One Synth Challenge #181: Surge

One Synth Challenge #181: Surge XT

all parts produced with Surge XT (except drums and percussion)

Journey Matters

Journey Matters ["one synth challenge" edit - Surge XT]

In fields of freedom, wild and bright,
A spirit danced with untamed light.
But wires wove 'round her limbs so tight,
And screens replaced her starry flight.

The TV hummed its hypnotic song,
Violence echoed, shadows long.
Her wings grew heavy, once so strong,
Till free spirit's flame was finally gone...

All instruments and voices have been designed in Surge XT without any use of samples. Happy 15th anniversary to OSC!

Surge XT: 25 instances
DAW: Cubase Pro 13
Free Reverbs: SunBurnt (Unplug.red), Dragonfly Hall (Michael Willis), Raum (NI).
Free delay: Deelay (Sixth Sample)
Free EQ: Graphic EQ (Viator DSP)
Free compressor/limiter: Sonicrusher (Linda Audio), Lens (Auburn Sounds)

TSOM - Wings Of Silence - OSC#181

Blue Glowing Man Dance Experience 2024

An entry for the KVR One Synth Challenge #181 - Surge XT.

The anachronistic tales of a washed up barfly continue...

The air was thick with a haze of smoke, amber fluid and regret. A neon sign flickered through the grimy window, casting the room in a sickly green glow. In a darkened corner booth slumped Spaceman D. Bassman, one time Space Corp Trooper extraordinaire, now Terra's most despondent drunk.

Bassman's once celebrated career had been a shooting star, blazing bright before burning out in a fiery re-entry. The mission to the Sinfony system, meant to be his crowning achievement, had ended in catastrophe. No longer heralded as a hero but as a liability, Bassman had been humiliatingly dismissed from the Corp, deemed unfit to serve by the medical board who cited bee-related psychological trauma and chronic dub abuse.

The dive bar he found himself in offered little solace. Under a single incandescent bulb in the corner of the room, a raggedy-assed band were grinding out a strained one drop pastiche that only served to drive him deeper into despair. He had played bass himself a long time ago. His fretboard heroics used to attract admiring glances but now all he could muster were pitying stares and whispered condemnations. His attention drifted back to his drink, the dubby skanks replaced by the deafening roar of his own failures.

One night, a young woman slid into the seat on the other side of the booth. Her eyes, the colour of honey on a stormy day, held a curious glint. Seemingly unfazed by his haggard appearance and the strong smell of urine, she spoke passionately of her dreams of travelling to the stars, her voice a sweetly buzzing melody that cut through the fog clouding his mind.

That night, for the first time in a long time, Bassman didn't drown his sorrows in silence. He spoke of the cosmos, of the dance of celestial bodies, of weird musical bees, his voice regaining a spark it had lost for so long. The woman listened, enthralled, her eyes reflecting the distant stars he could no longer reach.

As the night wore on, a camaraderie blossomed between the washed-up space trooper and the aspiring star traveller. In the flickering neon glow, an unlikely friendship was forged, a melody of hope born from the depths of despair. Perhaps, he thought, even a broken star could find solace in the rhythm of a new dream.

Fin?

Reaper 7
Surge XT (14)

Track FX: CHOW Tape Model (3), JSFX MIDI Note Filter (6), ReaComp (10), ReaEQ (11), ReaLimit, TAL Reverb 4, TDR Molotok, TDR Nova, Venn Free Clip 2

Send FX: Sixth Sample Deelay, TAL Reverb 4, Surge XT (audio in), ReaEQ, ReaComp

Stereo BUS: CHOW Tape Model, Blue Cat Gain, TDR Nova, VladG Limiter #6, ReaLimit, Cockos Loudness Meter

OSC181 - Surge XT

Barfly Skank

Underwater Strutter - OSC 181 Surge XT

This track made for the KVR One Synth Challenge #181. My 120th consecutive entry since #61 (10 years). All sounds made by the free VSTi SurgeXT. Only DAW and free 3rd party FX used.

DAW: Reaper 7

Track details
43 * Surge XT
ReaEq, LFX-1310 (autopan), Oril River, OTT, Twin Delay, SlickEQ, MSED, Limiter No6, SPAN, Youlean Loudnes Meter

LUFS: -16.3
DR: 9

Yet Another Surge of Ambience - OSC #181 - SURGE XT

Odd Times

Parduz - Odd Times (OSC 181-Surge XT)

All sounds made using Surge XT in Bitwig for KVR OSC 181

Harry Du Bois

In these rare moments where the air is light
It's easier to breathe the oxygen
And though my eyes are waning in the night
The clearness of my mind is mine again.

When I gaze upon your gemstone orbs
I see the riches of the universe;
Your fingers and their feathered touch transports
My soul to realms that rise above the earth.

Yet despite this call to greater majesty,
And though my heart does soar on eagles' wings,
I am yet grounded in simplicity;
My joy is built upon the smallest things

You make me laugh and smile and cry and sing;
My heart is filled with all these smallest things.

And somehow unbeknownst to me,
It is through these I touch infinity.

Pinpointing Infinity (OSC181 Surge)

Synth DX7 - Surging Shadows in the Storm (OSC #181 Surge XT)

One Synth Challenge 181 @ KVR. Sequenced using 30x instances of SurgeXT.

KIN (Osc181 - SurgeXT)

The Seagull Over The Surge

dstr - The Seagull Over The Surge (One Synth Challenge #181: Surge XT)

Entry for OSC#181: Psyllium Disco

"Captain Silverpants was so excited to have received the bulky package of little seeds from the man from Aberdeen.  He had ingested the lot about 30 mins ago - his eyes were closed letting the feeling grow and grow.  Where would it take him..?

Hours later, reading Wikipedia while still on the toilet, he discovers that, despite it's funky name, psyllium is mostly used a constipation remedy..."

DAW: Reaper
40 instances of Surge XT
OrilRiver Reverb
Ambient Reverb
Dead Duck Overdrive, Filter, Limiter, Delay, Autopan
ReaEQ, ReaComp, ReaXComp
JS Channel Time Delay
kHs Trance Gate, Gain
Limter No6
SPAN, YouLean Loudness Meter

Thanks to Milkster and Neverbeeninariot for image, title and inspiration.  You sent me on a fun trip.  
A journey through to disco and beyond.

Psyllium Disco

My submission for KVR One Synth Challenge #181. Brutal feedback please!

DAW: Reaper
FX counts:
- VST3i: Surge XT (Surge Synth Team) (2->6ch) x20
- VST3: OrilRiver (Denis Tihanov) x1
- VST3: TDR Nova (Tokyo Dawn Labs) x1
- VST: ReaComp (Cockos) x1
- VST: ReaLimit (Cockos) x1

Low And Be Whole

Composed for KVR One Synth Challenge 181 using only sounds from SurgeXT

All sounds made from scratch.

DAW: Reaper 7.12

20 x Surge

CHOWTapeModel
epicVerb
kHs Channel Mixer
kHs Filter
kHs Limiter
ReaComp
ReaEQ
SurgeXT Effects
TAL-DUB-II
TDR Kotelnikov
Valhalla Supermassive

eraze the borders - Thankful [OSC 181]

I have had a middle ear infection with funny tinnitus in my right ear while creating this. I still don't hear right with my right ear. Otherwise: Created for the One-Synth Challenge #181 with the still great Wavetable VST Surge XT in FL Studio 21.2 Producer Edition. Every sound is created from scratch. Technical Details below:

Instances: 27 x Surge XT
BPM: 125, 127
DAW FX:
Channel EQ [4]
Fruity Delay 2 [2]
Fruity Delay 3 [1]
Fruity Limiter [3]
Fruity Multiband Compressor [1] 
Fruity Parametric EQ2 [4]
Fruity Reeverb 2 [11]
Fruity Stereo Enhancer [2]
Maximus/Soundgoodizer [4]
3rd Party:
kHs Transient Shaper [1]
Youlean Loudness Meter 2 [1]

A Relic From The Past (OSC#181 - Surge XT)

Made For KVR OSC 181 - Using 14 instances of SurgeXT (Clap version) in Mulab v9.5 Beta
DAW Fx: muverb, limiter, filter, stereo splitter.
Cover Artwork by Jenny xx

KVR OSC 181 Surge

Electronix (Surge)

Springbox

Submission for OSC 181, using Surge XT for all channels.

Protector (OSC#181 - Surge XT)

All done with one free synth (Surge XT) and free/stock FL plugins only.

I wanted to do so much more...
3D Blender art by me.
Reuploaded 02.08.2024: mixing fixes without breaking the contest's rules. Still one synth and still free/stock plugins.
Reuploaded 13.02.2025: cleaned up master distortion, rolled back to the original mixing version in many ways, improved stereo. Again, staying within the contest rules, including limiting and mixing with free plugins.

Vospi - I Will Kiss You Now (OSC#181 - Surge XT)

Join the challenge by going here: https://shorturl.at/bhBFQ