Oddly I get some more PS1 or PS2 era games vibes that are reminding me of some dungeon crawler games like Kings Field (though with a more modern sound). The atmosphere you’re creating is quite intriguing and feels like a mix of mysterious and adventurous (hence the dungeon crawler comparison I guess). Your sound choices also fitted that very well and lets my nostalgia heart melt a bit. The general mix is solid, but I feel the master could use some fine adjustments (keep in mind this is very much nitpicking and should be seen as general recommendations and not as a critique). The lower mids do sound a bit stuffy at times (specially when more instruments are playing at the same time like at the 2min mark). Additionally, the high mids are a bit shouty for my ears, specially with the lead synth entering. So my recommendation would be looking into the ranges 450-800 hz and 2k-4khz and dipping some frequencies just a few db, possibly even using a dynamic EQ to keep those frequencies with other situations.
EinelTheFox
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It has a soft Mario galaxy like vibe that would lend itself very well for maybe a dreamier or narrative-based game. While the vibe and sounds are very good, I feel like there are some points that could improve. First of is the soprano sax on lost. It is quite off key and REALLY needs some retuning. While the slight off key sound might be cool it is a bit to much in this case. Second thing could be compression. All songs sound a bit to open to my taste and might would be a bit to open for working as background music in a game and maybe a bit still to dynamic. So I would think some slight more compression would help here compacting the sound and glueing it more together. Keep in mind the compression thing is just a minor thing that would make it sound more professional and like it would be in a true award-winning game. But this is nothing that hinders the listening experience.
All in all a nice little contribution with some beautiful dreamy vibes.
Hey there, I’m Einel! A young composer and producer based in Germany. I am specialized in professional sounding productions that are more ambient and emotional with everything between guitar, orchestral or synth based music. But could also go all out if needed to. If you like to hear some of my work, use the following link to get to my streaming services:
Spotify: EinelTheFox | Spotify
Bandcamp: Music | EinelTheFox
I’m open for any questions and hearing about your game vision.
Hey there, this is Einel (or David) I am a composer, multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer based in Germany. Hard to say where my genre really is, since there is everything from orchestral, hybrid (orchestral and synth), EDM to some other upcoming projects based in Prog Rock, Metal or Jazz.
Most of my work can be found on BandCamp: https://einelthefox.bandcamp.com/music
For other streaming services use the following link: https://wonderl.ink/@einelthefox
If you like what you hear, feel free to contact me for any collabs or project work.
First of all, you nailed the sound of those older shoot’em ups. With every song having fantastic head bop energy, like only Initial D could :D. This also makes a lot of sense why you are looking into some Eurodance/Eurobeat right now, since it kind of has the same energy. Production wise only the intro songs feel a bit like the odd one out, since it is way more bass heavy and also seem to distort a bit on the higher transients. Otherwise this really sounds good as it is and could go 1:1 into a game.
I will mostly base my critique on the first song “Unseen Realms Final” since this is the finished song. I really hope that you will be able to give the other song the treatment you want to give it.
There is a lot going on that one might not catch on the first listen. Production wise there isn’t a lot I would like to change. Maybe there are here and there some frequencies I’d rather take down a notch, but I’m also quite sensitive to everything over 2k, so it might be my hearing.
The only I think I would give as an recommendation, is to maybe start playing more with your sound design. With this song production wise you are on point, but it feels a bit empty and sterile. So from a sound design stand point you might be able to add some points of interest to add some playfulness and flourishment. Like the bass drum having a slow delay effect and the vocals widening more with a stereo ping pong delay that makes it shimmer on the left and right. Maybe also the drones could use some extra modulation like a phaser or flanger to get some extra movement. Keep in mind these are nitpickings to the overall productions, but might elevate the otherwise good production and add something more.
Musically I could really see this song in 3 different settings. As just an ambient soundtrack this works very well and could go into a game or movie just as it is. But for an album I could see it go 2 different directions. Maybe following it up with a song that is more inspired by Arvo Pärt (like Magnificat), that is also a choral and with the more meditative interweaving writing of Arvo would fit perfectly. Second idea is something darker like Ben Frost that would fit with the darker more ambient side of this song, like in his work for the show “Dark” or “1899”.
This is just lovely. It has everything one could ask for. It is playful, ambient and very well fitting the given theme. Can’t really say anything else. Your composition is spars but fittingly and there isn’t really anything I would think of how to improve upon what you already have. Maybe just a bit nitpicking mixing wise since specially the second song sounds a bit cloudy at some parts, that is due to some lower mids being a bit to strong (I would guess between 350 and 500 hz). But nothing that hinders the listening experience.
This is a little gem you’ve created. The ambiance worked really well with your guitar tone and choice of genre and creates quite an ethereal feeling that fits the given theme. The structure of your song feels very gentle and dynamic flowing from cloudy distorted peaks into those beautiful calm and clean valleys. While the sounds are good, it at times feels a bit to much on the gentle side and feels like the whole song takes a bit more distance from the listener. Specially with bass, distorted guitar and the leads in the more climactic parts could have used some more dirt (not necessarily more distortion but also maybe some more push in the mids and higher mids between 1k-2k hz for the guitars and 300-400 hz for the bass) that would liven them up more and make them a bit more present. But, besides that nitpicking this was just an awesome experience. Keep it UP!
The sound design is very well done and creates a dark and grimy ambiance that I really like. It creates a feeling of the alien vastness of space and its foreboding mystery. Also with every song having some different emotion/style attached to it without sounding to much out of the line. There isn’t really much to add here. Maybe the mix could get some improvement here and there but there isn’t really anything that distracts someone from listening to you songs and that hinders to convey your vision, so it’s absolutely fine by me. Really enjoyed listening to it. Thanks for sharing.
Already the first seconds feel like a proper soundtrack that would go hand in hand with something like Mario Galaxy or maybe even the upcoming film to it. The arrangement is very nicely done and feels quite dynamic. Really dig that you two tried to tie everything into one song with different segments (and it also worked out very well). Everything just had such a gentle and floaty vibe to it, enhanced by the overall well-done mix. There is really nothing else I could say, so I just shut up and enjoy your both work more 😊.
This just starts very strong! The ambiance you’ve created sounds very nice but gets a bit hindered by the mixing. I think the biggest gripe might be the distortion you’ve used. It is at times a bit to prominent and creates a to harsh sound for the otherwise very cool sounding ambiance and sound design. Musically this works very well with the given theme and shows how well versed you are with your synths for creating cool sounds that work very well with the very cool music you’re writing. However it feels there could be some improvement in the mixing. Mostly, like said earlier, this has to do with the used distortion that creates some harsher overtones. But Also the use of compression looks like it could be dialled down a bit and let the instruments breathe a bit more. If you like, we could chat a bit more on the discord about it, since this will cutter the critique quit a bit and otherwise these are really cool songs
The general direction you took is quite beautiful, but I feel there are some points to improve on. The general arrangements sound quite good and conveys that adventures feeling very well. But specially in the first song there is a lot going on that kind of distracts from the original intent. My guess would be to stay with fewer ideas and then let them count more like one perfect brush stroke instead of multiple small ones. The little flourishes, like with the flute, needs their own praise, since they added a very nice liveliness and playfulness to the orchestra. Don’t really know much about MuseScore and it workflow but there might be some points that could make the orchestra even more lively. First thing would be to look for more expressive and more fitting articulations other then shorts and longs the other thing would be to do with the dynamics withing the mixer of MuseScore since the flutes seem to get distorted with higher velocity.
Overall (and although the critic might sound a bit negative), this was quite a pleasant listen. Yes, like mentioned earlier there might be points to improve on but still the direction and general intention was already executed well. The only other gripe I might have would be the correlation to the theme.
To be honest, I’m a bit torn here. While the textures and sounds resonated quite a bit with me and reminded me of some artist like Kiasmos or Ben Frost, there were certain elements that made go “meh”. Not that it is a bad song at all. But I feel like there could have been much more and that the sprouts of that can be seen or heard in that matter. From 0:00 to 1:40 the mood you’re creating and the textures are top notch and are quite literally what I meant with the textures of Kiasmos or Ben Frost. However then the second part started, where the lower repeating lead entered. I feel like you could have stayed much longer on your drone and not necessarily kick up to a higher gear but enhance what you already have. Maybe add some soaring strings that are playing in octaves with a very simple motive. Or if you like to change gear, to let it evolve even more. Play with the rhythm of your lead instrument and let other instruments respond to that, like little percussions that are loosening up the vibe more and more until you let go a bit and let the listeners float and come back to your original idea. Lamenting and babbling aside, the repeating melody didn’t really do the trick for me and felt quite like a friction point for this otherwise smooth sounding ambiance. But the other elements you already have, I adore very much!
Kind of can’t shake off a certain resemblance to Blade Runner. Specially with those long evocative pad sounds that keep stacking on each other. While the vibe and sound are very calm and relaxing, it feels like it didn’t necessarily needed to be as long as it. And I would have loved to hear some different elements to enter to enhance the otherwise good ambiance. But with closer to the 5-6 minutes mark it sadly started to overstay its welcome. In my mind it wouldn’t need much different elements maybe just some high end plugs that tickle the ears, some random ambient noises that tells a little story (not in a literal way) or changes the context of where we are as the listener. Overall the sound and vibe you’ve created are very nice however since they are a bit long I would have loved to hear something more that could enhance your otherwise well crafted ambience.
This has a very nice development throughout the song with also having a nice change up in the latter half. However there is also room for improvement. First thing is the general volume of the different instruments and how they interact with each other. While the piano sounds nice in the beginning and in the more quitter passages, it feels very much drowned by the strings and almost lost. So it needs to either play way louder or change its register to get heard better. My recommendation would be to change its register to also have a more varied sound throughout the song and winning some more expression, which would be my second thought of improvement. While your instruments don’t sound bad at all, they lack quite a bit of expression. Mostly due to not using their expression for creating crescendos or decrescendos or changing their dynamic throughout the song. I feel like this could be a big way to embed more of your vision and let the listener feel and hear it more. It would also help creating more interesting textures like in the beginning strings where they could interweave more. Nagging aside, you did quite a good job that was lovely to listen to.
Hey Denn, thank you for those tips. Like mentioned in the submission page mixing vocals is not my forte since they need their own tool set and also need a more "dynamic" approach (specially getting harder when it's your vocals you're working with). Your tip with the stereo field sounds quite true, sadly I only now invested in a good doubler since the other sounded a bit meh. The octave down trick never really worked for me :(. It always sounds a bit to muddy or not noticable at all and since the real recordings are already muddy sounding anyways I never really bothered with it. But when the jam’s over I should give your recommendations another try.
Cheers mate!
There is always something handsomely quirky with your songs that is sticking with the listener like glue. Be it the mix of genres or the mix of instruments and sounds, like shown here. It has something that reminds me a bit of the OST of Rayman 2 (paired with some Cowbay Bebop for that spacy feeling without being spacy at all) that also had that bluesy funky vibe mixed with the certain je ne sais quoi. It still has a raw and dirty feeling without sounding to harsh or overbearing but also never sounds to overproduced. Maybe some of the effect sounds, like the airplane could have been a bit quieter and pushed back into the mix. Also, the acoustic guitar sounded a bit odd at times like it had a phase issue or a to steep cut in certain frequencies and made it a bit thin sounding. However, it kind of worked in the mix.
Another discussion point, since you wrote that you changed your workflow a bit. Since you are a wood wind player, have you ever thought about getting a wind midi-controller like an EWI or similar? I would bet this would help you feel more connected when playing piano feels a bit more uncommittable to you and you might be able to control more that dynamics with it.
Alright I guess I need to channel the Fox in my name and write a bit longer critique. Not that there was anything bad at all but since your songs are very different and I also have different feelings, lets talk about them track by track.
Track 1 (the epic) - For an epic I would have chosen a different arrangement where the brass is more in focus and heroically roaring. The dynamics and general vibes are there and are quite strong. But for getting it more heroically and epic there is happening to much in the second third of the songs. The floor tom sounded a bit hecting and the lines of the background instruments a bit nervous. My recommendation is to stay a bit more on you chosen notes. Let them ring and feel like they having purpose so that the leading melody can have that sonore feeling. Same with the melody. Make every not count more and ring out heroically so the whole song can breathe a bit more and feel more alive.
Track 2 (Ambient) - I feel like the more calmer songs are a strong suit of yours. Like you already shown us in the ambience jam. Your choice of instruments worked very well and with those background vocals (or didgeridoo?) it got quite a nice ambient foundation where the the call and response between the steel guitar and celesta work very well. Nothing else to critique here.
Track 3 (Battle) - This song worked quite well and you might be the first where I have to say that maybe your instruments are holding you back. The composition has everything it needs but just lacks the oomph and immediacy it needs. Nothing that it your fault, but maybe a motivation to finally invest into some newer instruments, since you seem to outgrown those free ones. Another thought that comes to mind is that I would have loved some more aggressive synths creating a more threatening vibe. Something that distorts and growls like a monster following you. Or something sequenced that feels like being on the edge and there could happen something at any times.
Track 4 (instrumental) – Like mentioned earlier those calmer and ambient songs seem to suit you very much and there is nothing I could add or say about it. It was quite lovely and clicked like gears in a clock. The change up between piano/Synth, orchestra worked very well in my books with the piano having a very Silksong like sound that resonated that spacious mysterious vibe.
All in all this was in general a good entrance and demonstration of your abilities. Like mentioned before it feels a bit hindered by the instruments but not in any negative way. A second thought might be to interwove your notes a bit more with more dynamic changes withing each instruments having some creshendos and decreshendos like waves on a sea and leaving more room for other instruments to shine.
What a mysterious and foreboding entrance. The general vibe was very nice and the ambiance was quite enjoyable. However it kind of really misses something to get hooked by and grab the listener. I know that this isn't the key with ambience and this is a general gripe I have with this genge. However when the guitar kicked in, there whas a shimmer of what I whas hoping for. Some glimmer or piece to cut thru the thick cloud of sounds. The other thing that sound wise was that it sounded a bit dull or muffled. While some ambient music can sound quite piercing this was a bit to gentle and lost its airyness a bit. Coming back to my first gripe I think that some more sparkely elements would have contrasted nicely with the rest of the song and would have elevated the experience. Nonetheless it was quite a plesant experience.
Really liked the direction you took. It has a very mysterious and floaty vibe that I really digged. The first song kind of reminded me of Stemage who was one of my favorits back in my teens. So cudos to that. However I'm a bit torn with the guitar sound. For me it sounds weak. It is to narrow in frequency wise and feels like it needs some more push to realy sound mean and gnarly. Otherwise it sounded really solid!
It depends. Most of the time you'll most likely use a light comporessor in the master chain as a glue effect. So in this case the comporession should be low.
The other thing mentioned is a technic by Andrew Shoeps. There you would use a heavy compressing comporessor as a seperat bus befor the master chain (or as a side chain) without the drums, yes.
You’ve hit the nail on its head.
Both the intro (Birding Grounds) and A rainy stroll had their problems.
The intro was originally planed for a different idea I had but I didn’t want to scrap it fully so it got mangled into what it is now. Which might haven’t been the best choice.
Since In Flow took me quite a while and rethinking my game idea, I had to somewhat rush a rainy stroll, also because I was heading to vacation a few days after. So, I agree with most of what you said and think that there is room for improvement.
But overall I’m glad that you liked it and thank you for your critique.
Hey thanks for the reply and those kind words.
The bird callings have been used in two stweps either used as an effect, so the sample has been used in combination with XLN Life to create some interesting beat like sounds.
Or have been just used as ambient sound. Since I recreated an analog workflow I put the IPS for background noises extra low on the Studer simulation to get it extra grainy and a bit less prestine sounding. Maybe that is what you've been hearing.
First seconds got me emediatly hooked with that lovely clarinet. The music style is very lovely with a very medeteranian flair that just invites to stay and dream or just nodd their head with the lovely rythm. Composition wise this is also very nicely done with the call and answes of different instruments. Simple but definetly beautifull.
Wonderfull!
Love me some old scool style game OST. This always will create some nostaliga. Paired with the more experimental nature of your OST this is just awesome. Reminds me very much of some game from Kira LLC.
Can't say much else then I really liked every ounce of wierd and wonderfull atmosphere you've created. Bravo!
Only critique I might give is the length. While I really liked the songs and sounds nearly 40min of music is maybe a bit to much :'D
Very lovely and chill songs. The mix of emotional solo strings and R'n'B ish percussions feels at first a bit odd, but once you get used to it, it is really cool.
While both songs a well done, some explenation of your through process and or imagined game and how it fits the theme would have been nice to get a clearer view (or reference point).
Very ethereal listening experience that just cept on giving. It somwhat remings me of some older N64/PS1 era games and those who try to capture those atmospheres, like for example Lunacid. I can definitely see this OST in something like this with its very intriguing and chill atmosphere. Specially Cyclical Severance gave me some very cool chills.
Very cool job!
The compositions by themself are quite nice and have a nice flow to them that feels more written so screen or cutsceenes that game OST. The more east asian inspired instruments were also a nice touch. Emotionally I feel somewhat reminded of the Ori games but with a more more japanes composision style.
However I feel the "post-polishing" needs some additional touch ups. The general mix isn't bad at all. But it feels at times a bit spiky in the 3k - 4Khz range. Also I feel some instruments tembre could also benefit from a little touch ups to let them shine more. Specially the lower instruments feel a bit subdued against the other instruments and could use a bit of boost to get their warmth more present.
The compositions by themself are quite nice and have a nice flow to them that feels more written so screen or cutsceenes that game OST. The more east asian inspired instruments were also a nice touch. Emotionally I feel somewhat reminded of the Ori games but with a more more japanes composision style.
However I feel the "post-polishing" needs some additional touch ups. The general mix isn't bad at all. But it feels at times a bit spiky in the 3k - 4Khz range. Also I feel some instruments tembre could also benefit from a little touch ups to let them shine more. Specially the lower instruments feel a bit subdued against the other instruments and could use a bit of boost to get their warmth more present.
Very chill lo-fi-ish vibes. Really liked the sounddesign with some FM inspired sounds, like thei could have been out of an SEGA-MegaDrive.
I have to say that Haunted Island Boardwalk was my favorit, like many others have allready pointed out. The dirve and enevergy there was quite right and really gave a cool structure.
But the other songs are also nothing to sneese on. Like I said earlyier I really liked your FM inspired sounds, since FM is my favorite synthesys technique and also love the sound of older yamaha FM-chips like they have been used on the MegaDrive.
This is a really cool OST. Though the songs might feel a bit short, they definitely got their point thru and the presentation was excelent. The different styles and influences blended well and created a cool and catchy atmosphere. Really liked the first two songs with the same Leitmotive put into different genres. Also the dirve of the song was very nice, which fitted very well with your rythm game idea.
What a loveley ambience you've created. It has a bittersweet sound to it that really gets that romantic and longing tone.
Only gipe I might have is the presentation of production. By itself it sounds quite loveley but I feel like it is a bit drowned in reverb or missing somewhat its presence to really get the presentation quite right. It always feels a bit like it took a step away from the listener and never like it envelopes me and get me into the scene. Which could be an effect you've wanted to create a feeling of reminiscenes and that the character is thinking about the past.
Quite the collection of some cool but short songs.
Normally I would say, that I'd like to see less songs but therefor more developed songs. But I think the short soungs worked quite well with the narative aspect and would work well for a shorter game or something like a retro point and click.
Howether I feel like production wise there is something to be desired. The general OST sounds OK but feel somewhat muffled and at times even a bit distorted. I don't know if this was a problem of the SoundCloud upload but it also seemed like the whole mixe was originally stereo but was crammed into mono.
The idea with having different songs tied to different times of your summer night is a cool idea.
Thou I'm not the biggest fan of the mentioned inspirations, like Joe Satriani, the listening experience of your OST was quite enjoyable. Also the art for your game concept looked very nice.
Additionally I realy want to point out and honor the fact that these are real instruments played here. Something I really get back to too.
Glad you still made it! Sorry again for the letdown with the singing. But we will definitely gonna catch up on that and get in touch.
„Song for you“ I already know from our conversations and it still got that lovely bubbly vibe.
The other two songs are quite the outliers from what I expected, but man did you nailed the sound on those. Also the ambient noises were a really nice touch.