IronChefOfMusic One sample. Two hours. No winners.
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How to be an Iron Chef of Music

// two hours; one sample; no winners

how to participate

  1. 01Create a chef account — it's free.
  2. 02Download the latest ingredients .ZIP.
  3. 03Slice, dice & remix — the clock is 2:00:00.
  4. 04Upload your .MP3, then listen & comment.

Join the chat on Discord.

the rules

1Finish in two hours or less. That's the whole game.
2Ingredients only. No outside sources, sounds, synths, or instruments.
3Process freely. Slice, dice, tweak, smash, filter, crush, loop, stretch — all fair.
4Add nothing new. No ring-mod modulator tones, self-resonating filters, or effects that introduce noise.

“You may get away with cheating once or twice — but eventually you'll start losing sleep over it, and we will find you, wherever you are.”

tips

  • Don't worry — any remix you make has some redeeming quality. Bonus points if it tells a musical story about the ingredients (nobody's pulled it off yet).
  • Try inventing your own percussion out of raw material — you can get a kick drum out of the sound of bacon frying with a little filtering and pitch enveloping.

KracFAQ classic rules


Q: What is Iron Chef of Music?
A: It's Kracfive's music making battle.

Q: How does it work?
A: At the start of each battle, the Master of Ceremonies unveils the secret sample ingredient(s). Each contestant is given 2 hours to build the best song from these special ingredients, trying to beat all of their opponents.

Q: If I want to participate, what do I do?
A: The battles either take place locally, meaning the majority of participants are there in person, or globally, meaning the majority are scattered across the globe and compete via internet. Local battles are a bit impromptu, but if you're near Chicago they are happening with some regularity - email ipagos. For global battles, visit IRC channel #ironchefofmusic on efnet, check www.ironchefofmusic.com & myspace for info, sign up for the Kracfive mailing list at kracfive.com!

Q: How is it different than the real Iron Chef involving Japanese cuisine?
A: Whereas the original Iron Chef is a battle between cooks in a food-based arena with a time limit, our's is a battle between musicians in a sample-based arena with a time limit. We may still have good food on location though.

Q: How is it different than a hip-hop producer battle with cash prizes?
A: {Musical} Iron Chef is not genre specific. Anyone who thinks that they can manipulate a given chunk of audio in an inventive way is invited to participate.

Q: What about the fabulous prizes?
A: There are no huge cash prizes yet, only the pride of being the reigning {Musical} Iron Chef champion. Remember, no matter which chef comes out on top it is you, the listener, who really wins. Contact us if you or your company would like to sponsor Iron Chef of Music by providing prizes for future battles.

Q: Why can't I use my guitar?
A: It would break the special ingredient concept. We must observe the limits of the sample. The only sounds allowed are those contained in the given audio-chunk. This chunk may or may not contain real instruments. It will be up to the competitors to create their own "instruments" from this chunk for their song.

Iron Chef (of music) Ipagos says - "The meaning of IRON CHEF OF MUSIC is to destroy the opponent by learning their weak strategies. Through IRON CHEF OF MUSIC, we have found our competitors' weaknesses and destroyed them accordingly, while enjoying ourselves. These techniques are applied daily to our IRON CHEF OF MUSIC regimen of battle strategies."