Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
CryNN, Dusk: 8,8,7,5 (28/40)
You're not the only user to zone in on a highway illustration as being an interpretive space to convey music with. Art & music can get very subjective. I find all sorts of sounds and genres relaxing to listen to in my car when I drive across the country. Only problem with face melting EDM genres is that the slog of a highway robs the car's sound system of those low frequencies. I almost never listen to a face-melter in my car unless I'm doing a commute with slow speeds or traffic jams. Another user that grabbed a highway pixel illustration produced some relaxing house music. That's not a genre I listen to often but driving across the country at night with some gentle house can really give me some good headspace to think. The illustration seems somewhat peaceful, sun set colors and a possible storm brewing but you went 110% action and excitement. I'm not entirely convinced that the music has the relevance to the illustration that I'm looking for, so forgive me for being a little critical of it.
Another user produced liquid DNB and used an animated pixel drawing which was a very smart choice. Drum and Bass is a genre that should make you want to move. You missed a small opportunity by choosing static artwork. It's something I noticed someone else do and the choice helped make their music more memorable by being paired with something that had motion. It's not important but worth thinking about in the future.
The mix was a little too stuffy, that was a massive kick drum. It helps to use a kick like that on the first count of a measure but it helps to use less power on subsequent hits. When you evolve the velocity of the notes you can add serious depth to your drum rhythms and make a little extra room in the mix for other elements. The kick is so big that subsequent hits in the same measures are a little distracting. Percussion instruments often only have volume to convey emotion, think of how a drummer juggles their rhythm, confidently grooving to the pulse while still sprinkling taps and hits about the off beats sheepishly to convey control. You can do the same with hi-hats, snare drums, tambs, shakers. Drums being such an essential element of the genre, I love when producers show off their control over the drums with sensitivity to all elements. The bass drum is massive in your mix, it's likable but sometimes less-is-more.
I have a lot of love for DNB producers but I have to check that bias by treating every DNB track with the sensitivity of someone that might not agree with the choices. I think you could have picked a work of art that more closely inspired the genres and tones that you love. One composer found a literal rave illustration for their hardstyle. The fact that I'm aware of your general body of work, I feel like you could have challenged yourself with something a little gentler. There will always be time tomorrow for a club banging nuerofunk. For the sake of the contest I might have gifted you with higher scores if you had gone a little outside of your comfort zone and wrote something gentle or peaceful. I know what it's like to have 100% integrity when producing a specific genre or sound but I also love hearing people explore new places and this contest was a good opportunity to really push your ideas out of the angry/industrial nureofunk box.
I can't argue that you didn't put blood, sweat, and tears into the song but the emotions you powerfully choose to convey came across as the wrong ones. These moody synth lines are oppressive and edgy, I love your synth work in this. It just would have made more sense to use an illustration of spaceship combat, sci-fi battles, or dank industrial monsters to suit your strengths. I wish you the best with all your future endeavors and hopefully this review comes across constructively. Have a wonderful day CryNN, you're a beast, a lion <3