Because I've been so short on time lately, my Picks of April will go up a week late, sorry. :(

--

A quick plug, everyone check this guy out and leave some support!

sadlersongs - new to the Audio Portal as of only a few days ago, though his talent is only too obvious! Give his stuff a look if you're interested in hearing professional-quality soundtrack music.

--

Download here, and hear the original here (at the bottom of the page)!

My original intentions were to surprise you all and get Cordis to put it up on his page somehow, and then link there - but there's no easy way for it to happen really. :\ I've posted it here instead.

With this track, I wasn't aiming for production value or originality as much as I was aiming for emotional power. It's an experiment in this sense - you'll hear I cut a few corners in the process by recycling drum sounds plus a synth or two from Sleep. So if you're going to offer criticism for this one, keep that in mind.

No news with the other WIPs, but I'm going to have less and less production time as mid-April approaches, and even less for the better part of May. We'll see how that goes. :)

EDIT: I'm not actively working on any WIPs at the moment, actually. So now would be a pretty good time to make suggestions... ;D

New track up! I've uploaded a 320 of One Minute Longer (Original Mix) to Mediafire! Feel free to download, offer thoughts in a comment, or whatever you choose. :) Click here to find its folder on Mediafire and then download it from there.

The rest of this post is just another WIP update - it'll work the way it has for a while, I'll go over songs that I've been working on and skip those that haven't gotten anywhere recently!

The arrangement of Time For Morning is finished - all that's left to do is polish it all, and on Liralei's part, get some good recordings done! I'm hoping to be sending it around for advice not too long from now, depending on Liralei's schedule.

Nav and I decided to drop our Unleashed remix, and instead Nav's working on a uniquely styled hardcore/freeform/something remix of his own. At the time being I'm missing three WAV files: xKore's two WAVs and the WAV for Nav's new remix. I've given them the deadline of the end of March, so by the start of April the mastering stage will begin, for sure this time. Release date is looking at Q2 2009!

After finding inspiration from a new version of the tune that Cordis recently finished, I've started and now am nearing completion of Cordis - Solace (Karco's Hollowed Remix). It's basically a rework of Sleep, but much better, and though I'm still making a few decisions it should be finished very soon (though for the time being I'll be keeping it to IM sharing indefinitely). Edit: (This track's now been finished, but it's still staying out of public access for the time being.)

That's all!

Welcome to my regular visitors and to the newcomers as well, read on if you're interested in hearing some great music submitted this month to the Newgrounds Audio Portal!

First off, an apology for being a week late this time around - being on a cruise, I couldn't meet my usual posting time, midnight Newgrounds time on the first Wednesday on the month at the same time as Weekly Best. It's been postponed to this week, but hopefully it hasn't caused any inconveniences. ;D Anyway, below is the usual introduction...

Every month I go through the tracks submitted that month, pick my favorites, and promote them in a front-paged news post. I don't mean at all to imply that these are the best tracks submitted - just my favorites. What's more, these couldn't, for sure, be the best overall. You'll find I'm heavily biased towards Trance and related electronic genres while selecting tracks as it's my area of expertise, and I have to be careful I don't select and promote something that may not meet high standards for its genre. I also may have missed a deserving track entirely, so it's inaccurate to suggest that these submissions below are the best tracks out of everything submitted. Regardless, you can be assured that this is quality music, as each track is strong in composition, character, and overall execution.

Thanks to those of you who made suggestions or helped find these artists, and to you readers, please support these deserving artists by showing some kind of support - reviewing, leaving a comment or PM, anything, they deserve it! This series of picks is pointless unless you do, after all. :)

Karco's Picks of February

Karco's Pick of February: xKore - Star Shower (NG Cut) by xKore [House]
xKore goes and steals my first pick of January, again. I really don't know what's wrong with him. >:(

The track itself is unlike anything I've heard on Newgrounds. For one it's extremely reminiscent of the Signalrunners, which is a good thing, considering the characterized and layered tracks they're known to put out. It's a very deep and hypnotic track, a style xKore has succeeded at this time. First chance I get I'm going to ask him for the full version, like you all should! ;D

2nd Pick of February: Ocean's Breath (OM Collab) by Sungazer [Trance]
Collabing with an artist outside of Newgrounds, Sungazer submitted something new this month that once again shows his near-mastery of each of the facets of a Trance track. Though at times it leaves more to be desired it's nothing short of strong in all areas and it's definitely something to be proud of.

3rd Pick of February: Blue Roses (BC Remix) by BrokenCrossfader [House]
BrokenCrossfader's really become more noticeable recently - compared to the underdog we all discovered when he took pick of the month last November, not only has he become more involved in the community but this remix of Blue Roses also placed Weekly 3rd a few weeks ago. Production value is high here, but because of an overused style it dropped a few places - one of the better house submissions on NG nonetheless and deserving of its place here and on the Weekly Best.

Honorable Mention of February: Synthetica EP Demo Track by ElectronicEP [Miscellaneous]
Having at last bought the Synthetica EP yesterday, I was taken by surprise by the quality of some of the tracks included. It's hardly perfect - this is Newgrounds after all and we can't expect everyone who participated to produce at a professional level - but regardless, it's all quite impressive and I thought I'd do my part to promote it. The following picks work just like Picks of the Month - they're my favorites of the bunch!
EP Picks:
- nal1200 feat. Lira Yin - A Moonless Blue (link to iTunes)
- Kr1z - Morning Light (OM) (link to iTunes)

Click here to find the album at the iTunes store!

Great job and great effort everyone, what a feat. :)

2-27-09 A quick update:

Leaving tomorrow for my vacation, I won't be online at all that day but during the week I'm away there's a chance I may find some internet where I'm going. Don't count on it though. ;D Once I'm back I'll be free for another week before school starts again so some significant production work could happen. We'll see.

As a little treat while I'm gone I uploaded an experiment I finished tonight - it's that melodic ambient track I was talking about farther down in this news post, now named Sleep. Download it here, enjoy and leave a comment if you want to! It was more an experiment than anything really, the only two aspects I'm really proud of are the snare and the pad's chord progression.

I got my first vocals from Liralei just now and hope to work with those a little bit while I'm gone as well, as this time I will for sure have my producing computer with me.

That's all, I'll be back in a week!

--

Up until last night my hands have been tied with a big school commitment, so any plans I've made music-wise have been on hold for a while - now, though, production and modding can resume. For now, I'll be putting a small post here about music until I post my Picks of February.

After sending it to Pulstate to send to a few labels, Beautiful Feeling unfortunately failed to get signed - though the feedback I received implied to me that I was getting quite close. I've put a 320 up for free download at Mediafire, so enjoy, and offer criticism in a comment if you feel inclined to!

I've started two new WIPs:

1) A minimal-style track, which I set in 7/4 time just for kicks. I'm still working on the mix, but once that's covered I'll start arranging it.
2) A new ambient piece, which is very melodic and very emotional. If you downloaded the PreviewSet, I took some compositional ideas from the first preview, Forever.

I've heard back from Liralei about the Time for Morning remix and, now that I've got time, I hope to send a few files over and/or communicate with her in the very near future.

No new news on the rest of my WIPs, like I said in the last post, if it's not mentioned here, I probably haven't worked much on it lately.

It's Monday and I'm continuing this update: I seem to have a lot less time daily than I thought I would, so the best I can hope for in terms of time for production are the weekends and a two-week vacation coming up.

I won't be at home for the Picks of February but hopefully there will be internet wherever I'm going! We'll have to see.

A few notes about WIPs and otherwise:

Beautiful Feeling (Original Mix) was finished a while ago and I'm waiting for a few responses on that one before I decide what to do with it.

Time for Morning is making slow but steady progress, I'm waiting for Liralei to get back to me on that one.

Unleashed (Karco vs. Nav's Freeform Remix) has a complete arrangement, but a ton of mixing work left to be done. This, and the Unleashed Single, will probably be put off until the beginning of Q2 2009, though if I finish and Nav masters in the right timeframe then it could go up for release at the end of March. No guarantees on anything, except for that this Single WILL be released.

Any tracks from the last WIPs post not mentioned here are just on hold, I haven't forgotten about them.

I'll be quite short on time starting tomorrow the 12th because of school activities, but in two weeks or so I should be clear of it all - just a heads-up for those of you who care. :)

That's all!

Welcome to my regular visitors and to the newcomers as well, read on if you're interested in hearing some great music submitted by your fellow Newgrounds users!

Every month I go through the tracks submitted that month, pick my favorites, and promote them in a front-paged news post. I don't mean at all to imply that these are the best tracks submitted - just my favorites. What's more, these couldn't, for sure, be the best overall. You'll find I'm heavily biased towards Trance and related electronic genres while selecting tracks as it's my area of expertise, and I have to be careful I don't select and promote something that may not meet high standards for its genre. I also may have missed a deserving track entirely, so it's inaccurate to suggest that these submissions below are the best tracks out of everything submitted. Regardless, you can be assured that this is quality music, as each track is strong in composition, character, and overall execution.

Thanks to those of you who made suggestions or helped find these artists, and to you readers, please support these deserving artists by showing some kind of support - reviewing, leaving a comment or PM, anything, they deserve it!

Karco's Picks of January

Karco's Top Pick of January: [GF]MinimalJourney[GF] by GrouindForce [House]
This could actually be the very first minimal track I've heard on Newgrounds. I could be wrong about that but it's definitely a very rare style heard here; so plus quite a few points to GroundForce for doing something new for himself. Better still, he pulls it off really well - just that synth and the minimal amount of drums he used (and in places the padlike sounds) were more than enough to fill the track, an impressive feat which earns my respect.

2nd Pick of January: Eye Vision (Original Mix) by Sungazer [Trance]
I've been following Sungazer since his very first submissions to Newgrounds on his very first account (this is his fourth I believe) and he's come quite a long way! Synth diversity/character are both excellent and the mix is one of his best. Composition wasn't his focus here but his progression was also strong and the peak soared to excellent heights as it went on. Definitely a good example of a strong Trance track!

3rd Pick of January: Down To Earth - BrixX & Lira by DJBrixX [Trance]
Though lacking somewhat in its mix and structure, DJBrixX has definitely put together a decent track that definitely deserves its spot here on my picks of the month. Highlights of the track include a wonderful uplifting progression and creative vocal cuts towards the end!

4th Pick of January: Lira - Amnesiac (MCN Mix) by Liralei [Dance]
An experimental track by Mrmilkcarton, it's not meant to be a full-on Trance/Dance track but I included it here for the sheer creativity displayed by Mrmilkcarton in making this track. Liralei's submission Amnesiac provided the vocals which Mrmilkcarton proceeded to slice up to no end - as described by Liralei it was quite a practical way to use the vocals which were recorded on-the-spot and weren't meant to be useful to anyone at all. Well-deserved!

=================
______News______
=================

1-28-09: I've decided:

Whether I submit it to the MAC or send it to a label, the experience as a whole is supposed to benefit me as an artist (and either way, if I succeed, there's money to be had). The difference is what kind of response I'll be getting: from the MAC, not much that I'll take seriously except for the artists I trust as critics (who I could just contact via IM anyway). From a label, it's all-or-nothing: either the A&R is too busy and doesn't respond, or responds with a very different perspective than almost anything NG has had to offer. So, label it is.

First though, I have to polish it some more! If anyone's got label suggestions in the meantime, let me know and I'll consider them.

Just putting my thoughts down. :)

=================
______WIPs______
=================

Breathless (Original Mix)
- Progress: 10% Done
- Length: N/A
- Release Date: N/A
- Info: This is going to be quite a characterized track, though there's not very much to say about this one at this point.
- Demo: N/A

--

Beautiful Feeling (Original Mix)
- Progress: 95% Done
- Length: 6:55
- Release Date: No release date - it's going to show up either spontaneously or never.
- Info: Another very characterized track, it actually matches Breathless in quite a few senses. It's another full-length uplifting track and it practically made itself by the latter half of production!
- Demo: See the PreviewSet from a few posts ago - it's the fourth track there. This preview's quite outdated though, the track's completely different now. Critics, IM me. :)

=================
_____Collabs_____
=================

Time For Morning (2009 Remake) vs. Liralei
- Progress: 30% Done
- Length: N/A
- Release Date: N/A
- Info: I'm making a house-style remake of Time For Morning! It'll be quite different from the original, and what's more, I'll be working with Liralei to finally include those vocals I've wanted all along. :) Not much more information than this currently. Moved this down to the collabs section - considering Liralei's essentially heading everything vocals for this track, that's what it is.
- Demo: N/A

--

Unleashed (Karco vs. Nav's Freeform Mix) vs. Nav
- Progress: 75% Done
- Length: N/A (will check later)
- Release Date: Q1 2009
- Info: Nav came up with the idea and I liked it! Right now I'm working on it and it should be finished in the near future.
- Demo: No demos!

Motionless (Original Mix) vs. LiquidEvolution
- Progress: 5% Done
- Length: N/A
- Release Date: N/A
- Info: Still in the early stages, but the future looks bright for this track! Thanks to LiquidEvolution for some solid groundwork, though this track's going to make some serious progress before I send it back to him. ;D
- Demo: N/A

=================
_Unleashed - Single_
=================

Tracklist

I need the 32Bit WAV files for the tracks in bold.
Comments on each track are below the track in italics.

1. Unleashed (Radio Edit)
- The original!
2. Unleashed (Karco & Nav's Freeform Club Mix)
- A new idea, thank Nav for the concept! I'm currently working on it and it should be finished in the near future.
3. Unleashed (xKore Remix)
- The one that WAS on Newgrounds, but was removed. Awesome.
4. Unleashed (xKore Tech Remix)
- I'm using both, because they're both awesome. :P Find a one-minute preview here.
5. Unleashed (Milkmix)
- Mrmilkcarton redid his remix, it's much better than before. :D
6. Unleashed (Pyroific Remix)
- Finished!

--

Info

- Release Date: Q1 2009
- Demo: If you want to hear the original version, scroll up and click on it. ;)
- Profits: Remixers and Nav, please IM or PM me about this subject, how money will be transferred, etc.
- How to Get: No more CDs, I figured they would be too inconvenient! Instead, I'm planning to sell it digitally, though I'm not sure about the exact means.
- Mastering by Nav

--

News

I'm now collecting HQs (32Bit WAV files)! Remixers, please send me links to your HQs via IM or PM. Make sure they're protected somehow to prevent leaks, this is going to be sold after all. Send them either to me or to Nav.

--

If I've missed something or someone, let me know.

=================
______Ideas______
=================

I made this section so people could see ideas that I've got for future songs, that I haven't started yet - this way they could suggest for me which songs to work on first. Check back here now and then, I add ideas as soon as I come up with them. ;) If you see an idea here that you like, let me know!

- No ideas for WIPs currently. I'll make an update when I add some!

Happy new year everyone - this is the first issue of Karco's Picks of the Year! Of course, I'll also be featuring my picks of the month as well.

For those of you who don't know what's going on, at the end of every month and year I go through the tracks submitted in that time, pick my favorites, and put them in a front-paged news post. I don't mean at all to imply that these are the best tracks submitted - just my favorites. What's more, these couldn't be the best - I'm heavily biased towards Trance and related electronic genres while selecting tracks as it's my area of expertise, and I have to be careful I don't select something that may not meet high standards for its genre. I also may have missed a deserving track entirely, so it's inaccurate to suggest that these submissions below are the best tracks out of everything submitted. Regardless, you can be assured that this is quality music, as each track meets my personal standards for composition, character, and overall execution, and is by an artist who has proven himself time and time again.

Thanks to those of you who made suggestions or helped find these artists, and to you readers, please support these deserving artists by showing some kind of support - reviewing, leaving a comment or PM, anything, they deserve it! Sorry for the shorter descriptions at the end though, I ran short for time and I like to post at the same time as when the Weekly Best are chosen. ;) So first, right at the top where everyone can see them, my picks of 2008:

_______________________Karco's Picks of 2008_______________________

Karco's Pick of 2008: Kindred (Super Metroid) by zirconmusic [Video Game]
A massive remix! I originally had second thoughts about putting this one up to Pick of the Year, since as a remix it doesn't feature original composition. But after listening to the original version from Super Metroid itself I was convinced once again. Not only have zirconmusic and Jillian (the vocalist) blown the original out of the water - they made it theirs. Both of these people have proven themselves to be on par with professionals with a track they made in a short 48 hour session - kudos to them for the effort and the outcome!

2nd Pick of 2008: xKore - View by xKore [Trance]
xKore himself joined NG in early 08, and though he took a while to settle on one account, it's now the home to some of the best Trance productions Newgrounds has seen - possibly to date. Though View is his oldest track submitted on that account, uploaded back in July, it stands up to the other picks of the year quite well. Chilling piano, atmosphere, and voice cuts characterize the track, and overall it's quite memorable! Nice job xKore. :D

3rd Pick of 2008: More Than Words (OriginalMix) by Pulstate [Trance]
Pulstate is already recognized here as a veteran producer and has had multiple productions, originals and remixes, signed to various labels. So it's probably no surprise to most of you that he has a track up on Picks of the Year. :) Though lacking drive somewhat in the compositional area, the heavy drums and powerful bass give this track all the character it needs, and the mix is also quite strong (though sound quality suffers from a low-quality 96 kbps bitrate). Easily his best of the year, though definitely not his best of all time - if you liked this track, the next step is to look him up on Beatport, iTunes, and MySpace for more productions!

Karco's Honorable Mention of 2008: Instrumental #4 (Karco Remix) by Karco [Trance]
Now who was expecting this one?

I do realize it seems egotistical of me to plug my own track like this, and so I've dropped it down to Honorable Mention instead of placing it among the other picks of the year. There are reasons behind this though: first of all, professionals do pick some of their favorite tracks to feature from time to time, in their own personal charts. For example, "Artist A's Top 10 Chart on Beatport". And it's rare to see an artist put a chart together without including a production or two of their own. As an artist making my own kind of "chart," I'm only doing the same. As a critic - and I realize this argument only makes my ego seem even more inflated - I also know this track meets my standards about as well as xKore's track View does, or Pulstate's track More Than Words. Perhaps I can't criticise my own productions like someone else can, but at the same time, there is the saying, "You are your own best critic," which I go by during each step of production. I'm sure this is going to cause some controversy, but I'm pretty sure the people I respect will understand, or at least want to stir up a good debate, while the rest of you get to listen to what is, in my honest opinion, good music. :D

(You can pretend all that praise from the introduction doesn't apply to this track, or you don't have to, whatever you prefer. D:)

____________________Karco's Picks of December____________________

Note: Because I can't favorite my own track, the last slot in my personal Top 4 will go to the Pick of December.

Karco's Pick of December: xKore - I Love Youby xKore [House]
xKore tries out a new style, and succeeds! :D Call it beginners' luck, or listening to too much music, or pure skill, but somehow xKore pulls it off, and as an experiment no less. This track frightened me when I heard it for the first time - it was much more professional-sounding to me than anything else I'd heard from him. Nice job and congrats on Weekly Best!

2nd Pick of December: -One Wish-by Mrmilkcarton [Trance]
Unfortunately Mrmilkcarton's taking a break from Trance, but at least he left us with this nice nugget. The track starts off with a powerful mix and draws to a full stop as Mrmilkcarton goes for the piano solo again, just like he did for Your Eyes - a nice choice - and finishes off with a lonely yet driving melody - quite a memorable track.

3rd Pick of December: We Got The--_--goa Remixby ZENON [Trance]
ZENON always seems to deliver with his goa tracks and he makes Pick of the Month once again with this track that goes all-out for energy and power.

4th Pick of December: Pulstate - Deceptive [OM]by Pulstate [Trance]
Another quality production by Pulstate! Though lacking in compositional power, he delivers in every other sense with a track brimming with character. Great execution!

I'm home from my vacation! A few points:

- The pair of headphones I've been using for at least a year now broke over the vacation, but thankfully I have a new pair which is of the same quality. It's got more treble response and slightly less bass but I feel I've gotten used to listening to music through them - mixing tracks shouldn't be difficult, and end products shouldn't come out any worse, though if they do, let me know! D:
- I'm giving myself an extra week to post Karco's Picks of December and Karco's Picks of 2008. If anyone's got suggestions, send them to me via PM or MSN. :D
- I've got no WIPs currently. I need a few days to get things sorted out and decide what I want to work on, I'll make a WIPs post in the near future in the usual format once things are settled.
- I plan on collecting HQ versions of the Unleashed remixes and chatting with the remixers about various other points in the near future as well - remixers, be ready. ;D

That's it for now, I'll probably come back to this later.

The main reason I'm making this post is because of my upcoming vacation - it turns out I'm NOT bringing my FL laptop with me on my giant vacation - so I won't be making any progress on anything from Friday the 19th until after the new year, when I've come back. :( I'll probably be cramming as much of a full song as I can on Wednesday and Thursday, and if I'm lucky, I'll have something postable by Friday morning before I leave - but don't count on it!

Karco's Picks of December and Picks of 2008 will go up the first Tuesday of the new year - I'll be back in time for sure. :) It may be postponed a day or two, as I'm traveling quite a long distance and may be too exhausted/jetlagged to spend too much time searching NG for quality tracks.

Because I'll be on vacation, internet presence will be quite reduced, expect MUCH slower review/comment/PM replies, and rare logins to MSN or AIM. I'll probably find time to do both at least once or twice though. This is my last news post I'll be making before I leave - so, bye! :P

And of course, Glow is still available for download, just visit the previous news post. :)

Any questions?