Original song by Espen Kraft.
https://soundcloud.com/espenkraft/i-heard-a-rumour
The vocals were pitch edited to suit the chords and the triplet feel, using Ableton's Warp feature.

I use Ableton Live-10.
Plugins used: Ableton's Analog, OBXd, PG8X, Monark.
Hardware used: Korg 01/W (pad & bell), Yamaha RX-11.
Drums are all designed and sampled by myself, no sample packs or stock sounds used.
Ride Cymbal was played live.
Piano is Ableton's stock piano.

Thanks Espen Kraft for providing the stems.

I Heard a Rumour (remix)

SKIO Mixing Competition
https://skiomusic.com/ryan-mackay/b078555e-3158-4f8f-b46b-ea11c123c038

RYZY - Nothin'

Clean Bandit - Mama

This track is made entirely out of 2-samples that I provided for the Beat Collective challenge this time. 
Each sound, including the drums were designed from these two samples. 
The guitar sample came from the previous Beat Collective challenge.
The composition was also made from scratch.
Only Ableton Live devices were used, no 3rd party plug-ins.

BC 10 - 06 - 19

This is the finished result of my first weekly challenge, where I set myself guidelines to work with and complete it within one week. 
The entire track was built from the ground up, which means every single sound was designed from scratch. I only used Operator for each sound, including the drums. Synthwave is the genre and I wanted to do something a little unusual with it, which was to make it in 7/8 instead of 4/4 or 6/8.
I also wanted to work within Session view, since it's easier to work within Arrangement, but staying in Session view works really well.
Another limitation was to use no more than 10-tracks and to get more mileage I use Instrument racks and switch between sounds using automation.
Hope this challenge inspires people to become creative.

Operation Operator (Challenge 001)

Mostly inspired by mid 80’s Electronic Funk, such as Cameo, Total Contrast, René & Angela, Fatback Band, BB&Q Band, etc…
This was the era where a lot of DX-7, Emulator, Linn-9000 and loads of analog synths were used.

The entire track was built from two field recordings provided by Beat Collective.
This means every single sound you hear, including the drums, were designed from those recordings.
I use Corpus and Vocoder a lot for designing drums and Simpler and Sampler to design the synth sounds. Adding effects and re-sampling can get you really far.
This way I challenge myself a lot more and I get to build my own sounds, rather than wading through presets.
Composition wise, I always start from scratch and never use ideas that were kept in a folder and that never get accessed again.
My motto is to stick with the idea and to never compare your work.

BC 24-6-19

This challenge was set 1-week ago, as I try to do a new challenge every week. I had set some criteria for this challenge, which are listed in the thumbnail. I didn't stick to the first criteria, as it was too hard to play those sequences that tight at that slow tempo.
Most difficult was to select 5 sounds that worked together. Because the sounds came from old hardware synths, which do not have analog controls, I couldn't spend much time on sound design, so I used presets and made a few adjustments.
I used the Korg Wavestation and 01/W, which both sound amazing, but are also amazingly tedious to program.
Drums were sampled from the Wavestation and programmed through Ableton Live's Drum Rack.

Challenge 002

This is the result of a challenge I set myself to produce a track of a particular genre in 1-week within a set of limitations. The limitation were to use 1 hardware synth (JX03) and a drummachine (TR-707).

I was suppose to use the Yamaha RX-11, but instead ended up using the TR-707 as it seemed to sit better in the mix.
Each 707 sound was recorded independently by turning all other faders down on the machine.
This way I discovered there’s a fair bit of bleed coming from the other sounds.
These little idiosyncrasies are not factored in with Drum Rack or even the physically modelled TR-8 and may contribute to the real 707 sounding fuller.

The only synth used was the JX-03
I bought this little synth 3-years ago, as I thought it looked cool and had the controls that the JX-3P lacked.
Never really used it much at all, until now.
Setting these challenges for yourself forces you to use gear that you’d normally never end up using.
You get a renewed appreciation for your gear.

Same with the TR-707.
Bought it out of nostalgia and never ended up using it.
I now rediscovered this gem of a machine and it’s a keeper.
It’s very quirky to program though, which I remember from the days I had a TR-505, which had the same user interface.

The Vocoder is Ableton's and even though it's quite hard to get it right, this vocoder sounds pretty amazing.

Slow Jams (like 1985)

Beat Collective challenge July 2019.
Each and every sound was designed from 2-samples.
No VST's, Ableton Live stock plugins used only.

BC  8 - 7 - 19

Beat Collective challenge.
Fusion taken down a few notches this time.
As per usual, the entire track was built from the two samples, so all sounds and the composition were made from scratch.
Just Simpler and Sampler were used, no other synths.
I was able to do a lot with the vocal.
After I came up with the melody, I cut and stretched the vocal to the melody.
Everything else is Ableton, no 3rd party plugins used.
This is possibly one of my favourite tracks, as the chord progression and melody take me back to my favourite music era, which is the second half of the 80’s, when Fusion came back in vogue.
Influences have come from; George Duke, Jan Hammer, Yellowjackets, Weather Report, Steps Ahead, Al Jarreau, Scritti Politti, Knower, Jacob Collier, Corey Henry, Thundercat and many more.
Thanks for listening!!!!!

BC 22 - 7 - 19

Beat Collective Challenge 5th August 2019.
This track is inspired by a track from Fusion super group “Steps Ahead”, from their high tech album “Magnetic” that came out in 1986.
This album came out at the beginning of an amazing Fusion era, with new music from Chick Corea Elektric Band and Miles Davis' Tutu.
This track is also inspired by the syncopating grooves of the band “Knower”.
All sounds were designed from scratch using the two samples provided by Beat Collective.
I only used Simpler, Sampler and Wavetable and Ableton’s stock plugins, no other 3rd party VST’s were used.

BC 05 08 19

BC 19 08 19

Beat Collective Fortnightly Challenge 02 Sept 2019.
All sounds were made from the 2 samples provided by Beat Collective.
I have only used Simpler and Sampler.
Also restricted myself to just using Ableton Live devices.
This is a great way to learn about sound design.
Normally I gravitate towards writing Fusion tracks, but this time it lead me to this more ambient Electro track. 
Influences for this track I would say definitely come from Depeche Mode, Thomas Dolby and Boards of Canada.

Gee Vee

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