with the ideas in the song, I quite like the melody and I like the idea of somewhat sadder / wistful tunes in this style. I might take some time at some point to fix it all up and turn it into a full song.