Plus there seems to be a sort of "give and take" policy in this section. You can't just show up and expect everyone to download it without interacting with the community a bit. Reviewing others mixes will make them want to review yours. Just a pointer for ya for future reference.

Also, I don't think a lot of people browse this forum, other than of course, those of us who post our mixes here. I've had several mixes get buried after having not a single response. Just have to persevere.

I fully agree about the give and take. This is the feedback I posted on motie's thread about his mix:

I am totally diggin this mix. The tempo is perfect, talk about easy listening. This makes me want to kick it on the beach actually, with some headphones and a corona. I am not familiar with these tracks, and after breaking down all the mixes, one was missing! Nice job! Ya know it's a sweet mix when that happens.

Ok I believe the first mix was the male vocal into the dreamy female track with the dark acid baseline (approx 2:17). If that is the case, fucking awesome mix.

The second track is great, the fact that it is very attention grabbing at the beginning, and slowly mellows out towards the end.

The second mix (8:41) is well timed by phrase. The mix is in key and the transition is super smooth. I did notice a bit of floating beats at about 8:52, but otherwise very slick.

The third track is super dreamy, very nice flow, and a great transition into 4/4 as well, almost didn't even notice really.

Mix three (16:29) is subtle, and smooth. Levels are super sweet, absolutely no floating beats that I could hear. The new baseline is a nice replacement for the outgoing synths from the previous track. The kick seems a little more aggressive, so although we are getting deeper it is getting more intense too. Bring it on!!!!!

Track four is fer sure dark and mysterious, and really picks things up.

Mix four (23:33) is a little choppy, the tracks go together but seem a little out of sourts with each other. Levels great good flow, momentum maintained i thought.

Track five is awesome, super teky, kinda breaky. nice.

Mix five (28:40) is quick and pumpin. track six adds a load of rythms to track five before the mix drops out into the intro pause of track six. Bass from track five is cut kinda sharp at 28:14.

Track six is pretty pumpin, lots of busy clapps and highhats. This would be a killer track to dance to. Mix is fer sure building. This track has some serious psy elements to it, the sweeping effects, acid-line type stabs.

Mix six (33:48) is a nice side-step into breaks. I like that it is abrupt, it suits the mood fo the mix at this point to push the mix. It did sound like is was floating a bit before it dropped, but the drop was sweet.

Track seven is a perfect match to keep the intensity of the mix up, busy but deep, with a pumpin bass line keeping the kicks full. I am a sucker for messed up vocals.
Haunting ans dreamy.

Mix seven (41:24) is quite the sound scpae, a wee bit out of key, the old melody and the new sweeping pads, old melody drops out kinda quick, maybe that mix could have started sooner? It was quick and the new baseline is awesome, a refreshing sound, keeps the mix dynamic even within it's haunting depth.

Track eight is a shift in mood slightly, a little deeper, mix seems to be winding down slowly.

Well I hope like hell I got the mixes right, after all that. I am going to listen to it again, but as far as I can tell those are my thoughts!

Darvin.

It has helped my mixing big time since I have started putting in the effort to critique other mixes I hear. I am in no way ever trying to come off as someone of authority, my comments are always just my own thoughts, never ment to be taken as anything more than that.

I have found it extremely rare to find anyone else willing to do such a thing.

Anyone up for the challenge?

___________________
Darvin Knorr
Director/Promoter/DJ
www.area709.com

DJ Nokturnal
Zenon Records
www.zenonrecords.com
www.myspace.com/nokturnalispsytrance

quote:

Originally posted by mikefasssy you'll get a lot more interaction with people in this forums if they don't have to click thru to a webpage to dload a set. give a direct link next time

Agreed. Also, since your site is flash, it's a pain to navigate. I opened it, couldn't immediatlely see the link, and was annoyed. Looked at the pictures for a bit, and was annoyed when they loaded VERY slowly. Finally, i found the music and was more annoyed when i found that the music was only in streaming real player format, a very inferior format imho. I and most people won't even get that far.

BUT

all criticisms aside, i did read through the text on your website, and check I'm intrigued, you seem like a very interesting dude, with a passion for music, similar to my own.

I'm very interested in hearing your mixes, although i am not really supposed to stream stuff at work, i just might make an exception in this case.

And i red your critique of monties mix, it's very good (the critique i mean, i will have to listen to the mix) a valuable help, i'd love to have you critique one of my mixes like that.

Here's a link to my latest one:

(notice the tracklisting and direct download for lazy people)
http://tester.tranceaddict.com/foru...threadid=112639

I'd love to hear what you think about it, i didn't get all that many responses.

___________________

Visit my site Antiwar Homepage

wow
after 10 minuts of listening to "Sons of Aurora" I already have t post in here - amazing talent, haven't heared so much innovation in a long time (one needs guts to even consider mixing psy with breaks and prog!)
You gotta offer those sets as downloads


plz

___________________
"Those are my principles, if you don't like them... well, I have others.”

Holy smokes thanks TranceGiant

OK as soon as I can get it done I will have my mixes up as mp3's, not realaudio.

I am curious what you thought about the rest of that mix. That mix (Sons Of Aurora - Intersect) is based on a set my partner and I played at a summer outdoor solstice event we helped throw this summer. My father ended up passing away the week before the event, so I flew to his funeral which was on the sat and then flew back to play the event sat night. Lets just say it was an emotional set and event and weekend and yeah it was crazy.

Yes I know many would scoff at my having Xpander in that mix, it is old news, but is still THE trance track for me, it has always been the sound of passing over to the other side, and it is in that mix for my dad.

So yeah maybe more than people wanted to know but hey i think it is important to share why you play what you do, when you do, and how you do. I like to try to keep the human element in this dj thing.

That's the story behind that mix.

___________________
Darvin Knorr
Director/Promoter/DJ
www.area709.com

DJ Nokturnal
Zenon Records
www.zenonrecords.com
www.myspace.com/nokturnalispsytrance

quote:

Originally posted by JohnSmith And i red your critique of monties mix, it's very good (the critique i mean, i will have to listen to the mix) a valuable help, i'd love to have you critique one of my mixes like that. Here's a link to my latest one: (notice the tracklisting and direct download for lazy people) http://tester.tranceaddict.com/foru...threadid=112639 I'd love to hear what you think about it, i didn't get all that many responses.

I will give it a go as soon as I can, that kind of review takes time so I will do my best.

___________________
Darvin Knorr
Director/Promoter/DJ
www.area709.com

DJ Nokturnal
Zenon Records
www.zenonrecords.com
www.myspace.com/nokturnalispsytrance

Hey i finaly got a chance to listen to Sons of Aurora.
I was definatly feeling this set if i were to hear it at a party.
I really liked teh begining of this set. The opening track was a nice way to get things going. nice and laid back a bit, but sorta teasing you with whats to come. i liked the mix into the second song. it was very subtle and drawn out nicely into that nice heavy bassline which picked things up a bit and continued to tease the listener.
i really liked the mix into boileroom. i liked how the synths in the intro of boilerroom worked with the song that was mixed out of. the synths of boileroom continued the traditoin of the songs before by easing the listener in. and then when the beat came in it really picked things up.
I like how you included xpander in there. It is arguably my favorite of all trance songs. and i can really see how it would definatly be a very emotional song to spin just after your dad died. that must have been a really moving moment when you laid that track down.
on to the technicalities of the mix though, i think that the mix was slightly rushed. the synths for xpander i felt droped in a little too early. I did like break beat from boilerroom over the synths in the break down of xpander. i noticed that the breaks continued over about one of the measures when the beat from xpander droped in. so i guess if you would have saved starting xpander one more measure it would have been perfect. have it set so that the breaks of boileroom die when the beat of xpander drops back in.
the mix out of xpander was nice, it sorta wakes the listener up from that really trancy emotional feel from xpander but continues the a more "rejuvinated" vibe.
the songs later on keep the trancey feel going but give more dancey energy.
I don't want to continue comenting on every song and mix cuz this post would be super long for an hour and two min set.
but there were definatly some nice tracks on there. definatly great ones to hear out on the dance floor. normally with really harder psy/trance epic type tracks i find them tending to be kinda cheesy. but you had a very nice tracklist of songs that really kept things pumping. the mixing was very tight and nice through out. I really liked the breakdown in a the song that played around 53 minutes.
the very last mix i wasnt too fond of. there was the double beat. and the tracks didn't seem to flow into eachoter as well as some of the past mixs had (i thikn that was prolly due to the double beat clouding thigns up). I really liked teh last track tho. Whats the name of it I've heard it before. the break down was a very nice climatic way to end thigns. those vocals were awsome. I definatly love those type of vocals with the beautiful voice just belting out non coherent stuff.
I think vocals with real words normally tend to take away from songs.
most of the time the chick or dude is singing about something relaly stupid. when you don't undestrand what they are saying it adds an element of mystery and you just hear the beauty of the sound of the voice.
id definatly love it if you got the MP3s of thes sets posted on the net. I'd love to download them and listen to them whenever.
Also I'm going back to school in LA in just a few weeks and i head up the electronica department at the radio station at my school (USC) and would like to maybe play some of your sets late at nite when we don't have DJs to take spots. if thats cool with you

OK!!!

So I now have all my mixes up on my site as mp3's, here is the direct link for the Intersect mix:

http://www.area709.com/music/intersect.htm

As soon as I get back from Burning Man I will give your mix a listening to and give it some comment John Smith!

I am off to go play some trance in the desert!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

___________________
Darvin Knorr
Director/Promoter/DJ
www.area709.com

DJ Nokturnal
Zenon Records
www.zenonrecords.com
www.myspace.com/nokturnalispsytrance

Yikes, I got back from Burningman four months ago and still have replyed.

Better late than never!

___________________
Darvin Knorr
Director/Promoter/DJ
www.area709.com

DJ Nokturnal
Zenon Records
www.zenonrecords.com
www.myspace.com/nokturnalispsytrance

Last edited by Nokturnal on Dec-30-2003 at 23:00