AIM 2023 Judge Review

When I first heard this piece, my initial impressions were that this was depicting a city floating high above the clouds. The repeating, even-rhythm bassline feels like a slow motor running and the synths overall had this airiness to them that gave an elevated perspective that also made it sound futuristic. It was quite surprising to hear these elements being used to portray what appears to be a downtown city and a coming thunderstorm - not a bad thing, just unexpected for me.

I admit that it took a long time of constant listening for me to come around on this entry. I thought it moved too slowly and the composition felt like it was building up to something than it led on. Thankfully, this compo provides that luxury of time to do so. Eventually, that repeating bassline and the synth line doing the D F# D G pattern got to me and I found myself appreciating the layers and the texture as a whole.

Originally, I thought the piece would build up to some headbanging rock intro and although that didn't happen, I like the way the electric guitar is used to pad out the lower drones towards the end. It was also an interesting choice holding off on changing up the chord progression until the end, where it resolves to the major key before transitioning back to the two chord pattern. Personally I found it to be satisfying, as if the thunder has finally run its course and exits, allowing just the rain to remain.

Overall, I like this entry's atmosphere and sound design quite a bit. The repetition of the two-chord progression works well to set the cityscape scene and in the end, I think the synths do complement the pixel art style of the art inspiration effectively. It really captures the emotional core of experiencing the gradual arrival and leaving of a heavy rainfall with rolling thunder.

(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)

renoise entry, cool! overall, it feels to me like this piece builds a bit too slowly at first; or maybe introducing just a few smaller incidental things along the way would make the buildup feel more comfy, whether that's additional sounds or just changeups in the writing for what's already there. once things kick in a third of the way in or so, the pacing makes a lot more sense (though i still think some extra variance in the partwriting could be interesting; even just turning existing loops into longer loops with built-in variation). i almost would've expected it to crescendo into a Big Huge section at the end instead of soft denouement, but there's something to be said for a piece that exercises restraint, too. after all, it's not storming in that image yet...

actually i wouldn't have necessarily interpreted the artwork you chose as pre-storm but perhaps just foggy, but either way the weather is dreary and despite how lived-in this city appears, no one is out and about, so the forecast must be grim. the synthy instrumentation, especially the bass and the main 'brass-ish' ostinato, suits the cityscape feeling nicely. overall it's a touch darker than i would think, but there's nothing wrong with focusing on the more melancholy aspect of the scenario depicted either.

very nice, i love it! :))

I'm just giving it 5 starts because LukcyDee didn't

Just kidding, this is pretty neat though. Cool work

Amazing! Your mix is super professional, along with an authentic attitude.