Maquis: ++|+|+++|+|+++|+| (11) Nicholas Singer: ++|+++|+|+++|+++|+++| (15) NintenJoe 64: ++|+|+++| (6) The J: ++|+|+| (4) ------- Abadoss ------- First place: Nicholas Singer Honorable mentions: Maquis ------- integration (Nicholas Singer) ++ ------- Maquis - I was blown away by this, it's perfect in so many ways- flawless harmonies and beautiful lines within them, very well produced and thought out. This is really high grade stuff, I think it's genuinely moving and just very well written. My only criticism would be that it focuses solely on the lamentation rather than the actual downfall, but everyone has their own interpretation of the brief and that's the whole point, right? NintenJoe 64 - I thought this was the only piece that portrayed the society as proud and glorious in the first place, and really followed the arc from that to its collapse. Gets much darker than the others and I like the use of sound design. Very epic, a lot of thought and effort obviously went into this. The J - Again, concentrating on the aftermath, it gives a sense of the pre-existing world and a sense of unease- but i think it would benefit from more development. When we get to the end, I'm left wanting to hear more, and personally I want to hear the unease turn into despair/horror/sadness. It builds up nicely, and we see the trail of bodies, but then what? First place: Maquis Honorable mentions: NintenJoe 64 ------- The J ++ ------- Maquis - the work of a professional, you concentrated on the effect of a city lost without a chance of tombing even itself, i'm not sure if thats the correct sound for such complex drama. what lament is there if no one can lament over it?its a tough one for sure. but it is a very good lament piece, firm structure and building and high production values. Nicholas Singer - composition:very good establishment of the portrait of the city, clean, clear and very RPG city-like. the change of music in 1:20 delievers somekind of drama that is happening, as if to the people of the city, like someone died or something else bad-no BIG catastrophie such as a whole city dead, which i felt is lacking, espcially for something as mysterious and ominous.production:very good. NintenJoe 64 - very cartoony like compostion, i felt as if im watching a manga video of some jap animation series.i would avoid using speech samples and special effect, i think its an escape from real composition. but your sense of drama is great-you could've done it without the samples i'm sure of it.definitely delievers the catastrophie, although the end bass riff at the end is a bit odd and uncalled, its like there is fight still going on. First place: NintenJoe 64 Honorable mentions: Maquis ------- Norby ------- First place: Maquis Honorable mentions: Nicholas Singer ------- Maquis ++ ------- Nicholas Singer - Your production quality simply blows me away. I wish I knew how to make my own music sound so crisp and clean. Usually when I say a piece sounds exploratory, it means I felt like the composer didn't know where s/he was going, but you manage all the textures in this piece beautifully, particularly with the crossfading vocals (the fade from female to male choir is gorgeous and haunting). A beautiful instrumentation lends a lot of character to the piece. I could very easily imagine a version of this appearing in a modern RPG; it's rich with story. NintenJoe 64 - Wow - you used your sound effects and vocal samples incredibly effectively to create a very unsettled atmosphere. I don't like it when people use sound effects as a cheat to suggest what the music can't, but I'm willing to say you used your effects very musically (and the "I can't believe I did that!" line is appropriately chilling). Musically, your three movements are essentially the same simple chord structures with voices added or subtracted. You vary it up with some awesome textures, but by the end of the first and third movements, the repetition starts to wear. You did some great things with your choral samples; reminded me of Metroid Prime soundtracks. Unfortunately, at the very end, the exposed pizzicato breaks the illusion of a performance, since every note sounds identical. You could try varying the velocities or layering another instrument to cover up that artificial sameness. The J - Another gorgeously clean production and a naturalistic performance. You handle these samples beautifully, starting with a really nice flourish on the flute at the beginning. There's a lot of frantic energy in those rhythmic strings and tension in those deceptively simple chords... I can see an adventurer picking his way through a devastated forest with a great deal of foreboding. But were the violins supposed to cut out suddenly at 1:24? It sounds like we're missing the last part of the fade-out before the flute takes over. I also get the general sense that this piece was building toward some epiphany, probably a horrifying/tragic one, but it ends rather abruptly on the gong. Even so, this is a beautiful and engaging piece, and it was expertly arranged. First place: Nicholas Singer ------- jabond (NintenJoe 64) ++ ------- Maquis - Lamentation is a very somber look at the aftermath. At least that's what i hear. The choir is very well done and has that dark, somber feel as well. I like the buildup towards the end. That piano outro is just awesome. The piano sounds very real and deep. Nicholas Singer - I love the quality and production on this track. This sounds so reminiscent of Final Fantasy Tactics, and that's a good thing. The whole track has that doomed civilization feel to it. The J - I look the back story on this track and the way the track plays out works well for the story. The violin samples work well and everything seems very well mixed as well. That little egg shaker/maraca thing helps keep the beat, but i'm not too sure if its really necessary. First place: Nicholas Singer Honorable mentions: Maquis and The J ------- Heckelphone224 ------- First place: Nicholas Singer Honorable mentions: The J