Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Remfy, Cosmic Harmony: 8,7,8,8

You are the second person to choose this image but don't worry we don't take points off for that. If anything it's an homage to the artist in that multiple people are swooning over their things.

Thank you for writing extra comments this time. I'm not sure if the poem is yours or if it comes from somewhere else but it's beautifully written. The rhymes were graceful. I notice your profile says your Swedish, I'd assume writing a little more about the music isn't that big of an issue? The amount that people shared in their author's comments was a common critique I levied during this contest because making the conceptual connections on your own conveys authenticity. I'd have totally respected a wall of text in a language that I couldn't understand. At the very least I could use google translate. All in all, I just want artists to realize what kind of community this is so that they can better belong in it. I'm far from the only crazy person here. Much of the community uses Discord now. The forums have always been a part of Newgrounds, not certain how active they are anymore because I don't spend much time in there myself but words are a powerful tool. You can be as vague as you want or as detailed in your commentary but you can never hurt yourself in contest by writing a little more. Some of us can read.

Something I noticed is that a lot of the instruments hit at the same static velocity each time. Human players use volume emotively to help convey feelings. I'd love to hear this track with some sensitive dynamics. A cheap trick involves slapping an automation lane on a volume knob, easy crescendo/decrescendo. It sounds like a synth patch your playing with has a long attack. That's a cool patch but most the time I just do that volume automation trick for stuff like that. I've gotten to the point where I can quickly draw in volume data as the track plays on. All instruments could have benefit from some evolving dynamics as that pad did, if not as dramatically.

I think there are issues with the instruments in how perfect every instrument's timing is. Human players have a warmth that radiates from small fluctuations to timing. Humans are not perfect. It's not like you need to get totally random but an odd exploratory note can really stand out and grab attention. The art was very organic, emulate that with some surprising timing or changes to tempo. I like to slap an automation lane to the BPM to create the illusion of rubato.

Something I pointed out to composers who echoed Japanese illustrations is that tempo is counted differently in traditional Japanese music. In western styles, we have time signatures you may recognize like 4/4 or 6/8 to denote pulse. In old Japan, players emotively made use of time and divided phrases by how long it took between breaths. Elsewhere in Europe rubato came into use during the romantic era which means "robbed time." Again, this is when composers would slow and accelerate time emotively. Some of my favorite romantic era composers that use rubato are Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, there are so many greats. It was a wonderful time for European music. I only bring up these composers and ideas to try to inspire something a little less mechanical and stiff, more Zen-like shifts in keeping time.

The melodies are beautiful though. I really do like how inspired the melodies are, they are wonderful. Percussion isn't bad, I caught that güiro. Maybe some more orchestral percussion like cymbal swells and big bass drums could have helped convey celestial bodies? A French horn played in a really low register would sound lovely. I feel like this song is missing some things but that's not the end of the world. Some reverb might have sounded nice on one or two things. I like to automate my reverb units on and off to create certain effects and sounds. The song is dream like and thought provoking. I really would like to know what that poem is :]

I hope I cleared up a few things or provided ideas to think about. I don't like taking off points from anyone's tracks but this is a contest and the competition was stiff. I do wish you the best. Good luck and salutations Remfy!