i very much enjoyed the track, but tbh even moreso i deeply appreciated the length in which you go here to talk about your process in sculpting it. i found your words to be very thought-provoking and kind of inspiring in a creative-peer sense. i really enjoy seeing the passion shine through in all aspects, and i believe in you!!! thank you for sharing this :)

This is an NGADM 2023 judge review.

I think your strong point in this is the variety in your compositional structure. I can tell that there's things that are changing, but in some cases also building off of what was already done in the song. While there isn't massive changes from a larger structure perspective, which I feel doesn't always have to be achieved in every song, the little changes help keep it moving enough. I also feel that your overall sound design choices match the general tone you were going for, and with the way you combined styles, it definitely feels original.
With this song, however, I think I'm noticing a bit of a general mixing problem. Simply put, I think your bass is a little too forward and your highs are a little too much on the back burner. The other elements of your overall mixing aren't half bad, but those were the two general problems I noticed. In addition, I think you have a good idea with the goal of repetition, but I feel you can push how fresh each repetition is a little more. My suggestion is to vary up the accompaniment a little differently or try tweaking different elements like the key. Experiment a bit with the melodies and accompaniments, and see how you can strike a little better of a balance between both of those points.
Overall, I like it! I think you achieved both of your goals well, and I applaud you for being able to do things outside of your comfort zone as well as you did. With a few tweaks, I think you'd be able to get an even better fine tune if you decide to follow with this style or others down the line!

I like the quirky riser at the beginning and the frantic, cutesy riff at :05. The mallets at :11 sound like a doorbell, which is fun. The pacing of the piece is a bit fast - it seems like the texture shifts substantially every 15 seconds or so, and sometimes the transitions could be more gradual too. I like the blissful melodies and the sound design, although at times I think the bass is too loud and the drums could come through the mix clearer (like at 1:25). Basically, the mix could use a high pass, with a boost in the upper-mid range to the melodies and more room in the middle for the drums. The rhythmic content here is really neat, but the arrangement seems a bit chaotic. The piece has a lot of stop-start transitions and is almost constantly high-energy. There’s a fair amount of variety in some of the individual riffs, but overall the piece seems to lack a strong sense of direction over time, which is concerning especially for a relatively long piece. Still, the rich texture, sound design, melodies, and cutesy mood win me over here. I think the production quality and arrangement details could use some more shoring up, but otherwise this is a catchy and fun piece, Zane. Keep it up! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.25/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
2/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.25/10

If Nintendo gave us another Dr Mario game this music would be a perfect fit, haha! Just where my mind immediately went to cause of the fast paced and chaotic nature, it's really cool albeit maybe a tad long. Gotta give props cause I know so much goes into the fine details of something like this, I wouldn't even know where to begin lol. Great work and good luck in the NGADM!

How do you make a song this long, with so much energy, and not have it get boring at all throughout the entirety of it?!
Such a good song :)