Thank you for understanding my approach! I usually make a big deal out of mixing and sounds as an electronic music fan, but I felt this jam called for stronger compositional tact, so I swung to that extreme instead. I really appreciate the kind words.
You're right, I can do that! I didn't even think of uploading the score. It's quite messy though, a lot of it is me trying to manipulate MuseScore into giving me the sounds I wanted rather than trying to make an actually sensible score.
Right on - the patches you're hearing are actually the solo string patches and not the section patches. I only realized I'd picked the 'wrong' patches after I'd started, but they were focused in a way that aligned with the way I wanted to compose this piece, so I continued with them. I agree that the climax would've sounded super cool with a section patch.
Thank you so much for your kind words, I really appreciate it!
Thank you so much for the extremely detailed feedback, I really appreciate it! I totally agree with some spots feeling empty and/or patchy, but I don't know how to address them yet. I'd appreciate any further advice there.
I understand your concern that it's easy to skim over the foreshadowed bits of the melody. Maybe a harmonized part could've drawn more attention to it.
You're right about the mysticism being a big part of it, I really wanted to invoke that fantasy vibe and kind of lost focus on making it sound like actually creating the weapon. I'd appreciate your clarification on what missing elements you think should be present :)
This is a pretty massive project, with at least 3 core sections I can identify! Loving the melody and the choice to put it on electric guitars so much. My problem: I waited 3 whole minutes to receive any inkling of it. I wish the final conclusion was at least somewhat foreshadowed, because I was waiting on any semblance of 'main melody' the whole time. I think 'cohesion' would be a good way to sum up what I want to say - the 3 sections are very cool but don't feel that closely related. As for the sections: I found the first one very overwhelming in terms of elements (rhythmic composition, plethora of instruments and sounds) and difficult to grasp the structure of. I love the third section's melody, but the loose drums/percussion feel a bit strange to me.
Aside from those opinions - the vocals are so cool!! A lot of awesome sounds and ideas, and the eventual melody is composed, performed, and mixed like perfection. I applaud you firmly for your extremely high effort submission!
Not the confectionaries! Very smooth flow which I love. I couldn't quite identify a solitary melody, only a large assembled idea, which was still very awesome. I'd like to echo Eetu where I would definitely enjoy a second section/idea/development/variation, but this kind of constant buildup is also very interesting, like the same truth is only getting more intense and brutally clear. The tempo fluctuation is cool.
Some opinions: the compression (or whatever's causing the 'wobbliness' whenever the track swells) sounds harsh and unnecessary to me during the mid-sections, as I think it takes from the detailed texture of the instruments. I understand the deliberate artistic choice at the end, but even then I feel it could be a little less piercing.
Still: awesome work, calls forth the imagination! I'm seeing that dark tone :)
Hearing a very positive blacksmith who must certainly bring sunshine everywhere they go!
I'd enjoy some different chords/harmonic ideas here and there so the story can take on more depth, currently it's a bit repetitive but doesn't overstay its welcome. The progression of the song is a bit linear which isn't bad per se but could be more interesting. I'd appreciate it if you could elaborate on your story / ideas so I can better see your imagining of the theme.
Nice overall. Brought me a smile for the major-ness of it :)
This is some crazy work!!! I'm not sure what to call this style but you've nailed it. There is an incredible amount of care put into all of the instrumentation - the drums shine in particular to me. The trading between piano and accordion-sound (? harmonica? melodica?) is amazing. Peak!
Pretty cool stuff! Mix-wise it's a little quiet and there's a sound around 2:27 that my ears don't quite like. It also took a while for me to grasp where the piece was going - In the beginning section, I felt very lost until the melody began. As for that, I found the melody part interesting and mysterious :)
haaah that's some nice chill ambience dude, really cool sound design... is that an EDM ris- spills coffee
awesome submission! meticulously detailed description! i was not expecting actual EDM to work in the jam but the ambient design intrigued me and the drop convinced me. i heard the riser and thought 'no way he actually does that' - 5/5 for actually going through with it :D
awesome work, a good variety of styles! i'm afraid i won't have time to read through your journal but it's wonderful you've kept one to record your process (i should start doing that :D).
the beginning of "The Far Reaches" reminded me of Kyle Hnedak's "Forest Meadow", and i couldn't get the comparison out of my head for the rest of your submission - the styles you chose even resembled some of my favorites from Kyle's work on Death's Gambit.
i think the orchestration in 'Ethereal' is excellent.
the strings in 'Festival Of Souls' struggle with the vivid writing, and i actually think the violins are doing too much right off the bat. structurally, i'd appreciate an intro section that introduces some percussion and the lower staccato before gradually introducing the high string section (maybe the melody is played by a single voice once, before having the full section support it the next time around). fully engaging the strings right away feels sudden and kicks the dynamic energy up to a 100 right away, and since that doesn't change throughout the minute or so the track plays, it gets a bit tiring. thankfully, the track doesn't overstay its welcome - but i think i could enjoy it for a lot longer with some changes to arrangement.
aside from my comments there, i think it's a well-rounded submission stylistically and compositionally. i'm glad i still had the chance to hear an 'unpolished' version of your work. i apologize in advance if i'm being disrespectful!
surprisingly well made for a comedically toned submission! definitely not 'broadcast quality' by typical standards, but the tracks are nicely structured and actually well-composed. mixing could be improved - for example, i find some instruments to be too loud at times (dogsong sounding synth in Damn Daniel and The TV Remote [could be quieter, eq work might help], sax in Damn Daniel and The TV Show [perhaps a bit too much low end]) and i DID listen to the wavs, but they still aren't the nicest mixes around (although they're good enough to pull the idea off).
i appreciate the detailed description and it helps affirm to me that this is more than JUST a silly submission. the tracks are very fun to listen to for what they are. not the best fit given the picture theme for this jam, but still an interesting experience nonetheless :DD
most of my reactions can be summed up with 'what the heck was that??'. i'm definitely not imagining the structure - there's something there, i just can't put my finger on it. definitely unique (as in it's something i've never heard before) but i'm still reeling from whatever it was.
not a 'bad' submission by any means, but very difficult to understand and rate (i'm personally at a loss still) and i still can't sense any correlation to the theme. the strange usage of synths got quite jarring and the loose timing doesn't make for an easy listening experience.
especially in the context of this jam, i don't consider it the best fit - but i imagine a lot of effort goes into making such a long and complex piece. hoping this finds the people who can better enjoy it -w-
'a far reach to say this fits the theme' absolute legend. the groove more than makes up for any thematic correlation i thought i wanted, because every single track works so well in their respective styles. although not 'unique' in genre (i've probably heard some variation of these genres before), doing three takes on the same idea is an interesting concept already and i can't bring myself to dock too many points from your creativity score anyways (stank face). it's just so well executed!
very happy i got to listen to this one. 100% biased in my ratings. keep up the vibes jarrod :DDD
i was a bit doubtful at first but that is some QUALITY orchestration. there are some minor nitpicks i have; the central piano motif could have more character (i.e. using the sustain pedal, playing more on the left hand, adding a third to the melody on the right hand) and the woodwind burst can get a bit repetitive without any variation, but overall i think you've successfully brought forward an epic, cinematic arrangement!
i need to learn more about orchestrating so i can sound this grand too. nice work man :DD
interesting layout! definitely room for improvement in the sounds (the resonating pad that begins at 0:57 gets a bit loud by 1:21. maybe it could be widened spatially? i feel like it could use more high end but its muffly sound might be intentional).
composition-wise it's interesting if a bit patient. i think i was supposed to understand some larger story throughout the piece, but i never did, even aided by the descriptions. for a piece that seems to have many separate story beats, i'd appreciate a more detailed explanation of what each part means :)
i love the soundscape! the groove was just tight enough to exist but difficult enough to grasp. at times things got a little too uncomfortably loud (1:47, 2:00) but aside from that it's brilliant ambiance. really cool work!
i would appreciate it if you could go into a bit more detail about how you interpret the theme, because right now it's a bit difficult to give you a rating in the 'Correlation To Theme' field. if you see this comment in time i'm ready to edit my ratings before the jam ends :D
awesome stuff! the musical style brings forth a spirit of exploration and adventure. the programming is well-executed, and having a literal sea shanty is bonus points towards creativity because i wasn't expecting it at all.
my biggest (and maybe only) problem/nitpick with this submission is the mixing of the vocals in the second track. i'm impressed by the concept of the second song and the writing as well, but the lead vocal is too present, and the doubles could be louder. it's also not the best recording (but understandably so). i'm hearing the vision, but the execution of the vocals specifically is a bit lacking, and that can overshadow the rest of the piece.
aside from that, i think you've done really nicely! i can appreciate the amount of effort it must've taken to put lyrics down and realize a whole sea shanty yourself. i'm anxious about singing in my compositions at all but seeing you charge ahead to flesh out the concept is cool :D
thank you so much for the kind words (and for listening to it so much)! it makes me really happy someone appreciates the loose structuring - i personally love HLD's musical style but i understand this kind of abstract presentation might not be for everyone.
this prompt has been a fantastic opportunity for me to study Disasterpeace's compositional philosophy (and attempt to apply it myself). i'm honored you think the vibes are there -w-
thank you! i'm glad my work on the synths and mix paid off. one of my primary objectives was to make the piece as pleasant to listen to as possible (because ambient music would easily fall short without a decent mix that sets up a good space) and i hope i've successfully achieved that -w-
thank you so much! a recurring philosophy i noticed in the music of Disasterpeace is how he never plays all his cards at once - instead only foreshadowing or building one musical idea at a time before eventually pulling the cloth and aweing you with a complete assembly. i loved the sense of scale that could create, and i wanted to try something similar by only 'completing' the progression in the latter half of the piece. i'm glad it's working!
thank you! the sub-bass boom in the latter half is actually a recorded upright piano (specifically a chord, not me smashing the piano). although not my original intention when recording, i thought the sound had a really interesting texture and decided to run it through a sub-bass plugin for a unique 'boom' :D
this kind of sound is used all over the soundtrack of Hyper Light Drifter (composed for by Disasterpeace, of whose work i have drawn great inspiration from) and i think it's really effective at creating the perception of a massive space!
awesome, thank goodness! i wanted to make sure you knew. i wouldn't want to be praised for originality in sounds knowing i took such strong influences from disasterpeace 😭
super happy someone who knows disasterpeace's music heard this - i hope i've managed to successfully capture some of his essence in this submission -w-
thank you so much for the kind and detailed comment! my submission is very heavily inspired (in process, arrangement, and sound) by the work of Disasterpeace on the game Hyper Light Drifter - if you like this kind of 'abstract musical presentation' you might enjoy the soundtrack of that game as well. i'd also recommend giving the game itself a try if you have time, it's a really beautiful experience in my opinion -w-
regarding the lack of melodic content - i didn't want to create too strong of an identity to attach to the piece, because i just wanted to express a vague feeling. i thought harmony would be enough to create atmosphere and a strong melody would stand out too much, especially if it were written badly ;w;
the dynamics were something i was a bit worried about, but i ended up not compressing the master track because i personally like how big the track could get 😂. i'll definitely keep dynamic range in mind for my future work!
thank you so much! i'm working on more pieces for the soundtrack right now and will be updating the soundcloud as i go, you can listen to two other WIPs there as of today -w-
