Thanks for the feedback, 5th. The drums do seem rather flimsy now that I listen to em again. Do you think the groove itself was okay, or that I should change that up as well? Other things I've noticed: it seems rather medium/high frequency heavy, do you guys think I should turn the bassline up? Also, if you listen to the drums they seem to drag a little bit at certain points even though they're locked on beat. For example, the kicks in the 4th and 4.5th beats of every fourth bar. Any suggestions on how to fix this? Maybe with a different hat pattern?
Reviews:
First off, props to Graf for hooking us up with the sample.
Knox: Nice melody. The static-sounding click between four bar phrases adds a nice touch. Really like how it breaks down at 0:50...the layering with the vocals is simply beautiful here. The intro seems rather long. The guitars are cut really nicely into the main melody as well. Awesome.
HD: This beat sounds like a good one to flow on, as exhibited by the Biggie acapella. Simple but effective chop, I like it. I like the soft vocals that come in, but the horns that follow seem to clash a bit with the rest of the track.
Ruimixx: Haha, those reversed drums kicked in and I was like "yeaaaah!" The vocal cuts near the end are a nice touch. I like the descending guitar notes but the ones that go down either every third or fourth bar (I can't tell, the ones that end lower) seem a bit off beat in the last two notes. Nice! I like your second flip a lot more.
Tricky: Very impressive. I like the DNB style drums that come in, and the vocals ("Can I") fit really well. Ayyy, the middle eastern "remix" is off the chain! My only comment is that the softer guitar in the first melody doesn't seem to fit and is a bit detracting.
LilHateDon: Interesting introduction. Hearing the vocals pitch shifted lower is refreshing. I'd add come up with a more pronounced hat pattern to give the rhythm a more distinct edge...the drums themselves do a good job of that though. Cool, reminded me of a DJ scratching vocal cuts.
DMX: Haha nice, I thought about using that rattling portion in my piece too. Interesting, but a bit too busy for my tastes. The longer I listen the more I get used to the chops and I can sort of hear a melody. Some of the guitar parts seem panned too far to either the left or right. I'd turn up the kick a bit.
Sub: Removed by the fascists of soundclick before I could get to it.
. Oh wait, here it is. I like the way this was flipped, the bassline is dope. A hook or break would be nice, but I understand it's probably in its basic stages right now. I like the short/subtle drum roll that comes on intermittently also.
Grafik: Once again, very well executed mellow beat. The riff/vocal combination is infectious. I think a break or changeup somewhere in the song would make this complete.
5th Sequence: Funky, the strings are a really great touch. Not much I can really comment on, the chops were a bit active, but as a standalone instrumental track it's hot.
RaO Large: Kicks seem a bit too active in relation to the more laid back mood the chops present. Nice flip overall though, I think the way you put together the loop was good, sounded street but mellow.
AB (UG): Club joint for sure. Nice keys. I don't really like that squeaky noise at about 1:04, but I understand the effect you were trying to bring. 1:39's second layer of guitars is nice. This one's definitely fire. Good mixture of sampling and composition, that's what I like to hear.
Slik Da Relic: I would've liked to hear more of the sample integrated into the song, but it's clean as is. Not much else to really comment on, I would've liked to hear more dimensions brought to this though!
Boneidle: Ah, that's a loud mix. Haha, Star Wars was a nice addition. The chops seems a bit active, but it'd make a good interlude on a track somewhere. I'd look for some more instruments to put in the middle frequency range to balance things out.
drmynd: I'm not really hearing a distinct pattern of notes or melody, unfortunately...I'd push the kick volume up a bit also.
That's all, folks. Some real nice flips are up on here. I'm impressed; it's stuff like this that makes me want to push myself even harder.