(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)

digging the set of sounds you chose - that super romantic violin, flute and verby piano versus the electronic drums and bass is a cool juxtaposition. the final section is such a heavenly climax to it all as well. gorgeous! everything comes together for a very full sound; i wonder how the bigger sections would sound with the piano's reverb dialed back or if it continues to lend itself to the overall mix.

in a way, this feels more melancholy than what the artwork you chose seems to convey to me (at least, there is a bridge to the person on the island, right?), but it's also not hard to imagine there being more complicated emotions between these two than what might meet the eye, and there is so much involved in anyone being another's oasis. i do feel the love in your piece as its focal point, and even if the inviting greens, browns and pastels of the landscape are not centrally represented, i definitely see where you're coming from here. nice work : )

Boy do I like my ethereal pianos paired with that kind of strings (not sure how they are called).

Definitley very moving

AIM 2023 Judge Review

The violin and flute seem like they are being used to characterize the two people in the inspiration by having these two instruments exchange the same melody and play counterpoint to one another, and I think that was a great approach to connecting the music to the art. It was a nice touch having one instrument be a bit quieter, and I think reflects the perspective of both individuals quite well.

The main melody has a lot of heartache and longing to it and the flute handles this so beautifully, especially when it jumps to the lower octave at 1:55. I wish the violin sounded more humanized - it just sounded too synthetic, which is strange because the flute sounds fine. It might be the absence of vibrato in the long held notes of the violin, which are more present in the flute. As a result, I feel like the emotional weight is a bit lost when the violin is playing. The last notes also cut off too cleanly and I believe it would have been more ideal to let the tail ends naturally fade out on their own to really drive that sense of longing right to the end of the track.

That being said, I'll give a shoutout to this entry for incorporating a key change that doesn't sound clunky and out-of-place. Overall, great setup with the instruments and reflecting emotion and perspective that feel strongly connected to the art.

now this is cool