I must say I quite enjoy this piece and the inspiration thereof. I have zero complaints for melodic composition and transition, mostly for mix, for quite some time.

There is a boxy quality to the intro up through 2 minutes. I think I would do a bit of hi-passing instruments and reverb wet signals, or perhaps just cutting those ranges. When the bass comes in, it is not as impactful as it could be, due to the already heavy low mid range at play. I find with ambience, often times less is more, and less low end mud with clearer high end can achieve the illusion of wide open space.

2:45 I think I hear an obvious slow effect on those violins that to me that doesn't quite fit, and the transition to 3:05 is a bit jarring without any other sound. The breathing also I feel would sit better in the left channel at about 20 percent pan, perhaps gently rolling between. It sounds like a person sleeping. And suffering at that.

Great work. Thanks for taking me on a journey!

You got runner-up! Great job and keep on creating :)

(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)

the droning texture here (sounds reminiscent of tremolo-picked guitar) is simply magical - it fills in so much space and brings the listener in for contemplation while the rest of the track slowly builds in around it. the harsh cutaway after (the titular contrast i assume) where the drone is finally removed is such a cool effect. i think i would've liked to hear the piece soar to even bigger heights before that cutaway - i almost felt teased by the introduction of the drums for them to depart again half a minute later, and i think the immediate transition would've been most powerful going from an 11/10 down to a 1/10 with the biggest contrast possible. not to say at all that what you wrote doesn't work though, it's well-executed! i'm just imagining another minute of huge post-rock style crescendo there. :')

regardless, i really dig what you've come up with here thematically, and your song is very touching. the first couple of minutes are full of wistful love and warmth and that's a big part of what i see in the artwork you chose. just like with the artwork, your music contains multiple contrasts: motion and stillness, bitterness and hope, light and dark, minuscule and enormous. in that regard you have really succeeded in uniquely capturing its essence.

AIM 2023 Judge Review

I find this entry to be incredibly well crafted and moving. There's something so heartbreaking about the description and its interpretation of the art, and I feel like this piece manages to capture the journey into the daydream and out of it. For me, the dream concept here feels like it's used as a form of escapism for temporary satisfaction and comfort before going back to the hardships of life. That fleeting moment of happiness gone in a moment's notice is what drives the emotion here for me.

What really shines through in this piece is the piano. I love the way it starts with a sort of heavily reverbed melancholy tone and flows into this slow-building section where the piano is mostly just repeating a single note with slight inflections here and there. This repetition what makes everything fall into place. It's like you're walking through this dreamland and all these pads and strings shifting in and out are like the environment being formed around you as you move forward.

I love that hard cut after all the buildup at 2:51 where the softer pads linger for a few seconds - still hanging onto a dream as long as your state of mind allows. The piano at the end almost sounds a bit out-of-tune and a little distorted at times (though I can't tell if that's just vinyl scratch fx) and it's absolutely heart-wrenching, makes reality sound so miserable.

If I had to point out an issue, I was having trouble understanding the use of sound effects at the beginning of this piece. I think the intro was supposed to be like a tape recorder, or was it a page turning? It was confusing to understand the role these sounds serve to getting the listener immersed in this dream-like environment. I wonder if the daydream concept would be more effectively conveyed if the recorded sounds were taken out entirely and the "close your eyes" part (which I assume these sfx were supposed to portray) were showcased more in the music itself.

Other than that, I wasn't super into this entry the first time I listened to it, but the more it comes up, the more the emotional weight it carried finally got to me. It's really the journey and the buildup in the middle section that finally got to me.

I like this alot, good job.

Kinda reminds me of Made in abyss OST at some points, the strings and those subtle pads.
And those little drums in the background XD awesome.

The change at the end, great storytelling.

Really nicely fits to the arts composition.