Apple Aatce Creative Contest 2010 - Winners

Sam Eads: "Playgirl" was recorded using Logic Pro 8 and used live instruments including percussion, guitars, bass, violins, cello and vocals. The main challenge faced was mixing the track, due to the large amount of harmonic ranges that quite easily clash. The original tracks were recorded in Sam’s bedroom/studio and all of the plugins on Logic made recording the instruments and making a first rough mix incredibly enjoyable and easy. The message of the song is to watch out for girlfriends/boyfriends who always think the grass is greener on the other side.

Stéphane Rombi: The text of "Rends Toi" written by Carole Masseport is what inspired Stéphane to write this song. Using his Duesenberg guitar and Logic 9, he created the track experimenting with the Ultrabeat, channel script settings and several MIDI instruments. The song speaks about the difficulty of living and how as a fragile witness to our world we sometimes take a pessimistic view of life and people.

Talking Timber: "Coat" is a time-line through a year, from the cold month of February to the warm summer months. Darren Martin used Logic 9 plugins, pre-sets and mastering to achieve the final track. Instruments included acoustic guitars, bass and didgeridoo. The song ends in summer on a sunny day, which Darren says for him inspires creating music.

Atli Steinarsson: For "Looking This Cool" Atli started out with Ultrabeat in Logic to create the foundation drum track and set the tempo before recording the guitar into the mix. He then tried to explore as much of the application as possible to bring the song up to another level, including EQ, compressors, limiters, reverb units, delays and the occasional distortion. At the end of the day the song is one that people should want to play when they feel good or when they want to feel good.

Jack Phillips: Jack The lyrics for "Return" are about tigers being hunted and becoming extinct. The chorus references 'crown' and 'throne' to describe the fall of the king of the jungle. Phillips used many different aspects of Logic in creating the song, including sampling with the EXS 24. Most of the percussive sounds were recorded using his Macbook Pro's inbuilt microphone, and created by tapping keys on the keyboard, or using the mac itself as a drum.

Cian Finn: "Education" takes its instrumental inspiration from a mix of Reggae, Hip-Hop and Dub step. Cian started with drums, then added piano and bass before finally placing original lyrics over the music. The EXS sampler was used in Logic to create the bass line and set guide levels for the tracks as they were developed. Finally, effects and processing were applied when the track was finished. The message of the song is one of praise towards the education of people and its benefits.

Damien Tuffal: The subject of "AiRia" is a girl who wants to make a new start in life by escaping from her reality and finding a new reason to live. The song was created in Logic 9 using the Space Designer, Delay Designer, EQ, Compressor, Flanger, Autofilter and other features and effects. On the verses the Flex Time tool was used to make all slices and adjustments. The aim was to create a song that sounds as natural as possible and highlights the lyrics without loud artifacts.

Méné Ewomba: "Sous ton regard" is the final track of a project developed by Ewomba called Ephemere. Using mostly synthesizers and drum kits for the instrumentation, the mixing and effect work was done using Logic. Within the mix nothing is taken for granted and even the smallest part has meaning, for example the sub kick used represents the heartbeat of the character in the story. "Sous ton regard" tells the story of the main character’s death which is both tragic and liberating because it symbolizes freedom from pain.

Tom Prendergast: When composing "Fight and Fall", Prendergast’s inspiration came from a four bar guitar part intended for an acoustic song. This part features in the verses and consists of three chords and a solid rhythm. The Amp Designer and Delay Designer in Logic both proved to be invaluable tools in allowing Prendergast to achieve the perfect main guitar part sound. The song itself was written from observations Prendergast made of those around him who are in unhappy situations and have a need to escape. In the end a new beginning does not always bring contentment.

Richard Abiona: The inspiration of "Haiti Still Needs Us" was the unfortunate earthquake tragedy in Haiti in January. The message of the song is that even though this event is no longer headline news, there’s still a need in Haiti for help and aid. Abiona started the development of the song working with the ESX 24 in Logic to configure the mellow chords at the start. He also relied heavily on this tool for the piano and bass lines throughout the song. The biggest achievement that Abiona sites for the development of this song was brining together lots of up and coming artists in the London area (Dionne, Julie, Mikel, Sloozie, Fuse, Suli and Caspian) to help record the track.