Axes: I love the calm vibrophone and ambient pads you used. The gentle violin sounds so intimate. I get the sense of a limbo/void type of space from this piece. The harp inserts a sense of optimism which feels refreshing when I hear it.
A Purple Box: The transition to an 8-bit sounds palette fits with the story very well. I think the sparseness reminds me of the mechanical levels of Pikmin which give a very unique sense of curiosity to the piece. The scales you use and mess with have a bright sound which I think add to the content confusion of not really knowing what is going on, but trying to figure it out.
A Bike Can Go: The mixing you did on this piano actually initially made me take my headphones off because I thought my piano was making sounds in my room - it has a realistic quality and distance to it. While this feels repetitive, it has an ethereal atmospheric quality that fits a “memory level” well. My favorite part of this piece is the string swells.
Shifts and Pauses: Excellent counterpoint in the woodwinds. The depth you add in this piece sounds much more like the pieces I’ve heard from you over the past few competitions (which I love). At the repeat, the clock noises fit very well. I especially love the use of the triplet second hand divisions - I think this is very creative and adds an element of momentum to the piece.
First Cigarette: This is a very dreamy piece - evoking emotions both from a cigarette.s effects on the mind as well as from a love interest’s effects on the mind. The violin slides are beautiful and very impressive.
Inexorable Views: The instrumentation feels so clean. I really like the soft electronic sounds that skitter in the background. The clock ticking also works very well in this piece to add a sense of imminancy.
They Say It Flashes: Wow, this would be such a great twist to a story. So creative! My favorite parts are the french horns which are so clean as they cut through the mix. I also think that the timpani is very well-used throughout.
Overall, I think you have done such a great job of matching the sound to your story - it complements what I imagine the gameplay to be based on your descriptions super well. This is a different style than I have heard from you before and I think your choice to go in this direction paid off very well! Great work and thank you for sharing!