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In An Unlikely Alley's itch.io pageResults
| Criteria | Rank | Score* | Raw Score |
| Creativity | #6 | 3.889 | 3.889 |
| Overall | #14 | 2.822 | 2.822 |
| Challenge | #14 | 2.667 | 2.667 |
| Composition | #15 | 2.556 | 2.556 |
| Mixing | #17 | 2.444 | 2.444 |
| Vibe | #17 | 2.556 | 2.556 |
Ranked from 9 ratings. Score is adjusted from raw score by the median number of ratings per game in the jam.
Title
In An Unlikely Alley (EP)
Description
I made some music every day. When I had something "jazzy" that I liked, I started to think about theme, and decided "A Stray Cat Approaches" sounds like what it says. Imagined cats living in the "infinite maze" and built around that. I made music for "Emile's Theme" another day, and thought about a story and characters when I made the pixel art.
The hardest song is actually the simple "Camille's Theme"/ "Nine Lives". I thought of the melody at once, when I wanted a sweet song for the 2 cats finding each other again. I tried for 3-4 days to make B-sections, orchestration, different endings, more complex variations. I feel really good about using these 2 versions - the solo marimba version was lost when I used it as the last track. Now, I think it is a strong change from the "raga" opening, and catches attention; and with the slightly faster bass version, it's enough to close the album, but still simple.
I made the music by ear, and actually did not see any note names until all tracks were complete. There are interesting music theory "things" happening (for example, dissonant Ab/G opens the "raga", but also appears in other tracks) - but I made what I like from jazz - percussion, dissonant modes and modal interchange, syncopation, and a sweet memorable serenade type melody.
I think the EP really could be played on stage by 2 percussionists, 1 bass and an accordion (for Emile's Theme). Imagine 2 percussionists improvising over the "raga" while an audience finds their seats....
Thanks for the challenge and inspiration.
Plugins used
all tracks made with BeepBox.co
Link(s) to your submission
https://mycatsname.itch.io/in-an-alley
https://soundcloud.com/mm-lls/sets/in-an-unlikely-alley
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Comments
This is a pretty cool idea and I like that you've really done a whole story here!
The first song, I immediately get the alley way feel - the drums sound like someone beating on metal trash cans and dumpsters (beautiful touch!) while the melody screams a tense cat staring interaction.
You capture that tension again when the stray approaches. :)
I think I personally like Camilla's theme more than Emile's theme, that one was a bit too dissonant for me.
And the final song I can see them walking away together down the alley and turning the corner.
Love the idea and creativity here - great job!
its very creative to have your entry be 5 connected songs but I feel like the songs themselves leave a lot to be desired. It doesn't feel like there's really a melody anywhere.
Sounds like it was not a hit for you. Thanks for trying.