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Aurélien Castel

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A member registered Aug 25, 2022 · View creator page →

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Can you add in your description that you made the generative tool yourself and that it is not AI powered?
Considering this is a music jam, auto-generated music is usually not allowed, but considering it is your own tool and you took the decisions regarding how it should generate music I think its fine.

Several jammers reported to me they had access to every submission for the rating, they were unaffected by the rating queue.

Hello, I activated the rating queue on this jam: https://itch.io/jam/alternative-soundtrack-music-jam-5
Yet nobody was affected by the queue, as if it was not activated.
There are the settings: 


There may be a bug when the rating queue unlock size is superior to the number of entries?
Still, on an older jam I tried to leave a blank for the unlock size and it didn't worked either.

Have a good day.

Just leaving a comment here because I can't find you on the discord server,

As a top 3 of the jam you can suggest a game to add to the list.

It seems like there is no DM on itch io, the most convenient way to do it is through discord, if you wish.

This is the discord server link: https://discord.gg/8aa92Pzf

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Just leaving a comment here because I can't find you on the discord server,
As a top 3 of the jam you can suggest a game to add to the list.
It seems like there is no DM on itch io, the most convenient way to do it is through discord, if you wish.
This is the discord server link: https://discord.gg/8aa92Pzf

Very nice, maybe a bit too straightforward for earthbound but only so slightly.
Loved the moment between 0:28 and 0:32. Not so much between 0:41 and 0:46, I think you could have found better chromatic chords. Also the turnaround at the end is a bit weird as it doesnt really link to the beginning.
Very good composition nonetheless.

Awesome track, well composed, perfect structural balance, it sounds like it come from a ragtime songbook.
And it is a good idea for a shop imo.
Even though I love the constrast that come from the part at 0:36, its maybe unjustified to have such a dark sounding moment in the shop music.
All things considered it would have been even better to turn it into some sort of revisited ragtime by adding unexepected stuff reminding of the mother universe. But as I said to someone who made a straight bossa nova, its not so easy to do such things when deep in the codes of a certain style.
Also for the sound/mixing part, I felt it was a bit robotic for a ragtime, maybe too quiet also.
A very good composition still!

The instument choice and pace of the track makes it a great fit for the theme.
And even if it was a good idea to try to include some dissonances, I am not a big fan of the note you chosen.
For exemple right at 0:14 you have an F chord with F at the bass and the melody play E-E-G-G-F#-F#-G.
It sound a bit hollow to me, some of the notes from the F chord extension would have been better candidates here.
You also seems to often land on a "empty fifth" between the bass and the melody (eg at 0:38 D at the bass and A at the melody), it makes it sound a bit "poor".
Good job nonetheless, the two parts complements each other well.

To me it goes way too hard for a shop music.
The rhapsodic aspect is a great for earthbound but would make more sense for a battle theme.
Even though I enjoyed most of the spyciness and politanal stuff happening, the section between 1:38 and 1:46 sound really hollow / bland to me.
Also the mixing seems fine at some spots and not so much at others (eg 0:44).
In the end even if I think it need to be perfected, I would love to hear more of this kind of stuff, its hard to compose, often time consumming, but it can bring us unique musical experience and awesome tracks. Keep it up!

Solid bossa nova track, you did a good job at making the soundfonts sound not as cheap and cheesy as they usualy do. But somehow the cheesyness I feel is a vibe that can be looked for when composing for such an funny game.
For the same reason I think the track lacks a bit of surprise elements, I know its hard to add unexpected chords or rhythms in such a codified style but I think it would have made the piece more credible and unique.

I love the mood of it, even if its a bit uncanny, I think it could still work for a standard city mall. You did a super good job of putting just the right amount of dissonances, sporadic intervantions of the different section, groovy drums and bassline. To me it could reach perfect status by having an additional part somewhere in the middle to add contrast, maybe something that break the drum pattern.

Nice track overall, can work for a shopping place, the voice samples is a nice touch and makes sense for earthbound in my opinion.
However I find the harmonies a bit too sober for a game from the mother serie, considering how absurd and cartoony it is.
Same thing for the drums and rhythm in general, not funky, groovy or just syncopated enough.

Nice track, even though I would have liked some kind of B section, you did an amazing job at making the loop renew itself.

The association of this heavy rythmic section add janky sounding banjo(?) is certainly a great fit for the earthbound game. I am not as confident for the note choices, some of the dissonances are hard to swallow for me, also the bass being so deep sometime I can't really grasp what is going on. Adding a B section somewhere could help break the repetitivity and create a good opportunity to have a comeback of the A with an additional instrument, maybe even switch the banjo(?) for an other lead the second time.

Even thought this is a piece full of cliche, it is actually very well crafted, the song always move forward in a coherent way, there is some nice details here and there.
The instruments complements each other nicely.
For the cons: Even if the ost have some quite naive sounding tracks here and there (onett theme, home swett home..) they are not as cliche as this, and if you consider earthbound as a game whithout its music, it is better suited for jazz, funk, experimental, maybe some cold wave stuff etc..
Anyway very good work, solid tune.

I really dig the mood of the track and it would be very appropriate for some cave or spooky temple, not so much for your usual shop.
Mixing wise I am a bit bothered by the way the drum is very crisp and close sounding while the other elements are muddy and far sounding (except for the final lead). Even  if its on purpose I feel like its a bit too much.

Fit the theme very well.
The melody is simple and catchy with a bit of variations here and there.
I wish at 0:47 there would be a bigger contrast with the rest of the piece.
1:08 bring a good change of intensity. Good job.

The "shop" part of the jam really call for something like this but I don't think such a conventional, almost corporate sounding piece fits earthbound. It lacks funkyness or a surprise element, some contrast etc..

Something tell me you would like Undertale to be picked for next jam...
Even if I would not be too surprised to ear this in a game from the mother serie, its way to upbeat for a shop music.
Overall I really liked the piece, a lot of variety while keeping coherence, kind of catchy too!

Obviously a bit too far from the shopping vibes for me.
However very close to the earthbound vibes.
I think the first part is a bit too long but part B is a very good complement, well composed.
Also the instrument choice, the balance between them, the drum writing etc is very nice.

haha, it was brave of you to go for the live jug recording. Also even without music theory you can find good chord progressions by ear and try to find a good association of 16 bars of chord progression 1 then, 16 bars of chord progression 2 etc... It can be time consuming especially if your are aiming for a precise atmosphere.

The high level of contrast between the different parts and the way you suddently goes from one to an other is a bit similar to what is done in Sanctuary Guardians. Yet, I don't see this at all for a shop theme.
Nice creativity, and details in your work still,  good job.

Even if  it matches the earthbound world pretty well, I think it brings too much action vibes for a shop music.
The music in itself is well balanced, every part makes sense, I think at some point switching the bass line for something else would improve the piece.

I like the overall energy of the piece and thinks it match the theme very well.
However the B part (at around 0:36) seems a bit rushed composition wise, it is not distinct enough from part A and also have some clashing dissonances between the different instruments.

Somehow I find this sooo on point on credibility.
The two bad points are: the loop is very short and it is a bit empty, a lot of the time you only have two notes + percussion playing, and the instruments often goes in the same direction, giving it a monophonic quality.

Structure wise I like the balance, fits very well for a shop and the game overall.
My only issue is at 0:36, the chormatisms / dissonances there sounds a bit weird, I feel like there was a better choice of note to be found.

I love the little turnaround you do at 0:27 and 1:07.
One of the thing you can easily improve is the instruments choice, to my ears, they are too similar, everything is soft and silky, the bass, keys and melody (also keys?) sounds muchy in the end. The melody should probably be an octave higher to not clash with the chords.
Also when you have such a standard and repetitive chord progression you should search for a more sophisticated bass line.
If your piece is not more fancy than this its also hard to not add drums.

The mood of the piece fits pretty well. My biggest crtique is that the chord loop is too repetitive. Also the jug from 0:30 is too chaotic and don't blend very well with the other instruments in my opinion. You could improve this kind of piece by having some sort of melodic line, not necessarily by adding an instrument, just by avoiding the constant repetition of the same pattern on the piano and banjo.

Can you fix your streaming link please, it doesnt lead to your track.

You can use it if:

  • It require no account or download.
  • There is a read only mode.
  • There is a creation/last edit date showing when listening to the file.

Nice organic compostition, maybe it even moves a bit too much for a background music. Also I think it is because of the tempo and the ryhtmic choices, but it feels more like a puzzle game music than a platformer one. The section at 1:36 to me is too static for a fast paced game like mario, and not very excited from a purely musical point of vue either. Still very nice job with the melodic cells development and the mood of the piece that is very underground compatible.

It sounds great and fits the underground area very well. Yet it is too serious and ethereal for a Mario game.

It packs a lot of personality with so few elements. Nice job.

I like how it sounds regarding chiptune, the structure of the piece is also well done. However I am not a fan of the harmony and melody direction, because it don't makes me feel like I am underground, and also because it goes round in circle a bit.

Very interesting take, from the submissions I've heard its one of the few that does something quite different from the OST while keeping an high credibility. I guess it comes down to the harmonic choices but also some sort of lightness from the drums + electronic piano and the scattered melodic cells.

This one is sooo on point, very well composed, nice variety from the different sections while keeping cohesiveness, catchy as fuck, cell development, great drum work, dynamics. To me, even without the chiptune, the mood match perfectly both the underground and the cartonish / colorfullness of mario. Does this respect the NES limitation as well?

Nice.

The bass and drums part is a bit too repetitive imo, and overall I miss some kind of B section. Still I like your choice of melodic cells. Very credible both for Mario and the underground level.

Nice tune, could work very well in a 2D Mario, but I don't really see the energy of the track beeing underground related.

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Damn, great job, clearly too sci-fi / synth-heavy for the cartoonish world of Mario, but the sound design is awesome, the mood is great for underground, and the pace of the piece great for a 2d platformer. Composition wise it's well balanced and the chord progression + the little chiptunes arpeggios here and there prevent boredom.
Also I recommend you post a link to your submission on the discord, to prevent score penalty happening from having not enough ratings.