Official AIM 2018 Review!

Mixing on your percussion is good. Perhaps somewhat boxy in the low mids but strong. As TL mentioned, the abrupt about-face from sinister sounding drums to jolly good fun absolutely knocked my preconceptions cold, more than once in fact. Very exciting tune.

Piece as a whole is well written. A bit bass heavy, lacking some clarity in the highs. Minus half a star for some tracks sounding mixed too loud/muddy low end.

Compositionally, I have no complaints. What a journey! Complements the art perfectly. I waited a few hours in between viewing and hearing your piece -- experienced an almost synesthesia -- the cat, the flowers, hummingbirds, big, soulful eyes. Instrumentation made the magic happen. Nice work!

Thanks for turning out to this year's AIM!

---Official AIM review---

I like the percussion at the beginning. I admit the cheery melody that followed it fooled me a bit. The sharp, militaristic nature of the percussion seemed foreboding, especially given the rhythmic string riff that fades in with it, and then the melody was a bit of a tight, right turn. I suppose that fits the thematic elements of the piece, but as a listener it’s still confusing. It’s also a small detail. The melodies are beautiful, and you have a really interesting harmonic progression in the first 20 seconds or so of the piece. The section at :23 also contrasts really nicely. Despite all the subtle (and not-so-subtle) mood shifts, the piece is really flowing. You’ve used dynamics and cadences very well to slowly mold the texture in an ever-evolving stew of music. One of the rougher transitions was at 1:43, in fact. I really like the structural variety and change-of-pace you introduced at 1:10, which I think was necessary even in such a short piece. Also, 2:16 was another moment of confusion between the mood of the build-up and the resultant phrase. I know you intended for it to be that way, but I still can’t shake the jarring nature of that transition. Clear, refreshing, and well-balanced mixing and mastering, though. The instrumentation is quite enjoyable too. After the second listen, I think the transition at 2:16 is the only thing that significantly bothers me about the piece. Great work overall! The composition is very creative, and the production is top-notch. Keep up the good work, BlueOceans!

9.5/10

You've grown a lot since the past couple years man.

Happy to still see Newgrounds still having a positive affect on new musicians!

You should come join the Newgrounds Valhalla audio discord chat. A lot of regulars are there, and I believe you would get along with us just fine.

Keep doing you my guy!

Mate, your stuff have improved a lot lately. Great work!