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Description
LINKS TO SUBMISSION
Full OST Video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zycyS4-uVk
Separate OST videos - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zycyS4-uVk&list=PLGMfhHxcd_oM
Title: Of Humans, Harpies, and Hybrids
Genre: Orchestral
Runtime: 17:32
Software: Fl Studio
SWAM:
Violin, Bass, Piccolo, English Horn, Oboe
Session:
Strings, Horns
Pianoteq:
Harpsichord, Celtic Harp, Church Bell, Xylophone
Organteq, Ample Ethno Ukulele, Nucleus Choir, LABS Choir, Chromatic Pan Flute, Accordion, Ibiskus, Bongos
Samples:
Tambourine, Wind Chimes, Sony CS World Percussion
Inspirations: My music history class and what I learned from Medieval music, Gregorian chants, and renaissance music. In particular, one of the oldest written pieces of music ever found called “Seikilos Epitaph”
Process: I put all of my instruments down at the start and decided which ones would represent what parts of my story. I used a lot of instruments so I could mix and match them and have variety throughout the OST by using some and not others in any given song.
I started with the plan for 6 songs but expanded it to 8 when I had time and to improve the overall pacing of the OST.
I have an extensive story and details on how it fits the theme so please read it. The videos will also visually represent what is happening in the story as it goes.
Basically, what you need to know is what instruments represent which characters and why they play when they do.
STORY:
Long ago, the world was as one
Separation between beasts and man was unheard of
All was peaceful
Until the citadel rang.
Man began to fight against beast, beast began to rage against man.
And those in the middle, the hybrids, were cast aside by both as “unclean”
200 years have passed since the Citadels call, man and beast still war with each other, and no generations are left that remember the old days.
Hybrids have reached near extinction, save for the few born of those who wish to see the world as it once was.
United, and at peace.
Of these hybrids, our tale follows Alyxia. Born of a human Father, and harpy Mother, as she journeys to find her sisters Melian and Ferra, in hopes of being able to be seen not as a monster, but as family.
It will be a long journey. Melian was taken to be raised with the other harpies by her mother, and Ferra was taken to (human village) to be raised by her father.
Though separated at birth, all 3 sisters feel that something is missing in their lives, and they are determined to change their world to see the world that once was.
Alyxia, Melian, and Ferra manage to meet early on in the story and begin their quest to change the world so that they can live together in peace.
In doing so, they not only anger the denizens of the world, as all they’ve known is war, but also the citadel itself.
The citadel and those inside did not like the world where monsters and humans lived together, and so by using the Bells of the citadel, they caused war to break out as the bells had powers that stimulated aggressive and territorial behaviors in all who heard it.
Though some could resist the temptation of the bell, many were under its influence.
Its constant ringing is the cause of the calamity, and it is up to Alyxia, Melian, and Ferra to bring a stop to it.
HOW IT FITS THE THEME:
GENERAL THEMING:
Very renaissance inspired sound and instruments.
Violin represents humans, Lute represents Hybrids, Voice and choir represent Monsters, Bells and Organ represent the Citadel.
I intentionally avoided instruments such as synths, pianos, and certain percussive sounds to make the music fit a more renaissance vibe by using more woodwinds and world percussion.
INDIVIDUAL SONGS THEMING:
A World Of Old
This song represents the world as it was once connected, and how it came to be divided by the toll of the Citadel
Humans, represented by Violin, Monsters represented by Choir, and hybrids represented by Lute, and the citadel represented by the bells toll.
The violin, lute, and choir play at the same time to represent that they lived in harmony, and when the bells rang, war began and split them apart, never to be played together again.
This story is of 3 specific characters. Sisters named Alyxia the Hybrid, Ferra the Human, and Melian the Harpy, and their quest to return the world to how it once was after 200 years of war and separation.
This song would play as an opening cutscene
Human Township
This song represents Ferra the Human, one of our 3 protagonists. As the human of the group, she is the only one allowed in human villages, so Violin is the only representative instrument to be played. Ferra is also the most social of the group in terms of personability, which makes her ideal for gathering info and supplies from towns and villages.
Moment Of Respite
This song represents Alyxia the Hybrid. She is not allowed in any towns on either side of the conflict. Despite this, she remains cheerful and jubilant. Having found her sisters and traveling with them makes her incredibly happy. The lute is the only representative instrument used here as the group exists because of Alixia’s efforts.
The Bells of Battle
This song represents Melian the Harpy. Raised in the harpy village, she learned mostly about combat, so she is represented by the general battle theme of the game. As harpies have no fingers, her representative instrument is voice or choir. The bells of the citadel also play in this song as they signify the start of battle.
Take Stock
This song holds no representative instruments and acts as the menu theme for shopping or item management. It is simple and short.
As A Bell Tolls…
This song represents the Citadel or the big bad of the game. It uses the bells as well as organ and harpsichord to make it feel regal, sacred, and intimidating. It is meant to sound more hymnal in nature as this is the song that plays as the lead up to the final confrontation with those in the citadel.
…The Citadel Beckons
The final boss theme of the game and it has every representational instrument, though importantly, they do not overlap almost at all besides the citadels. Humans, Monsters, and Hybrids are still separated by the citadel, but they are working together to bring a stop to it. This song includes every single instrument used throughout the entire OST as a representation of all our protagonists have gone through on their journey.
A World Renewed
The world has forever changed after the citadel was taken down and the instruments representing humans, monsters, and hybrids can finally play together just as they did in the world of old. This song would play as the ending cutscene of the game.
Message from the artist
I really hope you like my work! I wanted to go hard into the theming this time around since that has historically been my weakest category. I put a lot of effort into making the songs flow in a natural way that feels like it’s telling a story.
I wanted the music itself to work as a storytelling medium through its sound and instruments, but it is still important to know what they represent to get the full story.
I have laid out the story here as well as what individual songs represent though they are not strictly required in order to get an understanding of how the story plays out thanks to the music. They exist as supplement to deepen your understanding and provide insight into the characters.
They will also be shown during the videos of each song.
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
How it fits the theme is explained in the description section but TLDR, it uses old instruments to matche ht renaissance vibes, specific instruments represent specific characters and are only together during the first and last songs as those are the only points in the story when those characters are allowed to be together in society's eyes. The characters of course being the 3 pictured in the theme. It is also songs of a forgotten world because the combination of those instruments represents how they were allowed to be together long ago before the world changed and those times were forgotten.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
FULL OST VIDEO - https://youtu.be/4zycyS4-uVk?si=K24PGNii12faqx9-
SEPARATE OST VIDEOS - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zycyS4-uVk&list=PLGMfhHxcd_oM
Number of tracks8
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
Any project
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Comments
Definitely an interesting listen, I appreciated you trying to be more accurate to the time period you were conveying. Tracks like "Human Township" I feel captured the general melodies they used during that time pretty well, although the final boss theme kinda started sounding like "Brainac Maniac" from PVZ a bit lol, but it's not a big deal. "The Bells of Battle" was probably my favourite track, very nice chord progression and melody. I think this album captures a general "Medieval Aesthetic" more so than trying to be super accurate to how they wrote their composition, some might see it as a flaw but I think it allowed it to have a much more flexible and original sound, so in my eyes it's a positive.
There isn't much I disliked about this, the story was told well enough through and out of the soundtrack. The only thing I could say something on is the bell instrument: It's used very well in all the songs it appears in, but I didn't really like how it was used in the very first one, I did not feel that the quick, energetic melodies it played fit well considering the instrument had such a massive release and a bit of dissonance to it. Perhaps a glockenspiel would've been a better fit? I'm not sure, but my point still stands. I did also think "Human Township" had a few strange note choices with the violin that sounded out of scale, but it's a bit of a nitpick.
One track I found myself really liking was the very final one, the way all the instruments played together was done pretty well and didn't feel forced, and the bass pattern used was also pretty great.
Representing each character with an instrument was a good idea, it's a great substitute for using leitmotifs or repeated musical ideas.
Very solid job all around. The art for it was really good and the video was done decently, so kudos to the artist and editor. I think you've improved a lot since your submission from last year.
Thank you for listening!
I'm glad you enjoyed it! You're correct that I focused more on that medieval feeling rather than composing as they did. I did NOT want to be locked into like modal keys.
Human township was the first song I composed and I wanted that one to feel the most medieval which is why I used some odd accidentals in it to make it feel a tad strange.
I had a long review but it got deleted so here's my main points:
- The 'unconventional' instruments give a really nice feel to the music
- My favorite track is 'As A Bell Tolle's
- Amazing video, really enjoyed it
- All this musical symbolism is absolutely amazing
- Don't have much criticism
- Great Job! You have one of the highest ratings from me
Thanks so much!
I'm glad As a Bell Tolls is getting love. I personally enjoy the faster fun songs and that one was an outlier to make the citadel feel extra intimidating, even if it isn't my normal favorite kind of song to write.
very cool concept/ost you got here, also very much enjoyed reading through the blurbs to see what each track represents! the percussion in particular was a treat to listen to, i really appreciate how much variety there is! a couple things i do want to add is that i think the ost could benefit from more reverb on the instruments as i felt they may have been a bit dry, which leaves a lot more room in the audio space that could be filled up. some instruments w/ solo lines could also be more dynamic (maybe some more vibrato/articulations in general, some ornaments, maybe add more expressions, stuff like that!) additionally i think introducing more rhythm schemes for the (mostly) droning instruments could make the track as a whole more dynamically interest to listen to as well! i was thinking maybe for the citadel beckons, you could break up the rhythm for the organ/strings to be more staccatic to capture that frenetic feeling of a final boss theme, or you could also introduce tremolo strings to achieve a rumbling tensity about to topple over kind of feeling. that's how i feel at least anyway since i think adding these would make your (already awesome) ost even cooler! very cool visuals btw love the final boss animation LOL
Thank you so much!
I think you're right about the organ in the citadel beckons. I made that song last and it wasn't even in my original plan for songs but I felt I needed a final boss track. Most of my focus went into the protagonist instruments so I think I kind of just did whatever worked for the organ at the time.
The artwork and youtube video for this submission are super cool!
Think my favorite track here is "The Bells of Battle", it's really dynamic and exciting. I love all the in-depth world-building as well, really appreciate how you weaved it all in with the tracks!
Thanks!
Bells of battle was one of my favorites to make. Having Violin and lute but being unable to use them for a battle track to match my story was a tad difficult, but it make me think outside the box a bit more to make it work.
A very well done story here! So far this is the most flushed out story I've seen with a soundtrack. You can really tell a lot of thought and effort went into these tracks. I don't have a lot of feedback but I do have a bit I'd like to share. The main thing being the mix of the lows. I am nit picking a bit but at times I wished there was more balanced lows to balance out the other frequencies. Also, in the second track I think the bass is slightly muddy imo. However with that being said, this is still a really well put together piece of work you've made and a great submission!
Thank you!
The second track was the very first one I made so I wouldn't be surprised if the bass in that track specifically wasn't quite as polished as in the later tracks I made.
High quality, as expected! I love the variety of melodies, orchestration, pacing, and emotions you sewed into this musical tapestry. It has the sound and feel of a released contemporary RPG. Great work!
Thank you!
I'm glad all the aspects of the music worked well for you!
This is amazing! I love the creative use of the bells and flutes, felt like I was playing a unreleased Zelda game. Congratulations!
Thank you!
this is so pretty and sweeping. would love to hear a version with snes soundfont!! favorite is track 2 for the jazzy touches and great chord progressions
Thank you!
I'm glad you think it's so pretty! I would be cool to hear it in different soundfonts.
Absolutely beautiful OST. The composition was beautiful, and the instrumentation was really really really well thought. I really loved how you attached a particular instrument to each character/faction and played them together or not depending on what's happening in the story. The storytelling is just amazing. I had so much fun listening to all of it and following your story. Thank you so much for sharing it.
thanks a ton!
The picture theme really made it easy to attach an instrument to the characters since 2 are holding an instrument and the last can’t hold anything so voice fit perfectly. Then having an antagonistic force with an instrument was the last thing to make and a church bell felt appropriate for my story.
This has great quality, I really like the guitar/plucked solo in the first song. The string all throughout, the organ and the other classical textures. The bell motif is also amazing. Cheers!
Thank you!
The plucked solo in the first song was one of my favorite bits to write. I love writing fast melody lines like that it’s so satisfying..
Loving the vibes you've going throughout this! The storytelling is unparalleled, even if I were to ignore the details outlined throughout the animatic! Your motivic writing is clear, coherent and engaging, and really does a great job of outlining the story-conflict and resolution! From the little extract I analyzed (bear in mind I'm not the best music theorist), your voice leading is quite idiomatic for the era and style, though I expect you don't need me to tell you that! There was just ONE tiny thing I was desperately hoping for in the beginning section of "As A Bell Tolls".
Firstly, I really enjoyed the choice to subvert the dominant-V we're expecting at bar 4 in favour of continuing the pedal tone, and using the dorian-6th to effectively replace it (VERY medieval). The one thing I was hoping for —however, was in bars 7-8: A French augmented 6 chord resolving to the V. It'd add just that extra little bit of power and uncertainty right before the bells. Of course, this is entirely a matter of taste, and the progression you've got is just as effective! I've got an audio example I can send in discord if you're interested
Thoroughly enjoyed the soundtrack. Great work!
Thanks!
Yeah I would love to hear the example. That specific part of “as a bell tolls” actually gave me some issues as I tried a bunch of different chords trying to find what worked best. I knew I wanted the pedal for the first 4 measures at least, but after that it was kind of a free for all of notes trying to figure out what would be best. More pedal? Changing all of the notes? After trial and error the end results what I came up with. But I would still like to hear the French augmented 6.
I'm always impressed with with the amount of work with the video editing.
Your music has a special lightness all along, combined with the sounding of the instruments it makes me feel like playing a classic jrpg from old consoles, this works really well to create a cohesive ost ! Being used to your more 'crazy goofy and upbeat' style of music, I still got some of it with some of the sweet wonkiness given by the flutes and melodies in Human Township especially. You have an ability to make these fun and lighthearted tunes and I guess you could go further in your own unique crazy style rather than try sticking to the theme literaly. Not that it doesn't work here don't get me wrong, but I feel like theming is a very subjective thing, and I think people like or remember unusual things with identity more often :)
Well done and congrats for the amount of work ! :0
Thank you so much!
With the theming, I knew before the jam started that I was gonna try to play the theme as straight as possible because of how I would bend it in the last. I usually had that same thought too. That it wouldn’t be memorable if I did the obvious theme, but every jam, more people than I expect bend the theme to fit their story. That’s why I was ok with a super obvious fitting of the theme because I knew not every person would do that I’m like I expected in previous jams.
Plus, I wanted to make it memorable despite fitting the theme as best I could. Gave me a challenge to differentiate myself through instrumentation and composition.
That's actually a great challenge and it's good to try something different at times ;)
Wow, what a huge amount of work here. Everything sounds coherent and the soundtrack really seems to have its own identity
Thank you!
I'm glad it has it's own identity. In past jams I strayed from the theme for fear of being lost in the crowd, but this time I went all in on what seemed like the obvious themed path and tried to make sure I would stand out despite that.
I love some of the experimentation you get going with the melody, like in Human township, the medieval scale for the lead and the chonky, SNES horns in the background gave the whole thing an unmistikable "crazy JRPG from the 90's" vibe that I CRAVE.
I don't really now what to add, your music would be sick played live, but you probably know it x)
Thank you so much!
Human township was the first of the songs I made and I really wanted to nail that medieval or renaissance style. I Didn't use any SNES horns though, I think maybe that was the accordion I used if it happens near the end of that song.
I'm glad you think it would be good played live. I panned a lot of the instruments to either side in order to give it that "group of bards live" feel.
I really like that the preclusions have a jungle safari kind of vibe and also surprisingly soothing to listen to.
Thanks!
I liked the percussion too! Since I wanted to avoid using typical percussion like snares and cymbals, I used world percussions since I felt they gave the songs a much closer feel to renaissance vibes or “in the wild”.
I really love this kind of composition, with lots of ethnic instruments. It’s so enjoyable to listen to! The artwork is beautiful too, and the animation in the video is a nice touch and fun to watch !
thank you so much!
Using the ethnic instruments was a lot of fun and I learned about some instruments that became new favorites. I’m larticular, I fell in love with the English horn as it sounds like an oboe but much smoother and easier to use. Even though that’s probably not an ethnic instrument itself, it’s part of the whole woodwind theme going one with the non-character instruments
A great story with depth, and even better story telling with the soundtracks. Crazy percussion works in A World Of Old, The Bells of Battle and The Citadel Beckons!!
Thank you a ton!
I'm glad the storytelling came across well with the soundtracks. That was my big focus beyond just making really fun tracks.
This might be the best of the tracks i have listened to, you did everything perfectly in my ears. HELL YEAH!
Thank you so much!
I'm glad it sounds perfect to your ears as it sounds great to my ears as well. One of the most consistent entries I've had in an ost jam ever
solid tracks you got there Jofes! all of it sounds very consistent and told me a story just by listening to it.
you really outdone it this time
( ദ്ദി ˙ᗜ˙ )
(and now you are gonna review all the tracks, again 💀. absolute psycho as one put it sheesh 🔥🔥)
Thank you!
Of course I'm gonna review all the tracks that's my identity in these jams. It calls to me