First of all, congratulations on 3000 audio reviews. A bit arbitrary of a milestone to congratulate maybe, but it's no less amazing to me!

I'm interested about your review because track was partially inspired by your criteria and previous feedback (I do wish more judges could do what you do; it's so helpful).

Maybe I shouldn't be surprised about this, but you totally caught me having the typical arrangement! Though it did really help me piece things together, so the tradeoff was probably beneficial in the end. It may have helped sell the intentionality of the more risky choices too. :) But yes, it was comfortable for me and maybe I should be more bold in a competitive situation.

I'm super surprised people like the mix! I struggled with it a lot, so it's a big relief to have direct thumbs up there.

I really love and appreciate the description of "both blissful and somewhat ominous." Perhaps making things "more legato" would have reduced this aspect, but I can see that you're pointing out there are ways to consolidate some of the ideas better.

Also, varied drops: there's no other way man! It's a waste of music to do the same thing twice! :D Thanks for acknowledging that.

And again, thank you for the thoughtful review! Good luck with the next rounds, and do enjoy your couple weeks off!

Thanks! :) Wouldn't say it's any of the given genres, so I chose what similar producers default to as well.

Hey thank you sir!

I was worried forcing melody into the drops would muddy the sound, but I knew people like you would be listening critically, so I risked a trickier mix in favor of that added emotion. So it's wonderful to hear you say the mixing was great. It reassures me that those decisions weren't damaging :)

OH BOY IT SURE IS

(Thank you!)

YEAH I don't usually go that route with melodic sections with the drop, but I didn't want to throw away the potential for that type of emotion. It's cool of you to pick up on it, thanks!

Atlas is woah. Didn't expect the contrast there.