In a few days a re-mastered reissue of Underworld’s 1994 debut album Dubnobasswithmyheadman will be released. It is one of those albums that quite much changed my interest in music. I can still vividly remember seeing a performance of the tracks from this album at a 1995 summer festival.

Music that changed my world!

I found some old tickets/programs in my memory box, including the Lowlands ’95 timetable where I got to see Underworld.

Not long after Dubnobasswithmyheadman was released I started collaborating with a local guy who produced music in the vein of System 7, DJ Shadow and Underworld. Instead of the usual distortion stompboxes I had been using for years, I was now drenching my guitar in tons of delay and reverb.

Anyway, why do I bring all this up? Well I thought it would be a nice theme for a music production contest. So this time around I would like you to:

create a track inspired by a song/album/band/artist that made a big impact on you.

For this contest you are free to use any tools to get the job done. It would be great if you could include a few words on what inspired your entry.

Note that your entry should be composed specifically for this contest!

Deadline for entering your track is November 2nd, 2014. Details on how to join here.

So what’s in it for you?

Well, I am hoping you are excited to be part of this contest for the fun of it, but if you need an incentive we have another lovely batch of prizes from our generous sponsors.

Contest prizes

The prize pool (in alphabetical order)

  • Detunized: A custom Ableton Live Bundle featuring 50 Instrument Racks from its Live pack catalog. Details here.
  • Function Loops: 3 sample packs of choice.
  • ModeAudio: 3 sound packs of choice.
  • Producer Loops: £30 GBP store credit.
  • Sample Logic: Arpology Kontakt Player-powered virtual instrument and MIDI effect.
  • Samplephonics: Dirty Modular hybrid modular virtual instrument powered by Kontakt Player.
  • Sonic Zest: Complete bundle of 20 Kontakt instruments.
  • Synapse Audio: DUNE 2 flagship synthesizer instrument.
  • Twisted Tools: Bundle of S-Layer and Ultraloop for NI Reaktor + Darkmorph sound library.
  • u-he: Plug-in of choice, a great chance to pick the new Bazille modular synth, or Diva, Zebra, Satin, etc.
  • Xfer Records: Serum, the new ‘advanced’ wavetable synthesizer that’s been making quite a buzz lately.

The top 10 winners will get to pick an item from the prize pot in order of placement; the 11th winner will be picked randomly from the remaining (non-winning) entries.

Contest rules

  • Create a musical piece inspired by a song/album/band/artist that made a big impact on you. Use any sound source or processing you like, be creative!
  • Submit your entry in mp3 format (minimum of 192kbit) along with some brief info on what/who inspired it per email to contest@rekkerd.org before Sunday November 2nd, 2014, 11:59pm CET. One entry per person is allowed, you will receive a confirmation of your submission.
  • Your entry should be composed specifically for this contest. By entering, you grant permission for your track to be published at the rekkerd.org website, through SoundCloud.
  • In order to be eligible to win, contestants are required to vote for their top 5 within a week after the contest deadline. Contestants will be contacted to submit their votes. Note: you cannot vote for your own entry.
  • Winners choose a prize from the prize pool in order of placement (1st place winner picks first, then 2nd, etc.). All prizes are granted at the discretion of rekkerd.org. Some prizes may be subject to specific conditions imposed by the sponsor (e.g. NFR licenses).

Contest rules subject to change. If you have any questions feel free to ask or comment on this post.

And the winners are…

Nov 10th, 2014: I am happy to say that all contestants received votes, and in the end it was a pretty close race for the top three winners with just a few point difference. Here are the results:

1st place winner is Steve Lisenbe with Tribute To Syd, congrats and well deserved I would say!

2nd place goes to DavidF with the fabulous Brilocage. Totally took me back to the early Ninja Tune years. Well done! Unfortunately Armin Malbertz (Missing The X Files) did not cast any votes, so 3rd place is for Boards Of Alaska with Astra. This track would not look bad on an actual BOC album if you ask me.

Places 4 through 10 go to DoctorBob, Ivan Veliky, Crystal Craft, Enoch, David Rosen, K1T, and SEE EMILY PLAY, respectively. The randomly picked winner is Stan Dart.

I will be in contact with all winners shortly to distribute the prizes.

Thanks to all for taking part in the is contest and I hope to see you again next time!