HoboKa: +|+++|+|+| (6) Oni-91: ++| (2) Miri: +|+|+++|+| (6) SSC: ++|+|+|+| (5) Virtualshock: ++|+|+| (4) Zephyr Tread: ++|+++|+| (6) Dev: ++|+| (3) The Orichalcon: +++|+++|+++|+|+|+| (12) Alex Smith: ++|+|+|+|+++|+++|+|+|+| (14) Brainstar: +|+|+| (3) Blue.Nocturne: ++|+++|+|+|+|+|+|+++|+++| (16) ------- Abadoss ------- First place: Blue.Nocturne Honerable mentions: Alex Smith, Virtualshock, and HoboKa ------- SSC ++ ------- HoboKa - The start sounds very in-your-face, somewhat. The sounds seem totally raw and the drums come in very, very loud and strong, which I didn't like much. There is little room to hear what's going on beyond the booming drums. More processing, maybe EQing, would've helped. As far as the choir and such the entire thing is very short, so it feels a little rushed through, composition-wise. Oni-91 - I really don't know what to say beyond that it matches pretty much what you wrote for your description. Honestly, I'm not feeling it. There's this constant ostinato on the strings, and stuff happens on top of this. There's almost no variation of that basic idea so the entire thing just feels like background music to something, which is pretty much what you described. But by itself, because of the above, it just feels (to me) pretty empty in terms of composition. Miri - This sort of reminds me of an underwater stage in a shooter like Gradius, Einhänder or such. That's cool and all, but the slow part isn't doing it for me. Mostly those bell-sounding sounds are not my cup'o'tea. When it starts up again halfway through it's back to being pretty shooter-y and action-y. I particularly like the bass notes through these faster-paced sections. Too bad the thing just cuts off at the end, it seems. I think that's just mastering/mixing issue though. Virtualshock - I don't know what the drum thing is supposed to be, it sounds like someone falling down stairs. Well, the sample quality is pretty so-so, but I'm not going to judge based on that since that's unfair. Anyways, I don't understand the structure/idea for this. It sounds like there's two parts, there's a silence in between and the first just ends out of the blue. The second grabs the same motives from the first and I guess is just slower. The organ sound is killing me though, and then it just ends with what I presume is a timpani by itself. Overall I just kind of get the feeling it's either unfinished or a lot more time should've been spent working on this. Zephyr Tread - Another one with submarine/sailor etc subtext. I would like this a lot more if the high hat-percussion didn't stick out so much (too raw-sounding, could do without'em too.) What's going on with the piano and such is nicely processed, and I like the wave/static effects that come and go. The bass and the piano work pretty OK together and help the overall feel of the song. Another thing is the ending. It seems that the groove with the piano and bass line sort of didn't know where to go to and it just stops and then there's the white noise-ish sound and then it's over. Could be better, I guess, but the middle part is still real nice. Dev - More submarines and such, which I guess is a natural expectation with a theme like this. Anyways, as I listened to the start, I was failing to identify which instruments were being used. At first I thought it was a sort of harmonica, accordion or something (which would've rocked, btw.) I like the work with the marimbas and chromatic percussion in general even if it's way in the background. This is yet another real short submission, and I feel that there could've been more development and more to do with what was going on. Specially, again, with the marimba. The Orichalcon - When the drums come in my hat got blown off. It's really way too prominent, though the sound quality is rather good. I like the work with the percussions and the square-wave stuff in between, but the a little hard to hear through the loud drums and such. Though the percussion in general seems to be the focus of this particular song, I'm finding that while it has groove it's a little too metric-sounding; despite the different things going on it there's little variation in the overall pulse. As far as length and such, I like the ending and I think it's adequate in length. It just says what it has to say, and then it's done. Alex Smith - Super-dramatic subtext for this one, and musically it's pretty much also pretty big and grand. With the orchestra and all, it sounds like music for a movie with an action segment, pauses in between. Another really short submission considering the amount of stuff that goes on in such little time. Again, more development would've been nice, more working with the orchestra's colors and contrasts could've helped. But overall it's got a clear direction and it works on that level, but I can't help but feel a lot more could've been done with this. Brainstar - More strings and the echo-y-piano. I like the overall feel of the song, though the choir enters without any real preparation or anything like that. Another thing I don't like much is the string pedal and that the choir is just replaced by the piano later just as abruptly as it came in. This is another short one, though the length is adequate considering not much happens and it doesn't feel saturated. In fact, I kind of like the simplicity of it. Blue.Nocturne - The start was awesome, with Steve Reich/Philip Glass style minimalism and even the marimbas to boot. Then the part that comes after is (excuse my harshness) completely 1+1=2 in music (with very typical tonal harmony, cadences, whatever), which made me really sad considering I thought this was going to be a minimalist piece and started out so well. The ending goes back to the minimalist thing, which made me smile, but then it was over. Too bad really, I was in the mood for some minimalism. First place: Zephyr Tread Honerable mentions: Miri ------- Zephyr Tread ++ ------- HoboKa - I like the intro nice and ambient, really odd drums, but they are pretty cool, kick drum is just a little to distorted for my liking though, guitar lead kind of feels like it's not following a strict melody though. The ending is a little odd aswell, as it just kind of ends, nice song though. Oni-91 - Could use some better string samples, but it's decent since they aren't sustained, I like the ambient wind aswell, this song takes off relatively slow, but I like the melody and the flute sample chosen. around 1:45 I think the mixing could have been done better to bring out the strings in the background, they're barely audible, I like the percussion throughout the song. I think maybe the chord progression should have been changed up a slight bit at some point though. Nice song. Miri - Lots of dissonant notes right at the beginning, I'm sure it was intentional but I think it might have been a tad overboard. I like the choice of ambient pad synths, they're well made, what did you use? Song sounds like it ends twice right around 1:20, but then picks back up, nice change in chord progression around 2:00 and I like the wind being brought back, a little abrupt of an ending with the crash cymbal. SSC - Nice write-up, very simple but it matches up, nice use of panning in the beginning aswell, percussion seem a tad bit off time sometimes. There's a lot of ideas strung together in this piece very nice use of your software throughout, it's very ambient. Virtualshock - Extremely jumpy in the beginning, switches ideas really fast, I like the drone notes, and this is a nice attempt at an orchestral type piece, but I think you need some better samples. Nice organ at 1:20, I don't think there should be a big gap of silence after it though. Not sure if the beginning of the song matches the write-up you gave but at 2:05 it really makes sense. Dev - Good happy melody in the beginning befitting of sailing and such, not a fan of the chromatic, disonant buildup though. Arpeggiating seems kind of random at points and I think a tad bit more processing was needed on the snare rolls. Song stays happy throughout and is well arranged. The Orichalcon - I love the creepiness of the beginning, and the slight pitch bends, nice transition to the second part via background strings, I like the melody that kicks in then too. Very Metroid prime-esque static percussion, I like it a lot. Some slight clipping issues around 2:53 and on, but i love the melody anyways, fits in very nicely, gets really busy at 3:36 but still sounds nice, wonderful percussion throughout. Fits the Aztec theme wonderfully. Alex Smith - Nice start at 0:44, I don't overall have to much to say about this one though. Well done quick part at 1:45, and nice brass samples, swithches between slow and quick quite a bit. Brainstar - Musical style of the bass synth reminds me a lot of ecco the dolphin, nice piano line, the bars seem to be a tad long in some cases, maybe a different time signature or tempo would have been better, doesn't seem to really take off, but not too much of anything wrong with what is there. The piano goes a bit out of it's range on the ending though. Blue.Nocturne - Very epic song, a little on the short side, but it progresses well through it. Try for a longer piece next time, seems a little happy for heading off to the underworld though, even if he does see his kid and wife. I like how it reverts to the original theme at the end, abrupt ending however. First place: The Orichalcon Honerable mentions: Alex Smith, Blue.Nocturne, and Miri ------- Bundeslang ------- HoboKa - The song starts good. I don't like the noise which comes in around 0:40. The song's 'moving' very slow, there's variation but it takes too long. The same goes for the ending. Oni-91 - Slow, but nice beginning. I like the built-up to the middle part, but it takes too long. I like the 'first difference' at 1:22, the incoming samples are placed very well. The rest of the song is all the same. Try to variate more next time, the song really needs it. BTW: The Song had a length of 3:06 in my WMP. Miri - Nice intro, you started very nice. After it, the song even becomes better. I don't like the part which begins after 1:00, where the song falls dead a few times. After it, I feel the exitement which is supposed to be the theme, nice job. Some parts are maybe a bit boring. SSC - Darkness....Absolutely in the beginning. The samples you used aren't in a very good balance in some parts during the whole song. The song keeps dark, what is good. It moves on very slow. The noise which starts at 1:46 fits very good in this song. I like the part after it, very nice work. It takes a bit too long before the song ends. Virtualshock - Different beginning as other entries, I like it, it's very living and exiting. I like the song. The thing I don't like is the part 1:29-1:34, where nothing is, 5 seconds break is too long. The part after it begins calm, but becomes living right after it. The piano (I don't know the exact english word for it) at the end is a bit too dominative. Zephyr Tread - I like the wind and water you used in the beginning, but it takes too long (0:50) before the real song starts. Also in the rest of the song almost nothing changes, but what you have done is not too bad. Dev - Nice start, you used the good samples for this. I like the way you makes the song alive around 0:50. What you are doing in the part after it is calm, but good. Nice work, the samples of this are the same in almost the whole song. The Orichalcon - I love the beginning, it has the 'legendary feeling' you described. There's a lot of variation and the sampling is good. Some parts are a bit too long, but I don't have much to say about it, I like almost everything you did here. Excellent balance and a little boring end. Alex Smith - I like the string you used to open the song. I don't like the big difference in volume of some parts, the song goes 'up and down' and stays a bit 'down' in the middle part till the part which begins at 'day 22', I really like this section. Brainstar - The song misses variation, the first section is almost the same, by the bass, it only variates by some added samples, which are placed in a good way. The voice is good, it's a strong addition to the song. I like the end. Blue.Nocturne - Nice start, good background sampling. The voice is also added good. The song is really catchy. I miss the darkness in the song, but it's replaced very nice. Great work. First place: The Orchicalcon Honerable mentions: Alex Smith, Blue.Nocturne, Dev, and Virtualshock ------- Dev ++ ------- HoboKa - The harp (or whatever harp sounding synth you used) helps contribute well to an underwater feel - the heavy synth percussion did this as well, gave the piece sort of a slowed, watery feel to it. The percussion was a bit heavy, though, and sort of distracted me at times. It just sort of ended out of nowhere, with no real climax to it - although that's not really a requirement so I can't really grade you down for it. Not bad overall. Oni-91 - Beginning sounds sort of militaristic, like we're seeing the navy while this is playing in the background - and after reading your description, this seems intentional. Has a good sort of "danger" feel to it. I think the main melody took too long to arrive, and then it sort of faded completely into the background - the repetative quarter notes (or eighth notes?) with the low strings synth (I'm just guessing that's what it is) overpowered everything else and gave the piece a sense of repetativeness and a sense of going nowhere. The piece would have been better, I think, if you had changed the chords at some point, had maybe a bridge of some kind. Just okay overall. Miri - Sounds more like a psychadelic journey than an underwater one. The "lighter" section about midway through fits the theme exquisitely I think, I get a distinct feeling of being just under the surface of the ocean. I think overall the piece was more effect and ostinato than real melody per se - having a melodic line to follow helps a piece seem more like "a piece of music" and less like ambience. Decent, but could be improved. SSC - Interesting piece - again, more of ambience/sound effects than a piece of music, which is nothing bad in and of itself, but it would hold interest tenfold if it had a clear melody to follow. I did hear some interesting chord progressions in there, and the machinery sound effects were well done. Virtualshock - Chimes work well with the fanfare at the beginning. I think the piece could flow better, like the bass drum sounding thing kept cutting off suddenly, instead of just fading, but I guess that's just the fault of the sampling you're using and you can't especially help it. Like the organ. Quiet section was good, though the triangle was way too overpowering. Got better when the rest of the "orchestra" came in. Not really wowing or incredibly impressive, but a nice piece overall. Zephyr Tread - Took longer than it needed to to get from intro to main part, the bass guitar/wind thing you had at the beginning seemed just sort of abandoned out of nowhere, I think the wind effects could have continued in, perhaps very quietly, to connect that intro passage to the rest of the piece in some way, because it sounds like it was just tacked on the beginning. The ending was good, tieing that wind in, but it should have been done sooner. Overall an enjoyable piece to listen to, but nothing of great interest to have me listen through a second time. The Orichalcon - Nice intro, though it sounded more like desolate south american plains or something than an underwater cave. Drums entrance is really well done, setting up a catchy groove that gets you hooked. Definitely feel and "Aztec" vibe from the piece - sounds like video game music. I liked the chord progressions, whatever they were. Nice fade to the end. Good work with this one, it was really enjoyable to listen to. Alex Smith - I'd really advise against making such a rigidly structured "plot" to accompany your submission (giving the specific time in the piece that a new idea is presented). It makes the piece lack any sort of flow, and sounds like you wrote several separate ideas and just sat them next to each other, even if you didn't. It also gives the piece a lot of ups and downs in tempo and volume, which detract more than they add. The music itself was pretty good, but the submission as a whole was just oaky. Brainstar - I liked that your description was a rhyming couplet, but that's neither here nor there. Very mysterious, dark feel to this piece. Liked the piano. The choir helped the piece, I think, though other than that section's entrance, the piece didn't really go anywhere, and was just consistantly "sort of foreboding" Good, but not stellar. Blue.Nocturne - I liked the intro, had a real "adventurous" sense to it. Really like the mallet percussion too. And the snare drum/flute-thing section, some nice chord progressions in there. Did not like the transition back to the initial motif, it came out of nowhere and seemed tacked on - the end was too sudden as well. The piece was great up until that point, but the sudden switch to the "A" section kind of distracts from the enjoyment - it's a tough call where I'll rank this submission because of that. First place: The Orichalcon Honerable mentions: Blue.Nocturne ------- Virtualshock ++ ------- First place: Alex Smith Honerable mentions: Blue.Nocturne, Brainstar, and SSC ------- Alex Smith ++ ------- HoboKa - Fantastic harmony and chord changes! Really tense and perfectly matching the theme, I thought. The drums had a really nice groove and seemed to fit very well with the other instruments. Oni-91 - Violas felt a little exposed and not as realistic as the other sounds used. Nicely constructed soundscape that was tense and compelling. The wave/rushing water sound effects were a brilliant addition. Miri - Eerie opening, with very well chosen sound effects conveying an under-water scenario. The techno-esque 4 on the floor kick drum didn't work for me though and I felt it worked against your otherwise cleverly written music SSC - Your soundscape is so rich and creative! Your choice of sounds are incredible. However, some changes of sections did feel a bit sudden. Virtualshock - The compositional elements are creative, but the sound quality and production leave something to be desired when compared with other entries. Zephyr Tread - I love the bass line at the start. Surreal and mysterious. Good use of sound effetcs. Dev - I wasn't keen on the opening dissonance. For me, the tension didn't come across. Perhaps some diminshed chords could've done the job more effectively. I enjoyed the entrance of the marimba/xylophone into the music. I feel the snare drum was out of place in this piece, much like Blue.Nocturne's entry. The Orichalcon - Another compelling soundscape that shows attention to detail. I personally prefered the percussion towards the end to the first drum beat. It just sounded a bit too generic to me, although it was developed later. Brainstar - Very restrained in terms of material, which is good as the soundscape wasn't over-crowded. I like the atmosphere created. Your use of reverb and delay impressed me and fit the theme well. Blue.Nocturne - I love the overall groove and choice of instruments. I did feel that the snare drum felt too exposed though. First place: HoboKa Honerable mentions: SSC and Brainstar ------- Oni-91 ++ ------- HoboKa - It's different from the rest so far for sure. And phasers! I love how the percussion sounds like it's been played through a diver's radio. I'm a fan of it. Miri - There's a combination of slow minimalism and dance here. Sounds like something from Deus Ex, which is a good thing. My only real problem with it is that the middle section from about 1'10 until the percussion returns feels a little too long, but otherwise great. SSC - Lots of sample reversal here. I didn't particularly like the percussion, but I do like the psychadelic feel of the guitar along with the metallic pads. It feels like being trapped in a tornado for some reason. Virtualshock - I think that you could have chosen a better snare sample for the rolls, but it isn't that big a deal. Not my favourite song, but it's quite enjoyable. Zephyr Tread - BooBass, so this loses. I kid, I kid! Yeah, so I am hearing some FL default plugins, but I'm in the same boat, really, so I don't mind one bit. Liking the white noise effect throughout. Simple piano loops, but they're effective. The other background synths merge into the piece well. A good job using minimal resources. (Look around for some great free VSTs or soundfonts to enhance your music!) Dev - Woodwind-led? That was surprising. The first time I heard the dissonance, I was a little confused, but after further listens, I realize that it does work. The Orichalcon - Heheh...from the intro, I was expecting some NRG! Thank God you didn't do that...Feeling the Aztec influences in the extra percussion. I could feel some overruns towards the end in the synth arpeggios, but only very slightly, for a small period of time. Alex Smith - The first one I listened to. Extremely diverse, and technically brilliant. Wow, definitely wasn't expecting this calibre of music. Damn, WHY DID I ENTER? Brainstar - Ah, I'm liking this one. A slowly-developing piece, which is quite difficult to pull off well. Greatly mastered, there. Blue.Nocturne - Starts haunting, very atmoshperic. Nice blend of synthesised and 'real' timbres. I particularly liked the minimalist xylophone ostinato at about '10 in. Altogether, works very well. First place: Alex Smith Honerable mentions: Blue.Nocturne, Brainstar, and Zephyr Tread ------- Blue.Nocturne ++ ------- 25 Point Scale: 10 for connection to theme, 15 for Music (Atmosphere, Balance, Progression, Likability) Highest to lowest comment: [Perfect, Great, Good, Decent, Lacking, Bad, Awful] Synth Quality may affect music score, however I will try not to judge too much via synth. HoboKa - 19.0 Points Total 8.0 for Theme (addresses theme of water and darkness well) 11.0 for Music (Good Atmosphere, Decent Balance, Decent Progression, Good Overall) I find this piece very interesting and it keeps my attention. You have the ideas, but I feel balance and progression could be better. Oni-91 - 17.0 Points Total 6.5 for Theme (addresses theme of water and darkness well, but seems off topic) 10.5 for Music (Good Atmosphere, Good Balance, Lacking Progression, Decent/Good Overall) It fits your story well, but it seems a bit off track from the main topic. It's also a bit on the repetitive side, so it doesn't really shine to me in that respect. Some parts are very nicely thought out, other parts a bit dull. Miri - 21.0 Points Total 7.5 for Theme (addresses theme of water and darkness well, but does not really tell a story) 13.5 for Music (Perfect Atmosphere, Great Balance, Good Progression, Great Overall) I love the atmosphere and subtle progressions. I really like it! It does not tell a story, but it really envisions a setting very well. SSC - 17.0 Points Total 8.5 for Theme (very odd way to approach the theme, but I do see what you describe and it does coincide with Jeremy's intended idea) 8.5 for Music (Good Atmosphere, Lacking Balance, Lacking Progression, Decent Overall) Fits the originally intended theme very well. It's a very odd piece, so it's memorable in that aspect, but it's not quite the piece of music that would be listened to for amusement. Virtualshock - 16.0 Points Total 7.5 for Theme (addresses the theme of darkness, but it seems way too church-like in some sections) 8.5 for Music (Decent Atmosphere, Lacking Balance, Good Progression, Decent Overall) I feel you are really hindered by lack of good synthesizer. It could much stronger with reverb effects, instrumental balance, use of panning, etc. Zephyr Tread - 18.5 Points Total 8.0 (addresses theme of water and darkness well, could be a little darker though) 10.5 for Music (Good Atmosphere, Good Balance, Decent Progression, Decent/Good Overall) I like the wind effects and piano work, it really accentuates the feel of the song. I feel it could have better progression, since it gets a little bland toward the end. Dev - 17.5 Points Total 7.0 for Theme (does not address the "dark" theme enough) 9.5 for Music (Decent Atmosphere, Decent Balance, Decent Progression, Decent Overall) I like your rhythm and percussion use. It really fits the theme of water extremely well, but not so much for the dark theme. I feel instrumentation and balance needs a little more work. Getting better! The Orichalcon - 19.0 Points Total 7.5 for Theme (addresses theme of water and darkness well, but seems too ambient for the topic) 11.5 for Music (Good Atmosphere, Good Balance, Good Progression, Good Overall) Nice use of percussion and it's all balanced fairly well, except some percussion instruments are a bit intrusive. Progression is slow and steady, but variations allow it to stay interesting. Nice job. Alex Smith - 20.5 Points Total 7.5 for Theme (does not address theme of water enough, kinda generic not really theme specific) 13.5 for Music (Great Atmosphere, Great Balance, Great Progression, Great Overall) Well done piece. It captures the feeling of anxiety and fear, and it fits the theme in that respect. The only downside is that it does not convey that much of a sense of water, so it could be used in a totally different theme. Was a very hard choice between this one and Miri's. Brainstar - 17.5 Points Total 8.0 for Theme (addresses theme of water and darkness well) 9.5 for Music (Great Atmosphere, Good Balance, Lacking Progression, Decent Overall) Wonderful atmosphere and instrument choice. It gives a nice deep and dark cave type of feeling. It however does not "stick" to me, as it's a tad too subtle for my tastes. First place: Miri Honerable mentions: HoboKa, Alex Smith, and The Orichalcon ------- Gimgak ------- HoboKa - Opens with a melody that really makes you feel like your descending into an abyss. This plus your heavy beat make for a good combo. Good job. Oni-91 - A little repetitive. The reverb drums fit this theme really well. Miri - Overall good track that fits the theme pretty well, but nothing about sounds too special to me. SSC - Really good representation of a twilight-type-zone of the ocean. Makes me feel like I'm in an underwater laboratory or something. I love the mellow guitar(?) at 1:12. Really atmospheric with all the pads and sound effects in the background. Virtualshock - Quality is kinda lacking. Fits the theme but is just a little boring. Zephyr Tread - I like the laid-back feeling of approaching doom. Nothing else too crazy about it. Dev - Nice clarinet opening. The rest of it is a pretty basic orchestral piece. The Orichalcon - Cool interpretation of the theme. Really nice beat accompanied by some ethnic stuff. Overall very interesting piece and enjoyable to listen to. Alex Smith - This is one of the (if not the) most incredible orchestral pieces I've heard from this competition so far. Very good quality. I had a hard time choosing between you and Blue.Nocturne. Brainstar - In my opinion, I would think this theme would have a little more drive behind it than your piece does, but you still do a good job of representing your own interpretation. Quality (mainly with the choir) could be a little better. Blue.Nocturne - As soon as this song starts I feel as if I've been pulled straight into the ocean along with your diver character. You do such a good job of creating amazing atmospheres. First place: Blue.Nocturne Honerable mentions: Alex Smith, The Orichalcon, SSC, and HoboKa ------- DJBren ------- First place: Blue.Nocturne Honerable mentions: Miri, Alex Smith, and The Orichalcon