Descent Community Album 2

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:01 pm

SUBMISSIONS ARE NOW CLOSED!!!!

Big thanks to everyone who participated -- stay tuned on Halloween for the final album release, and don't unsubscribe this thread just yet either! There is still more to be done!

This thread's being posted on the descent underground board, planetdescent, and descentbb.net

So I'm looking for original songs from descent-playing musicians to create a sort of compilation album. Somebody did this before on the old planetdescent and I think with a new descent on the horizon it's time to do it again.
There's a new twist this time-- as well as being part of a compilation album that will be released for free download on the interwebz, the plan is for many of these submissions to be used as level music on xfing's huge descent 2 singleplayer project "descent 1 and a half".
One more small change from the previous community album will be artist names – on the previous album all the track artists were set as the forum names of the artists. I think that's silly so if you have an artist handle already then if you set it in the song tags I'll keep it that way.

First of all, this is not a contest; any song that's submitted will get put onto the downloadable album unless there's a very good reason for it to be rejected. Xfing and I may be a little bit more choosy when it comes to what gets put into the game. Track orders will be decided after the songs are in.

Vocal and instrumental songs will both be accepted. Lyrics are encouraged, although their content may be a factor in deciding what gets put in the game.

Submission guidelines:

All submissions must be original songs, not remixes or covers, and must not have been released anywhere else prior to this compilation.

There's no limit on the number of submissions per artist now, but I might change this later depending on how many artists sign up. For now, if you send in multiple songs just make sure the artist tag is the same on all of them.

And with all that in mind, submissions are open now! So go crazy!
Read the next post for instructions on how to make a submission -- following these instructions is important cuz otherwise I won't be able to keep track of everybody and some songs could get lost.

Also, if a moderator could sticky this thread that'd be great.

EDIT: Heads up, Descent 1&1/2 has reached the halfway point for level submissions.
I'll be deciding on that closing date pretty soon -- if you've signed up and not made anything yet you may wanna make some time to get on that.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Sun Jul 26, 2015 3:02 pm

Submission instructions (IMPORTANT! READ THESE!):

1. Create a post in one of these three threads saying you're signing up for the album. Don't attach the song file here! This is just so I can keep a list of everybody who wants to submit a song.

2. Send me a pm with the title dca2 song submission. In the pm attach a link to the song file download.

3. Make sure the songs filename is in this format: (your forum name) - song title.filetype
It won't stay this way on release but until then I need to know who submitted what for the album and mission credits.

4. Make sure the song is a flac, wav, 320kbps CBR mp3 or high-quality Ogg and make sure the title and artist tags are set to what you want them to be. Album and tracknumber will obviously be set later. If you absolutely can't set the tags yourself for whatever reason, include them in the pm you send me.

5. All songs should be mastered; if you absolutely can't do this yourself send me an unmastered wav and I'll see what I can do with it -- I'm a sound engineer as well as a songwriter. Only thing is, if too many people send me unmastered tracks, I might not be able to get around to all of them, in between work and my other projects. So if you can master it yourself, then do it. If you need me to master it make sure to note that in your PM.

There's no submission deadline yet, because the release will coincide with the release of Xfing's mission pack. I'll make sure to give a decent amount of notice when one is announced. Until then go crazy.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 9:29 am

I'll sign up. I read the instructions and it seem pretty simple. I'll start tinkering with the song this week and I might have something ready by next week.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 12:10 pm

I can only do the mixes.
I believe that Martin Britz can do brilliant original music for Descent (this is descenter from South Africa, you know him)

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 12:56 pm

sigma wrote:I can only do the mixes.

Really? You can't make anything like this or better?

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:20 pm

Of course, I can do it better. But this will be a mix or remix of plugins, including using of the original source and sounds from free libraries. That is, in fact, that's plagiarism. Fox says about the original music. I'm not a composer unfortunately.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:31 pm

You two could always collaborate...
Adding you to the list, Issac.

Looking forward to hearing it.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:40 pm

Alter-Fox wrote: Adding you to the list, Issac. Looking forward to hearing it.

I'm almost done with the song. But it needs a few more parts and an ending, I think.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:41 pm

sigma wrote:Of course, I can do it better. But this will be a mix or remix of plugins, including using of the original source and sounds from free libraries. That is, in fact, that's plagiarism. Fox says about the original music. I'm not a composer unfortunately.

So you're only as good as music you mix?

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:48 pm

Yes, this is my hobby. Basically I make mixes for myself when I want to improve something. Including soundtracks for games. (By the way, I'm surprised you made the project so quickly)

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 2:51 pm

Huh... there still might be a way to fit you in Sigma. I'll see what I can do...
Maybe you could remix one of somebody else's submissions for a sort of "bonus track". Also, you're right I should get in contact with Martin, he might not see this on any of the boards where I've posted it.

Stay tuned.

Pumo · Post by **Pumo** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 6:55 pm

I would also like to participate!

I will see which of my songs I would like to send to this project.

It was about time to get this done, isn't it Alter?
IIRC, I think you suggested about a new community album some years ago, but it never got to its fruition.

EDIT: As I'm open to suggestions and I compose in several musical genres, what would you like more from my side? Electronic or game-ish music like the ones from Pumo Mines, More Chilling and Ambiental like the ones from my 'Square Sky-To the Meadow' album, or New Age-Ethno fusion style like the ones from my Greatest Odyssey project or like my 'Leaves on the Stream' song?

Or can I submit more than one song?

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Mon Jul 27, 2015 7:08 pm

You can definitely submit more than one song. I'm not giving a maximum right now -- that could change later but I don't really expect it to.
Since part of the album will be put into the game some game-style songs would be nice and I'd certainly like to hear more of that from you, but really it comes down to what kind of songs you want to write. On the album itself I'll take literally anything that's musical, just like the old one did.

Martin · Post by **Martin** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:10 pm

Greetings all! Count me in

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Tue Jul 28, 2015 1:48 pm

If I can do more or less quality remix, of course I'll post it
P.S. By the way, I'm a little disappointed with the music that makes Daniel Wentz from the team Descendent Studios.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 10:24 am

Hi Martin! I'm glad to see you here!

I'm still a fan of your music

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 2:17 pm

Just submitted mine!

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 3:42 pm

So, this is the first sketch. Maybe...maybe

http://pleer.com/tracks/13422943oCXV

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Wed Jul 29, 2015 6:23 pm

Hey Sigma, is that a remix or an original song? If it's an original song wait to submit until it's in its final state, it would be too easy for me to mistake one of your drafts for a final song and put that on the album instead of the one you wanted.

I can't accept a remix yet because that would be copyright infringement. I need you to wait until a few other people have submitted songs so you can pick one of those songs to remix and I can get them to send you remix stems. And what you posted certainly doesn't sound like a remix of Issac's song, which is the first and only submission right now...

As well, like I said in my second post I can only accept songs that are sent to me via PM with the title "dca2 song submission". It would be too easy for ones submitted in the thread to get buried in a mountain of other replies and if I lost the downloaded file somehow I wouldn't be able to find them again. Besides I don't want anyone to hear these until the album is done. More anticipation that way.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 2:42 am

I conjured a little different tracks to do better )

OK.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:34 am

Was that a remix or a try at an original song?

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:00 am

This mixing. I don't do original songs 15 years. But if there is a lot of time, of course, I can do an original song.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 9:04 am

There is a lot of time.
If you want to do a remix for this project you're going to have to wait a little while, because I still need to figure out exactly how to work it without copyright infringement. I will let you know when and how you can start though, you won't need to worry about that.

If you want to try an original song, you certainly have enough time, I can't see the end date for this coming any sooner than 8 or 9 months. More likely a year. Want to give it a lot of time cuz this community can be a bit slow to react and I want this to be bigger than the last one.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:01 pm

because I still need to figure out exactly how to work it without copyright infringement

Maybe you can solve this problem here.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 12:09 pm

Nah, that doesn't work with my idea.
I think it would fit better into the album if you remixed one of the songs that somebody else wrote for the album.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:02 pm

Right now I can do a remix, for example, the song Madonna. For our album. You want to say that Madonna can make a claim for a non-commercial product?

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 7:26 pm

No the thing is, I still want the album to be songs that don't have versions anywhere else.
I understand what you mean but it doesn't fit the album.

I'm not sure how to explain my idea in a way that translates properly.

But a remix of a song from somebody else's music wouldn't be acceptable because it's not original to this album.
For this to work you're going to have to wait until the album has got a few submissions, maybe by then I'll be able to explain it in a way that translates. In the meantime just wait. I'll let you know.

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:18 pm

The thing is, I already know what the original song I can do. In fact, it will again be a mix of samples ))) Oh well. If I understand you correctly, this album is more important self-expression than quality. Right? It can be done... It will be a kindergarten, but it will be pure creativity

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Thu Jul 30, 2015 8:25 pm

I have something in mind for you but since I can't seem to explain it to you directly I need you to wait and see. It's not possible to do it right now, and cluttering up the thread with more discussion about it isn't helping.
If you want to write an original track in the meantime go for it, I'd love to hear it and I'd love to put it on the album. But if you're wanting to do a remix for I need you to wait until I say so, and again, since I can't seem to explain why in a way that translates understandably I just need you to trust me. I have a plan.

I think this discussion has gone far enough, so this is my final word on the matter. And I am the one in charge of this.
... ...

Time for some more people to sign up! Come on, people (and other monsters).

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:01 pm

I'm probably going to write another this weekend

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Fri Jul 31, 2015 8:20 pm

Awesome.
Can you make sure the title of your PM is "dca2 song submission" this time? It will help me if something happens to the song files in the meantime (and considering how long this will take that's likely), because if all the PMs have the same title I just hit search and come up with all the submissions. Otherwise I might miss something if I had to replace things.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 9:45 am

Sigma, my phone thinks this is your album art for your song
http://i.imgur.com/O6IHwB7.png

sigma · Post by **sigma** » Mon Aug 03, 2015 11:13 am

http://pikbox.ru/img/18/20150803211125848_3.jpg

LightWolf · Post by **LightWolf** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 2:53 pm

You said WAVs?
I might be able to whip something up in ACID 2.0...

P.S. Is there a minimum/maximum song length?
P.P.S. What is "mastering" a track?

P.P.P.S.(

) Why not accept MIDIs? They're the format that Descent uses, after all...

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 4:58 pm

Because this is an album that will go on peoples' phones, mp3 players, and so on and those can't play midi files because midi is a data format, not an audio format. This is more than just a soundtrack.
Besides Descent doesn't just play midis anymore. Both Rebirth and D2X-XL support the ogg format so Descent 1 1/2 needs a "pseudo-redbook" soundtrack as well as the midis it's already got. After all, the mission is trying to do things Descent did, and CD audio soundtracks are a thing Descent did.

There's no maximum song length. So long as you actually write the track and it's in wav or another high-quality audio format (if in doubt, use wav, even if you can't get the ID3 tags on it -- audio quality is more important and if you follow the submission instructions I'll be able to tag it myself) then it'll be going in!

The first Descent Community Album ended with a song that clocked in over 15 minutes, so I don't think it would be a good thing to set a maximum.
Mastering is that thing where you compress your final mix of the song to equalize its volume level. There's a good article on it here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Audio_mastering... pay particular attention to the "process" section to figure out how these things are processed.

If you can't do that yourself mix the song as close as you can get to the way you want it to sound post-master and send me a wav file that's rendered at a low volume so it has no clipping; only then can I work my studio-engineer magic on it.
And if you don't know what clipping is you'd better read some more wikipedia articles on sound and music design before you start. Clipping and unintentional distortion would be one of those "very good reasons" to reject a track.

LightWolf · Post by **LightWolf** » Tue Aug 04, 2015 9:53 pm

Just found a good WAV site called AudioSauna (link bypasses home page and goes straight to the studio). Making my first thingy there.

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 8:23 am

An online DAW... Nice find!
Good luck! Make sure you save a copy in case I do need you to go back and get rid of clipping or something like that.

Isaac · Post by **Isaac** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 8:39 am

Update: I'm working on my second song, but it's taking long because I'm experimenting with something new

LightWolf · Post by **LightWolf** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 9:43 am

Alter-Fox wrote:An online DAW... Nice find!

I just searched up "Free online WAV composer"

Alter-Fox wrote:Good luck! Make sure you save a copy in case I do need you to go back and get rid of clipping or something like that.

I did. It's still very much WIP, so...

Alter-Fox · Post by **Alter-Fox** » Wed Aug 05, 2015 11:46 am

Yeah, it would just be a shame to have to not include your track because you only rendered the wav file. And I'm not sure how an online DAW would handle project files.