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starlight dreams

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Author Comments

this is a song for looking at starlit skies at night time in abandoned cities.

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NOTES

0. imo the genre is IDM not trance, but there is no IDM section. oops
1. Well TheDoor6 last time was all like "bro you do too much chiptune" and I realized it was true so I decided to do something totally stylistically new.
2. arrangement is draaggggeeeeddd out. i know it might to seem very repetitive but... this is how the song wanted to be.
3. I love f major 7 -> c major 7.
4. Everyone always said stuff like "your songs so are atmospheric" and I never really understood because I didn't see them as particularly atmospheric. THIS song though... THIS is atmosphere.
5. Sidechain all the things! I like the pulsing feel of this song, it sounds like breathing. It makes the electronic stuff feel more organic.
6. Though while it's stylistically similar, it still has some mood similarities with my other stuff. Maybe that's something to work on for next time.

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Awsome

Well as always you bring out some beautiful sounds and you really know how to mix it up just right As I start out on this piece It already gives off a positive vibe and thats a plus as I do enjoy these kinds of tracks so this was well composed and why thats just a small summary but anyways

~X~

Sorry I can't make my signature slightly rambling long review, but I REALLY like this, I even favourited. Those echoey hits that I can't really explain are great, and the pads and effects are marvellous. I can't think of a way to improve this though.
Also, some lovely melodies in the background here!

johnfn responds:

Thanks dude! No worries :)

I love all the creepy ambient effects. It almost sounds like a clock ticking in the beginning! The synths were really cool, too. It does progress a little slowly at times, but I love that beat at 1:04, even if it is very repetitive. It IS very atmospheric, and I love the combination of the dreamy melodies and mechanical ambient effects/beats. I especially like the synth that sounded like vibes, and the really dreamy one at 3:12. The structure is also really good - I noticed a lot of your songs have two main "high points," and a long mid-section of melodic variations/a breakdown. In that way, the structure reminds me of "Inside the Machine." I really see a theme of time in this song, but maybe that's just me. I love the way you ended it btw - it was unexpected, yet fitting, like time came to an end just as the universe collapsed. Overall, great work (obviously), and I'm glad you're experimenting across genres a bit more. ;)

johnfn responds:

> very repetitive

Of course beats are repetitive! What did you expect? hahahaha

> time

This is really interesting to me and kinda makes me want to describe my songs less because I often enjoy other interpretations of my songs more than my own. Thanks for the neat perspective.

> I noticed a lot of your songs have two main "high points,"

Yeah you can kinda tell I'm dialing in arrangement when I do this I guess. The initial peak is to grab your attention and the second one is the epic finale. I guess this is something worth diversifying!

Thanks for the review! I appreciate you managing to do it, even with school :)

Well, for the most part, you've critiqued your own work better than what I was probably going to critique . But to go along with you, it does make it more "living" as like as if it was a pulse within you when you have that relaxed, mellow feeling.

The only thing I will complain about and its similar to the review below me is the ending. There's nothing really wrong with it except it just kinda sounded weird to me when I first listened to it. Maybe its just my computer. However, the fading does make it nice for it to loop again and sound good.

So all & all, I say this is a really good, relaxing song. Great job. :)

johnfn responds:

> you've critiqued your own work better than what I was probably going to critique

hahaha. I am quite self critical I suppose. It stops me from stagnating though I guess... (except that I did just write 10 chiptune songs in a row so maybe not..?)

> living

Yeah... I really enjoyed this, especially because most electronic music sounds really robotic and mechanical. My music kinda still has that with the 4/4 beat, but I also intended for it to have some human elements in it with the reverbed stuff and sidechained synths and whatever.

> ending

Lol yup. Welcome to my time honored tradition of trolling people with my endings. :D Heck, sometimes I even troll people with the endings of my

Even though it isn't chiptune, I can somehow still tell that it's you who wrote it. Your style transcends genres, it seems.

Blarg. I wish I hadn't read the notes now, because biology. Now, I can't get the image of a pulsating blob of tissue out of my head whenever you get to the sidechainy bits. That background gulping noise (?) that becomes slightly more prominent at 3:45 doesn't help either. :P At least I can see an image, so your atmosphere is definitely image-provoking, which isn't how I normally think.

Speaking of the word 'atmosphere', I've always used it as a synonym for 'mood' rather than a type of mood. I guess I've been using it wrong. I'd describe this as having an airy or breathy atmosphere, but the term 'atmospheric' describes it pretty well.

I actually think this song isn't too long. I mean, sure, it's repetitive and lulling, but it's certainly a welcome change from your chiptune. It's in a similar vein to your other music, but it's different enough to keep me interested while still preserving that johnfn quality that you've basically mastered. I couldn't tell you what it is, but I can tell it's there.

I don't really know why I'm leaving this review when you've done all your own critiquing for yourself. Come on, leave some for the rest of us! I'm docking half a star because of, as you said, the mood. Yeah, I appreciate it, but I think you've done enough work with calm and "atmospheric". Try something people can't really imagine you doing, like a rock song! :D That'll be the day...

That ending. It's like you have an obligation to piss at least one person off with each of your songs' endings or something. Fade-outs, incompleteness... It's an interesting quirk, so I don't really mind it, but it's going to garner some opprobrium. Watch out.

It's great to hear you use new instruments! Try new things! Be inventive! Great work.

johnfn responds:

> gulping noise

LOL what. That is actually some guy talking that I applied a ridiculous amount of reverb and delay. Your interpretation is 500x more terrifying than what I intended.

> atmosphere

Yeah, I totally see what you mean. Different words mean different things to different people :P To me, atmospheric = music that almost paints a picture in your head, music that is not gripping but rather relies on strength of sound design choices and ambience.

> I actually think this song isn't too long

I'm really pleased to hear this. I mean, personally, I think it's perfect, but then, I always think my songs are perfect!!! >:D I know a lot of people have different tastes and different expectations when listening to songs.

> enough work with calm and "atmospheric"

Heheh yeah. You just get a sort of urge to write out music in that style though sometimes, you know? But I think I'm going to use this sort of reactionary feeling against calm stuff as a guiding principle for my next few songs, mostly because I figured out how to inject a ton of energy into my music ever since I wrote "you win".

> rock song

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Uh, it could be a while though... I really want to get an electric guitar though.

> It's like you have an obligation to piss at least one person off with each of your songs' endings or something

LOL. Yeah that is pretty much me in a nutshell. I was getting pretty good at them for a little bit but then I went straight back to trolling. I just can't help myself.

I didn't even think this one would be too offensive. Nine Inch Nails has this song called "Hurt" which is amazing but then ends with a minute of repetitive, almost painful noise. Also, have you ever heard the ending of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (the album)? The little wobble at the end here is downright tame in comparison. >:D

Thanks for the awesome review as usual dude. You always have interesting things to say, and you always give me something to think about. I appreciate it.

P.S. Congrats at being the first person to ever use the word "opprobrium" in a review of my songs .

Credits & Info

Artist

Listens
2,149
Faves:
8
Downloads
77
Votes
8
Score
4.22 / 5.00

Uploaded
Jan 30, 2014
1:49 PM EST
Genre
Trance
File Info
Song
5.7 MB
6 min 17 sec

Licensing Terms

Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.