Reviews for AIM - Sunken Streets

[ADR3-N]

Official AIM Review!

Last year someone selected this piece -- and wow have you taken it into a totally different direction. May be some of the finest olskool-y triphop I've heard in a while.

That said, I got some beefs. I need a little more of that snare, a little bit more crisp on that mix. Hi mids seem to have been cut down a bit, which leaves the bass standing out a little more than I'm quite comfortable with.

Extra points for sampling your hood. Indeed does sound like waves lapping at the shore.

Wanting a little more of that rim sound on the snare. Goes nice with your texture.

I also like the adventurous, avante-garde feel on that bass. You're not afraid to make things fit the way you want them to. Super jazzy.

Piece could have ended at 3:56 and I'd be happy. Might condense that down a bit or cut out a repeat or two from earlier sections.

I'd also tame that low sub a bit. It does take over the rest of the song a bit. Maybe cut 30 hz and under from everything but the kick.

SFX outro came out strong. Extra points for representing the artwork well.

Thanks for turning out to this year's competition!

SroSocial responds:

Thanks my man, the snare is definitely something I've been told to give more love to; so right now I'm learning more about parallel compression. Looking back on it, I feel you on the sub being a bit too much. Could definitely condense it a bit, but some part of me just wanted to wallow in that vibe longer.

Thanks again for the detailed review and for having me, first time making music to reflect art. Also had no idea someone else used the same art piece, goes to show how different interpretations can be.

Your compliments really boosted my artistic confidence and I hope to hear more from you in the future!

[TaintedLogic]

---Official AIM review---

Really cool and jazzy progression at the beginning. I especially like the groovy bass and hi-hats. The pads sound a bit sharp in my ears; perhaps some more careful filtering is in order. The subtle vocal samples also add to the texture considerably. After a while, though, the piece starts to lack a sense of direction. The pitch-bending (like at 1:17) is good for some variety, but there’s very little in the way of melodic content or an overarching shape to the texture. The result is that this piece sounds a lot like a demo track (or maybe background music for a Buzzfeed video). There are a lot of cool ideas here, though. The pulsing E-piano at 2:08 contributes a lot to the mood of the piece. After that, the progression is really slow and drawn-out. The transition at 3:46 was pretty effective as far as stop-start transitions go, but it didn’t feel like it was really leading the piece anywhere. I think the composition during the second half of the piece is especially weak. Don’t get me wrong - the filtering and other effects are really cool and help contribute to the jazzy, relaxed mood. But in terms of moving notes, I wanted to see you do a lot more with this one. You certainly went for an experimental vibe here. The texture and atmosphere sound great, but the composition still needs some more dynamic elements. As for the production, it’s generally good. There were times when I thought the kick could’ve been a bit stronger, especially during the busier sections. I also think the pads are getting distorted by the other instruments between around :10 and :40, but that could just be because of an excess of compression. Either way, most of my complaints here are with the lack of fill in the composition. Otherwise, really groovy piece. Keep at it, DoctaBGL!

7.75/10

SroSocial responds:

Thanks for the review,

A lot of fair points and easily fixable. But, the criticism of the composition.. While I understand your desire for a more dynamic composition to be implemented; I feel you miss the point of the piece and stress too much on that factor. It's set up in that fashion to be hypnotizing, representing the piece of art it was inspired by and transporting you there. If the second half were to have more dynamics in melody and not be drawn out, it would have ruined what I'm trying to convey in the track. At it's core its an ambient track, it's not out to guide you but bring waves of sound washing through your ear as you sink deep into waving thoughts.

I'd be impressed if someone were able to make this track work as background music for any video without having the music be a huge focus tbh.

[Cyberdevil]

Sounds like a pretty ambient and explorative piece! The water doesn'treally come across at the beginning, but past the two minute point you start noticing that too, and in a break the waves start reaching the shoreline too... it seems to move from the sunken world to land, and then down into the blue once again - or the murky green in this particular piece. The sound seems muffled, as it would be in a submarine, so you're portraying that pretty well too. It sounds great, overall, though the vibe I'm getting from it is more casual than mysterious, and towards the ends those shoreline breaks start distracting a little. That little part at the end sounds more like I imagined the whole track could've been like. Eerie, the sub bubbles trailing behind you as you explore the abyss... but either way really cool sound here. Thorough, but would've been nice with a bit more mystery; some kind of suspense to match the theme. Do like the hiphop style otherwise! Nujabes-like, which is great, just maybe not the optimal vibe for a long lost watery grave IMO.

-cd-

SroSocial responds:

I feel ya man, I made the beginning as a contrast from the past to the fictional present. I guess the casual feeling is a play on how insignificant or ignorant we were to them.

Thanks for the review cyberdevil, didn't know you reviewed music too! Keep up the good work.

[XwaynecoltX]

Has a dark feel

So this one was pretty good and has a nice and dark feel about this piece, it starts off slow and has a few changes here and there I like the deep sounds you put on this, I think more build up of this would be really cool though, more of that would be a plus anyways nice sound.

~~THINGS TO IMPROVE ON~~
some added intense build up would be cool.

~X~