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Inside My World - OST Composing Jam #7's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #27 | 4.175 | 4.175 |
| Overall | #100 | 3.860 | 3.860 |
| Composition | #102 | 3.900 | 3.900 |
| Impression | #103 | 3.825 | 3.825 |
| Quality | #156 | 3.775 | 3.775 |
| Correlation to theme | #229 | 3.625 | 3.625 |
Ranked from 40 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Description
Impressionism and Folk. Really, it's a mix of styles I'm developing into its own sort of thing.
Message from the artist
This is music from a world that's been in my mind for the last 17 years. It came to me spontaneously, but also grew over time. It's like this world has its own sort of spirit to it, its own unique flavor.
I am now working on a survival game in UE5. I used a Valheim build for my cover art, because I am going to use the architectural style I developed during the build for the plains people. Likewise, my first track is related to this biome:
1. Heart of the Steppes
I used a Talharpa I built myself just earlier this year. It's a very hard instrument - like a violin, except there is no fingerboard. You have to use your knuckle to fret the string, so your bowing technique has to be on point. It's also harder to play fast. All of the strings in this track are me playing the instrument I built myself in my garage. It is a Norse/Finnish instrument, and I likewise mixed it with a touch of throat singing along the lines of Mongolia/Altai.
In my survival game, I want the opening to be like you're dropped in this world in a sort of exile. As you explore, you quickly find a horse. You follow the horse a bit, and the horse comes up to you, and eventually you ride the horse. Some of the music in this track would be timed to the galloping of the horse as you explore as I expand on the themes in this track.
Please forgive the shoddy technique on the first couple of measures with the Talharpa - I was trying my best! This is a simplified version of a melody that came into my mind after the last competition, in my sleep in the middle of the night.
Picture of the instrument: https://i.imgur.com/PGy390B.jpg
2. Wind and Water
This one is the first of the more impressionistic tracks. The air of this one to me is like the wind blowing in the trees. The trill is actually pentatonic in a different key than the arpeggio.
What is interesting is that when I first came up with this melody, that trill came to me spontaneously when improvising. What I realized afterwards is that it is very much like throat singing for the initial one, like my love of Mongolian music came through and started harmonizing perfectly with this impressionistic style.
3. Gilded Strands
This piece goes with the gas giant plant that is the moon for my survival game's world. Instead of a sci-fi theme, this is definitely a fantasy theme, but where the cosmos fits in this universe like it would in antiquity, where you'd have this system of astrology and the planets.
This track's name comes from the planet itself having strands of gold against marble white clouds. So, this ties together all of the tracks, because no matter where you are in the game's world, if you look up, you can see this planet filling the sky.
This one is a love letter to Rachmaninoff's Etudes Tableaux. What I did here was extract the spirit of my inner world as Rachmaninoff's world touched mine, as well as Ravel's and Shostakovich's. But this inner world I have is still its own thing, and I'm likewise continuing to develop its sound.
All of the tonal colors in this piece are very deliberate in bringing this spirit of my inner world to life - in the couple spots I made some mistakes, I correct to exactly what I was hearing in my mind. I'd say this one is worth a second listen.
The last line of this one is the motif for the gas giant planet that I have yet to give a name.
Closing note-
I want to emphasize as well that I didn't have a ton of time to work on these. A few of the lines in this piece are improvisations where I improvised it in exactly one take.
Thank you so much for listening. This world is truly something I'm pulling out from the depth of my soul. Likewise, all feedback that helps me grow in realizing this world more fully is greatly appreciated!
Proof:
Heart of the Steppes:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1264600801037258803/1264611901493477497/image.png?ex=669e811c&is=669d2f9c&hm=b6b9f3cf8a58fb5c3acbd36c8ad691eac6be69d5a2500181c82a0f63d0c82f4e&
Wind and Water:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1264600801037258803/1264601311656280074/image.png?ex=669e773f&is=669d25bf&hm=1725181ceb10f78bade3a4a6ae12b45c95011699f3c9c87ca30369ad47aa7f5e&
Gilded Strands:
https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1264600801037258803/1264600822348513424/image.png?ex=669e76cb&is=669d254b&hm=94d5a8229909fdb3099a0ea1086c5ee182d53cf4b477db422d366edbd1e084c5&
Theme
How does it fit the theme?
This is music from a world that's been in my mind for the last 17 years. It came to me spontaneously, but also grew over time. It's like this world has its own sort of spirit to it, its own unique flavor.
Getting this world out of my mind and into the world is one of my core purposes in life. It needs to be born, and it is trying to get out with a fiery intensity.
That is why I chose the "Inside My World" theme. This music is very much the result of going deep inside of myself to dig out this world's spirit.
Link(s) of the submission on streaming services
https://soundcloud.com/alkan23/sets/inside-my-world
Number of tracks3
Genre
Soundtrack use permission
For game jams only
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Comments
This is very interesting! It somewhat reminds me of *The Witcher* at certain moments (including the TV series). The instruments typical of medieval culture sound really good (may I ask which libraries you used?). I truly love the folkloric sounds! Another strong point is the significant difference between the tracks, while still maintaining a sense of coherence among them. The second track, so ethereal, is unexpected after the folkloric intro. It fits well, describing different moods without making you feel like you're being transported to another world or story. The mix is very balanced, and the orchestrations are excellently executed. Well done!
The only virtual instrument in my composition is the piano.
The first track is entirely real instruments and my voice. All the string sounds are the Talharpa I made by hand, as in I designed and built with wood. It is made of spruce and African mahogany, with gut strings. As Talharpas go, it is also a very unique instrument, where I crossed a viola da gamba and a Trossingen lyre. It is pictured in my post. The crossbar is made out of a piece of ipe that a woodworker at my local ren fair gave me.
The whistling is me throat singing. The drum is a frame drum.
Wow, incredible. I didn't expect that! Truly, congratulations!
I really enjoyed the expressiveness your live playing adds to the music, vs. something "on-the-grid".
I love that you interpreted the theme in a personal way, digested it, and produced an eclectic blend of world-folk-inspired music. This is awesome.
Really cool of you to use real instruments and great quality production, this would definitely work well in a game!
2nd track was really chill.
3rd track got me yoshimatsu vibe, really evocative^^
Your tracks really put me in the space of the game. You did a phenomenal job creating the atmosphere of this world. Nicely done!
I crave for more folk and live playing in video game music ! The first track was AMAZING !
The 2 piano tracks are really shooting too, what an achievement for a one week jam, GG
Thank you!
Custom Instrument and live performance? It's incredibly Folk-y I love the tonal richness and the voice layering, it's incredibly impressive! An artist through and through!
The other 2 tracks on piano are impressive, virtuosic playing it's really incredible what you got done in a week! Following you on Soundcloud immediately!
Nice tracks. To have your own-built instrument is certainly giving the music another dimension! Also liked the Debussy feelings in your piano :D
Building your own instrument for this is so cool! Great composition and a very short and sweet entry that left me wishing there was more! Great work with this, even though you didn't have a lot of time and had to improvise it still comes through that you care a lot about this world, and the music still came out great! This is something to be proud of for sure!
This is a lovely response!
Thank you! :)
This is an incredibly impressive project! You built your own instrument, that is amazing! Astounded at the quality of the work, and I would love to hear more from you! In my top 10 submissions here, this is just so good.
First track, very medieval amazing arrangement with the voice and violin. The other two piano tracks are pretty but in terms of mix I think you can bring everything to the front, they felt low in volumes. You can probalby use 2 pianos one that is kind of dry and the other doing the same thing but distant and reverb to create some sort of a room effect without losing the close up sound of the piano. Well done !
What's the difference between just setting the dry output to a percentage and actually duplicating a dry track? Just trying to think logically - I've seen this advice before and your track is mixed very well, so I'm truly asking this question to gain in understanding.
I guess on the other side of it, the piano VST I'm using isn't the absolute top of the line either, and the reverb getting a little more distant compensates a little for the piano's color characteristics.
I'll probably cave in and get i-Lok so I can actually buy one of the Vienna Symphonic Library pianos, or their whole bundle. One of these days.
That said, since I make instruments I could probably just tweak the reverbs and EQs to really pull more apparent tone and color out of the drier piano sound.
Thank you for the feedback!
You probably first have to play with EQ on the piano you chose, you can work with some free pianos too, labs and foundations avec great stuff. I used Keyscape but only one presets and I EQ to boost some of the highs on one, panned the high notes on the right side between 30 to 60% and low notes on the left (like someone is playing left hand) and add a second layer of a piano with way more reverb but pretty low in volumes with that I have a good stereo balance and a little more upfront, if I have too I add a compressor to make it pop a little more.
Ah, that makes sense. I'll try some more thorough messing around. To be honest, I'll probably still end up with one of the Viennas, and then do all of this messing around with imaging and EQing. Probably the Bluthner, my actual favorite brand of pianos.
Unless you mean make a dry one that has a "closer" stereo image? Heh.
You are definitely a skilled musician, this is very impressive!
Hey! Great to revisit these, and learn more about your process. You built an instrument?? Super impressive, in addition to it also sounding so natural. It's an interesting range of having a more 'nomadic' sound, with the kind of impressionistic piano. With more time, I'd be interested if there were a track that could combine those in some way. All around great stuff, hope to hear more of your work!
Absolutely blown away by the quality of these pieces, especially the instrument (that you built yourself and then learnt! lol) in the first track; live instrumentation is really beneficial for things like this, the subtleties of the acoustic nature of the instrument shine through, particularly when complimenting the nordic theme. The piano work is great in the second two tracks as well, much more interesting harmony than many tracks I've heard (love the debussy influence). A cut above the rest for sure.
Thank you!
It's kind of a blend of Norse and Central Asian nomadic horse cultures.
Likewise, I also kind of think of it as appropriate for an interpretation of Rohan folk music lol
Very creative pieces! I love what you did with the first track; it immediately draws you into the world. But I think my favorite of the three is "Gilded Strands" your piano sounds lovely!
Heh. People seem to either like the first or the last one the most. I think I am also split between them.
Gilded strands definitely has the ethereal vibe I've been working on developing. I'm so happy that it's something that people seem to be able to appreciate. I was a bit worried about it's more unusual flavor making it less palatable, even though every decision in it is quite deliberate and not arbitrarily placed, like that's the musical language of this world.
wow ur piano works for me are like debussy and rachmaninov in one (both my favs). and i`m really into this norddic vibe, so im impressed. really cool!
That is such a high compliment. Thank you so, so much. I love Rachmaninoff - and when I say love, it feels like I know him like he's a friend through his music.
Rachmaninoff, Ravel, and Debussy definitely influence the piano works heavily, especially Rachmaninoff's Etudes Tableaux.
I like the instrument selection in "Heart of the Steppes", really nails that eastern European folk sound.
"Wind and Water" has a very sweet piano melody. The background arpeggios provide the piece with some nice movement.
"Gilded Strands" also has a very gentle melody. It feels calm and instrospective and builds up in intensity towards the end when the counterpoint is introduced.
I really like what you've done here. Also how you've played your instruments. It has quite an enchanting sound that lures the listener in. I was somewhat disappointed with the abrupt ending of the songs. But I defenetly would like to hear more of that spark of Idea.
I was trying to keep things brief because there are so many entries. I figured a sampling was the ideal way to communicate the swath of ideas without making the tracks overly long. Lengthening the songs from a compositional perspective should be pretty easy.
For the survival game I'm making, I'm planning to have a sound track that's something like 2-3 hours long, maybe longer so that it takes a while to get tired of the ambience.
I'm glad you're enticed to want to hear more! Thank you for listening. :)
This is amazing! I like the folk theme. It's great you finally were able to put an idea you've had for a while out there utilizing this jam, and it definitely paid off. I truly enjoyed listening to this and my personal favorite was Heart of the Steppes. Keep it up!
amazing, I love the nordic strings on heart and steppe, and the nostalgic feel on wind and water