LithoJazzoSphere Roulette V1: Variety & Reciprocity (Post-Roulette Playlist)

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Back in town, have some things to sort out first, but I'm gonna get back to working on the writeups as soon as I can. 

[ariich]

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Sorry, everyone, this has just not been my month.  Apparently I contracted something else while out of town, and I've just been completely zapped the last few days.  I'm hopefully starting to recover, but still have barely any energy, and I feel like this round is getting stale.  I'm just going to take this as an exercise in concision and finish up abbreviated versions of the writeups and post them tomorrow.  Here are the filled-out impressions in the meantime. 

Round 8 Early Impressions:

1:  SoundscapeMN - Eldren - They're not kidding about the title, are they?  I was not anticipating that ending. 

2:  Elite - Boards of Canada - There some interesting textural parts here, but I'm not sure there's enough memorable melodic content for me. 

3:  twosuitluke - Omar Rodriguez-López - I'm impressed at this artist's stylistic range, but years later, the vocals still aren't doing much for me. 

4:  Evermind - Peter Heppner - I dig the vibe, but I wonder if it's a bit too sparse and simple. 

5:  Buddyhunter1 - IAMTHEKIDYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN - Yep, I see what you mean about the similarity.  It actually does a few things better than my song, though a few others not as well. 

6:  Crow - GUNSHIP - Wow, the layers, the dynamics, the [redacted], easily your best entry yet.  I don't know why I hadn't already listened to this dozens of times before. 

7:  Tomislav95 - Archive - I'm not sure the last minute or two are enough payoff.  It's on the subtle side for me, and it seemed to drag before the drums entered. 

8:  Nachtmerrie - Kosheen - This is pretty straightforward, but really hits some nostalgic vibes for me, even though I don't think I've heard it before. 

9:  Stadler - Butthole Surfers - It seems like you probably read my writeup from last round and tried to fix what didn't work from the last song, but I'm not sure the different balance of elements worked on this one either.  It probably feels like trying to play Wac-A-Mole. 

10:  Sacul - The Black Queen - I love when opposite styles meet together, such as this being almost industrial pop, and what a fantastic arrangement of percussive elements. 

11:  TAC - Innellea - You used the Spotify similar artist radio station trick you threatened to do in an earlier round, didn't you?  :-) 

12:  HOF - Anthonie Tonnon - This might be too happy for me, and I'm not sure I'm sold on the melody, but the last minute unexpectedly picks up steam, and the last half-minute definitely helps. 

13:  Tomislav95 - Archive - It became surprisingly more energetic in the last couple minutes, but the vocals there might be a bit repetitive, and despite the theme of this round, live drums might have suited it better. 

14:  Puppies_On_Acid - Slushii - I'm not sure whether this is a chopped up vocal sample or a synth patch, but it's a pretty intriguing sound. 

15:  VMadera00 - Bonobo - That's some seriously cool-sounding bass thump.  I think this is the best thing you've sent yet. 

16:  Lethean - Riverside - This feels like an extended intro to another song, and though [redacted] certainly helps out, this might be too minimalistic for me. 

17:  ariich - Feed Me - I've always been surprised how rare true synth solos are in electronic music, so I'm glad to find one here. 

18:  soupytwist - Bring Me The Horizon - I wasn't sure what to expect based on this artist's early work, so I was pleasantly surprised that something useful came out of the acquisition last week. 

[TAC]

Nothing like an electric round if you're lacking energy. 

[TAC]

Litho, have you given this round extra listens, considering its length? How would you rate this round overall? Is my song the worst?

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Probably a bit more, though not proportionally to the timeframe it's taken.  I haven't finished crunching the numbers (and since each round is kind of graded on a curve, you can't necessarily compare to the scores of previous rounds), but this is probably the second best round so far (behind round 5), though it's possible it could numerically tie or exceed round 5 for a variety of reasons, one of which I don't want to spoil yet.  You'll find out the final judgment on yours soon enough. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

[LithoJazzoSphere]

So as I noted yesterday, these are going to be abbreviated writeups this time with less detail than normal, which I guess is its own challenge in a way. 

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Stadler - Butthole Surfers - "Pepper"

Early Impression - "It seems like you probably read my writeup from last round and tried to fix what didn't work from the last song, but I'm not sure the different balance of elements worked on this one either.  It probably feels like trying to play Wac-A-Mole."

I don't remember consciously listening to them before (the name always kind of put me off, and I'm not usually big on humor in music, although I imagine Beavis & Butt-Head had a field day with them back then on MTV), but this song sounded vaguely familiar.  I'll bet it was played at some point or another in the late 90s/early 00s when I listened to more mainstream rock radio. 

As noted in the impression, it has a bit of the feel of the Replicants' tune you sent in the past round, with the tremolo guitar and swirling leads, but a bit more controlled, and now with a beat.  Those leads and some of the synth ornamentation is kind of cool, on the bright side.  But I'm not sure what to make of the vocals, mostly in the verses.  They have this odd quality of being halfway-inbetween a conventional hip-hop flow and a spoken word monologue.  In the monotone delivery there's a snarky apathy to them that I think is just kind of lost on me. 

Score:  6.75/10

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twosuitluke - Omar Rodriguez-López - "Sophia As Well"

Early Impression - "I'm impressed at this artist's stylistic range, but years later, the vocals still aren't doing much for me."

I've never been able to quite get into The Mars Volta, though admittedly I haven't tried very hard in awhile now.  Inexplicably I love "Eriatarka" and listen to that song occasionally, but nothing else of the limited amount I've sampled has stuck with me.  I mistakenly assumed that Omar was TMV's lead vocalist, and this was just a more subdued performance.  I now see that Cedric is actually TMV's vocalist.  Regardless though, I just find the vocals more on the bland side for my tastes, and the falsetto range bits sound a little off.  Some of the synth work is pleasant (the icy piano-ish doubling in the bridge is particularly notable), and there are some striking sudden stop transitions in spots, but in the end nothing about it quite grabs my attention enough.  He seems extraordinarily prolific, so I imagine somewhere in his discography there is surely music I would love more though. 

Score:  7/10

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Elite - Boards of Canada - "Dayvan Cowboy"

Early Impression - "There some interesting textural parts here, but I'm not sure there's enough memorable melodic content for me."

There are a handful of songs from them I've really enjoyed over the years, and I've heard a few albums, but I've never really fully gotten into them like a lot of people have.  Individually, there is some interesting sonic manipulation going on with the loops, tremolo guitar, soundscapey effects and such which is nice, but it just doesn't quite all come together.  There ultimately isn't enough melody that sticks with me to make it more than background music, and it's a touch repetitive. 

Score: 7/10

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Tomislav95 - Archive - "Bullets"

Early Impression - "It became surprisingly more energetic in the last couple minutes, but the vocals there might be a bit repetitive, and despite the theme of this round, live drums might have suited it better."

It was fascinating to discover this was the song for a trailer for the game Cyberpunk 2077.  I'm not really a gamer anymore, but I've watched a bit of some playthroughs of the game since I like the cyberpunk theme for films and such, loving Blade Runner and the like.  It doesn't seem to fit the world as much as I'd have expected though.  The filtered piano and synthetic percussion in the first half are intriguing, but the vocals are a bit overly repetitive and without enough flavor, and it feels like a live drum performance in the second half would have suited it better, the synthetic ones just seem to dissipate the energy that it's trying to build. 

Score:  7/10

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Lethean - Riverside - "Night Session Part Two"

Early Impression - "This feels like an extended intro to another song, and though [redacted] certainly helps out, this might be too minimalistic for me."

Between this and Lunatic Soul I suppose this is expanding my view of what Mariusz and co. are capable of.  I've moderately enjoyed the Riverside I've heard so far, but they haven't really clicked yet.  Some of the ideas here are quite enjoyable, particularly the saxophone playing (though there's not nearly enough of it given the lengthy runtime), and the bits of mandolin in spots.  But in the final analysis it really just has the feel of an overly extended ambient intro track that drags too much to rise above being musical wallpaper for me on its own, and without the saxophone bits would probably be half a point lower. 

Score:  7.25/10

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HOF - Anthonie Tonnon - "When I'm Wrong"

Early Impression - "This might be too happy for me, and I'm not sure I'm sold on the melody, but the last minute unexpectedly picks up steam, and the last half-minute definitely helps."

You'd sent a few songs from him in other roulettes which I'd given a cursory listen to, although I don't recall too much about them.  This has an interesting feel, almost like 80s Genesis/Phil Collins, with Kiwi flair.  There's just not quite enough payoff for me at the end though.  There are a lot of layers going on there, but it seems lacking in rhythmic propulsion to generate an effective enough climax.  The chamber strings at the very end were a pleasant surprise though.  Major key-oriented songs are probably always going to be a challenge for me.  Sometimes they work, like the second half of Sweet Billy Pilgrim last round, but they just don't always resonate with me as much.  I also often hate that this is sometimes a factor, but I can't control it, that certain song keys require the song to work more to make me love it. 

Score:  7.25/10

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senecadawg2 - Lunatic Soul - "Cold"

Early Impression - "I'm not sure the last minute or two are enough payoff.  It's on the subtle side for me, and it seemed to drag before the drums entered."

This is certainly a useful round for adding to my knowledge of the variety and capabilities of a number of artists, now with a Riverside extracurricular project.  That early guitar riff reminds me of Depeche Mode's "Dream On".  Mariusz has a pretty cool voice, and I want to like this song more than I do.  I guess it just feels overly long for the level it builds to by the end.  There's some tasty drumming there for sure, and some delightful synth textures and ambiance, especially including the first verse bass line and the effect over the vocals, but just not quite enough to really hook me into the song. 

Score:  7.25/10

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Puppies_On_Acid - Slushii - "Sapient Dreams"

Early Impression - "I'm not sure whether this is a chopped up vocal sample or a synth patch, but it's a pretty intriguing sound."

In ways this is a more intriguing version of "No One Is Looking At U" from Nicolas Jaar from an earlier round, in using what I'm supposing are vocal samples (possibly vocaloid or something like that) and experimenting with them rhythmically and texturally.  There's not quite enough to latch onto to compete with the stronger songs this round, but it's certainly listenable and engaging enough and has a pretty nice drum loop that is sort of trap-like, but more dynamic. 

Score:  7.5/10

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ariich - Feed Me - "Lonely Mountain"

Early Impression - "I've always been surprised how rare true synth solos are in electronic music, so I'm glad to find one here."

I'm quite familiar with his track "One Click Headshot", which has a really cool groove, but is spoiled with a quite annoying and repetitive dialogue sample.  Never checked out anything else though.  There is quite a piquant mixture of things here.  Some time ago I used to post on the Jordan Rudess forum, and other members were always releasing songs with these dazzling synth leads, and this is a bit reminiscent of those.  A bit more dubstepy and mainstream-ish of course, but pretty fun regardless.  As many synth melodies as you can find in electronic music, I don't understand why it's exceptionally rare to find them with the creativity and virtuosity of prog rock-style synth leads, but it's here and certainly a treat.  This almost might be the first time I've heard an alarm clock incorporated as an offbeat accent. 

Score:  7.75

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Buddyhunter1 - IAMTHEKIDYOUKNOWWHATIMEAN - "We Love You Celestial"

Early Impression - "Yep, I see what you mean about the similarity.  It actually does a few things better than my song, though a few others not as well."

This is a pretty solid tune.  It doesn't have quite the pizzazz or richness of "Into Dark" (and I have a decade and a half of fondness for Havnevik's music also giving an unfair advantage), but there some rather splendid synth tones and arrangements here.  The grittiness of the opening tone and the layers of lead lines and vocals near the ending are especially nice.  One of disadvantages sometimes though of a song having some more obvious similarities to my sample ones is that it makes their flaws a bit more apparent.  The melodic choices are more conventional, the song transitions don't pop as much, it's not as lush, and the drum programming is excessively blocky.  This is the sort of song where I wonder if it would have kicked up a notch if the tempo had gone into double-time at a point or two. 

Score:  7.75/10

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soupytwist - Bring Me the Horizon - "nihilist blues"

Early Impression - "I wasn't sure what to expect based on this artist's early work, so I was pleasantly surprised that something useful came out of the acquisition last week."

I don't know if you quite got what I was hinting at with the impression, but Elon Musk's relationship with Grimes is one of the more bizarre happenings in the music world for me, and possibly proof we're living in some kind of simulation.  Regardless, I was pretty hooked on a lot of her music in the past decade, more for the songwriting and synthesizer work than her vocals, but still, this was serendipitous as a guest appearance.  And my limited exposure to BMTH's early work was hard to parse, because while they had some fantastic production work (particularly on the guitar tones) courtesy of going to Frederik Nordström, who has produced many of my favorite metal albums, I didn't really like their early vocal style at all, and metalcore/deathcore in general for me is rather spotty in terms of its appeal to me. 

Anyway, I'd heard they'd radically changed their style, so I had no idea what I'd be getting into here.  It's certainly more compelling than I expected.  I'm not so much into the falsetto range vocals later on and would have preferred Grimes just take all those lines as well, but this has pretty catchy refrain, a nice build, and some driving and interesting rhythmic propulsion and fills particularly by the end for a four-on-the-floor number, and that bass timbre leading into the first verse is quite tasty. 

Score:  7.75

[LithoJazzoSphere]

SoundscapeMN - Eldren - "Apocalypse Town"

Early Impression - "They're not kidding about the title, are they?  I was not anticipating that ending."

This is the only song in the round to pick up on the otherwordly lydian modal vibe of "Into Dark", though perhaps it was subconscious here.  It has a great feel in general though, and is also fun to watch a live version of, which while not quite as good, is always intriguing to see how much of the instrumentation a band can pull off live.  The funky guitar comping and violin lines are also flavorous.  I'm not crazy about the main lead vocal timbre, but there are enough layers and harmonies that they don't bug me as much as I was initially worried they might.  Finally, the sudden heaviness and then literally apocalyptic ending were also unexpected and notable. 

Score:  8/10

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TAC - Innellea - "Red Thread"

Early Impression - "You used the Spotify similar artist radio station trick you threatened to do in an earlier round, didn't you?  :-)"

Ok, so Buddy's a Boston native, isn't he?  I think I'm gonna have to task him with checking out the local clubs there to make sure you're not moonlighting as a DJ somewhere. :-)  This is just a really cool tune to pick out of the ether in what I'm guessing is a few minutes/hours of listening at most.  Maybe there's hope for you in rock/metal styles after all. ;-)  I especially like the rhythmic interplay of the evolving triplet synth line overlay over the more static 4/4 beat, which creates an engaging tension throughout, and the vocals from Nala are fairly captivating.  Some of the synth patches are really rich texturally, and it's gratifying to hear how they shift over time, which is one thing that I find electronic music does far better than most rock-based songs do. 

Score:  8.5/10

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Evermind - Peter Heppner - "A Love Divine"

Early Impression - "I dig the vibe, but I wonder if it's a bit too sparse and simple."

This is almost certainly the song that grew on me the most this round.  Something seemed oddly familiar about the vocals, and finding out this is the solo project of Wolfsheim's vocalist made the light bulb in my head go off, because they did come to mind in the initial listens before I did any research to find out who he is.  I've heard more of Wolfsheim's music than I've gotten around to rating on RYM, so this will probably help expedite that as well. 

I had them softly banned anyway, because I've enjoyed what I've heard enough that I might get back around to them at some point, but like other artists in previous rounds, sometimes a nudge like this to circumvent it is just what I need.  Peter has a rather intoxicating and unique vocal style, and the spooky vibes from the thermin-ish sine wave synth patches are delightful. 

Score:  8.5/10

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Vmadera00 - Bonobo - "The Keeper"

Early Impression - "That's some seriously cool-sounding bass thump.  I think this is the best thing you've sent yet."

One of the more daunting things about exploring electronic music, even for as long and how much time I've spent on it, is how many different versions of songs there often are, frequently with a remix being a superior and sometimes definitive version.  The former seems to be the case here.  I listened to the original for comparison, and it's a rather nice song that also would have scored well, but this adds some extra dimension and bravura.  There are stellar vocals from Andreya with some panache in how the held reverb is applied to them, excellently incorporated acoustic guitar, and the bass drum has such a satisfying impact to it. 

Score:  8.75/10

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Nachtmerrie - Kosheen - "Catch"

Early Impression - "This is pretty straightforward, but really hits some nostalgic vibes for me, even though I don't think I've heard it before."

Retrospectively the release year for this makes sense, because it was just a little before the time I started more frequently exploring these types of songs, though I'm pretty sure I haven't heard it before.  It's certainly one of the least explorative songs of the round, but has infectious melodies and vocals, and so many flavorful layers of synth timbres, particularly the one that ends the song, which is reminiscent of some of the patches on my Virus TI keyboard.  It's also probably another example of my irrepressible general preference for certain song keys giving it a bit of a boost, sometimes I just can't help it. 

My only slight complaint is that the bass drum is mixed a bit too low, though it hardly holds it back.  If this song had been released a decade later I imagine they'd have just given it a straight four-on-the-floor pattern (or a remix with one would have been the more popular version), which can be fun for driving a song at times, but I generally prefer more interesting and dynamic rhythmic patterns that songs like this one and others this round have. 

Score:  8.75/10

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Sacul - The Black Queen - "Ice To Never"

Early Impression - "I love when opposite styles meet together, such as this being almost industrial pop, and what a fantastic arrangement of percussive elements."

Unlike Peter Heppner, I did not initially recognize the voice here.  I saw The Dillinger Escape Plan awhile back on Gigantour long before I was ready for them - the intensity of their live show was certainly something to behold, though I didn't "get it" at the time.  They were a big deal for most of the music community it seemed, but the chaos of the mathcore sound has always been mostly lost on me.  Nevertheless, I did buy a couple of their CDs at the time to try and see what other people saw in them.  I was unable to, but the much more melodic "Unretrofied" did stick with me some, and I still occasionally cue that one up, so maybe that subtly prepared me for this round.  The other members have worked in some capacity with Nine Inch Nails, it seems Trent always had an ear for working with talented synthesists. 

So, this just hits all the right notes and beats for me.  That percussive loop is spellbinding, and it has these industrial-derived elements that are a true joy to hear, as well as some of the Depeche Mode-ish piano layers.  And wow, Greg turns out to have a spectacular voice for this kind of music.  I did not see that coming.  Apparently he's heavily influenced by soul vocalists, which it not something I would have anticipated based on the limited TDEP I've heard, but it really works wonders here.  There's a pitch-shifted vocal section later on I don't love, but it's just enough in the background and the song does everything else so well that I don't really care.  Without it I'd almost be tempted to give the first 9.25. 

Score:  9/10

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Crow - GUNSHIP - "Dark All Day"

Early Impression - "Wow, the layers, the dynamics, the [redacted], easily your best entry yet.  I don't know why I hadn't already listened to this dozens of times before."

Oh wait, here it is.  Maybe I've been too stingy with my scores, wondering when something would deserve over a 9.  I think it's time, this being the first song to push me over the edge to give one out.  Turns out Buddy was right.  As I said in my PM, I've heard this song a couple times, and am kind of perplexed why it's not already a song I'd listened to heavily.  I'd flagged it as interesting the first time I heard it, and I can't remember now whether it was listening to Indiana's solo album that prompted me to give it a second go, or vice versa, but it hadn't quite connected yet.  I'd also heard GUNSHIP's debut album and found it less entrancing than most of their peers in the synthwave scene, so that may have been part of a mental block for me. 

This just executes everything at a phenomenal level.  The intrigue of the opening synth line, the nocturnal moody vibe, the rapturous atmospheric synth patches, the dynamics of the shifts between normal and cut time, the vocal arrangements.  People who actually lived through more of the 80s than I did probably find the Simmons toms dated and vexing, but I enjoy them in tasteful amounts like they are here and in synthwave in general.  And I especially love how well the saxophone is incorporated regularly, rather than just for a token solo or repeated melody line like many other songs do.  It sounds like a fascinating comeback story for Tim, a guy that for many years was lost to history and had just become a meme. 

Score:  9.25/10

Watch out everyone, The Crow is coming for your scores. 

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Round 8 Scores:

Crow.......................................  9.25
Sacul.....................................  9
Nachtmerrie..........................  8.75
Vmadera00..........................  8.75
Evermind...........................  8.5
TAC.................................  8.5
SoundscapeMN................  8
ariich............................  7.75
Buddyhunter1...............  7.75
soupytwist...................  7.75
Puppies_On_Acid.........  7.5
HOF...........................  7.25
Lethean....................  7.25
senecadawg2...........  7.25
Elite......................  7
Tomislav95...........  7
twosuitluke.........  7
Stadler..............  6.75

Current Cumulative Standings (after 8 rounds):

SoundscapeMN ---------------- 65.75
Nachtmerrie -------------------- 65.5
TAC ------------------------------- 65
Evermind -------------------------- 64.75
ariich -------------------------------- 63.75
soupytwist ---------------------------- 63.25
HOF ------------------------------------- 62.75
Lethean ---------------------------------- 62.5
senecadawg2 ----------------------------- 61.75
Sacul --------------------------------------- 61
Vmadera00 ------------------------------- 60.5
Stadler ---------------------------------- 59.75
Tomislav95 ---------------------------- 59.5
Puppies_On_Acid ------------------- 58.75
twosuitluke ------------------------ 58.75
Buddyhunter1 ------------------- 58.5
Elite ----------------------------- 58.25
Crow --------------------------- 55.5
romdrums -------------------- 14.25 (had to drop out after the second round)

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Round Score Breakdown:

ariich:  7.75 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 8.25 + 8 + 8 + 9 + 7.75 = 63.75
Buddyhunter1:  7.5 + 6.5 + 7.75 + 7 + 8 + 7 + 7 + 7.75 = 58.5
Crow:  6 + 6.75 + 7 + 7.5 + 7 + 5 + 7 + 9.25 = 55.5
Elite:  6.5 + 7.5 + 6.75 + 8.5 + 7.25 + 6.75 + 8 + 7 = 58.25
Evermind:  7.75 + 7.5 + 8.25 + 7.75 + 8.75 + 8.25 + 8 + 8.5 = 64.75
HOF:  9 + 9 + 6.5 + 7.25 + 8.5 + 7 + 8.25 + 7.25 = 62.75
Lethean:  7.75 + 8.25 + 7.5 + 7 + 8.25 + 8.25 + 8.25 + 7.25 = 62.5
Nachtmerrie:  8.25 + 9 + 6.75 + 9 + 7.75 + 8 + 8 + 8.75 = 65.5
Puppies_On_Acid:  8 + 7 + 6.75 + 6.75 + 8 + 7.75 + 7 + 7.5 = 58.75
romdrums:  7.25 + 7 + x + x + x + x + x + x = 14.25
Sacul:  7.25 + 8.75 + 6 + 7.75 + 7.25 + 6.75 + 8.25 + 9 = 61
senecadawg2:  8 + 7 + 8.5 + 6.75 + 8.25 + 8 + 8 + 7.25 = 61.75
SoundscapeMN:  8 + 8.75 + 8.75 + 8.5 + 8.75 + 7 + 8 + 8 = 65.75
soupytwist:  6.5 + 6.75 + 9 + 8.75 + 8 + 8.25 + 8.25 + 7.75 = 63.25
Stadler:  8.5 + 7.5 + 7 + 7 + 8.75 + 7.5 + 6.75 + 6.75 = 59.75
TAC:  8.25 + 8.25 + 8.75 + 7.5 + 7.25 + 7.5 + 9 + 8.5 = 65
Tomislav95:  7 + 8.25 + 7.25 + 7 + 7.5 + 7.5 + 8 + 7 = 59.5
twosuitluke:  7.5 + 8.25 + 5.5 + 7.5 + 8.25 + 7 + 7.75 + 7 = 58.75
Vmadera00:  7.25 + 7.75 + 8 + 6.75 + 7 + 7.75 + 7.25 + 8.75 = 60.5

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Round 9 is an open round again, up to 15 minutes of music from one artist.  If you can, send me both Youtube and Spotify links for your song.  The Youtube link is so I can make my own playlist and rip the audio.  The Spotify link is for the group playlist.  If you can't or don't find both links I will find them myself, but the more of you that find both, the less extra work I have to do.

I'll also reveal more details about round 10 once I have all the submissions for round 9 so you can start preparing for it. 

[TAC]

TAC - Innellea - "Red Thread"

Early Impression - "You used the Spotify similar artist radio station trick you threatened to do in an earlier round, didn't you?  :-)"

Ok, so Buddy's a Boston native, isn't he?  I think I'm gonna have to task him with checking out the local clubs there to make sure you're not moonlighting as a DJ somewhere. :-)  This is just a really cool tune to pick out of the ether in what I'm guessing is a few minutes/hours of listening at most.  Maybe there's hope for you in rock/metal styles after all. ;-)  I especially like the rhythmic interplay of the evolving triplet synth line overlay over the more static 4/4 beat, which creates an engaging tension throughout, and the vocals from Nala are fairly captivating.  Some of the synth patches are really rich texturally, and it's gratifying to hear how they shift over time, which is one thing that I find electronic music does far better than most rock-based songs do. 

Score:  8.5/10

[Buddyhunter1]

TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now?

[LithoJazzoSphere]

He also got a higher score than Elite in the jazz round.      No metal at all this time though, now that's spooky...  Tim has to be some kind of CIA psyop, too much about him just doesn't add up. 

[TAC]

[Lonk]

Vmadera00 - Bonobo - "The Keeper"

Early Impression - "That's some seriously cool-sounding bass thump.  I think this is the best thing you've sent yet."

One of the more daunting things about exploring electronic music, even for as long and how much time I've spent on it, is how many different versions of songs there often are, frequently with a remix being a superior and sometimes definitive version.  The former seems to be the case here.  I listened to the original for comparison, and it's a rather nice song that also would have scored well, but this adds some extra dimension and bravura.  There are stellar vocals from Andreya with some panache in how the held reverb is applied to them, excellently incorporated acoustic guitar, and the bass drum has such a satisfying impact to it. 

Score:  8.75/10

Glad you liked it. Goes without saying that I recommend listening to his stuff if you enjoyed this song. Not sure if you heard of Bonobo before this song, but he is a pretty talented artist. It's been a while since I saw him live, but he puts up good live shows, sometimes with a full band.

[LithoJazzoSphere]

I'd heard the name, and I've sampled so much over the years it's possible I'd heard something at some point, but not consciously that I can recall. 

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Wait, is my score 58.75 or 58.95?

[LithoJazzoSphere]

Oops.      Yeah, definitely check my math, especially this round!  Excel shouldn't make mistakes, but my addled brain definitely can. 

[Puppies_On_Acid]

Also I'm even more salty that Crow beat me to that Gunship song. As I said in the email I originally sent, it was low hanging fruit...

[Buddyhunter1]

Also I'm even more salty that Crow beat me to that Gunship song. As I said in the email I originally sent, it was low hanging fruit...

Blame Litho for not accepting double submissions like every other host.

[Crow]

highest scoring song of the roulette, still comfortably in last 
i'll figure out a submission for the next round that's suitably terrible when i get a chance i haven't even had time to work on videos or my own roulette for a few days now o o p s

[twosuitsluke]

TAC got a higher score than me in the electronic round? Honestly, can I just drop out now?

He also got a higher score than Elite in the jazz round.      No metal at all this time though, now that's spooky...  Tim has to be some kind of CIA psyop, too much about him just doesn't add up. 

What the hell?    A roulette savant, or just plain lucky?

Well, I scored just about as I expected. Doesn't look like I'm gonna be lucky to end mid table.

[Evermind]

I'm clearly doing something right in this roulette, I just need to figure out what is it

This round took so long I kinda forgot what I had planned for round 9. I'll think of something today/tomorrow.

[HOF]

That one didn't turn out too well. FWIW, while that's probably the most electronic track on the album it's not necessarily one of my favorites. A lot of the strength of the track is in the lyrics which never seems to factor in Roulette scores. I actually wouldn't have known that was in a major key if you hadn't told me. It's got more of a somber tone than I associate with major keys, but I am not a trained musician.

I should have been planning for this open round. I have an idea though. We're still doing the open round, 15 minute max, right?

[Sacul]

Hell yeah, knew you'd like it but not this much, can't complain - that whole album is excellent

[Buddyhunter1]

Sent something with more [redacted]

[senecadawg2]

I'll send no later than tomorrow. Gotta sort through a few options.

[HOF]

Sent!

[Lonk]

Will send later today.

[twosuitsluke]

It's a free for all round right?

[ariich]

Sent!

[soupytwist]

Sent something more suited to round 10.

[Lonk]

Sent something 

[Sacul]

Sent something more suited to round 10.

Same

[Evermind]

Man I'm going to take a risk here. Probably won't go well but I definitely should send this while I have the chance (it's not Beyond the Bridge).