(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)

really smooth production! i like the additional elements that get added in as the song goes along, especially the guitar. the driving synth bass and drums cement the "nighttime city" vibe for me, and something about the hypnosis of it all pairs well with the feeling of watching endless streetlights go by, one after the other. i'm not too sure about the person and bird depicted as the artwork's focus being somewhere in here; it was named "Encounter" so i would've maybe expected a singular Event happening somewhere in the song, or some other way of bringing relevance/importance to this mysterious meeting. however with that aside i think this is a great depiction of the overall setting.

a lot of the time with loop-focused music i wind up wanting more development and variation but i feel like this one has just the right amount of stuff going on to keep me satisfied! you've got a good handle on where and how to bring parts in and out.

Solid submission ^^

AIM 2023 Judge Review

What I love most about this track is its ability to capture the background of its inspiration. The chord progression and sound design sold me on musically setting a nighttime scene with a lot of street lights shining, which does reflect what's being shown in the art. The production sounds very full but also as if it's pulsating, which seems to bring life to the lights.

There's a lot of nice compositional choices here, particularly in the addition of that higher synth that soars above the intensive lower ends of the track like at 2:10 and the guitar part at 2:40 and its syncopated off-notes were quite satisfying. Honestly I would have loved to hear the guitar part break into a full-on solo, like it almost sounded like it was going to do.

While I believe this entry captures the environment of its art inspiration well, I found myself struggling to hear how inspiration was being drawn from the subjects within the artwork: the person and the bird on the street. I mean the streetlights are a part of the art, but it seemed like a missed opportunity to not draw any inspiration from the main focus of the art. I didn't see any intention to portray the subjects nor did I get any sense of that from the music.

And sure, listening to the music itself, I like it just fine. But when judging this in regards to its relevance to the art, the only thing I'm wondering is why you picked this art piece over any other art piece on Newgrounds that captures just a night scene with a street and streetlights?

The other thing I would have liked to hear, music-wise, is more clarity in the production. The track definitely feels like it's way too chocked up in the lower ends and I feel like it's hard to listen to, at least multiple times in a row. The higher synths and guitar part helped to make this a bit of an easier listen, but looking at the waveform on this track, it feels like some instruments were overblown.

Despite my criticisms, I do like a lot of aspects in this track - the chord progression the entire entry is based on is very good and when it changes to that third chord, I feel a sense of hopefulness coming through. Overall, you've made a lot of entries for AIM where the composition was one of your strong suits, and I think this entry slots right into there.

This is the perfect chill

It's a pleasure to listen to, very smooth transitions and the synth/ambient vibe that subtlety arrives later on gave me goose bumps (the good kind) :P

Well done, I hope you continue!

Much Love from - Riddles n'Pickles <3