KungFuFurby: ++|+| (3) Elliot Miller: +|+|+| (3) Phil Rey: +++|+|+|+| (6) Rich Douglas: +|+++|+++|+|+++|+|+++| (15) Madman3123: ++| (2) snake5: ++|+|+|+|+| (6) Jonny Martyr: ++|+|+++|+|+|+++|+| (12) Obtuse: +| (1) Maquis: +|+|+++| (5) Joshua Taylor: ++|+| (3) Lars Dobbertin-King: (0) ------- Abadoss ------- KungFuFurby - Great job setting up a subdued suspense at the beginning that grows into something rather nice by the end of the first part. A little too repetitive at times, but the first part didn't ultimately suffer because of it. Nice job on the first part. I can hear that you're building quite a bit as this second part progresses, but it suffers from its repetitive nature. It also feels like a completely different piece, not an addon to the last. I was actually confused and started writing my comments for the next entry before I realized it was still your piece. If you notice, I've split my critique between the first and seconds parts. That should tell you how much they don't seem to lend to each other. Elliot Miller - Very interesting. This has a lot of ear candy. The textures and tonality (or lack thereof) you used throughout are really intreguing. It really just comes out and hits you in the face/ear. Phil Rey - I really like where you took this one. I can really see your Spy sneaking around, trying to infiltrate some heavily guarded whatever. I like the way you used the guitar and the various other instruments to give a bit of an edge to the piece. It's really suspenseful. Well done. Rich Douglas - I like the Arabic/Eastern hand percussion you used at the beginning. I really like the progression you set up. It just keeps building. Fantastic suspense. This really does sound like something straight out of a movie. Madman3123 - I had a hard time picturing a Spy, to be honest. Everything is just too scattered, aurally, for me to picture much of anything. It's not bad, but I would suggest a little more focus within the piece. It's certainly an interesting piece, but it doesn't really anchor into the theme much. snake5 - You've got some great ideas going and a good atmosphere. The piece is a bit repetitive, but you seem to have a knack for changing up the pace just as the repetition starts to become too much. Jonny Martyr - I like how you took the almost Austin Powers route with this one. It has a very fun feel to it. The section at 1:00-1:21 and 2:10-2:39 seemed a little out of place, though. It might have worked had the idea been woven into the rest of the piece, but it seems a little awkward compared to the main groove. I love the transition out of the second time, though. The ending is just classic. Overall, it's great. I just would've liked to have seen that section woven in a little more. Obtuse - Nice job building the progression of the piece. It does suffer from a little too much repetition, but it still works as it feel more like a framework to build on instead of an anchor to weigh it down. Maquis - I love the groove you set up right from the very beginning. The combination of orchestral and somewhat electronic elements (i.e. the bassline) makes it very James Bond like. Great horn writing, too. I wish you could've finished the ending, though. Joshua Taylor - Nice work making this sound suspenseful. Lars Dobbertin-King - There are some things that are particularly difficult to express through MIDI, especially anything that contains some element of repetition. Unfortunately, I feel that repetition is defeating your work in this case. There's no doubt in my mind that you're trying all sorts of different things within the piece and they really work for it, but it's getting lost under the repetition. I know that sounds a little paradoxical, but the ear tends to lock onto repetition as a way of saying, "Oh, this is important because it's being repeated." First place: Phil Rey Honorable mentions: Rich Douglas, Maquis, snake5, Jonny Martyr, Obtuse, and Joshua Taylor ------- Madman3123 ++ ------- Elliot Miller - Don't have much to add. I woulda had the bass under the first few notes Lars Dobbertin-King - This piece nearly got a vote of me but I think it should have been developed more cause at times i found it a bit repetitive First place: Jonny Martyr Honorable mentions: Elliot Miller and snake5 ------- Joshua Taylor ++ ------- First place: Rich Douglas ------- snake5 ++ ------- First place: Rich Douglas Honorable mentions: Elliot Miller, Phil Rey, Jonny Martyr, and Maquis ------- KungFuFurby ++ ------- Elliot Miller - My main complaint is your distortion... or should I say clipping. It interferes with the tune... mainly those kick drums. Other than that, very unique and bizarre in its own way... I definitely wouldn't have thought up of this tune. Rich Douglas - A bit of clipping about half-way through the song, but other than that, enjoy your tune that sounds like you know what you're doing... and you don't know who is following you. Top marks for your works. ^_^ Jonny Martyr - The issue I had with this tune was the synching of your drums and melody during various segments in your song. Had that been done better, this would have sounded a lot better. Other than that, the quality is definitely professional sounding. Maquis - Now this could go good with a movie cutscene! ^_^ I could imagine it... very realistic. Makes me think I'm a bit out of my league to try to enter this, but I've seen MIDIs converted to sound before using what sounds like a Quicktime synthesizer to my ears... and submitted. Joshua Taylor - The drums could use some work, as it sometimes actually caused some awkward moments in the song in which there's a split-second dropout in your melody... or something along the lines of that. This doesn't sound half bad other than the problems I mentioned. Lars Dobbertin-King - I wish this had some volume envelopes, because I can hear them with my ears... not to mention the synth and the guitar were a bit loud in comparison to the rest of your tune. I usually use volume envelopes in Schism Tracker, the application that I make my music in, and they are not that complex. First place: Maquis Honorable mentions: Phil Rey, Elliot Miller, Rich Douglas, and Jonny Martyr ------- StauntonLick (Jonny Martyr) ++ ------- KungFuFurby - Nice groove and rhythms, but could benefit from some higher-quality samples for instruments. Rich Douglas - Really nice atmospheric piece, rich strings & compelling percussion. I would suggest changing the first electric-piano style sample at the beginning as its a lower quality than the rest of the piece and doesnt build expectations! Great rhythms & control of dynamics. Where do you get your brass samples from?! snake5 - Good contemporty rhythm & bass styles, middle section is good as it creates variation, although possibly more variation within sections would be beneficial. First place: Rich Douglas Honorable mentions: KungFuFurby and snake5 ------- Doulifée ------- Jonny Martyr - 50% pink panther / 50% Bond, could be an interesting mix of both to make a spy. First place: Jonny Martyr Honorable mentions: Rich Douglas ------- Maquis ++ ------- KungFuFurby - I was concerned when I saw the length, but I didn’t get bored listening. Nothing stood out, and nothing surprised me, but it was a pleasant ride all the way through. Like most loop-based music, this is all about texture and flow, and while I’d still characterize the piece as amorphous and exploratory, it’s never static (kiss of death for this genre). Your two pieces work well as opposite sides of the same coin, but I’d have preferred a more conscious transition between the two rather than a fade out/fade in. Overall, good samples, good engineering, would make a decent background for a noir anime. It’s a little more private investigator than spy, In my opinion. I ultimately still want some kind of defining moment, some kind of contrast to make your music stand out. Elliot Miller - Nice gritty texture on the sweep pads. You coaxed a lot of energy out of some generally lo-fi voices with some good arrangement and high production value. The track is very thin on bass, which might have been a conscious decision with the chippy nature of the mix, but a stronger bass line could have given you a fuller soundscape. There is a strong sense of story, and also a good sense of humor in the frantic action leading up to the stealthy silence. This was fun, which I think is important for this kind of competition. Phil Rey - Good stealthy intro. This would make a great bgm for a stealth sequence in a video game. I’m waffling a little on whether or not I like the minimalistic nature of the piece. You give us a good bit of variety with the guitar, violins, and various pads, and combined with the constant pizzicato rhythm, it makes for some decent tension. The sounds are good, arranged with feeling, and they work well together. The reason I say it would be good for a video game rather than for a movie is that there’s not much sense of moving anywhere or accomplishing anything, and there’s not even an ending. In fact, it would loop just fine. I’m just left wondering what happens when the tension heightens, when your character gets caught, or when you make it out safely. A shift or progression would help take this good mix to another level. Rich Douglas - You’re clearly a man after my own heart. This is cinematic gold, and I love the action expressed by your musical choices. Nice building tension with a lot of subtle variations in mood. Great command of the instrumentation and shifting textures, especially working the Bond-ish guitars into your orchestration. I think your piece and mine could easily be part of the same soundtrack! :) I try not to bias my vote toward my personal preference in music styles, but you’ve still got my vote on technical and artistic merits. Awesome work! Madman3123 - Promising beginning, but once the bass kicks in, I don’t hear a lot of direction or progression at all. This piece needs something to give it structure, whether it’s a more definitive chord progression or a stronger melody. As it is, it’s hard for me to figure out what to do with it. I think you need to work on developing a clearer idea, first and foremost – not just in terms of the concept, but in terms of what you’re doing musically. snake5 - Now, that first minute is how you do minimalism. The performance of the sweep pad is nuanced and organic, and the bass has just enough groove to keep everything moving forward. You chose to work with a limited palette, but nothing sounds sparse or thin. Great execution of a fairly simple idea, and the result is genuinely atmospheric. Jonny Martyr - If not for Rich Douglas, you’d have my #1 vote. You’ve put a lot of work into this arrangement! There’s a lot of variety in the textures and voices, and all in all it comes off as crisp and professional. A tad more repetitive than I like (not just in the riff, but also in the big orchestral descant, which is repeated without much variation). Still, there’s plenty of good ebb and flow and building tension, and great job making the most of your samples. Minor technical gripe: the mute guitar that comes in around 1:21 sounds slightly off-tempo to me. Very fun piece. I knew SOMEBODY had to do the suspended seventh guitar chord at the end. ;) Obtuse - Interesting combination of pad, rhythm, and lead for an overall nice, warm sonority. My main complaint is the lack of variation. You have the same four chords repeating throughout the whole piece and only one real riff for the lead. If the whole piece is going to be built on adding and subtracting voices, there still needs to be something dynamic, maybe in the processing or maybe a countermelody, to keep it from growing stale. Alternately, you could have a bridge that introduces an alternate chord progression and melody. Joshua Taylor - My apologies. I ran out of time to finish my comments! Lars Dobbertin-King - My apologies. I ran out of time to finish my comments! First place: Rich Douglas Honorable mentions: Jonny Martyr, snake5, and Phil Rey