Wow the strings work on remerberance is absolutely divine. I’m so completely transported, it’s perfect! Can you share your strings vst selection it’s soooo beautiful!
Lady in the mist:
I did not expect a vibe like this after the first two tracks but it somehow fits in and compliments the others. A welcome change to have these bouncy drums driving this very dreamy atmosphere. The mixing feels spot on too for something that could easily be drowned in the soupy textures.
The mistaken city: I’m reallly digging these little background rhythmic elements.
Seasons: omg the harmonies on the keys! That’s absolutely delicious.
An innocent chase: the vibe fits the title for sure. The transition to your second part really elevates the track, we are soooooaring here.
I had to multitask for the rest but I think this is my favorite submission I’ve reviewed so far. Really high level of quality and composition with a lot of diversity in the material. 5/5!
I enjoyed the layering of the first track into the second with the heartbeat thing you had going. Also thought the arpeggios and general vibe in track 2 fit your story really well. Track 3 could probably use a stronger bass layer it’s pretty piercing on the high end which makes it not the most pleasurable listening experience despiste the cool melody on top.
Sunless garden: I liked the rhythmic feel in this one. I’d say I tuned out a bit part way but it seems like you were going for a more ambient feel so that might be part of the deal.
Voices of the mist: similar comment to previous track
Enjoyable listen, I think if you work the mixing a bit more/ be more conscious about filling out the track it will sound even better! Definitely leans towards an ambient vibe for a lot of it, so if your goal is to grab/keep attention you may want to go in a slightly different direction, but if you want an atmosphere I’d say you did it!
This is so good! I watched the video you had with this, you’ve done a great job connecting the themes of the music to your story and conveying them visually. only criticism I can think of is I think your violin vst is feeling particularly artificial. Perhaps try a different one? I don’t really know how to solve that problem :/
Glad you liked it! yeah “desert” is burned into my childhood brain so glad I could use it in this way, even though it’s like a 90 degree turn from the more mysterious vibe from the original.
Totally get not liking that mixing, but it was intentional! The idea was that’s what it would actually sound like if you were at a campfire and someone was starting to quietly play a bass in the background before things pick up. Also the cicadas and other animal sounds are the true balance of the Amazon rainforest (it’s loud as hell there lol) they’re not separate samples :)
Our home: really enjoying the interplay between the vocals and the instrumentation! This was a lot of fun to listen to.
also for future reference: I was unable to get your first track to play on mobile, I haven’t had that issue with SoundCloud or YouTube. Might want to go that direction so more people can listen to all your tracks!
A song of adventure has really great phrasing and the leitmotif is very clear.
A moment to gaze the stars: I really enjoyed this one, lovely harmonic motions and melody, very sweet.
In ancient ruins: some cool call and response going on here and the driving percussion fits the vibe you’re creating, a welcome departure.
A legendary song: yup, feels legendary haha. Very heroic.
A rowdy evening: I’m loving all the layering going on here, it feels really full and cohesive. Well done!
Overall I feel like this was all just really well composed all around. I think the only criticism I can think of is some of the songs sound sort of “thin”. it’s apparent in things like a village far away. I think that thinness brings out the synthetic nature of the vsts more than you probably want. I’m not really sure how you get away from that, maybe some subtle effects to fill out the acoustic space a bit more cohesively? Not sure but thats all I can think of, great work!
Maybe it’s because I’m very jet lagged but the first two tracks were hard to keep engaged with. I found your last track (end of the world) was able to pull me in a bit more and I felt more connected to your harmonic movements. The first two felt very similar. I agree with other commenters that more dynamics may help. That being said I think this is pretty on point for music conveying the story you described! Im also very tired so maybe not your target audience lol.
I’ll echo others comments that the heavy reliance on samples may be doing yourself a disservice for this competition. I did really appreciate the unique vibe you’re creating, but again I’ll echo that it stretches on a bit too long. Tighter and more original content would do yourself good I think, then you can apply these great textural effect skills to those compositions!
thanks for the feedback! I totally did want to vary both tracks a bit more melodically but I just ran out of time unfortunately. Gives me more fuel to keep working them after the jam, thanks again!
I really enjoyed your soaring sax melody lines over these chaotic arpeggios, nasty key chords, and odd times. It’s kind of giving like a chilled out black midi, if you know that band. I enjoyed it! (You pulled me from the main feed i was intrigued by your architectural cover art btw)
Convalescence melody line with those violins goes craaaazy. Contamination is nasty in the best way. At worlds end is epic and fantastic. Well mixed throughout. This is not typically my genre but I enjoyed it!
I know it doesn’t count to the ratings but your story write up cracked me up and is super creative. Love the world you’re building and great sense of humor!
Stone sky hearth: I’m unsure how intentional it is but there’s just a liiiiitle bit of messiness to some of the instrumentation. Where the timing felt off enough to notice (on things that did not seem intentionally off beat) and kind of break the groove, maybe that’s the vibe you’re going for. Generally, I really liked the texture you’re building here and it perfectly captures what you described.
Beyond: perfect ambiance for what you’re describing, no notes.
Dumpster diving: fascinating vibe. I’m loving this like quick sort of sound warp thing bringing the volume down on your repeating line. The dadada-dudududu….-Dudu-voooooop thing haha. What is that??? Please tell me! PERFECT amount of crunch here. If it was any more it would be too much for me but it’s right in that sweet spot. Love this one.
Why would they: brutal, so good. The distortion may be too much for me personally here but I think that’s personal preference. These drums are NASTY I love them
Black sky hearth: great feel with this one. Love your bass slide beawwwwwwwooooooooo.
Redacted: diiiiiiirty. This one had me moving a lot, fantastic groove. Possible the middle repeating part drags a bit too long.
Summary: easily the best submission I’ve reviewed so far. Love y’all’s work, hope to see more from you in the future!
Into a forgotten world: I like the vibe! It’s got a good texture to it. Like someone else mentioned, volume is way too low and at max volume on my phone I’d still consider it quiet. Pro tip (I’m not a pro) before releasing your track try playing it on your phone speaker, in the car, etc to get a sense for how it will play for others outside your daw.
Also there’s something off with the timing in places that i can’t put my finger on, not sure.
Unforgettable nights: fun ambient textures going on here. Both tracks are very much a vibe. Still both suffer from volume/mixing and some timing issues. Maybe you’re just using a time signature my body isn’t able to sync with? Maybe you’re playing out of time? Idk hard to put my finger on since there isn’t a drum beat but sommmmething feels off there.
I liked the vibe, keep it up! Great first submission!
Part 1: you’ve got a very solid groove here. I love the driving, varying guitar (I think) line you’ve got going with the drums. Solid track!
Part 2: like the transitioning soundscape and some of the ambient textures you’ve got going on. I also don’t love the drum part. I do like parts of the first part of the drums, and I don’t think it’s a bad idea to get some dirty drums going on at that point. I do like some of the wubwub and crunch sounds you’ve got going there. The second part of the drums is jarring in a bad way, the snare is just too piercing and aggressive I think. Maybe a warmer but still dirty sound pack might work better? Overall enjoyed the track.
For title: this feels so close to being well mixed/produced but stays a little too cloudy for the duration imo. If you had burst through some of that mud with your lead line in the second part I feel like that would have nailed it. Musical ideas are solid tho.
Lost and lonely: I like some of these dirty chords. Suffers from similar mixing issues.
Feather garden: cool drums! I liked the juxtaposition of your swirling texture tones and the more forward keyboard. It was a bit jabbier then I’d like but it’s still a cool track overall
Moonlit summer: mixing on this was I think my favorite. Relatively neutral on the melody but it’s a great atmosphere
Final boss 1: is this my favorite track?I think so! I like the mixing more and interesting phrasing, great preamble to your next part.
Final boss: phase 2 mixing seems a bit off with some volume jumps/dips that are kind of jarring. Or some places I feel like if they were brighter would have hit a lot harder. Your frantic pianos are probably most fitting in this track although they lose steam at various places.
I really like that sort of build up electric guitar? (Not sure what that instrument is) but you keep it so dark I don’t really “feel” it as much.
Credits: Wasn’t a huge fan of the drowned credits production here. I’d say the majority of your tracks are more on the favorable side of the nostalgic old school game production atmosphere but I didn’t feel that much with this one.
Overall comments: I clearly just don’t love the mixing/drowned aesthetic generally. If you love that, ignore my mixing comments (except on the part 2 boss it does seem like you can clean that up more objectively)
That being said, I enjoyed these tracks! I find some of the phrasing and such especially interesting and I can see the vision listening to it. Creative work for sure! Keep it up!
Generally, I think these fade outs on the second two songs feel misplaced, maybe you’re intending these to be looped? Didn’t dock points, but I know you could do a better ending because the quality on display for these tracks is next level.
Some great use of pitch bending/time stretching! Reallly cool soundscape.
Intro: I wasn’t the biggest fan of this one, but I think it fit your theme of it being sort of wandery and disoriented. I did like the chromatic movements you had going on generally I just wasn’t feeling the phrasing.
Exploration: love the soundscape and pitch bending stuff, got a little bored in the bridge with the melodic lines I think. Definitely fits the theme and I can visualize the story you’re telling, good stuff!
Battle: f*ing love this one. The chorus’s are killer. The melody lines are wild, just great all around. This is your crowned jewel for sure
