so good!

Falling Night, Chocnoon
Composition/Structure:10 Production:5 Emotion/Atmosphere:10 Art Relevance:4

Classic sound, pretty sure I heard that opening launch sample like 20 years ago on an old reg's song, couldn't find it after looking though. The trance melodies sound like they were written or inspired by a young BOUNC3 or Cornandbeans. Even the mix-down has a younger trance sound in that you really should focus on mixing and mastering techniques to get the sound quality up to snuff. This genre and style really sings when the fidelity starts sounding pro. You very clearly wanted the sound you were going for but I wish you said more about the art and how it inspired you. Way too many people get this idea that their work will speak for itself but I never know whether or not the work is truly being inspired or if it was a randomly chosen image. Anything said about the work helps alleviate that fear and leaves me without the ability to even claim something so preposterous.

...and people still get upset when I point that out like "just judge the music." I'M AN ART MAJOR, SAY SOMETHING NICE ABOUT THE ART D:<

The image is emulating a photography trick, an extra long exposure to create those trailing stars. Looking at a blue night sky, I might have stuck to a blues scale. You started the track out by referencing that night sky with the launch sample but what's next? Did you think to use glittering chimes to try and create an audible representation of those stars? Did you think to maybe include some arps panning across the spectrum to symbolically represent a meteor shower? Space theme: sine waves produce the same sound as a theremin, an instrument known to be a sci-fi classic. You could have used that to your advantage. This next crit might sound kind of lame but why sample a launch sequence when there isn't a single space ship in the image? If you had spent a few seconds to write HOW the work inspired you I'd have less trouble relating the art to your work but it sounds like you stuck to a genre you're comfortable with and picked an image that you thought would jive with that. I could just as easily look at the image and imagine any other genre though.

It's a really cool piece of art you choose, full screen is awesome. I can really pick out the fine details on the art but in comparison your mix sounds flat and muddy. That snare sounds like a washed out tin foil pan hiding behind all the bass tones, I'd have liked more presence from the snare. I think I've heard some trance forgo the snare all together but I suppose that's a creative decision. A trance snare hitting the high frequencies should be able to fly over the mix, why such a washed out sound? Are you sidechaining? It's hard to tell, that bass drum is so much of the mix but if it's doing any side chaining it doesn't necessarily sound like it. I always sidechain my leads, if a lead is getting stereo panned and split into two signals most won't notice the sidechain controlling stuff. The sub bass instrument sounds like it's hitting the up beats, a sidechain signal usually creates that illusion well enough that you don't need to worry about it and you can just place all your data on the whole notes. Pads are also a good thing to sidechain... again I can't tell if your sidechaining or just relying on the instrument's inherent qualities to mix well together on their own but I suspect your fidelity would sound a tad better if you nailed some profesional techniques. Sometimes I sidechain an instrument really hard, other times just a little but it's one of those game changing techniques that just leads into a better understanding of signal flow and fidelity.

That hi-hat goes harder than that snare, just saying. In what genre does the hi-hat get so much mix real estate? Sounds like it's coming from the center too, aux percussion is one of my favorite things to pan off. You can counter those panned hi-hats with a tamb rhythm in the opposite ear, you can play with their note velocities to get more dynamic range out of them. Shakers could help fill up that rhythm a little too. It's not easy to get creative with drums, it's a very straight forward instrument but given how important the drums are to dance genres you need to master every fidelity trick you can to polish up. You have those bass tones perfect, now crisp up your mix a little. Maybe a clap snare layered on top would have been helpful? Do you layer your drums much or at all? Good samples are just the beginning to a good dance track but good drum modeling takes work and practice. Layer drum samples, change pitch, send the sounds to each their own fidelity units to polish, EQ, compress, filter, and whatever else you may do to get the end result: drums that sound full and unique. It might have been Nav that told me ages ago, drums are the most important element in any dance genre and I totally agree with his feelings. Your bass drum sounds nice but the highs help make the mix snap.

Got a lot of AIM stuff to move on to, I didn't listen to your song as much as I could have. Takes me about an hour to write these reviews but I felt like I've listened to you song a thousand times already because it sounds just like my childhood on Newgrounds. As I was writing this review I'd pause the music because it was getting distracting. The song doesn't really do the image justice, it sounds more like an ode to Paradise on E than the image itself. The genre can be amazing to listen to when it's pro so just to clarify, it's probably the static mix that had me so bored. I'm not taking any points from Composition/Structure or Emotion/Atmosphere because I'm hitting the other two categories with fury. I felt like you nailed those other categories. You could spend some more time fixating on how to convey imagery via sound, you could spend ANY TIME AT ALL describing your work, as I just did. The community revolves around itself, peers will listen to your work and we know what it all feels like. Don't be afraid to say something about your work, especially in a contest when the judges are paying attention.

Seriously, what was your old alt? Is that Ocon? Sorry, bad guess from rearranging the letters in Chocnoon. I swear you're an old reg with this 2000's high school trance style...

This piece seems so nostalgic lol. It really gives me dj-nate vibes. I do think it's quite repetitive, especially the first drop, but that's the genre ofcourse. Also, it might seem a bit double, because the whole reason why I find this piece nostalgic is also a bad thing. That's because the instrument quality really isn't the best. It just feels a bit thin and somewhat cheesy. I would personally something more emotional with picture. Other than that it's just a huge nostalgia trip that's jolly to listen to ^-^

Im really impressed with you, Choc. Your work over the years has improved dramatically, and i daresay that this is worthy of an FP. A unique and well-produced track.

Keep it up!

Like the other comment said, really reminds me of early 2000s techno. Old school newgrounds vibes, fun song, nice work!