Below is the official, complete and unaltered (except layout tags) jury report from Danilo Danisi!
First of all, sincerely sorry to all of the msxians, for delay, it was a very intense month for me, really really. Second, sorry for my unglish, I hope you will understand
THESE ARE THE PARAMETERS THAT I CONSIDERED:
- General Appreciation: I "feel" / I "don't feel" – But I tried to take this is far away from "heart’s memory."
- Interpretation: "Distance" from the original sound. More the distance, more the interest in new way and new sounds.
- Quality of the sound
- Repetivity of composition: (more=bad parameter)
- "Evolution" in style
- Type of Hardware (if specified)
- Complexity and difficulties of composition
- Melodical/Harmonical complexity
- Variation also, was on the most consistents parameters for preference.
POINTS:
- Introdemo FDD2 Black Humour: 9
- Mirror Scroll: 8
- Callisto's Theme: 7,5
- Omnifarious steps: 7,5
- The Lost Battle 7,5
- Dix Theme: 7
- SOftware Corner 6,5
- Copy is profile: 6
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Copy is profile: 6 [ Jorito / BDD ]
When I was a "child" I really loved this piece, it included also a musical "recall" to the Commando c64's famous videogame's melody.
But I really didn't find nothing "new" here.
In the first seconds of this re-arrangement (?), thanks to environmental soundscapes, you could think to a new version of the wonderful composition of the past. Instead, my hear was early disappointed by general flatness of the piece and by so strong similarity to the original. Few Stereo spaces, bad guitar sound at 2.30 and really repetitive and repetitive and repetitive drums. Sometimes appears some good electronic sounds (expecially at 2.04 time, the best part of the entire piece), but the general feeling depends by the original composition, enough complex in arrangement and fascinating, but not well solved in this new way. So, in my honest opinion, not so much evolution for this re-arrangement, the compositor had could do much improvements, and general flatness is "everywhere" in the piece. I really don't understand the choice for choir-voices instead of a more complex pad.
Software Corner: 6,5 [ Antti Laukkonen / Nyyrikki ]
Very good start, good evocation, good sound spaces, interesting re-arrangement. But this happens just 'til the 00.30'' !!! - Then what happens after 30'' ???
The melody and the quality go down, so down. There is a strong quality difference between first part and second part. It seems like if the compositor have no more time and/or motivation to complete the track. Short track with easy parts to compose. The composition loose too much soon its appeal, expecially in the middle and final part! Congratulations for the first moments of evocation 'til 00.30, but I really expected for a good evolution that never come. I also noticed a bad using of drums. Too easy composition. Yes, it seems like a corner in the day of the musician.
Dix Theme: 7 [ Bart Roijmans (Low_Profile) / Loek van Kooten ]
Very powerful sound in the groove, congratulations, but with a very standard start. I notice that some melody lines are unfortunately not enough strong to follow the groove, and there is some "confusion" in the musical genre. Some sound choices are too much similar to the original flavour without any important re-interpretation. Choirs are little better and consistent here compared to other tracks. Brasses are "a little" ok, but you can feel in the entire piece a "middle way" between electronic brasses and real one, with a final sense of "ambiguity". Guitar at 1.51 is so predictable and I really hate *that* type of sound. Like for brasses, don't use "taste" of guitar instead of "real" guitar: guitars have very complex sound chromatism; we're in the 2008, and it's time for you to use new softwares. After guitar part, the music it's starting to go to a loop session, with a simple transpose line, and you can feel that there is no more work on the track.
Good general feeling, but also impression of ambiguity and undefinied work.
The Lost Battle: 7 [ Jorito / John Hassink ]
I appreciated the real funky look-like groove; but in these types of grooves, drum sound is reaaallllyyy important. And you did just few work on it. The sound of the beat is THE same during the session. Drums-sound repetitivity is almost a problem of most part of the compositions I listened here, and in this piece there is not exception. The problem is that in *this* composition, with *this* style, it was more important than in the others for *the* good final result. Good work instead on the time-progression of drums, also if more drum-instruments inserts could be required. Interesting Pat Metheny looklike guitar at 0.47. Insteresting solo melodies insertions in a good virtual Jam Session style. I like the general feeling and taste, but what about videogames sounds in the final part and intro and outro ? It seemed like something wrong. Short piece, short comment too.
Omnifarious steps: 7,5 [ AuroraMSX / DRMSX ]
Very very interesting "strange" way to compose sounds. Very creative composition. I appreciated the mix of "real sounds" together with typical demoscene sounds. I found instead, some uncertainties in the beats and some "falls" in some melody parts. But the general effect for me is really really good. The original composition has a very "strong" personality, and the melody remains impressed in the brain and this has been improved by right choices in sound quality settings.
This track looked to me like a big smile. Brass/leads are typical, but well used. The bad notice is that from time 1:51'' the track start to be a little repetitive.
This kind of track, honestly, shouldn't need much variations. But it's an happy track, look like a "big toy", and I expected also the score was used like a big toy, with more "fun" and different plays and inserts on it. You had so open ways to change, for wxample just changing the solo instrument more than one time, to give a better feeling to all.
You have just a reprise at 2:54'' but it's too late.
Callisto's Theme: 7,5 [ Meits / Wolf ]
You can feel, still in the 2008, the "sound smell" of Wolf. There is a common line that connect all wolf's composition (aka "style" ), and this is very fascinating to me. By the way, this track is too simple compared to the real possibilities of this strong composer, I know him a little better and this is not good for him. Very repetitive, with two nice melody bridges at time 1:02'' and at 1:22''. The piece has been made in a professional way, you can feel it: sounds are in good balance, and no one of these is prevalent on the others, except for the melody which is obviously in the interest of the composer, but this melody is really SO and SO repetitive with SO few variations. Attention has been put only on "general mixture". The salad is good, general taste is "glorious", but absence of variation kill completely the open possibilities of the track.
Mirror Scroll: 8 [ poke -1,170 / Impact ]
I move my body when I listen to this piece. Very very very good start: and the rest follows almost perfect, except for down-part from 1:11 to 1:19. I feel myself really undecided to give the "winner is" to this piece.
Sound quality is good, very rough and powerful, some score melodies are interesting. Sounds are typical of demoscene but you can feel a kind of "evolution" feeling in groove and power: everything is more powerful. There are no special effects or other more decorative sounds, but it's functional to the general appearence.
2.45'' : just perfect! for the genre, nothing to say. Bravo! Move&Move, the body move.
Never boring parts except for those short 8 seconds (1:11 > 1:19)
I couldn't do better, using this "declaration" of style.
Introdemo FDD2 Black Humour: 9 [ Bart Roijmans (Low_Profile) / The Pretender ]
Without no shadows, the best in composition. I had just some re-thinking oscillation comparing this track to Mirror Scroll, which is more in my preference for the musical intent and "spicy" taste.
But, I've to move away, the more is possible, far from my personal preferences, and I've to think to the more general large concept of "music"; and FDD2 B.H. appeared to me more "musical". I felt here the "Love" for music.
FDD2 Black Humour, this track, fully demonstrate a real evolution in the musical spirit and experience of the composer, and consequently in his musical genre.
I didn't appreciate so much the general "MIDI-sound feeling" of the entire track, but the good "manifacturating" let me forget this.
Lot of variations in instruments since 0:44'': with pipes, synths, Mike Oldfield's style choirs, fusion looklike sounds and violins. PERFECT bridge at 1:41'' - Other consistent changements in the final part of the score, with a good "High" in the final part. Generally, you don't get bored by this song. (same effect also in "Mirror Scroll" )
Variation as "original re-interpretation of the original material" and/or "musical-rythmical Variation inside the track", were the Two IMPORTANT parameters for my way of judgement and preference: this happens because TODAY, we musicians, have really no-limitations in electronic musical composition, and this is pretty different compared to the well know "glorious 8bit past times". Demoscene/videogame/and more generally 8-bit/musical compositions constituted a very "limited" musical object style: where the same concept of "limit", was consistent. I mean that the same concept of "limit" (bit-limit) WAS the thermometer for specialist's judgement and appreciation. Excedance of the limits and their "improvement", constituted THE parameters, togheter to aesthetical correctness, for poetical judgement and feeling. So, TODAY this "problem" is going to be about Inexistent, with the consequence that the modern value of judgement can't be anymore the same, but with most probabilities, tending to its opposite. If "opposite" could sound "too much" for your hears, probably just normal musical judgement is today appliable to reinterpration of oldschool 8-bit music.
Just think to some orchestral re-interprations of videogames scores.
And this is what Introdemo FDD2 Black Humour appeared to me: a right evolution in the way of composition of an "old" 8bit/started musician.
Here, more than in the other tracks, I touched and felt what I call a kind of real "love" for music.
Congratulations.
DandAN (Italy)
d.danisi@fecoonde.org
xdandan@yahoo.com
{ Mod (AuroraMSX): Added remake and original composer's names to each entry }
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