Hello everyone, sorry about the delay, but trust me if I say that I had a horribly, horribly tough time with this challenge. I knew that I’ll work against myself if I chose a theme I was very much emotionally involved in, and I wasn’t wrong at all: I found myself very closely connected to some of the entries, and as such, it certainly wasn’t an easy task for me to choose the “best” one – most of the tracks were the best in their very own way, so I find it incredibly difficult to justify my choice. At any rate, here come my thoughts about the separate entries:
Peregrinus – In Depthhttps://soundcloud.com/n-galipeau/in-depthSince this track was the first entry to the challenge (congratulations on putting it together under such short time) I had plenty of time to become thoroughly acquainted with it. (Fun fact: found it to be an excellent background track for work – your track really helped me survive some of the more boring hours at my office.
) A very nice piece of music that completely achieves what it was set out to be: listening to it most definitely evoked the feelings and mental images I usually correlate with underwater levels. Great job with the instrumentation too, you used as many layers and sounds as required, not less, not more: the track feels simple and full at the same time, something I find immensely difficult to achieve with my own tracks. I find the melodies that follow 1:25 really touching, even in spite of their simplicity – very nice job right there. All in all, great job, of all the tracks, this is the one (and I’m not saying this because of the picture) I’d bring with myself if I ever went diving – which I won’t ever, but still. :D
Moritz P.G. Katz – Way Down in Coral Covehttps://soundcloud.com/mpgk/way-down-in-coral-coveAnother amazing track, the instrumentation (as SimplyKept also mentioned) is indeed great, although the track sounds a little too glassy for me overall. It is very hard to explain what I mean (is it just me, or does it really seem sometimes that we’re grammatically ill-equipped when it comes to talking about music?
) but even though I feel like this piece would definitely work as an underwater theme, for me it felt a bit too winter-ish (maybe it has to do with the constant windy sound in the background) – I suppose it would make an excellent track for some Arctic underwater game.
Very well put together track with great atmosphere in general, I especially enjoyed the part at 2:08 when the main theme comes back - really strong moment there. I also really fancied the little, high-pitched flute-play at 1:26, however, I wouldn’t have minded somewhat richer pads in the background. Really touching track nevertheless, good job!
8th Mode – Beneath the Surfacehttps://soundcloud.com/8th-mode-music/beneath-the-surfaceWow. This track really surprised me, in the most positive way imaginable. I never thought I’d ever find a track built so heavily around a guitar reminding me of the ocean this much. I really like what you did with the effects: you managed to apply them in a way that they add a whole new level to the track’s atmosphere yet they don’t sound overdone at all. I especially love the fact that the delayed sound of your fingers sliding on the strings has a very watery-drippy feel to it. I don’t know if it was an intentional choice or not, but it definitely works. Very original and well-written track, my only complaint would be about the lack of a more prominent bassline. You sometimes hit some lower notes but in the end I found my ears craving for some sort of “bottom layer” to make the track feel fuller – this however is only a personal preference issue. At any rate, your track reminded me a bit to some of Erik Wollo’s better(!) works and to some more laid-back post rock tracks I used to listen to – if you had an album full of tracks like this, I’d be the first one to preorder it!
Great job!
Bert Like Sounds – Submergedhttps://soundcloud.com/bert-cole-1/submerged-tigsourceThe very first thing to commend in your track – the very first thing anyone would mention I think – is the sonar-like sounds (are they samples or produced by a vsti?) you put in it: adds a whole lot to the atmosphere! Once again a track that hit dead centre with the underwater feeling, the piano and the muffled percussions (I would have added some delay to them, but once again, this is just my personal preferences talking) both work great, when I listened to it with my eyes closed, I really felt like submerging into the big blue. It is certainly hard to find anything to pick at in your track, but since it is my duty to do so, I have to mention that I had some minor problems with the structure. I would have welcomed a somewhat more definite and perhaps varied arrangement – for example, the comeback at 2:14 could have been a lot more powerful, but this really is just a very minor complaint. Mastering could also use some extra work, but it’s nothing too serious. In general I found a lot of pleasure listening to your track, and I believe I’ll find myself return to it many times in the future (just as I did before).
SimplyKept – Underwaterhttps://soundcloud.com/simplykept/underwaterThis is tough.
To be completely honest, your track felt a bit more like a horror sci-fi theme than an underwater one to me. If I had to visualize something while listening to it (without knowing the title), I’d think of derelict spaceshipwrecks (there, I just made up a new word), cosmic desolation and hopelessness. It could arguably work as a horror-underwater theme (for a game that features zombies on submarines, this would work fine :D), but for me it lacks the sort of definite “wetness” I’ve been looking for. It feels a bit raw and metallic to me – perhaps adding some pads (there are some choir-like pads in the background, maybe emphasising them a bit more would have worked) or some delayed, soft sounds would have made a huge difference. All in all it’s certainly not a bad atmospheric work, but most definitely not what I’ve been looking for. Carry on though, maybe someone will post a horror-themed challenge, that’d certainly be your time to shine!
mscottwebber – Tidal Dreamshttps://soundcloud.com/mscottweber/tidal-dreamsHate to repeat myself, but another great track there.
Solid atmosphere, something I could easily imagine in a whimsical adventure game. Also, I like how your track has a more unique feel to it – hard to explain, but it has its own personality which is a great achievement in itself. This is a track that I could easily recognize if I heard it a few years later, the sort of track people mention when talking about a given game. (“Yeah, you remember that level with the cool music?”)
It has the same problem (now I’m starting to think however that maybe the problem is with me and not with the tracks :D) Katz’s track does: it feels a bit wintery to me, maybe it has to do with the instrumentation, but it’s very hard to tell. I love what you did with the bass: even though it’s nothing complex or unique, it really fits the mood, and is just nice to listen to. Good job in general, looking forward to hearing your music in an actual game one day!
Tao-tao - Deep Blue Crystal Clearhttps://soundcloud.com/tuomashietala/deep-blue-crystal-clearThe first thing that hit me when I listened to your track was the quality of the sound design and mastering: I have listened to your track multiple times both with my speakers and my headphones, and I have to say (don’t take this for granted though, because I’m just a hobbyist musician) that it sounds professional studio-quality to me. I like how you played around with the pan and gave some stereo spacing to your track, and I also found the sound of the drums both heavy, convincing and crystal-clear. How much would you charge for a mastering crash-course?
My problem, once again, lies in the structure of the track. It just feels a bit rushed and lackluster to me – to put it in one way, it’s anticipation without fulfilment: it keeps building up, but never quite delivers what one expects when listening to it. It would make an amazing (truly amazing) intro for a song, but in itself it is a bit empty. I also had some minor problems with the main melody: it just felt a bit random to me, it’s neither too catchy, neither something that would evoke strong emotions in me, moreover I did not really fancy the instrument you used for it, it just feels a bit plain as it is. At any rate, keep rocking, you seem very comfortable with what you’re doing sound-wise, try to pay somewhat more attention to the overall structure though.
And now for the conclusion (god, this is gonna be painful for me...)
THE WINNER IS!8th Mode Music – Beneath the SurfaceAs I mentioned at the beginning, I had an incredibly tough time choosing, because most of the tracks were really strong and unique, but all in all this was the one that stood out the most to me. It just feels like a track that has a lot of care and attention put into it, and it definitely shows. Very affectionate and dynamic music that feels alive and well-written, something that evokes very strong and pleasant emotions in me, no matter how many times I listen to it. Does a great job at creating the sort of Atmosphere (yes, with a capital A) I’ve been looking for and, as such, would work really well as an underwater level theme. Just imagining playing an underwater level paired with music with curtains closed and volume pumped up is enough to give me the goose bumps. And even if this was just a standalone track, I would put it in my little collection and come back to it from time to time to submerge into it and be somewhere else for a moment. Congratulations 8th mode, an amazing display of musical prowess, and good luck with hosting the next challenge!
And as for honourable mentions (there’s certainly room for them, but for simplicity’s sake, I’ll only mention two):
Peregrinus – In DepthI don’t know if it helps or not if I say this, but I was one hair’s width away from choosing this track as the winner. The fact that it was put together so quickly still amazes me, and since this was the first entry, I got to listen to this the most. I find it immensely easy to get immersed in the Atmosphere (another justified capital A there) and just switch off and float. A beautiful and unique track that I found to be a great tool for relaxing – as I mentioned, this helped keeping me sane during those unbearable working hours, and if I had the mp3 version, this would have been the track I listened to in the bathtub or bed too.
Excellent job, thank you for creating and sharing it, listening to it again and again meant a lot to me personally.
Bertlikesounds – SubmergedPossibly the most game-music-like track of all, the reason while I believe this is worth an honourable mention is because whenever I approached the contest from the video-game perspective (as opposed to the musical one), I found that this track is the one that feels the most game-ish and underwater-ish at the same time. Granted, every entry could easily work as video game music, but it was while listening to this piece that I felt the most like holding an N64 controller and exploring the secrets of a classic underwater level. The instrumentation, the percussion and the sonar sounds all excel at creating that very distinct video game feel, resulting in a track that I could imagine seeing among the ones we posted as game music examples at the beginning of the thread.
Additionally, I would like to congratulate everyone separately; as I said before, I really had a tough time with the decision. If you don’t see your track among the winner and the honourable mentions, it is not because I did not personally like it – it is simply because most of the entries were spectacular enough to make it borderline impossible for me to make proper justice. I would also like to express my gratitude to everyone who entered the challenge: listening to the entries meant a lot to me, doubly so, because not only did it satisfy me on the musical and emotional level, but also illustrated just how much talent lurks on these forums. Keep it up guys, looking forward to hear more amazing tracks from all of you!
Congratulations for the winner once again, and hoping to see you all in the next challenge!
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Also, creating a compo every year is a pretty damn good incentive to keep our quality standards high up, so I hope we'll stick to it.
I'm a bit speechless to be honest.
Music. We release it together. 
People listen to it. 
Money goes to Charity. 
