I like the shimmering pads at the beginning. The high-pitched, spacey synth at :12 comes in a bit suddenly, and there’s a bit of dissonance in the texture by around :30. The ominous atmosphere here is great, as is the production quality - really crisp and clear mix throughout. Some of the transitions are a bit rough, notably 1:20 and 3:06. The distortion at 1:40 is a bit harsh-sounding, but that section leads nicely into the bass-y bridge at 2:08, where your excellent sense of rhythm is on full display. The arrangement of this piece is a bit disjointed, and the extended silence at 3:10 or so really threw me off of the flow. The outro has pretty haunting, but also sounded a tad unpolished and ended rather suddenly. Honestly, I feel very conflicted about this piece overall. The sound design and mastering are fantastic, but the structuring could use some smoothing over, and aspects of the texture are very experimental. At the very least, kudos on executing an ambitious composition with a cinematic flair that clearly complements the art it’s inspired by very well. Keep at it, CorruptModule! ^_^

Mixing, mastering, and balance
2/2
Structure, transitions, phrasing, and variety
.75/1.5
Melody, tonality, harmony, and texture
1.5/2
Instrumentation and sound design
1/1
Emotion, atmosphere, and catchiness
1.5/1.5
Originality and uniqueness
1/1
Overall (how do the elements above interact?)
.25/1
Composite score
8/10

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

some of the processing here, like the buildup into the section at 2m and the glitchy faded ambience after it, feels like the musical equivalent of dithering, which is a cool textural way to reference the artwork inspiration you chose. i really enjoy that sort of digital hazy mood and you've got a lot of different stuff going on in the track to enjoy. it does kind of jump from one idea to another and never really go back to any of them, which might affect the overall cohesion of the track a bit, but i definitely enjoyed all the ideas you laid down. each of these sections could probably be its own song if fleshed out individually and developed further in those styles. stay weird! get weirder!

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The sounds you picked for this track are fitting and I like the use of distortion here to create a dark, murky atmosphere. For a piece with a lot of distortion, it's pretty easy on the ears and I think it helps that the distortion helps to enhance the melodic elements at play. There's definitely a futuristic vibe here, but it also feels so claustrophobic given how many of these thick instruments are in-your-face. I think this helps to convey the setting (as I see it) in the art inspiration - waking up trapped in a small dark room with a mysterious computer all alone and not knowing exactly where you are or why you're there. You just know that you have to escape.

I like the use of the pads at the beginning, particularly with how they seem to have this oscillation pattern to their volume. It makes me think of a computer fan whirring as a computer screen lights up. The whole intro is very good at setting the scene and the moment the drop hits, it feels like I'm crunching down trying to find my way out of this dystopian escape room.

I also thought it was neat how the synth line playing the melody is just a little off the strong beat sometimes. There are moments later in the track where it's clearly hitting on the strong 1, but at the start especially, the first note hits the strong beat while the rest are a little bit off or on a later beat within the bars. It gives the sense of uneasiness while the bassline continues its pattern after the drop like clockwork.

In the end, I like how the chords rising in at 2:50 come across as a callback to the intro amidst the newer ideas being introduced here. The melody being reintroduced in this airy higher voice evokes that sense of hopelessness I think you were referencing in your description. You try to escape, but it doesn't happen, and now you're stuck for life. Overall, this concept is well-executed and I like how the scene was set and played out based on the art.

Super cool, this fits the illustration very well :)

wow