I really appreciate you listening to all 3. And I'm ashamed to say I haven't played Okami yet. Your comment may be the push I need to go and buy it though...! Thank you again!
This was goofy but well mixed, well composed, well orchestrated and fun. Nice job!
"Damn Daniel tries to reach for his remote but it is on the table which is very far." This is an interpretation of "the far reaches" i can get down with LOL
This is extremely pleasant to listen to. Of all the submissions, this one seems the most feasible as video game music. It's the right blend of repetition and novelty to make it infinitely loop-able. Amazing work!!
In the inspiration art for this jam, Hokusai frames the approaching rapids in a circle. This was a very poignant move on his part, and is one of many surreal choices he made in his woodblock print. I'm so happy to hear you develop music that, to me, relates to that circle.
The harmonies between the two reed instruments in the second part of your track are heavenly. I'm not sure I've ever heard anything like it. It took me somewhere far away, and honestly sounded like it transcended western harmony altogether. Of all the submissions, yours completely abandons the rigidity of western music in a truly authentic way. Not only is that difficult, but it's impossible for most people. Well done. Superb music!!!
Really great arrangement of tasteful and dynamic electronic instruments. Love how melodic instruments are being used as percussion in places. The chord progression is relaxing and modern. It sounds like you're pulling in extended chords from adjacent keys which I always love. The wait for the bass drop was a little long (1:22 or so) and the payoff could be deeper. I wanted some deep bass frequencies and a mind-melting bassline after the high-end intro. Overall the textures and harmonies really won me over. This is a fantastic, well-executed, listenable tune that puts a contemporary spin on the theme.
Great feedback, glad you got the waterfall idea in the 3rd song. I feel like I've heard that descending piano motif in water areas in SNES-era JRPGs but failed to find a good reference so I just recreated what I heard in my head. Also, I agree that 10,000 Hinoki Trees could use some brightness, even if I was going for a darker theme. The higher elements are mixed really quietly. Thanks again for listening!
Flute, strings, harp each get their chance to take the center stage in this piece, which I thought was a fantastic choice on your part. Gives me Ralph Vaughan Williams "pastoral" vibes, like I'm wandering aimlessly around the countryside to clear my head of emotional trauma I experienced back home. It's arranged and mixed very well. Being a lover of bass and low frequencies in general, I wish the first half of the song had a bit more low end. Or some dramatic entrance of the bass. Overall this is a very evocative piece that paints a clear picture in my head. Excellent work!
Hey thank you for checking out my work. Agreed, I overdid it with the reverb and I'm surprised you're the first to mention it. I will pay closer attention to cramming too much reverb into the low-end mids in the future. Great advice, and I look forward to hearing your future works, hoping you explore more generative stuff again.
Your aptitude for creating diverse, distinct and spacious soundscapes is on full display here. EQ, levels, stereo imaging is spot on, it feels full, it feels tasty, it feels good to listen to. Taking so many instruments and blending them together can be difficult but you make it look easy!!! You're taking a high-energy approach to this theme and pushing motifs into your music more, which creates some memorable moments for me. I've listened to your tracks several times and the melodies create "ah hah!" points where I get warm fuzzies when my anticipation is rewarded. These particular snippets stood out to me personally:
~rakusui~ (Menu Theme) 0:10, 1:45 - woman's vocals + bass synth ~koi no kuni~ (Shiakei Overworld Theme) 0:20 onwards - the arpeggiated lead synth ~toi kuni~ (Reaches Overworld Theme) 0:41 onwards - the arpeggiated lead synth ~dokusei no kigen~ (Dokhazo's Combat Theme) 0:44 - distorted vocals of woman singing middle eastern theme ~dokusei no kigen~ (Dokhazo's Combat Theme) 0:55, 1:58 - Dokhazo's motif played by the high arpeggiated lead synth
Maybe I'm drawn to those particular sounds, but regardless, those moments really spoke to me and colored this whole suite.
Great work, can't wait to see what sonic avenues you choose to explore in upcoming jams!
Great sound design. It's kind of unnerving to listen to, almost hurts my ears. Not sure how you'd tame the dynamic range to be honest. Certain high frequencies are slightly painful and loud to me. Despite that, all the sonic elements come together and it makes sense, and is a cool short journey. This is a really unique submission and definitely stands out!!
Flutes, kotos, guqins (I really don't know what they all are) are being turned into percussive, textural sounds and it's so cool to hear. You're folding, weaving and stretching them into something non-traditional and the effect is unlike anything I've heard before. And it works so well. This was so great to listen to. This work is so rhythmic, despite only featuring minimal percussive instruments. You're turning melodic instruments into rhythmic ones and it's amazing. One of my top favorite submissions that gets better each time I listen to it.
The bends, dynamics and tenderness of the koto and guqin are breathtaking. The transients on these instruments are really loud and a bit jarring to my ears, but don't detract from their beauty. I'd like to hear you break out of the minor key more often, but it does set a sombre and introspective mood. This is amazing work. You really pull so much life out of each instrument that even such a sparse arrangement sounds full and engaging.
Cinematic, engaging and beautiful. You definitely know how to use harmony and aren't afraid to show it off. It says so much for being such a short song. Excellent work!
The bass at :42 gives me chills every time. Wow. Musically I have no critique, this is so spot on. I've listened to this several times and it gets better each time. Incredible use of generative elements, which from my experience, can be rather unlistenable when used incorrectly. Thematically, I don't feel like I'm playing a walking simulator. I feel like I'm exploring a post-apocalyptic metropolis in 2392 that's been overgrown by flora that would seem alien to us.
This is by far one of my favorite submissions. Incredible work.
Love the high energy. So many different instruments and they're all mixed so well. The harmonic shifts feel meaningful. Overall it's just fun and engaging to listen to, it gets me pumped up!!! Since I'm a bass freak, I can't help but wish there was more in the lower end, maybe some sub-bass somewhere. The instruments feel alive, this could be a live recording, you must have spent so much time tweaking the dynamics of the instruments. Amazing work!
Your choice of harmonies, textures and well-placed dissonance is nothing short of masterful. Very well done. This is so beautiful. You find a balance between grace and chaos and roll with it. The bassline is so engaging and interesting. Like other commenters have said, it's a bit quiet and the mixing needs some work. It's got a lot of highs and mid-highs and that bass needs to be louder and fuller. There are a ton of lows and low-mids in your piano and bass that could be making the song feel "full" but I feel like they're being repressed. Regardless of the EQ the composition is beautiful and this was one of my favorite songs. It's got so much variation, every measure brings a new thing for my ears to eat. It never feels "stuck" and instead feels like it's telling an evolving story. I love it. Brilliant work!!
Thank you for the feedback. It really means a lot. Yeah, 10,000 Hinoki trees starts out a little optimistic and falls towards gloom without a big harmonic shift. I think I was playing with the Dorian Mode (the major 6th and minor 3rd interval contrast) for that one. Anyways, thank you again. And please keep bringing that mind-meltingly delicious sound design to the table. So good!!
Thank you so much for taking the time to check it out!! I tried hard to create track names that matched the areas/story and I'm stoked you picked up on that. Cheers!
"The Far Reaches" is a breathtaking example of establishing and developing a theme. It keeps evolving and changing without losing the melody. The masterful chord choices take us on a tonal journey. Amazing work. This suite is a masterclass in harmony.
I've listened to this many times over the past week. It has a ton of character and several memorable moments. You're doing really unexpected things with chord progressions that seem to intentionally subvert the listener's expectations. The abrupt and unanticipated cadences make it really fun to listen to. I really dig this. Plus, it kind of reminds me of Air (the band) which is awesome.
Beautiful textures and harmonies, you've created a really nice motif out of the interaction between the instruments. For such a minimal arrangement, it sounds very full. I like the noisy fuzz in the koto-like plucked instrument. When the cello comes in at 1:47, it's really jarring and almost hurts my ears though.
Beautiful textures and harmonies, you've created a really nice motif out of the interaction between the instruments. For such a minimal arrangement, it sounds very full. I like the noisy fuzz in the koto-like plucked instrument. When the cello comes in at 1:47, it's really jarring and almost hurts my ears though.
The repeating, odd-metered melody with the bells in "Plunge Pool" is so unique. I really dig how you formed a lot of traditional instruments like piano and guitar into textures and let the bass carry the melody. It seems really quiet, though, even with the volume maxed out. I want to feel that bass!
This is so beautiful. I've listened to it several times over the past 2 or so weeks and I love it more every time. There's not a traditional melody, but there is definite thematic structure beneath the composition that gives it a huge unique character. A structure I can't really articulate but I can feel it.
Before I read your description, it was already giving me HLD vibes. And that is a huge compliment. Maybe it could be a bit louder? But maybe not, since the dynamic range is really nice. Anyways, this composition gives me the chills. Really love this.
Sound design is absolutely, completely, 100% possible using software synths. Sound design is possible using a Casio Keyboard. It's possible using a $30,000 Eurorack Modular Synth. It's possible using a Sure SM57 and a styrofoam cup. There is so much evidence supporting this that it's not even worth arguing, but the best evidence is right here in this submission.
Not only did you heavily experiment with sound design and synthesis, you formed it into a cohesive song. This thing is bangin. You got me praying for that kick to hit again and got me begging for a bunch of spicy frequencies to hit my ears. My only critique is that I want more of your percussion, because you're damn good at it. The ending segment with snare on the 3rd beat felt like ecstasy. I wish there was more "oomph" in the bass during this section, like the insane cerebral kicks around 1:25.
Three tracks tied together by a single motif, very well done. You keep enough variation in the harmonic structure and arrangement to make each track compelling and interesting. "Break Through" really shows your ability to create a chord progression that takes us on a journey. I feel like some of the higher-register instruments can be shrill, piercing and a little jarring in places, and could be toned down a bit. They'd shine through at a lower volume just fine. The constant synth drone in "The Long Dark" bothered me at first but after repeated listens I really like it, it's a great source of tension.
I'm in love with all the textures, spaces and environments you've created. The music feels full and alive, the frequency spectrum is dancing with all sorts of different luscious sounds. Each song seems to define a certain mood, or thought pattern to me, like I'm stuck in some sort of auditory rumination. The mood improves as the songs progress. There is melody, but it all blurs together a bit. I wish I could hear "Sword and Ice" where the guitar stops to catch it's breath and lets the bass play a bit. I want to hear the instruments vying for the listener's attention. I want to hear distinctive motifs, but it all tends towards meditative. But that's purely subjective and based on what I like to listen to. This is an excellent work of music and you've shown you know how to bring complex, warm timbres together into a cohesive whole.
What a sombre, expressive piece. There was a lot of attention paid to the dynamics of the instruments. I can see this music playing in a scene where a loved character dies, a town is set on fire, a character discovers their true dark past, or possibly preceding a final boss. I agree with the other composers regarding the loudness of the music box, and for me, the viola (violin?). They are slightly jarring when they make an appearance at 0:59. I'd like to hear you explore different harmonic spaces as we seem to be revolving around a single natural minor key for the entire song. But perhaps that was the intent, and helps create the dark atmosphere? Overall this is an excellent composition, and is beautifully arranged.
I really appreciate your constructive feedback. In the future, I'll work on my stereo imaging and try to make my inspiration a little more audibly clear. Thank you again for the great insight!
Really happy to hear you stuck around long enough to listen to all 3! They were written as area themes for a simple little story. Now that you mention it, I could have woven them together somehow to push the progressive element further. Thank you so much for your thoughts!
Great range of sounds, it's very well mixed. This one was a lot of fun, there's a ton of harmonic and melodic variety. I appreciate how it's not stuck in one key for very long at any point, but still feels cohesive. Covers a lot of ground for a short song!! Evoked memories of N64 action adventure games.
