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I enjoyed this submission quite a bit. A simple, relatable story is expertly told through a mix of hauntingly beautiful piano tracks, and orchestral pieces where every instrument seems to dance with one another. "Cinematic" and "Movie-like" are great ways to put it, although somehow it doesn't feel like I'm making it justice. I have a few scattered thoughts about some of the tracks, which I'll share here. It's my own personal interpretation, so I'm not sure about how "right" I am, but you've made the smart decision not to provide obvious context, letting the listener make up their own take on the story, based on their experiences. (I had to relisten to this submission a few times to pick up on these, I just like it a whole lot!):

In Forgotten Seeds, the way the chord progression developed at around 0:38 and 1:13 felt really poignant. The ascending melody had a very dark, melancholic character to it, it reminded me of one of my favourite songs ever, "Sports, not Heavy Crime" by Xploding Plastix, which I always thought had a cinematic quality to it... What'd you know. Judging by the name and the overall theme of the jam, I suspect it's meant to be a backdrop to a world that has "forgotten its seeds". Perhaps the simple joys of life have now been taken for granted as a wave of cynicism and darkness now looms over us. One we've built ourselves.

Speaking of, there was a lot of cynicism felt while I listened to "The Twisted Man", that one especially felt the most movie-like out of all the tracks, with some really great orchestration throughout. I liked how the main motif started playing at around 1:52, to me it implied a longing for better circumstances... Before immediately being drowned by the more off-putting motif introduced in the track itself, as if using hate and bitterness as a substitute for a fulfilness that otherwise just simply cannot be found.

Whispers is a sadder take on the (alleged) protagonist's theme. The piano was expertly played here, I think compared to "The Twisted Man", which evoked a rejection and hate for our hero's situation, this one is lamenting a far away, seemingly unreachable goal. A goal to free oneself from the shackles that hold them.

The last track was my favourite, an orchestral remix of the intro theme. It feels like a great bookend to this story, one where the protagonist has sort of found a compromise, a way to find happiness... It's not all sunshine and rainbows, as implied by the sad direction the song goes to near the middle, but it quickly goes back to a happier tone: There is hope for a better tomorrow.

Overall, well made pieces that show a great story without telling us a thing. I can tell that you've very comfortable with both piano and orchestration, so I suspect you'll do fine if you ever were to compose fo a game or otherwise. I can picture this soundtrack going well with a game with a great focus on narrative and story, like some of the stuff put out by Telltale. Thanks for the great submission!

JenjenParibou, one just has to feel humble when someone dedicates so much time to write back on a creation of ours. I'm so honoured so many people have differently liked my six little tale pieces of music... I couldn't provide a fully detailed story as I am not a by-word storyteller, as I think I wrote somewhere, and I reckon this "man" is sort of a mirror of some biographical aspects of mine, which at the end of the day happened to bore the idea. I could have worked out the story better with someone else but I really wanted this to be a submission of what I could do using music only. Your thoughts were very welcomed! All in all, I always thought my cinematic style would fit better in movies than games, but the truth is nowadays there are so many brilliantly composed scores for games that maybe I would have a chance to fit in this field too. A member of my family asked me to write for a game for the first time at the end of last year, which ended up in a submission to a game jam here on itch.io. Then another. But while those were lighter spirited games, my hidden thirst for the dramatic (and a little push from my fiancée, who drew the cover art) opened the door to my current submission. I'd say this style is truly me, and having thus exposed a bit of myself so bluntly, it is a huge relief — and I have an endless gratitude for it — that these tracks encountered so many to reverberate with. I heartedly repeat my thanks to you for listening and caring :)