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My Infinity

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Author Comments

[Edit: Thanks for the frontpage feature <3!]


I've been slowly composing this piece across these past two weeks. I'm hoping to transport you into a different world as you listen; one filled with complex events and emotions. I hope you enjoy the experience!


For a while, I've wanted to try writing something with many different solo instruments, almost competing for the limelight, yet working together in harmony. There is also a particular inspiration behind this piece, so let me know if you figure out what that might be! Thanks for listening.

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Somehow, I forgot to post my review here earlier. I apologize.
---
Love the Celtic-sounding instrument and loose phrasing at the beginning. The part at :36 has a very pensive quality, and the strings at :46 were a nice touch too. Something about the first minute of the piece sounds very transient and unstable, with the tremolos on the strings absolutely contributing to that. There’s a nice moment of resolution at 1:40, and I especially love the prominent low strings there. Sounds like the strings and piano are running away from home together. I’m glad you brought back the flute at 2:21, though - it provides for a nice, lighter texture that counterbalances the melancholic tone of the strings, even though the strings and flute never play at the same time (fan theory: the flute is the piano’s mother, and the piano is running away from home to be with the strings, a romantic interest who the flute disapproves of).

Anyway, the melancholic tone absolutely returns in full force at 2:44, and the way the strings slowly bleed back into the texture shortly thereafter is very elegant. The string melodies at 2:57 probably constitute my favorite part of the piece - very chaotic and dramatic, but certainly displaying the heights of passion between the lovers in a compelling light. The transition into the more tranquil tone at 4:06 is a tad abrupt at first listen, but you once again find a way of ratcheting up the emotion in short order for the final flourish at the end. The piece sounds rather triumphant and even peaceful during the last few chords - a marked contrast to the direction I thought you were going in as late as 4:35 or so.

Obviously, I’ve spent a lot of energy just unpacking the “plot” of this piece. The pacing is very fast at times, and it’s safe to say I find it hard to follow all of the twists and turns in the mood. There are a lot of individual motifs that tie the piece together over time, but in a way it still feels a bit disjointed between the prominent string sections and the flute/piano duets (over-protective mother/naive teen lovers analogy aside). One thing I really love about the piece is the production - the texture is airy, well-balanced, and full throughout, and the instruments all sound crystal clear in the mix. The sound design is beautiful, and I feel like I need to recalibrate my standards for the level of emotion and storytelling in a piece after listening to this. I still feel like you tried to cram 9 minutes worth of composition into 5, but at the end of the day that’s probably better than the reverse. You certainly accomplished your goal of transporting me to a different world, and I commend you for that. Keep it up, LSD! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
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
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
9.25/10

For you to consistently produce masterpieces with such intensity and emotional invokation is a true talent - every song I hear of yours is a brilliant composition with highs and lows, problems and resolutions. I wish I had the talent to be able to express thoughts and struggles in such a beautiful and comprehensible way. Truly I say, from a quality and consistency standpoint, your music rivals that of any composer in my eyes. It is more detailed than that of many world-famous artists, and I hope and wish that it will gain more recognition one day. Thanks for your music LSD - you are a true master of your craft - and keep creating it for as long as you will.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you so much, Toaster. I won't claim to always hit the nail on the head, especially if I'm just experimenting. But the experimentation, I find, is often what leads to inspiration!

Building GD levels is also very much a form of artistic expression as well; arguably even the challenge of playing them is. Learning to play (and compose with) instruments is very similar. I remember watching Line Rider videos back when YouTube was new, and some of them blew me away. Since then, I've seen the evolution of that which is now very much alive in the GD community. So I'm sure you're able to express yourself very well!

It makes me glad to hear such praise from you. I will certainly keep going! Thanks again <3

The articulations on that ... ocarina... tin whistle??? are wonderfully varied and gorgeous. Same with the... pan flute?? Very natural.

Piece flows well into 55 sec and transitions are well done. I think the strings at 1:13 could have come in a bit softer, and the cello been just a bit more loose and languid. At times it feels a bit locked in. By 1:43 this isn't much of an issue. I would like to hear a bit more of the duet there. The piano by then is a bit loud. Same with the viola at 2:17.

Loving the complexity of the arrangement and chord progression. A lot of time spent outside of this genre has left me grasping for words on the finer technical details of this. Luckily for me, you don't actually need my commentary in that area to improve any. It is already a flawless piece to that degree. But for a few minor areas when we have moving parts at the bottom of the piano competing for space with a low cello line, it is clean, moving, and dynamic. Your transitions such as after 4 min are quite satisfying. I was expecting a terminus prior to 4:40, but I'm not upset you wrote what sounds like 2 outros there.

Without exception, great work! May be the finest composition I've heard all year, and perhaps longer, and I say that as someone who often hears people overcomplicate their work to the point of detriment. This piece is not in that category. It works BECAUSE it is complex. Great modulations, and great control of articulations for effect. Fantastic.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad you appreciate the articulations I picked for the woodwinds! One of them is indeed a tin whistle. The rest are an assortment of different ethnic flutes :3

You know, originally I wanted to perform them myself, since Jordi has a cool collection of whistles. I even manage to arrange it all for them with articulations and all. But it just would've been too difficult for me to learn to play well, on such short notice. I was contemplating asking Jordi, but in the spirit of the competition, I wanted to do every single thing myself this year. (In past years, instrumental performances have been allowed, if the direction is very explicit. However, I think there was some type of misunderstanding last year, so I've avoided it completely since then).

I agree with your point about the strings at 1:13. The tremolo things were actually the last element added to the piece, and I was running low on time. I like this composition well enough that I might go back and just fix those last little details up. I've said that before though, but only done it a handful of times, so we'll see xD

I couldn't help doing the "fake-outro" in this one. It practically wrote itself, on the piano. I've learned not to shy away from stuff like that if it screams out at me like that. Sometimes it's nice to just go all the way, and do it!

Wow, thank you so much for the praise, it means a lot to me <3

Well composed and a very nice vibe, amazing work once again !
This song is really inspiring ^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm really glad you liked it! I was very inspired myself, so I'm glad if that inspiration spreads further. Thank you so much ^ ^

masterful composition work ;)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you for the kind words! ^____^

Credits & Info


Listens
5,927
Faves:
24
Downloads
113
Votes
35
Score
4.82 / 5.00

Uploaded
Oct 21, 2023
11:57 PM EDT
Genre
Experimental
File Info
Song
11.6 MB
5 min 5 sec

Licensing Terms

Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.