Over the last two months I’ve been submitting my music to OurStage, which is a monthly music and video contest. Artists can submit tunes in about 30 genres, then users go to the site, listen to randomly-selected song pairs, and pick which ones they like more. Over the course of the month, the numbers get whittled down until only the #1 tracks of each genre remain. Genre winners get $100, and the overall highest rated song of any genre gets a whopping $5,000. Awesome idea for a site.

I was very happy to see that my song “Breathing You In” topped the Techno/Club/Dance genre at #1, with “Mindbender” at #2. My girlfriend (and vocalist) Jillian Goldin scored #1 in New Age/World with “Hajime”, and fellow OC ReMixer sgx was #1 in Electronic with “Coactive (Over My Shoulder Mix)”.

In the end, Jill actually came in #1 in the entire contest, out of 15,000 entries, winning the $5k grand prize! Needless to say, I’m very happy for her. But sgx and I also did well, with our tracks coming in at #4 and #3, respectively. We all entered again this month so hopefully we’ll make it to the finals this time, too. A huge thank you for ANYONE that helped vote for our songs in March, and anyone who is helping this month. People like you make being a musician truly worth it.

As a token of my appreciation, here’s a free, full-length track off an upcoming album…

Nimbus - MP3 Download

Enjoy!

A little over a month ago I saw a contest posted at Squaresound.com, an unofficial hub for all music Square-related. Contestants were invited to remix any Nobuo Uematsu track for the chance at winning some nice concert tickets. I went through and scrapped three sketches before I finally arrived on an idea I liked, and submitted it twenty minutes before the contest deadline. So, seeing this post on the front page of Squaresound was definitely a pleasant surprise:

“All the judging reports are in, and we have a winner of our Tribute to Nobuo Uematsu Arrangement Competition! With an impressive combined score of 96.22% from our judges for his Final Fantasy VI medley entitled “Dirt Devil,” Andrew Aversa is our winner! Congratulations Andrew!

For his efforts, Andrew will receive two free VIP tickets to the upcoming Distant Worlds: Music from Final Fantasy concert in Chicago, Illinois on March 1, 2008. These tickets include prime seats at the concert, a free program and concert CD, and the ability to attend an exclusive meet-and-greet with Nobuo Uematsu following the performance. He’ll also receive a copy of the OverClocked ReMix fan album Final Fantasy VII: Voices of the Lifestream.“

OK, so getting a copy of my own album is pretty funny, but this contest has turned out to be an awesome experience. With 52 other contestants, I’m sure things were really close - I loved the runner-up entries, personally. Kenley Kristofferson of the Into the Score podcast had the second place spot
with an awesome Final Fantasy VI big band arrangement, which I was happy to see since he’s a great guy and a real champion of video game music as legitimate art.

Anyway, despite the distance, I’ll be heading to the Distant Worlds concert in two weeks with Jillian Goldin and I think we’re both going to be reduced to fanboy and fangirl (respectively) when we get to meet Uematsu after the show. I’ll let y’all know how it goes!

(Oh, and you can download the winning remix right here.)

I’ve been on a lot of social networking and music sites, but one I’ve discovered recently has caught my attention. It’s called OurStage and it revolves around a monthly contest system where fans vote on music and videos to see which songs and videos are best in their respective categories, and best overall for the month.

So how does it work, exactly? There are a number of categories and artists can submit up to two songs per category per month. Then, as a listener, you simply click the “Judge” button, select a category, and listen to a pair of songs at a time. Once you’ve listened to at least 15 seconds of each (the more, the better - to be fair) you decide which of the two you like more, and by how much. There’s an option if you think they are just as good, too. It’s a really simple process that works well; because you are presented with randomized song pairs it’s hard for artists to unfairly “game” the system.

If you’re interested in checking out the Electronic category, where I’ve entered some music, check out the banner below. Judging is actually really fun.. I spent awhile in the “World” category, myself.

I received lots of awesome submissions for my remix contest (see previous post) and believe me, it was very difficult to pick the winners! However, after some careful thought, I’ve decided. They are…

* Big Giant Circles (Jimmy Hinson) from the USA, remixing Mindbender
* Ellywu2 (Carpet Monster) from the UK, remixing Warhead

Congratulations to both of them! However there were so many great tracks that I felt it necessary to pick some honorable mentions as well.

* AnotherSoundscape (Sweden) - Mindbender
* Phrakture (Canada) - Mindbender
* Sidel (Russia) - Warhead
* Skrypnyk (Canada) - Warhead

You can check out the winning entries right here.

Thanks to everyone that entered - remember, you’re free to share your tracks and continue using the remix components as long as I’m credited.

You may have already heard, as word of this contest is spreading from forum posts and my newsletter mailing, but here’s the lowdown for anyone that missed it; I’m holding a remix contest for two tracks off Antigravity, “Mindbender” and “Warhead”. Remixes containing all the audio elements are available to the public, and the best two remixes sent to me (admin at zirconstudios dot com) by Feb 1, 2008 will be featured on my next album, and the winning producer(s) will get a cut of the sales. You can pick up the packs and original songs here:

Warhead (original ver)
Warhead Remix Pack
Mindbender (original ver)
Mindbender Remix Pack

You can use as much or as little of the audio content from the packs as you want. You can change the style, tempo, key signature, rhythms, melodies, chords, add your own material, etc… provided that the end result still sounds like a remix of either of these two songs! If a layperson can’t make out any real connection between your mix and the original, then you’ve probably gone a bit too far, but you still have a lot of creative leeway.

Please note that ANYONE can use the remix packs and create their own tracks to release to the public, even outside the contest. As long as there’s no commercial interest involved (w/o my explicit permission) and I’m credited as the original artist, you are welcome to distribute your own mixes and arrangements as you please.

In addition, I also have over $500 in prizes available to winning producer(s)! They include the awesome Zebra 2 soft synth, by u-he, as well as my mastering tool of choice T-Racks (boxed plugin edition)! The latter is produced by IK Multimedia and distributed by eSoundz, two excellent companies. I wouldn’t have these tools available if I didn’t absolutely love ‘em so even if you don’t win the contest, check out the plugs regardless.

All the latest information and further details are available here: OCReMix contest thread. The contest is also posted at:

KVRAudio
Nu Skool Breaks
Reeemix
Laptop Rockers

Have fun, and happy remixing!