Free “Universum” Sample Pack And Mix Challenge @ Radio Wave

Czech radio show Kreaton (airing every Monday at 10 PM CET on Radio Wave of Czech Broadcast) has launched an interesting music making challenge which is open for new entries by the end of May. They’ve releases a free Universum sci-fi inspired sample pack and are invited anyone interesting to join the challenge and make new music with these sounds.

The free Universum sound pack is inspired by the Czech sci-fi movie Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea and the provided sounds can be used to create any style of music. We talked to Kreaton show’s host Marie Ctverackova about this interesting music making challenge and about her future plans for similar online music making collabs.

Download: “UNIVERSUM” Sample Pack (12.9 MB download size, ZIP archive, contains 17 audio samples in MP3 format)

BPB: Hi Marie, thanks for letting us know about the sample challenge and for joining us for this mini-interview. Can you tell us a bit more about the contest itself – what are the rules and is everybody invited to join?

Marie: It’s not really a contest, it’s more like a challenge. I always try to inspire and motivate producers and musicians in general. That’s why me and my colleague Martin Tvrdy, who is also a rapper and producer started a special of my radio show that we call Kreaton. In this special we focus on how to make music, so we introduce and test various music instruments, hardware and software. We also organize workshops. So, this challenge is just a natural progress in what we do. Anyone can join. The pack is full of sounds that Martin prepared and a few samples from the movie. There is also one main theme composed by Martin. So, if you are a producer, you can either create a new track from the sounds or remix the main theme. If you are a rapper or vocalist you can just add your vocals to the main theme.

BPB: What is the deadline for joining the contest and are there any prizes included? What happens with the tracks after you receive them? Also, where should our readers send their entries?

Marie: The deadline is end of May. We would like to put all the entries out as a compilation in mid June. Around that time we plan to start a regular beat battle night with few other people from Prague. I will also be announcing a kind of creative meeting for young musicians, that will take place in Prague in fall and I will be closing the first series of live music talks Sound Chat, that I hosted at Czech Center Prague. So it’s a good timing to expose a project like that.

There is no particular prize. I’m curious and interested in a variety of styles. So far we had really positive reactions and entries from “techno bossa nova” to crazy raps Quasimoto style or soulful jazzy remix with live instruments. It’s just for fun, kind of exercise. All the tracks will be mastered and put out not only on our Bandcamp site but also on our label called Post-Label, it’s a collection of postcards, a music greeting from Prague carrying a link and QR code to download music for free. Simply just another idea how to spread music. We distribute these postcards into records shops, cafés, clubs etc. So the next collection will carry a link with this compilation. If you want to join, send your track to my mail (maryc[at]seznam[dot]cz).

BPB: Oh, so the entries will be mastered and included in a compilation release? That’s pretty neat! Btw, a sample contest inspired by a sci-fi movie is such a cool idea. How did you decide to use the movie Tomorrow I’ll Wake Up and Scald Myself with Tea as the source of inspiration and can we expect to see more similar contests in the future?

Marie: At first it was an idea for new jingles for my show. Then we decided to put out the sounds and the main theme and make it a challenge. I like the movie, it’s a sci-fi comedy from the 70s about time traveling, so the original theme and the music by Karel Svoboda made using various synths are close to the concept of my show focused on “future grooves”.

In June we will put out another pack, inspired by a movie called The Mysterious Castle in Carpathians. An amazing Czech comedy from early eighties by Oldrich Lipsky based on Jules Verne’s novel. So this one will be much more mysterious and dark.

BPB: Sounds great! Can our readers listen to your radio show online?

Marie: Of course, every Monday from 10 PM till midnight CET at wave.cz/live you can even watch me dance on the web cam. My show runs on a youth alternative station Radio Wave, that is part of the public Czech Radio. As I mentioned it’s about future grooves and music evolved from jazz, soul and hip hop, freeing minds, trying to broaden horizons to rap fans and escape out of the genre boxes and poses. You can check my blog at wave.cz/scenasmaryc or Facebook, and take a listen to some of my mixes at SoundCloud or MixCloud.

BPB: Thanks again for this interview and please keep us posted about future challenges!

Marie: I thank you for spreading information and cheers to your effort on your blog.