Fantasiamaailma

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Edit: Thanks a million for the feature!!! :'D

Sometimes we are forced to ask ourselves the question... Where does one begin?
I am now facing such a dilemma, when I am to write this description. Oh well, prepare for a long description, on both our parts; here goes.

Hiya! LucidShadowDreamer here.
This is our (mine and dem0lecule's) track for the Newgrounds Inspired Music Contest.
The objective was to create a piece of music that is inspired by something from Newgrounds, as the name suggests.

We thought for a while about what we should let us be inspired by, before we started making our composition. And at the same second, we both had the same idea, and we knew that we should roll with it. Our song is inspired by one of the most iconic animations in the history of Newgrounds. That'd be, "The Composer", by Jazza.

http://www.newgrounds.com/portal/view/400974

It might not be obvious which part specifically was inspired at first, as our track is inspired more by the spirit than by the chords and melodies or anything else. Just like in "The Composer", the track starts out small, and keeps evolving until there is eventually a climax. After a small pause, the track gains new life with the loop, and shows that time moves on to a new beginning. More of this in dem0lecule's description, as it brings mine to shame.

Also, there's the category. It too might not be obvious at first, but this track is intended to be menu music. Allow me to explain.
I have played hundreds of games during my life, and I've heard all kinds of title and menu music. I have even created a few small games myself. So people might wonder if this is really fitting menu music, as it has so many different sections, and is so long. One could argue that it becomes too epic and distracting to be good menu music. But I disagree.

For one, menu music is often longer than title screen music, an example being the menu music in Halo 3, because it takes more time to choose options etc. than to simply press play.
We didn't want to create a menu track that just kind of stays in the background without moving much. We strived to create the entire world that is the game, to summarize it in just one piece and give the player a preview of what is to come, by allowing them to feel the emotions and atmospheres that are featured throughout the game.
There are other games that have done similar things with their music, the first that comes to mind being
Trine 2.

The name of the piece "Fantasiamaailma" is Finnish and translates to "World of Fantasy"

Finally, the artwork for the cover is taken from a beautiful piece made by SkyrisDesign.

http://tinyurl.com/SDHodorin

For dem0lecule's beautiful description, visit his profile and read the news! (apparently, descriptions can be too long).

http://dem0lecule.newgrounds.com/news/post/933677

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backwardecho

2017-07-11 15:28:43

Wow! This is certainly the best menu track I’ve ever heard! :O It appears you two have been able to mesh your styles brilliantly from the get go! Right now, it’s storming out here in the ‘sunny’ state, so I took advantage of the moment and watched the rainfall while listening. :) I love the beautiful and dynamic variations throughout this piece, no doubt you both surely put a lot of work into it! Thank you for sending me the link to this!^^

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Oh wow, thanks for the huge compliment :O
Yeah, I think the secret is that we're both both ready enough to give up on some of our own ideas for the sake of a great conjoined effort. And we can both also decide not go give up ideas if we trust in them xD
I think that's a great key to making the best out of both people's abilities.

There was a thunderstorm here too today! And rain, ofc ^ ^
I actually recorded some of it, and might use it in the future :D
Thank you for clicking on the link, and for reviewing too <333

poipoi

2015-08-04 22:52:29

So there was some muffling and clipping like at 3:10 and the piano sounded a bit mushy, as well as some instrument like the singing and flutes being too loud. Also the music sounded pretty disjointed just listening to it.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

There's definitely no clipping at or around 3:10. The only thing remotely similar is a deep percussion hit, which may be what you heard :p
Mushy as in sentimental :/?
Is that a bad thing? XD

As for the flutes and singing, I don't feel the same way, and when I bring the volume down, it still feels pretty balanced. That said, the flutes and choirs here are in some pretty high frequency areas of the spectrum, which may be why you feel this way.

The thing about being disjointed, I can kind of understand. We made this track, with our aims to have it evolve a lot during the time it's playing, and we wanted to use some harsher transitions too. But there are things in the track relating different parts together, if you search for them ;)

Thanks for listening, and for leaving a review! :D

Phonometrologist

2015-06-18 21:50:59

Hmmm... where does one begin indeed...
You leave me here contemplating about this. I like the overall structure and vision for this which is to start small/modest and build into something one least knows where they are headed. It certainly is a track that takes us into a world of sound that leaves one in wonder. By journey's end, we seem to have been left which mere fragments of this sonic palette in our memories where we can only try to recall what struck out to us the most and what makes this most intriguing to listen to. I get what eatmeatleet has said about this. It can be difficult as there is so much thrown at us as a listener. Does that make it all the less more interesting? I don't think so as I think all the reviews from others before me are true. I tend to like to analyze your music in the aspect of theory, but I'm forced to just enjoy it by letting it wash-over me as that would be a daunting task. I will say that the two most memorable parts for me in this piece is the piano interlude at 2:22 with its tasteful, syncopated rhythm and melody. The second is that low-string motif underlying everything at 3:51 (reminiscent of what dem0lecule does so well) because of the rhythm, again. So there it is.
It appears that what I find most appealing is the drive behind this piece that you both seem to mask very well with by the profusely intricate melodies.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

That's great to hear! We were kind of waiting for your review, hehhe, and you did not disappoint ;)
We appreciate that you appreciate the structure and the vision behind this composition. I always find that when one is introduced to a new world, be it by book, movie, game or music, there is so much that is never told. A story, no matter how huge, almost always leaves somthing more to be desired, and some mysteries that are never solved. That, is part of the beauty, at least to me. It may also lure the one who enjoyed the world back for more :p
It's also good that we managed to "force" you to just sit back and listen, instead of analyzing the track too much in depth. I've never been too huge on theory, partly because of laziness, but also because if used too forcibly, it can limit freedom. I never fully understand why some people analyze a book thoroughly on the first read, especially if it's a book that was never meant to be analyzed in such a way :)
Sure, you can learn a lot of things by doing so, but I always think that at least the first round should be enjoyed as what it is; entertainment, in most cases. Informational books are another story XD
Same goes when listening to music. A lot of times, it's best to just live the music instead of dissecting it :3

Back to the track, after that weird sidenote :p
It's good that the sudden transition into the piano part is something that people have liked so far. We were a bit worried that the sudden tempo, time signature and rhythm change would throw people off. And dem0lecule is definitely responsible for 3:51 XD

This track definitely works in layers, at least in some parts. Many of the backing rhythms and such are dem0's, and many of the melodies are mine, especially at parts where it gets pretty crammed :)

Then again, many of the backings in the first half are mine, and some very good melodies were made by dem0 o.O
I guess I tried to hide my own style a bit though, so that this would sound more uniformal :p

Thanks so much for your review, we appreciate it a lot ;)

TaintedLogic

2015-06-14 21:00:07

Huh, funny. I had just randomly came across one of Dem0lecule's tracks a couple of days ago, and I remember liking it a lot. I love the emotion and the instruments. The quality of the string samples is very high. Beautiful work with the progression and phrasing. Some of the transitions are a little sudden, such as the one at 1:53 with the bell. You also change moods pretty quickly there too, and it starts sounding especially dark after 2:00 or so. Sometimes the strings cut off a little suddenly, as is common with string samples in my experience. I would suggest a) using a little more reverb and b) creating tiny volume automations just to help those exposed last notes of some of the riffs "tail off" a bit, if you know what I mean. However, I love the vocals at around 3:00, and I think in general you've accomplished a very full texture and complex sound design here. Well done! The (music box?) at 3:35 is also very well-incorporated. You used a wide variety of instruments that ultimately combine very nicely. I also love the pizzicatos around 4:25, as well as the flute at 4:35. Despite the variety and climatic/cinematic nature of this piece, I feel like it would've been good to make it sound more coherent. I'm sure if I saw the score I would be able to pick out some repetition across the parts, but as a casual listener it's hard to string together the structure, especially with only one listen. That said, it has an appropriately dramatic finish and an excellent mood and energy to it. Great work, both of you! ^_~ I'll be adding this to my favorites, er...NOW! :D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you for the long review, Andrew!

Yeah, dem0lecule makes really good and high quality music. I think he used different 8dio for most of the strings, but I can't tell you for sure :)

Interesting thing about the bell at 1:53 is that it accidentally starts 1/16 of a measure too early. But I've come to like it, as it catches the listener off guard and brings them back to the track, in case they were just casually listening.

The quick mood changes are for the most part intentional, just like if you were telling a story and suddenly something new happens.

As for the strings cutting off, I kind of get what you mean. I don't mind when listening, but if I'm trying to read into it, I can hear that a little bit. I don't think more reverb is a good idea, but if it could be made to sound realistic/good, the automation fade could be useful at some points. I've used it myself here and there is the past :)

As for the choirs, I think they're incredible. Dem0lecule got the library very recently, and it sounds brilliant, and is well used!

If I remember correctly, 3:35 is actually a harp, a glock and a xylophone playing slightly different things at the same time!

You can thank dem0 for 4:20 :)
Originally, he had the piano play that, but for the sake of variety he changed it up.

I get what you mean with the coherency. For the most part, this is a track about evolving and moving forward (I guess that in a way, you could say it's progressive, hehhe), and aside from that, it is essentially a loop. This means we definitely didn't want to make it too repetive. But that said, we have places where things repeat, which I'm sure you would've noticed more upon relistening.

The one that is easiest to notice, is the flute at 1:17, the piano at 2:08 (I think that the melody could almost be louder here, but then again, the choir is beautiful to listen to as well), and the choir at 3:02, which hints at the same melody.
I would've originally included the melody in some adaptation in two more places, but it didn't fit entirely there, and I didn't want to force it.
But aside from that, there are a lot of other places that feature some repetition.

Listen to the brass at 3:11 for example, as well as the brass at 4:09.

Aside from melodies, there are a lot of places in the rhythm and backing elements that repeat. One is the piano at 2:26 and the pizzicato you mentioned at 4:18.
I could go on to name other spots too, but I'm sure it's more fun to listen for yourself :)
You're very right though, there is perhaps not much coherency in the in the traditional sense featured in this composition :p

Thanks a lot for your constructive review, and thank you for listening and favoriting :D
I hope to hear more of your stuff once you get time to make some more ;)

DL2Electron

2015-06-14 12:32:08

I agree with the others. The melody and harmony was extremely pleasing to hear and the different transitions flowed smoothly: I didn't even realise it was about 6 mins long till I finished listening! Was pleasantly surprised when the orchestra came, and I felt completely drawn into the sonic world you created! The only criticism I can give is that it sounded way too overcompressed in the louder sections when the full orchestra and drums came in. I know you were probably trying to make it sound as loud as possible, but you could have automated the compression between quiet and loud sections in order to make it more dynamic. Otherwise, fantastic work. You guys have set the bar pretty high in terms of composition ability. Congrats to you both on this.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

It's pretty weird, but I don't feel like this is 6 minutes long either. I guess that paradoxically, even if there are more things going on, it makes it feel like this track is actually shorter than it is, or something like that. Because with so many changes, maybe our minds don't focus as much on the time, but more on what's going on? Idk XD

The criticism may be vaild. I honestly didn't have a lot to do in the productional aspects of this track, but what I do know is that it had to be rendered in 5 different rounds, because of the size and all the great instruments that dem0lecule owns. I can only imagine what a nightmare this must've been to mix/produce, and I'm very happy with dem0's work, as this sounds 1000x times better than if I would've tried :D

As for the composition, we both worked hours upon hours to get these results, so we're very happy to notice that so many people have liked the composition so far :3

Thank you for your review, DL2Electron!