DJF Trance Tourney 2012 (ROUND 1): RikkiGTR vs Login !

[Rek_Aviles]

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/Ellissentials/DJFTranceTourny2012.jpg
ROUND 1


FILE 1 (http://djfbattles.com/battles/TranceTourney2012/DJFTrance Tournament 2012 - RikkiGTR-vs-Login-1.mp3)

FILE 2 (http://djfbattles.com/battles/TranceTourney2012/DJFTrance Tournament 2012 - RikkiGTR-vs-Login-2.mp3)



RULES:
30 minute mark. The final track of each mix must have started by the end minute mark listed below.
it is recommended that contestants use Mainstream Trance (Progressive, Vocal, Tech, Acid, Melodic, Epic) – however if you want to play harder GOA/Psy.-Trance you are more than welcome
Ghost votes do not count in the final score. In order for a vote to count, there must be a comment made by the voter and he/she must have over 50 confirmed posts on DJForums.com.




MORE DETAILS CAN BE FOUND HERE:
http://www.djforums.com/forums/showthread.php?11940-Djf-2012-trance-tournament-rules-amp-entry-thread





**Will display users who voted, and what choice they voted for.**

[M!TCH]

File #1: Very space sounding intro. Didn't really start getting into it until 2:50. Sounded like a very epic style intro though. If that was a mix at 5:15 or so it sounded like an abrupt fade out. Much smoother transition on this next one. I like that you are sticking to a specific style of trance. I like the track you brought in in the next mix but it sounded a bit awkward during the transition to Let Me Take Your Breath Away - 4 Strings. Transitions are getting better. Really good transition around 27:30. It was a very interesting mix in that I only new one track and it was a little different than the style of Trance I am used to. I think you did a great job though of sticking to a specific style of Trance without jumping all over the place. Thanks for the mix!

File #2: Makes me feel like I'm in Wizard of Oz in the Emerald City at the beginning. Around 1:45 the little build up going on threw me off. If it wasn't for the BPM I'd almost feel like I'm listening to a Funky House mix haha. Transition at 8:00 or so seemed to have the levels drop a little too much. Solid transitions. Track at 15:00 is starting to pick up the mix for me. Really digging the track around 22 minutes.

I'm going to have to vote for file #2. These were both mixes in a style of trance I am not used to but File #2 resonated with me the most. Good work guys.

[JackStalk]

Mix 1 started off with a harder track that I didn't really like, but it cooled down into some really good stuff. The mixing was good, but I felt like the song selections were jumping around. Great tracks, but it's hard to stand up to mix #2.

Mix 2 was really flawless and I loved the beatmatching and overall vibe. Probably the cleanest mix of the entire competition in my opinion.

My vote goes to #2

[DJ Nutty]

RikkiGTR vs Login

Mix 1

Quite an interesting track to start with.
Quick transition 1st off. Not much blend.
Pretty good transition into Diving Faces.
Next transition wasn't quite soo smooth. Vocals too close together imo. But beatmatched well.
Very smooth transition into next one.
Again fantastically smooth transition into next track. Recognise the female vocals in this :)
Next transition was a bit smashNgrab.. :/
Good transition into final track. Superb final track! :)

All in all I thought it was a fantastic mix. 2 transitions were a bit rushed. If you just changed the intro track to
something a wee bit more atmospheric and introey it would have been great.

Mix 2

Lovely nice intro buildup track.
Hmm transition at 8:30ish was a bit odd beatwise..
Next transition was better timed, but didn't flow all that well.
Next one much smoother, alot better.
Interesting piano track..
Next transition pretty good.. into some driving beats!

Pretty good mix, some of the transitions were a bit iffy, but it got better towards the end.

Another difficult decision. I felt Mix 1 had smoother transitions, and alot more trancier tracks. So I'm going for mix 1.

[tekno_violet]

RikkiGTR - VS LOGIN


Mix1

Like the entrance and haven't head this remix before. Love track 2 but it doesn't go well with tracks like the first one. Track 3 into 4 didn't pan out too well imo. I like the tempo your trying to go with, I liked the mix that takes place around 14:30.
Good beatmatching skills, love the classics thrown in.. I was wondering how i could use these tracks too.
This mix had a refreshing classic vibe to it which I love. One track (4 i believe? with the vocals is a no no for me.)


Mix2


Nice intro, nice long blend but more effort on the EQin needed i think.
Love the direction im going in but am i still listening to trance?
Love the mix so far though, reset at around 14:00...heading straight back into
a psy realm. Loved the last track.

Im not quite into the selection but its also my first time listening to this kind of trance. Interesting though.

Not sure who had the better skill and I liked listening to mix2 but my vote goes to Mix 1 as It takes be back to the 90's which I really enjoyed music wise.

Good stuff guys.

[Complex.ity]

Mix #1:

Okay, starting off with some very outer space type of thing going on! Wow, very interesting bassline in this one. Sounds something from hardstyle. Okay, feeling the crazy saw synth a little bit! Very fast, "old school" type of trance here! Unique from the other mixes I've listened to forsure!
Here comes the first transition, starting with the precussions and slowly building it up. Okay! Not bad at all! Beat-matched very well! Now we're going more melodic. Don't take this the wrong way but just wondering why you started your mix with that one? Favorite track of your's? I honestly think that this one would've done justice. Okay this track is very familiar! You're going for the throwback style I see!
Next transition, the same as the first, throwing in the highs and then bringing other frequencies in slowly and very well beat-matched! Okay I'm liking these vocals! This one definitely flowed way better than the intro to the 2nd track! I'm going to say that already that this mix is very refreshing from hearing the other ones! Took a different approach.
Next transition, okay got a little vocal clashing. Phasing could've been better. Beat-matched well but I think you kind of panicked so you brought the mids of the track playing already quite soon which made it not as smooth as the others. ~13:35: Ooooh digging this track! Yes!
Much better transition! Not only keeping the energy but bringing it up with that HUUUGE ROLLING BASSLINE! Really starting to get into it now! Sounds like Giuseppe Ottaviani style or something! Loving it! ~17:53: CHILLS!!!!! LOVING THIS TRACK! ~18:42: BOOM!
Alright noticing another transition! Keeping the same type of style! Getting those precussions to pass through and bringing everything else in! I would say the bassline is over-powering the one that is currently playing. A little bit more EQ work could've been done to make this a bit smoother. Sounds like a little bit too much is going on but well beat-matched and phased. Just needs a bit more EQ work is all! Not a bad transition though!
~22:25: Chord progression sounds like Faithless' Insomnia haha! Very similiar!
~23:30: Alright noticing another track coming in. Little bit too soon man. Didn't really let it play out. Yeah. Transition was a bit abrupt. I would've let the track play out more. It didn't really mix well. I understand you're probably trying to jump the energy up higher but I don't think it was the right time. I take it you want to play another track after this one and you realized you're running short on time so you have to basically power mix it now. Understandable but quite risky honestly.
Okay this next transition was a lot better! Was getting kind of worried because you did so well earlier and thought you were getting sloppy man! Oh wow, the hums in this track are pretty nice I must say. Oh wow this one is very, very dark! Those arps! :) Nice closing track man!

Alright this mix I must say is VERY REFRESHING! There was one battle I listened to where someone was doing like some spacey theme throughout the mix and must admit that one was incredible. I'm feeling the same vibe from this one! Couple slips here and there. Phasing was off in like 2 and a little bit more work with the EQ would've made this mix basically perfect! I would say the intro didn't match the rest of the mix and could've just started with track 2 but hey, that's just my opinion and not knocking your style man! Otherwise, great mix! You definitely brought it! Mix #2, let me see what you got!

Mix #2:

Okay, nice kind of gated pad type of intro. Very relaxing and setting the mood! Bassline coming in! Sounds massive! Loving the intro man! Okay! We're going with a more old school type of feel!
Transition coming in, so far so good. Letting the crazy amounts of hats through, slowly bringing in the rest! Very solid! Hm, strange vocals. Not too familiar with this type of trance but it is something new! Sounds like minimal maybe to me now?
~7:52: Pretty nice transition! After though, the beats were slipping a little bit but you're on top of it though! Pretty solid transition. These tracks you used are very different I'm going to tell you off the bat haha. ~10:55: Okay we got a lot more feeling now! Starting to get into it!
I'm going to be completely honest, these kicks used are definitely not what I'm used to. A lot more slap in them instead of the straight forward click and very tight click. Seems like they are beat-matched well though! Never heard any of the tracks before and you went with a different style so I find them pretty unpredictable but they seems pretty seamless together.
~14:36: Whoa... Okay huge sub kick and I think you cut the track playing a little too soon. Sounded a little bit sloppy. I must admit that this track is quite good!
~18:24: Ooh, that was quite nice! Definitely an energy booster! Now we're starting to get EPIC! Loving those pads!
~20:08: Okay you're playing 2 tracks at the same time. One is on the breakdown and keeping the beat going. It doesn't fit that well. I see what you're trying to do but I would've just played the breakdown alone to add more feeling. The meat in trance is in the breakdown. ~23:00: Okay we got some now! Now I kind of understand why you did it because it is quite long.
Haha okay this mix is really keeping me on my toes because I just don't know what's going to happen next! Very unpredictable!
Okay here's another good transition. Very solid. Whoa random clapping? Wow big sub kick and bass!

I'm very intrigued with this mix! This one left me a lot of surprises and definitely was interesting! You went beyond out of the ordinary! I would say that you're beat-matching was for the most part spot on. I am not familiar with this type of trance so there were parts that sounded a bit abrupt and surprising but for the most part it was pretty smooth! I just think that there was a lot of feeling missing in this one. This is I think more for the keep dancing type of thing with I think it was only 1 break in the entire mix and you're missing a lot of the meat.

Alright well this battle in particular has been very refreshing I must say! You two brought entirely new styles and definitely thought outside the box with this one! I really, really enjoyed Mix #1's tracklist and the story told but the intro kind of got me stumped though. Could've been so much better and I don't know whether you were feeling pressured toward the 23 minute mark whether you'd get all your tracks in time or what because you did start to get sloppy just a little bit but overall, I really enjoyed your mix. Mix #2, very interesting tracklist I will say off the bat. Very different approach and it flowed but it was very up and down in terms of energy. Like I said before as well, no breakdowns in trance and you don't have much feeling. Kind of felt I was getting hypnotized with your mix to be honest! You guys wont cut the voters any slack! You guys make it so tough to judge. I feel this was a very good pairing! It was random but just am amazed at how even this one was. Now, I am going to go with feeling on this one. I was emotionally feeling Mix #1. Had shivers and goosebumps in that one! Started off strong, slipped a little bit but Mix #1 had way more feeling in his mix. Great job you 2! You both definitely brought it! :tup:

[Delta V]

Mix 1: From that percussion I can tell your starting out fast. Some old skool hard trance here. Didn't recognize it till the synth, Pulsar right? Transition sounded pretty good esp for these older tunes, I can never match them well. I would have opened with Superstring here and put Pulsar after it like someone else said. I like that your doing a throwback set but I think putting some of the newerish tunes in there kinda overpowered the mix, stick to a range of years like 99-01, it just felt awkward in the middle of the mix. Fiji is probably one of my favorite trance tunes of all, I don't like much of that early uplifting synth stuff anymore but still fall for that track every time, don't know why. Mixing was alright, and I think mixing that older stuff is more challenging so I'll take that into consideration.

Mix 2: Very funky, which if you can pull off in a trance tune is awesome, near the middle it gets a little darker. Wasn't really feelin the second half of the mix, wish you would have continued with the funkyness of the first half. Mixing was pretty good overall, on par with with mix 1.

Gonna go with mix 1, thought the mixing was pretty good esp for older tunes, and had better progression and programing.

[Rek_Aviles]

Listened to this one (and another earlier today.

took notes and will post up my review later tonight.

[Sedna]

Mix 1 - I sensed a classicy vibe right off the bat and I was right. I'm just gonna toss out some pros and cons. Pros: the mix was solid energy wise and though the mixing was slow at the beginning it picked up as it went on. A few mixes felt a little rough when they meshed, but overall good mix work. Cons: could use a little less vocal, and a few mix-ins felt flat.

Mix 2 - this mix was not exactly my style, though some of the songs were awesome. I felt the energy build throughout the mix reallllyyy smoothly so it was incredibly well executed even if its not my style. A bit of clip clip in the first portion, but that can be forgiven as the rest of the mixing was solid. This was a great mix.

Mix 2 gets my vote, but I definitely applaud mix 1s style!

[Ellissentials]

http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/Ellissentials/EllissentialsReview-1.jpg
http://i299.photobucket.com/albums/mm286/Ellissentials/EllissentialsReview-1.jpg

Mix 1: ◄PLAY► This is opening like an alien fire alarm, neat! :) Harder stuff eh? Alright, I'll put that hat on. Second track, very nice mix in, but I would've went with Superstrings first (as has been mentioned..) it's an energy building kinda thing. Now, as far as older tunes go.. this one has a place in my memories, even though I'm not a "super synthy" kinda person at all. 8:24 I believe you have another track in now, and if so it's mixed great. 8:52, I'm sure there's another track in now and woo this is mixed wonderfully! 9:22 .. love how this went together. Good stuff. 11:12 definitely a new track in, matched well. Uhoh, 11:28 bad key clashing going on. 11:43 is all kinds of rough, then you fade out the outgoing. Could've been worse, but could've been better. This track doesn't really work with the last one, at least for your mix in points. May have worked better if you waited a tad longer to mix this in so you could've dodged the tonal differences between the 2 tracks. As for this track, not a bad vocal.. she has good purpose with her lyrics, they sound decent enough. This track isn't overly synthy and I love the piano in it. The transition is quite good too. Everything is very well matched, tho I noticed a small amount of "energy change" as it was fully taking over. Nothing major at all, and matter of fact this was quite a clean transition. Just something I noticed. Nice, so far I'm digging this track (15:53 is where I'm at). Subtle synths, driving bass, killer snare! And when that VOX swept in, I was fully paying attention. Not a bad track, even though it was very synth intensive. 20:01ish, I'm noticing the incoming track. Seems matched well. Decent enough transition. 22:00ish I'm really enjoying this breakdown. That vocal is just amazing. 22:27...never a fan of this type of elating synth, don't know why. Track isn't too bad.. I love the vocal and am not a fan at all of the synth, so I'm torn. Wowsers, the mix in at 24:01 is abrupt to me. Seems like you're holding it together well enough. 24:18 till breakdown it was a bit "tricky" but once the breakdown hits with that vocal.. I'm in love again. So the last 2 songs I've really enjoyed the vocals! 24:57.. this is reminding me what the first track in your set was aiming for. I think some of these tracks don't go as well together as others. 25:29, this breakdown is just killer... loving this tune so far. 27:02, I'm noticing a little floating, and after this the incoming track sounds alright with the outgoing. 27:30ish is quite big.. I like that. Enjoying this track so far. 28:19.. man you love to give me these KILLER vocal breakdowns eh? Well cool beans, I'm diggin the shit out of em. :) Vocal production quality of this is quite neat. Great last track to end the set. Overall there's a couple that I wouldn't have used in here IMO, but still the mix was done pretty decently.

Mix 2: ◄PLAY► Very atmospheric and spacey opening.. have a feeling I need to go into my closet and change my hat from the last mix. First beat starts in and yes, here we go! Loving this long intro to build the suspense, always a big fan of that. Over 2 and a half mins in, and the business is just now getting underway. Digging this track for sure. 7:24 I believe is mix in point. 7:50 definitely got a bit louder with the big energy increase then when it all drops there's a slight drop of energy for sure. Mixing isn't too bad, you hold em together for the most part but at around 8:08 when the incoming track starts to take over you get some tonal difference (key). 8:30 it's starting to drift off and you generally fight the transition most of the time. 8:50, still sounding quite off. 9:12, it wants to "groove" together you can tell... doesn't sound as off now, you've gotten everything smoothed out. Seriously killer guitar line that reverbs through this track. 10:00 this track is reminding me of something I'd hear at Burningman (look it up if somehow you're not familiar with this event.) Feelin' this one massively! 11:18, this track is still building tension and I'm loving this, and at 11:32 when it drops I'm just lost in the music. :tup: 13:47, I believe new track is in.. mixing is being done quite well now. 14:30 the blend is sounding great then the drop at 14:36 is all kinds of off. The outro track ends on an "8 beat" I believe so phrase matching was off as well. I'm reallllly digging this new track tho so for tracklist, so far, you have me. For mixing, so far number 1 has me. 18:10...wow have I told you yet that your tracklist has WON me over?! lol, this track is all kinds of delicious. @ 19:18, awkward loss of energy, but the beat matching is alright.. and this new track flows extremely well into new track. 19:55 sounds great. I just read back in my review to make sure I mentioned this one little thing....DIG this tracklist (22:37 currently). 22:55... till 23:15ish... "oops?" Little left over bass in there eh? :D Oh yeah.. what a good sound going on wooo!! (I'm a pianist.. I'm diggin this production) 25:14 I notice new track in.. and seemingly it's mixing in well. 25:35... outro to last track went into nice welcoming intro to new track. And BOOM on the drop it bursts into this nice driving sound. Hmm don't think this track fits with the rest of the tracks in this set...something about it isn't jiving.. maying it's the more driving bassline and "rawness" of it? Not sure. I love the track, just this is what is popping out in my mind. 30:44, great breakdown... yea this track was wonderful. You 110% won me on tracklist....

...Alright... Mix 2 without a doubt won on tracklist, but had more mixing errors than Mix 1. There were a couple tracks that I think could've been moved around / "changed out" on Mix 1.. and the last track on Mix 2 could've been different (even though I liked it)

So here I'm left with decision... choose better tracklist or "better" mixing. On DJforums.com I feel I should vote on mixing and therefore I went with Mix 1 as the winner. I really really wanted to vote mix 2 and tie this one up, considering how much more I liked the tracklist, but I can't.

I have one thing to reply to:


Mix 2 was really flawless and I loved the beatmatching and overall vibe. Probably the cleanest mix of the entire competition in my opinion.

Oh c-mon now Jack :)

You're very much entitled to this opinion, but I welcome you to go to the time stamps I provided in my Mix 2 review and then consider the word "flawless" and the statement; "Probably the cleanest mix of the entire competition"

I very much respect you Jack, so this is no attack on you, I'm just confused. Cheers sir. :tup:

[Ohmega]

Alright simple grading system, (1=Crap, 5=Awesome), some of these reviews are crazy long and we dont need to nit-pick the shit out of things.

Mix 1
• Intro: 3
• Track Selection: 1
• Track Count: 4
• Mixing/Transitions: 4
• Gain/Eq/FX: 4
• Outro: 3

Mix 2
• Intro: 4
• Track Selection: 3
• Track Count: 3
• Mixing/Transitions: 2
• Eq/FX:3
• Outro: 3

Mix 1 takes my vote, but playing 1998-2002 again is not going to work in Round 2. Those tunes were a little stale and lended themselves to be blended with 64-96 measure transitions. Mix 2 had some entry phase issues and the playlist was eratic.

[Ellissentials]

we dont need to nit-pick the shit out of things

Do you have a bird in your pocket? What's this "we" shit? :lol:

I like to nit pick things :shrug:

[Ohmega]

Do you have a bird in your pocket? What's this "we" shit? :lol:

I like to nit pick things :shrug:

I think you, Hynds and Complexity are in a review war. Seriously look at that post, its damn near beat by beat...

[Ellissentials]

"War"? errr I review them exactly as I'm listening and speak my mind. Have had loads of people mention the like the specifics, you're the first to mention otherwise. (First that I've noticed)

Review however you want to my friend. No one way is better than another, as long as you listen and give some kind of words. :tup:

[Ohmega]

"War"? errr I review them exactly as I'm listening and speak my mind. Have had loads of people mention the like the specifics, you're the first to mention otherwise. (First that I've noticed)

Review however you want to my friend. No one way is better than another, as long as you listen and give some kind of words. :tup:

No big deal man, do you thing. I used to review like that in the past and yes people did enjoy it. However I have a new perspective; we are all experienced enough to know what is what.

[Rek_Aviles]

Mix 1
love the throwback feel to this set. Some of the blends felt a bit rushed, but good energy thoughout. Nice set.

Mix 2
Good flow to this set. Mixing couldve been cleaner but I enjoyed some of the long transitions.


Tough call here for me. Both sets needed some work with the mixing imo but each had good progression and good tracks.


Mix 2 kept my interest for the whole set. The tracks were weird but I was diggin them and some blends were odd, but kind of worked out.

Not really sure why, but I liked 2 better. in a weird wtf way. :shrug:

[Ellissentials]

However I have a new perspective; we are all experienced enough to know what is what.

Again, I do not agree kind sir. I think there's some inexperience in this tournament actually. I know of a couple users who flat out admitted already that they don't "know" much.

Funny thing is, I used to do MY voting with categories and number system. :tup: :D

[ChrisHynds]

Again, I do not agree kind sir. I think there's some inexperience in this tournament actually. I know of a couple users who flat out admitted already that they don't "know" much.

Funny thing is, I used to do MY voting with categories and number system. :tup: :D

lol yea this is quite funny actually. There have been a few comments that I have read that straight up dont make sense, and have had a major impact on the vote.

[RikkiGTR]

we are all experienced enough to know what is what.

Not all of us.


I know of a couple users who flat out admitted already that they don't "know" much.

I'm one of them. Would say I'm one of the least experienced here, and feel a bit embarrassed "judging" you guys and your mixes.
When I'm voting and offering feedback, I'm literally writing down what I'm thinking at that particular time, and I don't feel like I'm even in a position to judge or offer criticism. It's kinda strange for me at the minute.

[ChrisHynds]

Ok so here goes -

Mix 1 -

Intro - Mauro Picotto - Can never go wrong with oldskool Picotto in my book, good start, lets hope it continues :) Audio quality sounds muffled? M>A>U>R>O> :) brings back some epic memories.

Mix 1 - Drops in very nicely, I like the percussion coming in over the heavy bassline of Pulsar, beat matching is drifting around a touch but still tight enough, phrasing is good but the switch in tracks just seems off to me, Superstring is too much of a light & airy track to bring in on top of the hard hitting bassline of Pulsar IMO. clean mix just wrong track placement for me personally. Diggin the classics so far tho man nice choice.

Mix 2 - Big breakdown on superstring, loosing interest slightly, liquid child another classic track :) the 2 melodies worked well together on the mix out, mixing seemed tidy, tracklist is good but its not exciting me.

Mix 3 - Coming in much earlier this time, nice to hear but this transition is way off, beat matching is cool but there's way too much happening with both tracks and as a result they clash.

Mix 4 - Solid on beatmatching, big booming eq switch, I would have waited to switch the low end, until the next phrase, where the incoming track gains a bassline, tidy mix tho. Diggin the build on this track, finally got some energy :)

Mix 5 - Again another long breakdown has me losing interest, each to their own but Im really not a fan of big breakdowns, oh wait I can hear Fiji coming in, one of my fav oldskool tracks of all time, I'll overlook that big breakdown for this next 8 mins of pure awesome-ness, good save :)

Mix 6 - No no no, I was head drifting away with old memories and bobbing to Fiji and BOOM Warrior pops up from no where, not diggin that mix at all, too abrupt and killed the flow of the track.

Mix 7 - Coming in well, mix is good, Ralph Fridge Angel, good energy on this track.

Wrapping up -

Felt like I was listening to a MOS Classic Trance CD, :) Some great nostalgic tracks in the mix, I really enjoyed listening, didnt get me going much tho nothing spectacular about the set, mixing was fine for the majority of the set, 1 or 2 mixes stood out that could have been better, a lot of ups and downs in terms of energy this could have been fixed with better track placement in the set. all in all not a bad set, I would give a 6.5/10

Ok Mix 2 -

Intro - Really like this intro track, you've got my attention straight away, good choice! Sounds very "Underworld" style of track.

Mix 1 - Where is it??? lol this track seems like its going on forever. Very long blend but its too cluttered, too much going on with both tracks, and the key clash is pretty obvious & confusing the sound. Very spacey track, both tracks carry a good energy transition but could have been mixed better imo.

Mix 2 - Not sure if this is the track or if your mixing in a new track here, some electro sampling vocals coming in again seems really cluttered and confusing, Im not sure if that was just the track tho? Ok I think it was just the track, hearing the new track coming in now, your phrasing was off with this one, the outgoing track seems like it was pulled out really abruptly due to the phrasing being off, good progression through the tracks tho they are carrying a good steady flow.

Mix 3 - Comes in well here , these tracks a really trippy & spacey, so many different sound efx going on its hard to keep track of whats happening, almost sounds like really oldskool goa/psy, tidy transition here.

Mix 4 - Comes in on cue and everything is well lined up, good mix here, seems to have a little more punch in this track bringing the mood up a bit,

Wrapping up,

Good set here, I liked the progression through the tracks, got a little weird in the middle of the set, not my usual style of trance but it was an enjoyable listen,

Im going with Mix 2 here, I preferred the track selection in mix 1 but mix 2 felt like a well structured set that had direction, Good job from both Dj's

[LukeDent]

Mix1

Interesting start, as many have already mentioned very classic vibe going on. Some very nostalgic tracks. Enjoying it but I'm not moving just yet. Bit of a slip in the middle. Track selection is getting a bit tedious now. Nice closing track but felt the last half was a bit strained.

Mix2

Wow nice intro. Progressing very nicely witha nice vibe. Bopping the leg now. Eeek vibes blipped a bit. Starting to redeem it now with a nice driving track of the transition around halfway. Gone kinda psyish now. I must say this is a much more interesting selection than I've heard in a while. Few tracks aren't really blending ATM. Seems rather misplaced and up and down. Closer seems to just drone off.

Overall both mixes were ok. There's plenty of room for improvement for both in terms of track selection. I didn't really get the journey feel from either. Mixing was solid from both.

Bloody tough one to call

I'm gonna go with mix2 for the sheer fact that it was a little more eclectic. Albeit the flow not quite right.

[login]

This battle is tied and missing votes from tournaments participants (3)

[JackStalk]

Mix 2: ◄PLAY► Very atmospheric and spacey opening.. have a feeling I need to go into my closet and change my hat from the last mix. First beat starts in and yes, here we go! Loving this long intro to build the suspense, always a big fan of that. Over 2 and a half mins in, and the business is just now getting underway. Digging this track for sure. 7:24 I believe is mix in point. 7:50 definitely got a bit louder with the big energy increase then when it all drops there's a slight drop of energy for sure. Mixing isn't too bad, you hold em together for the most part but at around 8:08 when the incoming track starts to take over you get some tonal difference (key). 8:30 it's starting to drift off and you generally fight the transition most of the time. 8:50, still sounding quite off. 9:12, it wants to "groove" together you can tell... doesn't sound as off now, you've gotten everything smoothed out. Seriously killer guitar line that reverbs through this track. 10:00 this track is reminding me of something I'd hear at Burningman (look it up if somehow you're not familiar with this event.) Feelin' this one massively! 11:18, this track is still building tension and I'm loving this, and at 11:32 when it drops I'm just lost in the music. :tup: 13:47, I believe new track is in.. mixing is being done quite well now. 14:30 the blend is sounding great then the drop at 14:36 is all kinds of off. The outro track ends on an "8 beat" I believe so phrase matching was off as well. I'm reallllly digging this new track tho so for tracklist, so far, you have me. For mixing, so far number 1 has me. 18:10...wow have I told you yet that your tracklist has WON me over?! lol, this track is all kinds of delicious. @ 19:18, awkward loss of energy, but the beat matching is alright.. and this new track flows extremely well into new track. 19:55 sounds great. I just read back in my review to make sure I mentioned this one little thing....DIG this tracklist (22:37 currently). 22:55... till 23:15ish... "oops?" Little left over bass in there eh? :D Oh yeah.. what a good sound going on wooo!! (I'm a pianist.. I'm diggin this production) 25:14 I notice new track in.. and seemingly it's mixing in well. 25:35... outro to last track went into nice welcoming intro to new track. And BOOM on the drop it bursts into this nice driving sound. Hmm don't think this track fits with the rest of the tracks in this set...something about it isn't jiving.. maying it's the more driving bassline and "rawness" of it? Not sure. I love the track, just this is what is popping out in my mind. 30:44, great breakdown... yea this track was wonderful. You 110% won me on tracklist....

...Alright... Mix 2 without a doubt won on tracklist, but had more mixing errors than Mix 1. There were a couple tracks that I think could've been moved around / "changed out" on Mix 1.. and the last track on Mix 2 could've been different (even though I liked it)

So here I'm left with decision... choose better tracklist or "better" mixing. On DJforums.com I feel I should vote on mixing and therefore I went with Mix 1 as the winner. I really really wanted to vote mix 2 and tie this one up, considering how much more I liked the tracklist, but I can't.

I have one thing to reply to:



Oh c-mon now Jack :)

You're very much entitled to this opinion, but I welcome you to go to the time stamps I provided in my Mix 2 review and then consider the word "flawless" and the statement; "Probably the cleanest mix of the entire competition"

I very much respect you Jack, so this is no attack on you, I'm just confused. Cheers sir. :tup:

I really didn't hear much of a problem at 8:50 honestly. Sure you can tell there's two tracks playing, but for me to call attention to a beat match issue it must be blatant. Some people have different monitors/headphones and the bass layering may sound different (I use KRK ROKIT8's for these battles).

Maybe 14:34 was a little different like you said, but I didn't see it as something to write home about. He held the energy quite well and that transition would have sufficed in a live club environment in my opinion.

Listening to 19:19, yeah possibly an awkward loss of energy, you're right. 23:15 sounded fine to me. I listen to the mixes as more of a whole journey, but if there's any major high/low clashing or trainwrecking it will definitely show up on my radar. Not to argue with you, I just wanted to show some secondary insight on those specific issues you had pointed out :)

[Ellissentials]

Works for me :) No argument indeed... just saying those spots have issues. Absolutely saying it how it was presented. 14:36 was "something to write about" as you put it, in my honest opinion.

[n0ah]

Sorry I'm getting this review in late, it's been a busy week, but I need to be fair and vote for my last battle since everyone took the time to vote for me =]

Don't have a ton of time to do an as intenvisve reviews as I did for the others, so I will just highlight some key points I wrote down while listening.

MIX 1:


Decent intro, nothing special. A late of the songs definetly sound dated. While one classic song can be a lot of fun, playing a full on classic set can get a little boring. Decent energy throughtout the set however, mixing was very average.

Mix 2:

Tracks themselves seem to be all over the place, and I feel like general mixing and phrasing is not as tight as the 1st one.

I'm going to have to vote for Mix 1 here due to the better mixing skill IMO.

[g-sep]

Mix 1:
-Interesting intro, hard beat right off the bat
-Pretty clean at the 5min mark, liked it but kind of an energy drop
-About 9:27 = airy, spacey, but focused
-11:44 felt kind of forced for me, probably bring it in later in the previous track would have worked better, liking the track though
-14:45 bringing in something new, pumping kick, this felt good
-19 min is making me feel epic
-Liked the transition at 20:33, letting that constant bass line build in the back was the sex
-22:40 melody is killer
-24:07 quick kick in the face
-31:38 great finish on this mix

Mix 2:
-Off beat heart monitor sound to start off, I like, easing us into this one
-All comes together at 2:32, nice resolve on this track right there, now it all makes sense
-4:22 is some techy stuff right there, me likes
-7:50 felt like an energy drop for me at first, but then the next track kicked in so it worked out
-14:37 didn't feel right, dunno what happened, but felt like a phrase issue, or I could be wrong

Alright over all I heard 2 very different mixes here. Mix 1 was more traditional trance what I am used to hearing. Mix 2 was more techy, which I thought I was going to like at first…but I didn't actually. The mixing in both was flawless, beatmatching was spot on. Mix 1 just tickled my fancy a little more.

Mix 1 is my vote

[login]

Congratulations to RikkiGTR for the victory, it was good battle.

The playlist of my mix was.

1.- Jukebox - Son kite
2.- Skillfull oratory - Kino oko (you can get this on this free compilation http://www.ektoplazm.com/free-music/isratrance-free-compilation-1 )
3.- Blue tubes - Prometheus
4.- Orchestra 2.0 - Jaia
5.- U make me wanna drink more - Ticon


Thx for your feedback and looking for next year competition :)

[RikkiGTR]

Thanks Login. Well played, it was a good battle!

The playlist of my mix:

1. Mauro Picotto - Pulsar (Original Tea Mix)
2. Cygnus X - Superstring (Original 12" Club Mix)
3. Liquid Child - Diving Faces (Vocalised Fairytale mix)
4. 4 Strings - Let me take you breath away (Extended Mix)
5. RAM - RAMbition (Original Mix)
6. Atlantis V Avatar - Fiji (Lange Remix)
7. Warrior - Warrior (Club Mix)
8. Ralph Fridge - Angel (Club Mix)


Thanks for voting, comments and feedback.