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A Journeys End [NGUAC 2020 Final]

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I didn’t expect to get to the final round of the NGUAC lol, but here we are :D! This time I decided to make an orchestral track because my other two submissions were already EDM. I started on the track a bit too late for my liking, but you can’t force inspiration of course. I wanted to create a more emotional track and I did that using new knowledge on modes. I went with the dorian scale because it gives a kind of adventurous feel to the composition. The chord movement I ended up liking the most was C minor to F major, and this is a big part of the dorian atmosphere present throughout the song. I did some improvisation on the piano and arranged my ideas in FL. I created tonal ambiances to add some space by warping and processing orchestral samples. I thought it would a good idea to contrast the soft parts with a louder chorus in the middle of the track. This was the part I had the most struggles with, and you can say for yourself if you think it worked out in the end or not. I ended up last minute swapping out a recording of my digital piano with the Spitfire Cinematic Soft Piano. I felt it fit the overall tone better, and that it made the piano sound more like a percussive element, which I really liked. I hope my mixing went a bit better this time because my orchestral mixing wasn’t too great in the first two orchestral compositions I sequenced, and that is something that I definitely still struggle with. Overall, I like this better than my previous orchestral tracks. Not because I think I did a lot better, but because this was made with a different goal in mind. Most of my other songs were made to create a sense of space, a sense of setting. But this was made to express emotions, feelings, that after all this time you can finally go home. The experience was made to add another dimension to the sense of space and ended up being something I’m very proud of. Comments and ratings are as always much appreciated! Cheers :)


Download / Buy ‘A Journeys End’;

https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/lazerwing/a-journeys-end


My LazerWing pages;

Spotify; https://open.spotify.com/artist/5zHuBdtagJUWXowPLtKwRJ

Deezer; https://www.deezer.com/nl/artist/84242562

Itunes; https://music.apple.com/us/artist/lazerwing/1495594227

Napster; https://us.napster.com/artist/lazerwing

Amazon; https://www.amazon.com/s?k=Lazerwing&i=digital-music&search-type=ss&ref=ntt_srch_drd_B0847CNJ8R


Info;

Key; C dorian

Beats Per Minute; 90,000

Work Time; 19 hours

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Hermosa, relajante y posiblemente quedaría bien con un nivel en Geometry Dash, le doy 5 estrellas por que es muy muy buena, felicidades.

I like the feeling of suspense at the beginning between the tremolo and the emotional piano chords. The piece is a little slow to progress at first, but there’s a good injection of energy at 1:05, and the crisp percussion and majestic melodies thereafter help move things along nicely. The melodies at 1:10 could’ve been a little more dynamic and memorable imo, but you did a good job of channeling the emotional quality of the piece with the return to the furtive, taciturn part at 1:57. Since so much of this piece is so minimal in texture, I would’ve liked to see a little more humanization at times. For example, the piano chords at 2:21 feel a bit square rhythmically, although I recognize the descending line thereafter has some nice little “anti-quantization” details going on. I’d also push you to do even more with dynamics, especially within the quiet sections. The ending was a bit cheesy, and I sort of expected the piece to end at 3:21 upon hearing it for the first time, although it does give a nice sense of resolve to a piece that otherwise has a subtle note of tension in the string drones. Overall, stellar work with the sound design, atmosphere, progression, and mixing. Despite my nitpicking on some of the compositional details, you really told a story with this piece (or, at least the end of one). Keep it up, Lazerwing! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
1.25/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.75/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.25/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
.75/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.75/1
Composite score
8.75/10

I feel your sub hits in the intro could use just a bit more of a decaying feeling to them, like distant artillery.

Otherwise, this piece is beautifully atmospheric. I would prefer just a bit less reverb on those smacking cinematic percussion hits, not because it sounds bad, but because it sounds like it's in a completely different space than the rest of the piece. I would also emphasize transients and higher mid frequencies so we can get those stick thwacks in, sounding more in line with the foley it sounds like you've laid on top of the piece. I can't tell if it's vinyl or rain, or sands falling.

Overall, highly emotive piece. I really especially like your use of that sub impact, sounds like -1000 dB drum to me a bit. Though the piece could have ended for me easily at 3:25 or before. I felt the piano rollup to the new major I chord was a bit of a cheese move. I say that with absolutely no offense intended. We just got home from our long trek, and suddenly fall into bed happy, the same as before we ever thought to leave? That sort of thing.

But wonderful composition aside from that. I very much enjoyed it.

Thanks for coming out to NGUAC!

Dorian is the best key, I love your slower sections, so much, you really perpetuate and encompass the dorian key beautifully. I may be a bit biased with this review, but dorian is SO GOOD. I love the piano you chose, the high end percussive/noise that happens is very relaxing, almost ASMR to me, and I want it. That Minor i chord to the Major IV chord is just one of the most satisfying sounds in the language of music to me.

Mixing here is pretty great, the middle section was very dramatic and emotional, but I felt it lacked a stable melody, and instead built the melody around the chords you built, which wasnt terrible, but it felt like a generic background to a video game or something, which isnt BAD, persay. i could literally see this as a soundtrack to something. But the way you wrote those slow moments with the piano, PHENOMENAL.

God I love dorian.

Overall Composition; 9.25
Overall Production; 8.75
Overall impression; 9

Score; 9

Well done!

love the piano and the extra "ffpt" noise that goes with each note, very well written and produced.

Credits & Info


Listens
385
Faves:
5
Votes
17
Score
4.38 / 5.00

Uploaded
Sep 11, 2020
2:08 PM EDT
Genre
Cinematic
File Info
Song
5 MB
3 min 40 sec
Software
  • FL Studio 20
Misc. Kit
  • Audio Imperia Nucleus

Licensing Terms

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