James "Mark" McGlocken: +++++++++ (9) stringfield: ++++++++++ (10) Chris Manson: +++++++ (6) Nikita Ukanyu: ++++++++++++++ (14) IceWind91: +++++++++ (9) XFactor: ++ (2) Chickenwarlord: ++ (2) Maquis: +++++++++++++++ (15) Kris Davis: +++++++++ (9) Alex Smith: ++++ (4) The Prophet of Mephisto: +++++++++ (9) ------- Abadoss ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - I'm actually having a hard time coming up with what to say about this piece. I think you did a good job putting it together. It does capture the theme very well. I would've liked to have heard a little more development in it, though. stringfield - I was instantly reminded of something Squaresoft for the intro. Considering the use of traditional-ish instruments, I think you did a pretty good job of trying to get that digital feel. I think your intro (and its subsequent reappearances) succeeded the most on that level. Chris Manson - Your intro reminded me of the loading graphic on the original PlayStation. I really like how you approached this. This would go wonderfully in the background of an action game of some sort. Now, don't be offended by that. There have been historical movements in music that believed that music should be entirely background. Granted, I don't full subscribe to the ideals of those movements, but the thought is still there. I can especially see something like Sonic or something darker, like Oddworld. My main concern is the length. This is a really long piece. It does develop and grow over the time, but I think some of it might have been said in a shorter amount of time. One ideal that I subscribe to heavily is the concept of the length/content ratio. That ratio is based on the amount of content you have and the amount of time you use to explore it. If you have 2:00 worth of content, you shouldn't spread it over 5:00. If you have 5:00 of content, you shouldn't try to squish it into 2:00. I think you have about 5:00 or so of content, but it's stretched over 8:00. Nikita Ukanyu - Your piece reminded me of one of those DeVry or tech institute commercials or something off of an earlier PBS show. To some degree this makes bias the situation a little. IceWind91 - I think you definitely captured the digital element. I think you should have spent more time developing it, though. This could've gone a whole lot of places that I was sad to see it didn't. Please keep in mind that 2:00 is only the minimum. XFactor - Loud. Very loud. And very high pitches. This is definitely techno/trance, almost as pure as can be. In some regards, that gives it a stronger push toward fitting the theme. However, I was disappointed with the lack of significant development through the course of the song. I think there was much more that you could've done with it to make it a stronger piece. Chickenwarlord - I really liked the soundscape you put together on your piece. The use of lower quality and (in this case) 8-bit samples is usually a spell for defeat, but you managed to pull them off fairly well. Maquis - It's often very difficult to represent digital manifestations with traditional instruments, without the use of non-standard techniques (which you won't find in most sample libraries). That said, I think you did a pretty good job considering. The arrangement was very good and I think you did a wonderful job with your piece. However, I don't feel that this is a strong contender in terms of the theme. Kris Davis - "...they're all up inside my head" :P Sorry, I had a hard time getting past that line. Anyway, the only other thing that stuck out for me was the effects you were using on the vocals. It kind of distracted me a little. At the same time, it was what most tied the piece to the theme. I think this is a good piece, but, because voting is based on best fitting the theme, I'm having difficulty. Alex Smith - This is a beautiful piece. However, that said, it doesn't really seem to fit with the theme very much. That's not to say that there isn't any connection, it's just a very vague connection. The Prophet of Mephisto - Nice job with the generated voice. It fit in really well. There's a wonderful groove going on that I really appreciate. First place: Nikita Ukanyu Honorary mentions: stringfield, Maquis, the Prophet of Mephisto, Chris Manson, and James "Mark" McGlocken ------- XFactor ++ ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - Very good, very trancey and dancey. A bit short though. stringfield - As even the author said, it's way too farking loud. Cut down on that man! Otherwise, it has an okay vibe, if not enough computer in the song. Chris Manson - I like it, manages to be orchestral and still be techno sounding. Although it uses drumloops. But I can get past that. =P After all, my fave used drumloops to an extent. Nikita Ukanyu - I like this one, it reminds me of Blade runner and that game Cueclub for some reason. Nicely done. IceWind91 - The song as a whole is nice, I like it, very nice synths here. It's a good mix but a bit bland. :/ Chickenwarlord - Very good concept, loving the melody, but unfortunately it feels jarring when it switches instruments. Maquis - It's like a movie soundtrack, epic. But it has not enough computer sounds, which is not a good thing here. :/ Kris Davis - This is one of those songs that you like a lot and want it to win despite the fact that you felt it as not the best. It has that sort of power on it. Very good vocals and guitar, it just didn't fit the theme well enough I'm sorry to say. If the vocals were slightly cahnged to make more computerized-sounding as well as the guitar, as well as some more melody in the background, this might have gotten my vote. Alex Smith - Very orchestral. That could be a good thing in some cases but not here. Again with my quip that covers a bunch of the others, not enough electronic. I would like some of it to sound digitized at the very least. The Prophet of Mephisto - I absolutely love it. It has some use of drumloops, but I don't mind for this one. It has a good funky beat, and fits the theme well in a good variation. I'm a sucker for songs that manage to stay musical while having spoken, unmelodic lyrics, and this one is just that. It's the best one of all. First place: The Prophet of Mephisto Honorary mentions: Kris Davis, IceWind91, Chris Manson, and Nikita Ukanyu ------- Bundeslang ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - Song starts with a piano and a beat. I like the built up and the weirdness of the part from 0:16. Not real virtual, I think, but a nice song. Ending is a bit boring. stringfield - Powerful, but good intro. It's a song which fits perfectly the Virtual work. Great song, but the end is a bit boring. Chris Manson - Interesting intro, but a bit slow. I like the beat after the minute. This really could be a game tune. The main problem is the length, 8:24 is too much. The variation is too big, the part after 3:00 is too different from 2:00 and 4:50, but the switch is done well. I don't like the bells in those switches. Nikita Ukanyu - Nice intro, nice bells. I like the combination with the string and the background sample. It's a good entry, only the middle part is a bit boring. IceWind91 - Soft beginning, a bit boring, but it is from a virtual world. I like the Game-boy samples you used at the part around 0:45. The bass makes it a bit more attractive, but overal I think the song is too boring, nothing happends. XFactor - The intro is a bit noisy, I don't like it. There's not much variation, it's all the same. The part around 3:00 is the only difference. Chickenwarlord - Nice beginning, but I don't think all the samples are placed well, the song doesn't have a nice balance. It's a bit boring and I don't like the ending. Maquis - I like the piano, some nice strings are added. It feels like the enemy is nearing, danger approaches. I like it, the balance is very nice for danger. Kris Davis - I'm not a big fan of voices and singing, but I like the mixing of the song more. It's too long. Alex Smith - The song has many variation, but I don't like the 'mysterious' part. It's too slow and easy. Nice song but a bit too long. The Prophet of Mephisto - Cool intro, real virtual. I don't like the voice you added, it kills the song. There's a mistake at 1:04. The other samples are good. First place: Maquis Honorary mentions: stringfield and James "Mark" McGlocken ------- Nikita Ukanyu ++ ------- IceWind91 - I can easily picture a game to this, I feel it fits most theme wise out of all the entries. My only main criticism is that it stays very repetitive throughout, but hey, you matched the theme, and that's all that counts... The Prophet of Mephisto - This feels like something I could easily lean back into, BUT... I don't really feel like it'd fit a videogame (not a future world anyway). It makes me think more about buying a car in Gran Turrismo rather than walking in a future world. First place: IceWind91 Honorary mentions: The Prophet of Mephisto ------- stringfiend (stringfield) ++ ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - I loved this piece! It was so funky lol! Seriously, it was very clever and the effects were used in moderation just enough to stop them from being too annoying or too sparse. You’ve got skills! It was also quite fun to listen to because it was quite unpredictable and wild in terms of chord changes and progressions. It epitomises the theme IMO. Chris Manson - I felt this piece was good but only once it got going. It had a very long intro (at least it felt very long) and had sections in it that weren’t really very active, if you know what I mean. The guitar bit in the middle was very good and some of the computer effects were cool, but I felt that the piece was too long and felt a little stretched. Nikita Ukanyu - This one was really cool. I really got a sense of random data floating around and the inside of a computer. It was really well thought out and it worked beautifully. It fitted the theme like a glove. You should be very pleased with that piece! IceWind91 - I really enjoyed this piece. For some reason it reminded me of gameboy music which was cool. Also the computer effects were really good and well chosen. It was very good. You managed to use the same theme all the way through without it being boring which was good. However at times I thought the orchestration was a bit thin and hollow sounding and at one point the drum started reminding me of the jungle lol. But it was really good and well worth an honourable mention. XFactor - This piece was really good to begin with but then it all got a little repetitive and I got a little tired of the instrumentation. To begin with, during the first minute or so I was really impressed but then it started repeating the first idea a lot and I got a little tired of it, especially the DJ scratchy disk effect thing. It felt like you’d had a really great idea but overused it a little too much without drastically changing it. Chickenwarlord - I wasn’t too keen on this piece largely because its not my sort of music. I really did not like the pitch bend on the piano because it gave it a sort of drunken, slurred sort of weird effect that despite being weird did not remind me of computers or shifting planes. I didn’t like some of the instruments either because although unusual a lot of them were not very tuneful and gave me a sort of radio static, white noise sort of impression. I was having to listen hard at points to catch the tune or harmony and it wasn’t really working. Please don’t be offended by this criticism. I’m sure others will disagree. It just wasn’t really my cup of tea. Maquis - In my humble opinion this piece was a masterpiece. A real masterpiece. What really made it that was the last, final statement with the beserk high strings. That bit was frankly vicious. It was very atmospheric infact, it was almost film like in terms of power and atmosphere. I could see the man being mutilated by data before vanishing, it was that well written. VERY well done and kudos. However if I were to improve it (not that it needs it!) I would suggest elaborating the opening passages some what but that is being EXTREMELY picky. You should be proud of this piece. Kris Davis - This piece went on for a bit too long I felt. If a song lasts 7 minutes its usually got to be something REALLY catchy (even 4 minutes is considered longish for a pop song). The “I dunno” bit was pretty cool and the whole thing was quite good, but it was a bit too long IMO and I wasn’t taken in by the verse sections of the song. I think if you were to condense it, it would shine. Alex Smith - I liked this piece a lot but I felt that there were bits of it that felt empty and sort of too quiet if you know what I mean. The rest of the piece was of such a high quality (really well done on that) that these empty solos, for example the pizzicato strings solo, really stuck out a lot. The melody was really good and so was the orchestration except for the empty bits if you know what I mean. If the other bits hadn’t been quite so brilliant I probably wouldn’t have felt this way. I felt a bit as though I wanted more than what I was given because the standard was so good. But really well done anyway. I’ll be very surprised if this piece does not perform well in the competition infact, it would be a travesty if it didn’t. The Prophet of Mephisto - Well, there was one thing for me about this piece that somewhat stunted my entire opinion of it and I’m afraid it was the robo voice reading the poem. There was something about that that I really didn’t like. I don’t know what it was but I was not keen on that idea. Also I didn’t see how your description related to the piece in terms of the computer chip enemies. I was waiting for them and didn’t really see them. It’s a shame because the piano part and the drum beats were really snazzy and cool but let down by the voice and description. But please don’t be offended. As with Chicken Warlord’s piece I’m sure many will disagree with me. First place: Maquis Honorary mentions: IceWind91, Nikita Ukanyu, Alex Smith, and James "Mark" McGlocken ------- Maquis ++ ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - A nice, rounded out mix. I like the subtle delay on the piano; it meshes well with all the elements you pull in all around it and provides a nice point of exploration for the whole piece. All your patches work very well, and the the background SFX complete the atmosphere nicely. I'm not too sure about the minimalistic piano ending - I'm having a hard time fitting it with the rest of the piece. I think I'm looking for a more gradual letdown, either in tempo or in texture - maybe if we had some lingering pads sweeping in and out before that last doleful chord. stringfield - Hehe, this one's fun! I could see this being used for an RPG boss fight. I love the contrasting textures - going from big and bombastic to light and mocking, all the while dancing around a very catchy melody. There's a lot of personality here. The patches vary in quality, but there's nothing that really stands out in a bad way; the overall sound is executed very well. Unfortunately, I heard some clipping in the higher frequencies through much of the piece. For the purpose of the theme, I don't hear much that really says "digital" to me. But, honestly, I wouldn't want you to put a bunch of computer effects on it. I like it the way it is. :) Chris Manson - Very exploratory and expansive at 8:24. Nice moody intro. It's got an old-school electronic feel to it, very much like "Tron." I'd have to say it's a bit minimalistic for my taste - there's a lot of additive and subtractive development, but the only thing that really made me perk up and take notice was the angry, distorted bassline at 4:40. Nothing else was really a surprise. Though you switch the elements around, most of them, especially the bass, stay the same throughout with minimal variation in pattern or processing. What's there is good - I just wish you had manipulated it and played with it a bit more. Nikita Ukanyu - One word I would not use to describe this piece is "subtle"... it knows what it wants to say, and it says it. A good example is that saw lead that slides in awkwardly after the ritard at :30. At first I thought it was weird and out of place. But the whole piece has that weird, quirky, unexpected feeling to it, and what else would you expect from such an alien place as a digital city? It's got its own jive. And it's certainly a lively place. All the processing is tight and fun, and the patches mesh very well. I really wish this piece was longer so you could develop the melodies - right now, it seems we have single, isolated iterations of melodies with very little to unify them. I'd love to hear what you could do in two or three more minutes with space to change up the textures, add breakdowns, and revisit some of those fun melodic passages from different angles. The ending is also painfully abrupt. IceWind91 - I think my favorite part of this piece is the bassline. That's a good thing, since it repeats through the whole track. This piece is really aching for more development. One thing that might help would be modulating that bassline and changing it up a bit - give you a different direction to go in. Everything else, the squarewaves, even the electric drum, is pretty much monotonic. It builds nicely, but I'd like to hear a melody come spearing out of that simplicity to tell me what this song is really all about. On an instrumentation note, the orchestra hit struck me as out of place, since every other instrument is very digital. Another thing - there are times when the sound effects distract from the mix. In this case, I almost felt you were using them to pad out the length. You have a good base to start from; I'd like to hear you explore it and challenge it more aggressively. XFactor - I like the processing you've put on your patches; it extends the interest level of some fairly repetetive fragments. Unfortunately, they're still extremely repetetive, and most of the mix is very sparse with only two or three elements going at a time. The pulse and energy we get at the beginning sounds like it has a lot of promise, but we don't go very far with it. By the time we get to :50, we're already back to a repeat of the bassline and rhythm we had at the beginning. I kept waiting for a driving drum beat and a screaming lead to really kick this song into gear. On the plus side, you do some really fun things with those record scratches, and I know you didn't want to bury them under a lot of drums. I just don't think they were quite enough to carry the whole song. Chickenwarlord - This piece feels experimental to me. I listened with headphones, so I got a full dose of your stereo separation. :) It's an interesting idea repeating the same very simple passages canonically with such a wide variety of sounds, and I like how there's a step-by-step progression from more acoustic to more digital and back (piano to honky-tonk to a clean digital lead to a distorted lead, etc.). I think that variety makes up for (and is actually strengthened by) the lack of variety in arrangement. A few other things also help to vary the energy, like the delayed guitar-sounding synth around 1:20, which adds some extra rhythm. I think more of this sort of thing would have helped create a sense of rising and falling energy; as it is, the energy level is pretty flat through most of the piece, and all the instruments receive almost the same emphasis. Even if you don't want to add a full-fledged bassline and beat, you could have different melodic elements fully take center stage from time to time to give the piece a better sense of movement. Kris Davis - Wow - you certainly delivered on what you said you were doing. You carried out a very unconventional approach very well. Your vocals are creatively processed - I especially like the octave effect. There were a few times where I thought you slipped off-key, like 2:20, that harm the effect. Despite the fairly simple instrumentation, I never felt like there was anything missing in the mix, with just one exception - in the musical interlude after the bridge, the strings seemed underwhelming to me, but I'm not sure if I'm looking for a better patch or more harmony or a different melody or what. There just didn't seem to be quite enough to cover the extended interlude. But your musicianship on the guitar is superb. A very strong mix from beginning to end. Alex Smith - I'd really like to hear what you'd come up with on a theme that lends itself much better to a symphonic soundtrack-type interpretation. :) As it is, this is a fun, expressive piece with great contrast and mood, but I have a hard time connecting it with a digital world in any way. I'm getting much more of a fantasy adventure vibe. That aside, I am glad you told us to prepare for a very episodic venture. Each of these passages could easily be expanded into a more complete piece, but you've obviously chosen to give us a condensed version of the adventure. A few of the patches, namely, some of the trombones and high trumpets, grate somewhat, but I know it's hard to find good brass patches. Still, this piece is fun, lilting, a good little romp. The Prophet of Mephisto - I'm pretty sure I never would have thought of putting Robert Frost in the virtual world. I generally don't like when songs include synthesized vocal samples like this. From what I can tell, you did a good job of it, and did some interesting things rhythmically and dynamically, and you bring it around to an interesting climax with "I FAVOR FIRE" exposed over some very light piano chords around 3:32. However, when you brought the voice back for a full reiteration of the poem, I thought that was one time too many, that the statement had already been made and the instruments could take us home on their own. The music really does have a good groove. I like the concept of building up from a jazzy piano passage, and you develop the sound around that very nicely. Nothing really stands out, but that all fits with the laid-back mood of the piano. I really can't think of anything negative to say about it. First place: Nikita Ukanyu Honorary mentions: stringfield, Kris Davis, and the Prophet of Mephisto ------- sinowBeat ------- Nikita Ukanyu - An excellent "virtual world" feel with excellent drum slicing and sequencing, and one of the more creative tunes of all the entries. Pure genious. It was almost too difficult to choose between Kris' and Nikita's entries, because of the outstanding creativity in this piece. Kris Davis - I was pretty sure he'd deliver exceptionally, and then he totally blew my expectations away by preparing live music and lyrics for his entry. Beautifully and creatively done. Alex Smith - excellent use of Edirol Orchestral to convey his idea. It's a difficult, but often perfect tool for jobs like this, and Alex Smith really made full use of Edirol's symphonic selection in a way I'd only expect more from in someone like EllyWu2. With just a few more realism effects added to the orchestra, this would have had my first place vote. First place: Kris Davis Honorary mentions: Alex Smith and Nikita Ukanyu ------- joret ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - Nice piece, with elements of a little distortion. Sets the mood as in a virtual world. Nice Piano. Very melancholic. stringfield - Very original. I thought more of that killer Leprechaun or Chucky from Child's Play. And Gremlings. I get the picture of The Millenium Bug, being a drunk mass-murderer. A nice carnivalish piece, that could actually gone to a comedy-based thriller in a carnival. Killer Clowns. (Did someone say Stephen King's "IT"). Chris Manson - An interesting piece. Well built up. A tad bit long, could have been shorter, but then again, it might have not had the same effect. I loved the drums on it, and the basS-line. It really put me picturing a distant traveler, who might have stumbled upon some trouble. It gradually built to the end with great finesse. Nikita Ukanyu - A nice light mooded piece, that could've been a good track for futuristic race-games. IceWind91 - This piece promised more than it gave, I was expecting a real bouncy track. But it never came, and I was a little disappointed by the fact. But nevertheless, a good piece that could have actually been on an old NES-game. XFactor - I don't have a relationship with rave, so I found this track a little repetitive and mainstream. XFactor really didn't push the envelope on this one. Chickenwarlord - A nice idea, but it left so much room for more. As it was explained, it was minimalistic. I wish it wasn't, it could have been great instead of good. Maquis - A nice dramatic piece, very filmesque. Eventful. The bass-line made me think of Iron Maiden's Rime of the Ancient Mariner's mid-section. But it worked very well, it reminded me about movies. Soundtrack before a dramatic event. Kris Davis - This song was indeed different, but then again.. It isn't. This would be one of those songs that would go in the background of the radio, and I wouldn't take notice to it. But as a CMC submittion, it's a well put together track Alex Smith - A nice, mellow piece. Which strangely enough, makes me think of woods.. Green woods with talking trees. The Prophet of Mephisto - A nice funky piece that'll make me favor fire. Love the drums. If I could've, I would've given two points as a runner-up, but I can't. First place: Chris Manson Honorary mentions: James "Mark" McGlocken, stringfield, IceWind91, Chickenwarlord, Maquis, and the Prophet of Mephisto ------- The Prophet of Mephisto ++ ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - I love the wierd, quirky feel of this mix. I wish that kick was a little more sub-pumpin. I really like the VARIETY of synths that you used - that's awesome. stringfield - There are some really cool ideas in this, with all the purposeful dissonances and goofy little flips. There isn't enough attention paid to realism in the instruments, though - ranges are exceeded repeatedly, as well as some machine-gun attacks in the timpani. A little reverb would be nice, too. Cool ideas though. Chris Manson - I liked some of the ambient effects in the beginning, though I thought they went on for too long. FL, anyone? Boobass, slicer loops, included drum samples, and I recognize several of the instruments as the included one-shot samples in the packs section. It's cool that you used a lot of them - there's cool stuff in there - but do more with them. I loved the high synth at 2:00, and the square background thing at 3:15 was awesome too. I love square leads. The distorted thing at 4:30ish was cool, but needed a little bit of reverb to fill out the sound. The whole mix does, IMO. Some compression on the drums, too. My biggest issue with this piece is the simple lack of anything substantial in the melody aspect from beginning to end. There's some really, really, REALLY awesome work done to set the soundscape but there's nothing to tie it together. Right now it sounds like three or four songs tacked together. It's also, like, 3.5 minutes of material in 8.5 minutes of song. I like the way that you lead to the different parts of the song, but I think that you could have done a little more with this in terms of complexity to fill it out. Regardless of these complaints, though, I'm keeping it cause I like it. Nikita Ukanyu - Really awesome intro. some cool uses of synths, filters, and percussive samples. There's some real attention to the storyline done here - I like how you can hear everything that you mean. I'd appreciate some more variety to the synth sounds, and the percussive rhythms. It's also really quiet, through the whole thing. don't know if that was intentional or not. I just wish it wasn't so short. IceWind91 - I like that opening pad. It's pretty cool. What is it? This song is too short, too. For a song that doesn't get started till a minute in, it needs to be longer. The repeated synth gets annoying after a little while. I think I'll keep this too - I like the groove that the instruments get into. The drums sound really midi-ish, too, don't know if that's intentional. XFactor - I recognize that rhythm in the percussive noise wave thing at the beginning. Don't remember what program that preset was from. I think it's a preset of the wave traveller in FL. I like the groove that this goes in, but it just doesn't get full enough, as a whole. It just seems to sit on the same volume level for a long time. It's SUCH a cool groove, it just needs that kickin beat and bassline to fill it out...at least, before 2:25 or so. even then, it just needs more. It sounds half-done. the beat, though, is cool. I'd love to get in contact with you about this song, because it is SO CLOSE to being just flat-out rockin. Chickenwarlord - Way different from the other entries. awesome. It's super quiet, though, It's hard to hear all the awesome effects you put on it. All you need here is a little bit of a countermelody or something and this song is just great. I like it. Maquis - This is one the strongest piece in this compo. There's some really interesting work with the digital instruments and the orchestral instruments. It feels unfinished as well, but it's definitely a well-thought out piece that really explores some interesting ideas. I like it. I wish that you'd have been a little more careful with some of the attacks, there's a few that are just kinda loopy. Kris Davis - This piece feels kinda like (dare I say it) the main theme from ff7, just expanded more. A grand section leading to a disquieted section that still tries to hint at glory. I like it. This is a well done piece, with big gloryhole moments that are huge contrasted by some solos and solis that help to make it feel uneasy while still transmitting the unfamiliar world. There needs to be more attention to the use of the instruments, though, because there are a few sections where there is some hitches in the orchestral instruments that reminds me how not real the instruments are. Some of the volumes are off too. Alex Smith - This is an awesome, but I don't see what it has to do with the theme. I'll keep it, but I can't judge it cause I don't understand how it fits in with a hero falling into a computer. First place: Nikita Ukanyu Honorary mentions: Kris Davis, James "Mark" McGlocken, Alex Smith, Chris Manson, and Maquis ------- Chief ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - Nice job, I felt that it matched the theme well, and it was also very soothing to listen to, although for the most part, I didn't feel that it was "interesting" enough. Also, I felt that this could have matched a theme entitled "the dream," especially the way it ends. stringfield - Again, you've taken the theme and interpreted it in a very unique way, and done very well. I can picture a virus sneaking through wires, looking for victims. Good job. Chris Manson - Great job, you certainly matched the theme well, but there's just not anything that stuck out to me. Nikita Ukanyu - You also did a good job with theme, and your song also had some good moments in it. I felt that you could have done more with it. Good job, though. IceWind91 - It certainly felt like a digital world, but it just felt too bland. It could definitely fit as background music for a computer world, though. XFactor - That really seemed more like dance music than a digital world(which you actually may have been trying for). It was also very repetitive. Chickenwarlord - Your song seemed more like a peaceful town, although I could feel moments where a digital world was trying to force itself in. Maquis - That felt more like an ominous Indiana Jones song than a virtual city. Very nice, though. Kris Davis - That was excellent. I'm afraid I don't have much to say about it, though. Alex Smith - I loved it. If I had entered this, I probably would have written something similar to yours. Yours probably could have matched a number of different themes, though, because it didn't have any "virtual" feel. Great job, though. The Prophet of Mephisto - You certainly matched your description, but I felt that yours was rather repetitive. It never really changed. First place: stringfield Honorary mentions: Alex Smith, Kris Davis, Maquis, and James "Mark" McGlocken ------- Kris Davis ++ ------- James "Mark" McGlocken - Nice intro, great mixing, wow almighty dissonance there. once this piece moves past the intro however it doesn't do much else to interest me, sounds like another synth guitar thrown in there later on as well. The mixing on the piano drops a notch, it doesnt sound quite as good when it comes in again at 1:16, doesn't fit quite as nicely with the other instruments, too loud, perhaps shouldve been played an octave higher. 1:48 is nice, winds down nicely. Not much to this piece, but at least it doesn't drag out any longer than it should have. Still too short for my liking, but for the amount of ideas present in it, just the right length. The desription however is just like....I'd have to ask you were you stone while writing it or something? Doesn't fit the music, it's barely even coherent actually :s stringfield - Not going to say a lot about this, it would've been my choice for first place but the attrocious mixing on the levels just make this a nightmare to listen to. The compostion is really good, playful and lively whilst still ominously dark, sets a nice mood. Liek I said though, the mixing just lets this down so much. There is no reason why there should be this much clipping in one piece. Chris Manson - This starts off well, decent instrumentation and spacey effects, but it gets fairly boring and repetetive quite quickly, it's to osparse for too long and I didn't really like the bassline, which makes up 90% of the flow of the song. Once the synth guitar comes in it instantly went from an okay song to just "get it away from me aaaaaaaagh" Sorry, as a guitar player I just really cant stand synth guitars of any kind. Overall, not enough ideas to make this worth clocking in at over 8 mins. Nikita Ukanyu - Percussion keeps this moving along, it's not bad, I like the lead synth, but overall there's just not enough really much keeping me intersted, kind of bland over all, all t instruments feel too washed out, nothing is grabbing my attention, it would go well with vocals over it. 1:38 WHAT IS THAT!!!! i've played it a hundred times and I can't put my finer on the game melody this sounds like, it's bugging the hell out of me lol, was a nice little touch. It was also nice the way the instruments kind of came together a bit more nicely here. If you had made more of the rest of the song like this, a little fuller and consistent, rather than the meandering solo-esque style the lead instrument takes, this may have been a lot more interesting. IceWind91 - Reminds of old classic PC games like Zoom or something for some reason. Again though this is another track that suffers from the composer sticking to the 2minute minimum, only just scraping 2:21. quickly gets repetetive, fadeout = bad. nothing much else to say, sounds like a cheesy 80s game level music. XFactor - This just hurts my ears, I mean wtf, it goes on for over 2 and a half minutes the same high frequency synth grating constantly. The scratching is fun though hehe.Badly needed changeup at 3:00, still gets repetetive quickly though. Overall it feels like not a lot of thought went into th composition of this one. The instrumentation on the other hand is just my preference, didnt like it at all really. Chickenwarlord - Fairly minimalistic again, the dissonance is interesting, gives a feaky kind of feel to the music, it reminded me at first of the interpretation of Ave Maria from 28 Days Later (great soundtrack!). It fits the description to a degree I suppose. Not something I'd listen to all that much, but probably one of the tracks I liked more out of this bunch. I'll give a point for effort. Maquis - Probably the first track to really catch my attention. Another very Tim Burton-esque piece (I seem to be hearing that name in my head a lot lately while listening to some pieces) Very atmospheric, not sure if I like the flute sample, hated it at first, but it seems to work well now the more I listen to this. I like the crecscendo this builds to, but again, 2:26 ??? so much more couldve been done with this piece, could even have gotten my top vote, but it's jsut too short, kind of let me down. Works well within the theme and the little story you set it to works perfectly though. Alex Smith - A fairly good orchestral piece, but doesn't feel like it fits the theme at all really, would be much more suited to a fantasy style theme. The Prophet of Mephisto - Nice n cathcy piano, not really feeling the beat though. I also hate vocoders(especialyl the syncopation on it, feels really out of place and distracting), which instantly put me off the piece and I skippd onto the next, but out of fairness I've listened to it a few more times. The piano carries the tune nicely, the mixing is very good, when the strings take over it keeps flowing nicely enough. The main thing holding this back that I can't hear past though is the vocoder just ruining everything. Worth a vote though. First place: Maquis Honorary mentions: Chickenwarlord, stringfield, and James "Mark" McGlocken ------- James "Mark" McGlocken ++ ------- First place: IceWind91