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A Long Way Back

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Author Comments

It's not about the journey, it's about the destination. What happens if the sea engulfs you?


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My final entry for NGUAC 2019. This was really stepping outside of my comfort zone. Made entirely with Reason 10, including its sound- and effects soundbank (synths, strings, choirs, percussions, exotic).

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I like the pensive mood at the beginning and the quirky sound design. The texture seems well-balanced, and I like the phasing/filtered synths. The mix is pretty quiet, though, and I think the kick is a little too prominent in the texture at times. Despite the enjoyable atmosphere, sometimes your instruments don’t blend well together, especially the punchy clap at :30 with the other, more mellow aspects of the texture. There also isn’t a very strong sense of structural variety over time. The new section at 1:14 offers some textural changes, but the piece still has a pretty consistent energy level and thickness of texture. I like the sound design, mood, atmosphere, and harmonic content overall, but I think the composition could be more dynamic. The choir sample at 2:01 sounds pretty inauthentic, and the chord progression at that part is a bit cliche. The piece comes together well by the end with a notable escalation of intensity, and despite the lack of prominent melodic content and my issues with the mixing, there’s a lot to like in the quirky textures and flow here. Keep at it, Shadow-ghost! :)

Mixing, mastering, and balance
1.5/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
.5/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8/10

Starts out with a funky bass line that has me hooked. The progression of the percussion is very interesting. And that piano is beautiful. It's great to hear that you're stepping out of your comfort zone, that is something I need to do more of. From 1:14-1:28 is gorgeous. I wish you would have expanded on that a little more but it still grooves. Fun choir. Gets a little crowded... but it feels pretty epic. I think a little attention in making a more driving beat during certain parts of this song could help. All in all it is a really cool song. Still humming that bass line. Nice work.

shadow-ghost responds:

Thank you very much for the thorough (and informative) review! It's always good to hear suggestions and opinions on how to improve for the future, and I really appreciate that. Very happy you liked the bass and keyboard parts! :)

Wow, nice job again dude, i like the electronic vibe this one has, can tell its not your typical stuff. I really like the part about a minute and a half in. Keep it up :)

shadow-ghost responds:

Thanks man, you're too kind. :)

Credits & Info

Listens
685
Downloads
23
Votes
9
Score
4.24 / 5.00

Uploaded
Aug 25, 2019
2:27 PM EDT
File Info
Song
5.9 MB
3 min 5 sec

Licensing Terms

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