Can you make song using only Fruty LSD instruments? I think it's gonna be fun :D
Author Comments
Facing the Storm
There's nothing you can do about it but pray that things will turn out fine.
When i saw the picture i remembered The City Must Survive by Piotr Musiał, the author of FrostPunk OST.
I tried to use few elements as an inspiration and help with setting the atmosphere.
Big influence comes from Kevin Penkin unique sound design which is big inspiration for my music overall.
The last part is Influenced by Sawano Hiroyuki style of making cinematic music where he tends to make his tracks just like everyday bangers that you love to enjoy on daily basis :D
The art by: @HappyToDraw
Arponax responds:
We'll see XD tbh most of the time when i try to do such experiments i end up using more plugins, im kinda bad at following these kinda rules :D but who knows imma try everything with time, ill have to learn how to use it and all.
(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)
wow, super cinematic! the core drones of the buzzy synth and strings hold this together very nicely. i like the ambient textures that come in to support, and the full movie action scene drum moments. the narrative arc of the song gets enormous in the last minute and a half! i like how it's paced for sure.
something about the four-on-the-floor beat of the last section strikes me as a bit inorganic; i wonder if maybe some more of the previous rhythms could've remained while still developing into the "big banger" climax that you've got. it's really cool, but the transition is a bit sudden and harsh compared to how fluidly the rest of the piece ebbs and flows.
i definitely feel the foreboding, consuming darkness of the artwork you chose within the ambience of this track, and i get the sense that when the drums start kicking into full gear, shit is really hitting the fan involving that giant ethereal hand...!
Arponax responds:
Thanks im glad you liked it :D
the four on floor at the end is kinda because i couldnt help myself XD the whole song ive been telling myself to just make cinematic piece without normal drums (using only taikos), but as you can hear the urge was eay too big XD
if its too sudden, not sure maybe there could be more silence treatment or introducing everything a bit more fluidly as you said but i kinda like these sudden impacts and changes, maybe its just my thing tho :D
thanks for feedback i appreciate.
AIM 2023 Judge Review
I can see that you drew from a few elements within the art to use as inspiration, and I think they are pretty evident in this entry from the get-go. For example the use of orchestral strings at the beginning is a good choice for reflecting an image that appears to have been painted. The way you also use the string instruments in the intro, sliding them on a single held note up and down, is evocative of a motor sound, and I drew connection to that sound and the windmill in the art. I get this sense of the wind being picked up by the windmills; something ominous is coming, from the perspective of the shepherd and the dog.
The composition is solid; I like the choices made in the sound design and the buildup to the drop at the end. One particular detail that stands out to me is at 2:46 when that subtle really fast repeating bassline enters and I feel like that was a great choice for conveying the wind picking up - the windmill works harder.
The only issue that comes to mind is that it seems as though everything starts a little too in-your-face, such as when the drums enter at 0:25. Despite being an intensive piece, I feel like having too much intensity at the beginning lessens the impact of when things really start to build up at 2:46 and I believe there is room for more dynamic range in the mix so that there's room for it to build towards the end. A softer sound design at the start could complement the art inspiration even more considering there's a tint of bright blue in the top-right corner of the art, so it's not all completely dark.
Overall, this entry is effective at drawing inspiration from specific details in the art and showcasing them in the sound design and certain elements of the composition. I love the choice of intensive synths during the drop - at around 3:37, those downward "pew" synths are particularly memorable.
Arponax responds:
For me, strings vibrato and some sort of sliding notes always feels like wind to me or something uncomfortable/unpleasing :D (i dont have an option to do some vibrato and i was lazy doing it with Piano rolls slide notes so i just put really fast low depth flanger on them XDD which sounded better than i thought.
Im glad the composition works :D
Maybe i was trying to achieve some sort of impact....like when you hear something in the distance or someone tries to warn you, maybe it could have been a shorter part so it doesnt affect the whole impact of the ending part or maybe just go even less on those taikos.
Overall thanks for feedback, well see how it goes. XD
AIM 2023 Judge Review
That's some pretty sinister song you've got there my guy, but hey, it fits the theme :)
I like how you have that sort of nasty / grainy distortion, it makes it uncanny in a good way.
The instruments complement each other very well too, they bring a lot to the ambience.
I'm sure you're gonna do super well in this year's AIM, good luck ^^
Arponax responds:
Thank you my brotha, we'll see :D
My favorite moment was 3:20. Absolutely killer bass.
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Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.
