itch.io

Hi! I see it's your first time in a jam, so first of all, welcome! Let's go with my impressions:

1. Iraes Reborn

• Giving me hopeful vibes which go perfectly well with your explanation of the song meaning for the character. 
• I am digging your usage of the leit motif throughout the piece, taken from the first notes of the Dies Irae. The track gave me some general celtic kind of vibes, but with your sound palette selection being mostly orchestral, that was more of a feeling I guess. 
• I am finding some issues with your VST instruments, which are detrimental to the composition and the listener experience: strings and horns sounding a tad synthy and choirs very dry. 
• I am also feeling a lack of reverb, even if it was very subtle, to keep things glued together in the same space, and some voices would also need to be steady enough during the piece as to make me feel its harmony. 
• At the moment there are lots of interesting ideas, but they feel a bit disconnected because of only being melodic and most of the time using one or two voices. Just adding a simple bassline to link parts could work wonders to solve this issue.

2. A Court of Madness

• Calm but somber and filled with despair. Perfect as well for your description of what you were going for.
• I think some of the ideas are cut short too soon, and sometimes there's a lack of something to latch onto.
• Similar issues as the first track regarding sound, with some VSTs standing out because of their timbre not being organic enough, specially the choir and the strings.
• Piano arpeggios are fantastic and work perfectly well combined with the choir.

3. Regal Gratitude

• Fantastic beginning. The entrance of the strings at 0:20 is epic.
• The quality of the strings in the low register is much better here, and everything feels cohesive and moving forward in a direction, with energy and resolution.
• Easily my favorite of the three. Lots of potential here.

I found your soundtrack interesting to listen to, while at the same time a bit of a work in progress. Compositionally would need some polishing, but it is packed with powerful ideas. The most serious issue to my ears is the VST instrument sound selection, which has nothing to do with the quality of the work, but sadly makes it difficult to judge impartially because it affects the full listening experience. 

Thank you so much for the constructive feedback! I'll for sure take it into account for future pieces.

Really nice short piece, feeling very organic. Loving the playful vibes of the bells and plucked strings, joking around against the string section being oh so serious and mysterious. Are these all musescore sounds? Impressive. I tried it some years ago and the quality was always far from other DAW VSTs, but I see they have improved a lot.

Oh, yeah, I remember listening to this in the Discord. So grand and epic. Supersolid entry, always moving forward and with a tremendous sense of resolution. Very coherent to the theme as well. Great job.

Haunted spooky crystal castle vibes all over. That was great. I digged the on-the-beat marching first part of the song, with that "Stranger Things" kind of synth for the transition, as well as that banjo/harpsichord in the background. The second part was a bit weaker to me, and maybe the still heavy on the first beat bass and percussion were detrimental to giving the song a sense of contrast, failing to make it take off. It felt like it wanted to start moving coming from the first section, but it was kind of constricted, not sure how to explain it. Then there it came the ending, which to me was also very nice, with less voicings but a clearer direction. I really wanted for it to go on.

Great sound design here. I like the water dropping and vibrating squealing quality of the lead. I also think the amount of reverb is very fitting. The beginning of the song with the absence of measure marks and some discordant notes here and there gives a timeless mood. My only critique would be that, lacking contrast, the ears start to grow tired of the aimless roaming with no point of reference to grasp. I understand this can work extremely well as a pure minimalistic ambient, but as a song, elements such as the variation in timbre that appears around the 4 minute mark would be needed earlier to keep interest and a sense of progression.

Very nice take on a dark castle/cathedral. Hearing melodic reminiscences of the Phantom of the Opera, with a dark but also energetic mood. And I also did not know church organs did not have note-velocities! Thank you so much for sharing this piece of info and other "insider notes" about your thought and work process. Very very useful stuff (which I might also shamelessy copy, just for a change...).

Digging the kind of spacey, relaxing at the beach, 50s comedy movie soundtrack, jazzy kind of mixture here, putting me in this pleasant calm swingy mood. As suggestion for improvement, I would say the two first string attacks are very loud, contrasting with the rest of the piece levels. Loving as well the subtle (triangle?) clings around the end. Cool work.

Gong!!! Very cool and creative entry. I specially dig part B and its sound design. The "8 bit - crystal" sound is great, and the arpeggiated runs combined with the fretless bass provide a very interesting sound texture giving an adventurous and exploratory vibe. The mix can be improved, but I am assuming in this case you devoted the available time to explore new ideas and timbres. The crystal sound maybe could benefit with some reverb and while the first part has the choir synths making everything stick together (a tad loud, though), at part B sometimes I felt grasping for something to hold on harmonically, specially when there is no bass. Overall, great piece with lots of potential and  ideas.

Thank you so so much! Happy to hear it worked for you!

Thanks a lot for the detailed feedback and what it suggests to you, specially regarding the specific scene in a game which you would picture it in, that was awesome. Very glad you liked it!

Thank you so much!

Thanks a lot!

Thank you!

Thank you so much for the detailed feedback! Oh, and the Dies Irae is just there, "hidden in plain sight" I guess. I became infatuated with the idea of using the full melodic movement of the motive with different backing chords, and there you have it at the first track right from the start. The value of the notes is different, though, with alternating eighth and quarter notes, and each phrase starts at the second beat or in syncopation, so I guess this disguise makes it unrecognizable, but the notes sequence is exactly the Dies Irae's first three measures! 

I totally agree that this first track is the weakest of the lot. I tried adding more meat to it, but it came out as too artificial and bloated, so I preferred to leave it as is, as a kind of introductory track. Huge compliment as well comparing this to Trent Reznor's work! I am a big fan and NIN's "Piggy" was a direct inspiration for the second track.

I see what you mean. Indeed, the piece sounded really having ended there, I felt it had finished with that grand finale, but I also knew it had not because I was peeking at the score. Maybe some subtle sustained discording high note or something of that nature could help for it not to feel disconnected from the ending? Just some stupid idea, not sure if it is really necessary.

So cool and rich, really enjoyed the time changes, the 5/4 section is probably my favorite, giving me some kind of Raiders of the Lost Ark vibes somehow, adventurous and also majestic. I also digged a lot the epilogue, giving a nice touch with a reprisal and closing of the circle. Amazing work, and thank you so so much as well for sharing the score with us to follow the piece!

Fantastic work! A treat to the ears, with a wonderful beginning harmonically, as others already pointed out, and then a great spooky, playful mood perfect for immersing oneself in this Crystal Castle game, which is maybe a fast paced platformer? Really enjoyed this. Great track with lots of potential.

First rate sound quality, as everything I heard from you before, taking me to this abandoned wreckage of the lost spaceship Glitzerschloss, which was last seen in a mining mission at the moon of Nios...  Loving so many things here: the descending synth runs, the ping pong panned kind of "scanner" sounds, the mumbling voices, and not to forget that epic electric guitar wall of sound ending, The slow and burning buildup to that point is very well done too. Beginner, you say? Been making tunes for only a year? Amazing! My hat off to you and thanks for sharing your work. 

Really digging the sound palette here. Supercohesive, with that juicy bass moving the piece forward to give way for the dialogue between the lead melodies. Great ambient as well, because the melodies are not distracting. Loving the ending with the reverby trumpet too. Feels totally fitting an RPG and a dramatical scene, with its melancholic and calm mood. Fantastic work.

Great ambient piece with cinematic qualities which put me in this expectant, observing mood, like watching how the lives in diverse parts of this castle are developing: it could be the beginning of the story or maybe the middle point when something crucial is about to happen. I think the mix was great, and I digged the subtle harmonic variation at the second half of the piece, adding a little spice to it. Good job!

Solid dance entry with strong rhythm section and hopeful vibes. It really makes me want to stand up and start moving my feet, taking me tonight to this Crystal Castle disco which I am sure exists somewhere in this or another parallel universe. Good job!

I think it's the first 3/4 I hear in this jam, which works great in setting the tone for a waltzy dance in some palace halls. The sound palette worked fine in general for me, with just maybe the drums appearance standing a bit out of place. I also digged the transition to a more dark harmony at the second half of the piece, before returning back to the beginning. I felt this road could be explored further to take the track to a more enigmatic place.

Mesmerizing track. I am loving the textures you achieved here, specially that kind of vibrating dish and the more percussive hits all along. The build up is also very nice, gently filling up the rhythm as we move forward.

Really good work at creating unresolved tension in an uplifting way, always going up up! Feeling kind of medieval too, with those repeated rhythmic patterns.

Oh, yeah, thank you so much, that's what it's called then! Haha, my total pleasure!

I really digged these a bit out of tune, kind of music toy sounds. It made me think of a lost magic music box waiting to be found inside a cave, or maybe under dunes of sand beaten by the wind, for ages lonely... But then, 0:50, wait, someone is approaching, who is it? Will it be the one?

Really cool ambient piece, with so many fitting ideas for the theme at hand. I digged a lot of the things you used, like those percussion steps which provide the rhythm for the track to not only be ambient, which also make me think of a locomotive, like a train (perhaps we are inside a mine?). Also those windy flutey sounds which remind of the wind entering the cave through cracks are fantastic. Great work!

Nice! I loved the glockenspiel with ominous piano moments, and then when the spooky sounds appear I was like "YES!". If it does not exist, I think you managed to create a new genre: "spookepic". Loving this, pretty energetic, dark and at the same time hopeful vibes. And not to forget the mix was great.

Amazing work. The mix is superb and the richness and deepness of the intricate mixture of music and fx is fantastic. One can really feel the layers here, and immerse oneself in the journey through this underground village, a community thriving with life and awaiting to be explored. Very very cool.

The definition of when less is more. I am a sucker for minimalistic pieces, and this is such a fine example of that. +1 for not quantizing. Great feeling of space created, with the just amount of rhythm with the synths. I also digged the kind of metallic sound you used.

Lovely track. I enjoyed the sound design here very much, specially the kind of "reversed" audio for the lead melody and the bass, which was so gentle and full. Very moving and perfectly suiting the theme. One of my favorite entries of this jam. Awesome work.

So cool! The opening is fantastic with those synth arpeggios runs and the transition at 0:19. Some juicy chord tensions there. I liked how the jazzy melody is leading the way and lots of "characters" appear along the way with different horns and percussion attacks. Giving me feelings of a wild space with dangers and full of possibilities. Great work!

Perfectly fitting the theme, undeground mood. I really liked the creativity here emulating echo with that "wah" effect, and the splashing and running of water with the noise. Cool!

Giving me Badalamenti vibes. Melodic ideas with lots of potential here. Good work!

Epic vibes all around, tension and grandeur. I really like the contrast the glockenspiel provides with the other instruments, such as heavy attacking strings. I specially digged the transition where the arpeggios of the glockenspiel became slower. Nice!

Excellent track, spooky vibes reminding me some late 80s early 90s TV show intro. Calm, really dig the contrast between drum/ no drum sections. Lovely piano runs at the end of the song, and great choosing of sound palette. I think the tempo was also spot on for the vibe and the "monster" in the background provided a really nice touch. Good job!

Thanks a lot for the feedback! Indeed, I run out of time and left it as a sketch pending further development.

Very mysterious and enveloping, I digged your usage of a leit motif throughout, and the story telling feeling, with subtle changes leading me to feel like I am in a new place full of danger. I also think you being so specific about the setting of your piece is absolutely genius. It makes me want to rethink how I approach future jams, looking for a much more focused view in an element of the world, instead of just going for the general "city", "underground" or whatever generic concept. And, last but not least, STRATOCASTER! Man, I want more of that. Really felt the glimpse of that ancient civilization past in those few seconds of sweet guitar playing. But alas, it was just a fading memory, I guess... Great work! 

Digging the beginning, with the gradual growing of density, giving a sense of wonder and discovery. The drum pattern works great to give this combative, ritualistic mood. I also liked your voicing of the choirs. And the bells bring a nice touch of calling into reunion, the meeting of the people living in this city we are just entering into.