HAPPY'S PROFILE

Heavenly Resort:

Liking those snare beats! Very energetic and comfortable atmosphere that makes me think of some sort of player home, or hub area, so the name of the song seems pretty fitting! 1:00 - 1:19 definitely feels like the strongest part of the song.

The voice starting at 0:21 sound atonal and off the scale at several parts and while as a separate melody it could work, it feels like it doesn't go together with the harmony of the supporting chords played by other instruments. It also feels a bit quiet for a lead voice or for a pattern of detailed progression.

The main sequence played by the piano or organ of some sort since from the beginning of the song could help to widen the ambiance and sense of room with a little less volume on it and maybe a tiny bit more echo or reverb.

This still seems a very good idea of a song that would only require some minor tweaks! Definitely fits the theme, though.


Dudurumbumbumbadumbadum:

Talk about modern instrumentation. Oh god, 0:09! I love you! This is awesome. Whatever that lead instrument is, I love it. The beat is super catchy too and the melody, woo, 0:35, haha man, you had fun with this? This is great! Super inspiring. Great passage at 1:08!

This is very solid and super fun to listen to! My only nitpick would be that the snare drum sounds too loud in comparison to the rest of the volumes at times, and that the lead voice could use a tiny bit more clarity from rest of the mix. This will get a favorite from me, though!


Raindrops:

Nice atmosphere! The "rain drop" like percussion sounds like it could have some more reverb to blend with the elements further behind in the soundscape. Same with the pad like lead voices: they could have more space to their sounds, plus the flute is a bit quiet. But hey I really like the mood and the melody. Sounds pretty somber and the atmosphere reminds me of a dystopia setting such as FF7's for example. I really like this! Great work!

City of Funk:

Nice instruments and definitely a very urban vibe! 0:41 has really cool development as well as 0:51! This song has really good melody. The section starting 1:16 sounds refreshing and 1:36 is a real highlight. The instrument at left sounds just terrific here. This song has a really special and nice atmosphere to it.
Probably my favorite piece from you so far!

I only wish the mix had more ambiance to it and established a better sense of space and atmosphere to it. Right now the song is a combination of nice melodies and harmonies, but it feels the mix doesn't create a living and breathing space, so to say. Anyway, this will still get a star for the melody from me!


Clouds of Orange Juice:

I can see the idea of a sad modern theme here, but some instruments play a bit random chords here and there, so it's a bit on the distracting side to listen to. Specifically the plucked sounds at right starting at 0:12 sound like they don't support the other lead. And the first lead instrument doesn't support the chords of the new instruments joining in at 0:30. The idea is good, it just seems like it needs a bit more polish on the chords especially.

All in all, you have really inspired and cool takes on modern themes! I enjoyed a lot listening to them!

The Train Hobo Boogie Corrected:

Liking the mood! The song has nice groove and it sounds genre savvy, even if I'm not a specialist on boogies. The chords in the beginning sound a bit atonal but it gets better when the piano starts the melody. Not much to say about the melodic development other than that it sounds nice and would suit some sort of comedic scene even in a setting which isn't modern. Definitely contributes to the challenge of the chapter though. Does the song loop?

As for mixing, the piano, the main voice, sounds like it could have more clarity over the other elements by having more volume than the bass, for example. That, or the hihat could spread a bit wider with a bit more reverb.



Where Names Are Lost:

Haha, this reminds me of some sort of nintendo sidescroller game, like a turtles game. Definitely sounds urban to say at least. Nice instrumentation and melody, but the mix sounds like it could use more polish! Something on the low / low mid part of the EQ sounds overbearing. Some of the bass range instruments could probably have its volume toned down a bit, to see if it helps opening up the soundscape a bit? And here too, I recommend giving the higher tones a bit more reverb. It usually helps with the depth set up!

Lost in the Underground:

Retro! Oh those choirs really surprised me. Nice! Nice instrumentation. Organs too? This is pretty bad ass. Sounds like "Welcome to the final tier levels!" The main bass which starts the song sounds like it could work with a bit less volume in comparison to the other elements. The instrument joining in at 0:32 sounds like it could use less volume too!

Anyway, your songs have super good ideas and inspiration going on in them! Keep it up! The polish in mix quality comes with practice!

Jazz Fight:

Very, up-front soundscape. Makes me kind of miss some sort of background layers and ambiance from the get go. The piano and and accordion in particular sound like they could benefit a ton from some extra reverb, as well as the hihat. But I absolutely love the the melody and the horns! Very promising work! And needless to say, fits the chapter perfectly!

Night Club:

Interesting! Such unpleasant, urgent and curious atmosphere! It's like a dungeon level taking place in a modern night club. I could easily use something like this if I was making a game for modern setting. Some really nice synths here. What I see that could be improved upon though, is the field of depth in general. Many of the instruments feel like they're fighting over the same space in the soundscape and race for your attention, making it a bit distracting to listen to as a background theme. This occurs a lot throughout the song though, so I can't list all the layers. But generally most of the new layers introduced throughout the song sound like they're all fighting for their place on the "foreground" and they don't blend in the soundscape well enough to establish a sense of multidimensional space.

Did that make any sense?

Dance Floor:

A lot of what I said for the Night Club track applies to this track as well, particularly the criticism on the issues with the sense of depth in soundscape. Your songs have a lot of great ideas and details in them though, but I am just hoping to see them tie together better by having all the sounds finding their own places in the atmosphere.

Arcade Hall:

This is a fun theme with a cool instrumentation! Sometimes the melody rhythm sounds like it's coughing a bit, though. I'd also give the lead voices more volume over the bass. And when the background synth takes the lead role from the guitar it sounds like it could have way more volume and presence. The transition at 0:57 really shows off some of your potential though! This bit takes the song to another level and pretty much "makes it." Elevates it from being too much of the same! So yeah, I'd hope that section would carry on a bit further! But yeah, another song with a lot of potential!

Morning in Your Apartment:

Interesting song, again. I just can't place my finger on what the song makes me feel! The instrumentation is so curious. It would probably work great with some appropriate visual material though. I feel that the depth is generally handled better here. Most of the elements have their own place and they aren't all fighting over the same space. The synth starting at 0:27 sound like it could work as a more governing element though. By which I mean that if you gave it more reverb and volume and made it cut through the whole space of the soundscape, it could be more effective.

Anyway, this is my favorite one from your entries to this chapter! It's definitely the most polished one technically! Would be cool to see how it goes with some visuals.

Bright Harbour at Night Hour:

Oh nice mood! Many of the elements, including the main lead could be a bit more in the foreground, though, with less reverb and so! The percussion seems to completely drown in there as well though! Mood-wise I'm liking this a lot, but the volumes could use polish! This seems to be the main critique I have for all of your tracks anyway. And this does sound very harboury by the way, so good job with that!

Mr Badass:

Badass indeed! All around, very well mixed. And a catchy riff, too! I hope this was a bit longer with some more variation! Really nice, though.

Walking Through the City

I can't really find a melody here, sorry.

The End of Hardship:

Oh, dramatic. The higher end piano sounds a bit sharp and like it's producing some noise artifacts at times by breaking the 0 db cap.
This song's nice though, and especially from 1:56 onward it's like a theme of some anime or tv series. On "modern" it's spot on.

My critique would be that the main melody should be dominating the mix more and be the center of the attention in the soundscape. Right now the low piano keys are taking all that presence. The guitar sounds nice, but it sounds like something that should be supporting the piano from background while the piano is still in, playing the main voice.

The percussion are barely audible with the guitar and it would really enhance the dynamics of the song to bring them up more. The guitar melodies are sweet though, but when they're working as the lead they sound like they should be more in front with their volume increased and without too much reverb that would spread them to the background.

This is very good work though and I like it a lot! I'm just thinking the mix could be improved upon!

Time: Works pretty well! Has a catchy beat and pleasant sounds, but yeah it's pretty short! Would be great to see it worked on further to establish more melody development with new sections and everything. A slight reverb on the snares would work wonders on the depth of the soundscape btw, I recommend trying it out!

Master of Ceremonies: Wicked and playful! This sort of stuff is always super fun to listen to and work with! It's like a roller coaster haha, I like it. Definitely suits the chapter theme very well and could easily be used in a game within a game scenario.

The melody sounds nice and I like the small passages between the melody segments, but the mix sounds a bit distant. The whistling main voice sounds appropriate in the depth, but some instrument should also come a bit closer, and have more clarity and presence, like the bass for example, or the sequence that is slightly panned at left. Just give either of them slightly less reverb and more volume and see which direction it takes the mix to.

This is a very solid entry though!

The Gamble: Sinister! And sudden change of mood! Very nice melody and chords. Somehow it manages to be very hopeful and bittersweet at the same time. Pretty great job with carrying the melody through all these different moods.

I'm going to give this entry a star because I'm really liking the atmosphere. Great progression with the chords.

What comes to the mix: The hihat high tones drown a bit in the mix and could pan wider with more reverb and volume given to them, or have their EQ adjusted so that the 7k range has tiny peak on it. The long brass notes at the start could also have more presence. Though, they do work even as background layer in a sense, but still when they come in it sounds like the soundscape could use more meat to it. If you have any bass pads playing same time with them, like just low range string for example, try giving the bass range a slightly more volume, so that they lay a base, or a frame for that specific section. At the beginning when the brass are playing on the lower range, I'd make the brass notes themselves a bit louder, but later when they play slightly higher notes, they can be a bit further in the back with that bass enforcing the foreground.

Well, I wonder if that was any help. But I'll be looking forward to see how your mix quality improves, because you've got a knack at great song ideas and melodies!

The Shell Game: Yeah, hello tropical! This is definitely very mini game like with such a uplifting mood. Man, this would be really great with a polished mix. Most of the instruments sound distant again and their sound qualities don't really get to shine. What sequencer do you use to compose? I'd feel so tempted to try and remaster this track!

Anyway, another inspired song with a good melody which is held down a bit by the mix quality!

A Game Within a Game Minigame:
The detuned piano is a great choice here. Definitely helps communicating a lighthearted instance, like a mini-game of sorts. Liking the mood and the melody a lot too. This actually reminds me of a song from a modern setting anime series. The hiccups in the rhythm sometimes feel a bit distracting, though I understand that they're intentional. Mostly some of the offbeat / too slow melody notes between 0:11 - 0:16. Section starting at 0:36 sounds a bit loud. I also feel that the main melody could benefit from being a bit further away from the foreground, by sharing the space with the chord notes. Less volume for the melody layer notes, that is!

This is really good though and a great take on the presented challenge. I'd personally just try to polish the rhythm flow and mix a bit, but yeah I still like it a lot!

Catch Him:
It has a playful mood alright. The string instrumentation makes me think of large space. I could imagine this in some sort of sim game where you manage an area from bird's view. Well composed and mixed! It's a pleasure to listen to. The sense of motion is very good here.

Mix-wise it isn't bad either when the shakers and other percussion come in, but without them the soundscape sounds a bit distant. I'd personally bring the sforzando strings a bit forward by giving them more volume presence and clarity. Though, in the section starting around 0:25 they are brought into light a lot better. In the first section there's no good close to mid-range presence, though, when it comes to the depth of the soundscape.

Anyway, I like it!

It's a Riddle:

This has an interesting idea and interesting sounds, though it sounds a bit atonal at times and the harp later on doesn't quite capture the mood, though the flute has a lot of potential. Generally this sounds like it has a cool idea, but is a bit of hit and miss with the volume levels and placing of the "building blocks."

The piano style sound detail in the beginning could be more effective with more delay or reverb. The tanpura type sound could be a lot sharper with its high tones cutting through the mix. This could be achieved by juts giving it more volume, and experiment with its reverb qualities.

The winds from 0:32 onward sound like the most easily discerned leading voice at this part and they could have more presence and clarity because of it. The new layers from 1:28 onward feel too loud compared to all the material introduced earlier.

This would make a superb theme with more polished mix. I keep saying the same about most of your tracks anyway, though. Keep it up man!

A Game for Two Players: Very good mix! The melody layer is very well placed and the rhythm instruments establish a solid foreground presence that guarantee you to tap your foot to the beat. Lively melody! Makes me think of some tavern mini-game involving cards, betting or some such. Man, I'd definitely use this in a game. Gets a star from me! (ps. submit more tracks Snowy)

A Title: Sweet! So warm and pleasant. I suppose this could fit an open world game, such as Minecraft for example. It has the ambient element to it with the repetition of the minimalist melody sequence. I actually like this a lot! Would be great to have more stuff like this.

The mix works well until around 0:19 where some notes start to sound a bit too loud. Especially the low notes. They could be sent a bit further to the background by giving them less volume as the main melody layer already has the foreground presence. But anyway, it doesn't require much more than that in my opinion! Nice job!

Into the Expanse: Reminds me of classic Final Fantasy map themes. It would be pretty cool to explore a 3D game world with this, though. Yeah, I'd say it would fit. I love your chords again! Really nice mood. You're really good with the melody & atmospheres.

The mix doesn't sound too great, though. Generally the sound quality of the instruments feels very retro, but I'm mostly bothered by the harp drowning in the mix there and the bass layers sounding a bit muddy. What if you just tried to give the harp heaps more volume and the higher melody layers a bit less (the strings, for example.)

Nice melody anyway! And the song is pretty melodic, so I don't think it would work as a loop in an open world game, but as a theme that surfaces every now and then, why not.

Wanderer: 0:24 Oh very nice! 0:57 Oh yeah, I like the world inside your head. Very inspiring material. These melodies really work for me. The mix quality leaves a lot of room for improvement, though. Better quality samples could probably help, too? This sound very melodic too, with a lot of differing sections that demand some attention from the listener, so I think this would warrant a location or a situation that doesn't use spoken dialogue or require much attention to the game mechanics from the player. I guess I would use this in some sort of residential area in a fantasy game, like a town or something.

I especially like the brass section in this song. Anyway, what comes to the mix and arrangement, I recommend analyzing some commercial soundtracks and focus on how the different instruments and sections are layered in the depth field.

Keep it up! I envy your melodies!

What Lies Ahead:I like the main pattern! Like the other songs too, this one has a sort of "old tale" vibe to it. This is also another theme I'd like to try my hand at re-arranging / remixing. The volumes and the depth in general could use a lot of work. The melody is going fun places, though, like at 0:58 and 1:14. And the layer coming in at 1:18 is great and I love everything it plays from there on.

Again, a bit more melodic structure than I'd imagine for an open world game theme, but it could still be used as an occasionally surfacing theme in a magical (or some other) forest, for example.

Flying Dove: This is beautiful! Probably my favorite theme from you so far. So sparkly and lively with very interesting sound choices. Sounds kind of post-modern in a sense, if that makes sense? Nice break at 0:36. The layers work a lot better here than in any earlier themes. Whole mix feels very polished and everything seems to have its own place in the soundscape. When the piano plays alone for a bit later on I wish it had a tiny bit more presence. That's my only critique.

What comes to the challenge though, I am not sure how to place this in an open world game. The soundscape does communicate a big open space to me, but if this theme was to be used in an open world game I feel it could demand a bit too much attention with all the variation and development going in the theme. It's still an absolute pleasure to listen to in general, though.

I'd give it a star if it only matched the challenge a bit better!

Realization: Oh a very different ambiance than I was expecting from you! Nice! From the beginning this sounds a lot more ambient and suited for an open world game than the first theme. This makes me imagine some cave or underground environment, possibly in a scifi / slightly futuristic setting. The soundscape depth sounds intact up until 0:38, but from there on all the new layers and instruments sound too loud and break the depth that was established before that point.

If you'd just bring the elements introduced from there on down a bit and make them blend better with the string ambiance this would be excellent! Nice work!

Open World Piano, Flute and Harp melodies: These definitely sound like cues for an open world game! Nice to see the change on approach here! I think these communicate the more common way of approaching open world video game soundscapes, though these feel a bit short. A great deal of the soundscapes usually have some sort of ambiance going on in them even when there aren't particular lead instruments playing a discernible melody.

What you often hear is some melody segments, connected by more ambient passages. But I think this is a step in the right direction on that!

Alone With The Stars: The ambiance is there alright! This matches the challenge very well! Makes me think of a desolate space station or stronghold of some sort. The machine ambiance starts sounding a bit too loud 0:37 onward though, and not as pleasant as it was prior to this point. I'd personally tone it down a notch here to keep the mood intact.

But yeah, not major complaints! This is nice!

Solar System: Nice soundscape! I like the subtler dripping type sounds in the background before the lead voice starts there. If I begin listening to the song on a volume level that gives me a sense of good presence, then the song sounds like the volume increases a bit too much at later parts. And the foreground ambiance layer sounds a bit too loud, too. Though if I adjust my volume down, so that these two factors are fixed, then the background detail sounds too quiet. So yeah, I find the volumes of the layers aren't completely in balance.

Composition-wise this feels solid all around!

Evasive Maneuvers: Very nice! Love the instruments and mood here! So tense and ominous. Would match a movie very well, too. What come to the mix it all sounds good great until the droning bass pad starts taking more presence. It sounds like it could spread a bit more in the stereo field and be wider, instead of being so "thin" or "narrow" in the close /mid-field. Like, I think it would be a lot more effective if it established a greater sense of space and "pressure to the atmosphere", if that makes any sense? What if you played with its reverb and/or EQ a bit?

Almost giving this one a star. I just wish I didn't have my nitpicks. Does this have a loop point?

Desolation: Definitely communicates an open world soundscape to me in melody and structure. Even if there aren't distinct melodic, or sound details, it all works very well together and is smooth in volume, harmony and composition

Yeah, my favorite entry on this challenge! This track would work very well as a background theme in an open world video game!

WanderingTheVoid: Again I can't find a melody here. It sounds just random! Try to come up with a short segment that sounds good and then try repeating and varying it. For reference listen to, well, any music.

Exploring the Open Field: This does sound like an exploration theme, so that does communicate well! I like the slight homeliness it combines with certain sense of wonder and mysteriousness. This gives me feelings of old forest, fairytales and childhood!

It's a nice theme! The mix could use some improvements: the low range and low mid range of the EQ sound a bit empty. This could be fixed a bit by just spreading the flute wider by giving it more reverb. It sounds a bit hard with so high velocity now, and not spread around the soundscape space. Most of the other instruments could also have more reverb because currently it feels like you're not taking advantage of all the sounds these instruments produce. The harp, brass and music box come off too loud, too. It has good composition and harmony, but give the instruments and their qualities more room to breathe!

A Battle: Not sure what emotion this make me thinks of (if I don't read any descriptions at least, that is.) Feels sort of like an action or battle theme that deals with friendship as a theme. The drum beats and piano both sound really good, but they don't feel balanced. If I listen to the song with the piano in the beginning on a pleasing volume level then the drums come in too loud. If I adjust the volume to match the drums, then the other layers lose presence, and piano the most of them.

So, the percussion seems a tad too loud. This still has very solid feel to it, though.

There's Always an Edge: Oh this has a pretty good mix. At least before the flute joins in, although the layers seem reversed if you go by the principle of having the leading voice being the main focus. That being said the low harp could have less volume.

This makes me think of some sort of theme of hope or just not giving up. Desperately giving your last try, even if the chances are low. It's an interesting theme. Chords make me think of old RPGs! (Which obviously is nice.)

Hope: Welcome to the eighties! Really liking the stuff around 0:37 mark and oh hey nice violin. Wow, I love that violin actually. Suddenly it turns thinks pretty awesome. D:

Some volume rearrangements would be in place to elevate this theme in my opinion, though.

The percussion feels a bit too separate from the background layer in the beginning and the horns feel a bit too loud which feels like it's because of them having too much reverb or delay. Most of the time it sounds like the percussion are sole focus on the soundscape and the leads are somewhere further back where they don't have as much impact as possible. It's good for the beat to have meat to it, but it feels like they could be sent to the mid ground where your melody leads currently seem to reside, and bring them a bit more presence.

Composition-wise this seems like solid job. The atmosphere gives me a sort of ”Let's do this guys! And yeah, the feeling of hope! So, success there! Nice!

Love is Trust: Haha this seems cheesy in a good way. Brings a colorful light-hearted setting to my mind. Would be a perfect with for an anime-esque classic j-rpg. First I was thinking that there's a bit too much weight on the low tones of the main instruments.

But it's really there on the edge. The mix seems pretty good actually, but just at some parts it feels like it wouldn't hurt to make the bass tones a tiny bit lighter. The background sounds balance it out rather well though, but still. Just tiny tiny bit here and there.

This is really good though, and starts to seem really polished. You'll get a star from me, sir.

Unease: Aaah, excellent. I love the instrumentation. No no, why does it has to be short! I can imagine it's a difficult theme to make much longer, though. I would still like to hear how this would work as a loopable version. Would probably require another section, though?

Mix seems pretty good, though the bass range volumes are tiny bit loud. But yeah, it's good! Could be longer!

Anxiety: Well composed! Communicates the desired mood perfectly. The beginning plays some audio artifact for me, though and again, I'd like to hear this theme too with recurring material!

This gets a favorite from me, though as it's a good take on the presented challenge.

Dread:

This too communicates the said emotion very well. I feel the mix could be improved though. The detached violin could have more clarity and the sustained bass is really powerful instrument here, but could have a better effect in the song if wasn't as muddy. Like, if its sound had clearer outlines, it'd be really cool. Maybe EQing around with its low range would help.

The bass-type drum sounds like it could be more effective as well. Both, that, and the snare could be brought closer to the listener by giving them less reverb. The bass drumd could work well in the middle field of the soundscape and the bass pad could probably be even pushed on same layer with it, or behind it.

Melancholia: The piano does communicate melancholia to me, but the super accented snares confuse me a bit where it comes to the mood. When the choir comes in there's a lot of weird clipping and audio artifacts. Not sure if it's intended or not, but it is distracting.

The instrument joining in around 2 minute mark is nice, too, but the song starts to drag a bit because the rhythm is entirely same all the time with rather similar note lengths for all instruments, plus the instruments don't vary their roles much at all. It isn't necessarily a problem with shorter segments, but when your sections are as long as they are and so similar to each other it does become a bit repetitive.

Hunted: The weird off-beat clipping here is confusing and distracting me pretty much. Things like that draw a ton of attention and make it pretty hard to use this sort of material on a backround of anything. It really demands you to listen to it and make sense of it. It does sound haunting and surreal though, so it's not without a merit.

Behind You: I think this works a lot better! You've got an interesting style. I think this sort of work would suit movies a lot better though, because this is very progressive material and as such really hard to use in games if the player has to focus on anything else than the atmosphere. I could see this working pretty well in a movie where the visual material is tailored to match the progressiveness of the music, though. Interesting stuff though.

Still Fighting: The harmony layers / pads sound really overbearing here! The percussion and flute really drown underneath them. The melody could probably be improved a bit. Right now it's not easy to discern a specific melody motif which would be repeated and varied throughtout the theme, and it sounds more like random notes. And I'm not sure which emotion to connect this to.

I would suggest starting out just with one or two instruments and working with them. See how well you can carry the melody around with an instrument or two and consider more instruments after that works out well enough.

Feeling of Smile: Yay! It does sound like a happy theme, alright! Oh god, so cheesy haha. It's all good though. The combination of the instrumentation, melody and structure remind me of Chrono Trigger. Accomplishes the challenge well enough, too!

The mix could be improved, though! The piano and flute would work great with a bit delay added to them. The percussion and bass could also be pushed a bit further away from the listener by giving them a bit less volume. The scrape could also sound a lot better if you gave it soem reverb or delay!

Nice work though! Looking forward to hear more from you!

I suppose these could work as ambiance, but they still sound like filtered recordings, or just soundscapes to say at least, and as such, I don't think a composition event is the right place for them. Sorry!