This is an NGADM Round 4 review.
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My god, this is such a hard track to analyse. What you've done here is make a solo-instrument, rubato track, which is again in a style you don't have experience in, so basically, it's the biggest risk you could have possibly taken. The important question is... did it work?
I had my doubts at first. I listened to this in a bus ride on the way back from university, and its complexity, coupled with the environmental noise and the fact that I keep my headphones on a low volume, made me not understand the piece at all. It took a few listens for me to 'get' the piece, and after that I managed to actually pick up on some ingenious chord progressions, enjoyable melody-answering, and clever repetitions of certain motifs. Plus, the ending is such a fantastic way of tying a bow on everything. It's amazing how a more careful analysis of a track can shape one's impression of it.
With regards to the production value, I obviously can't fault it. The quality of your sounds are just god-tier, including those dancer steps. Where did you get them from? They not only fit with the theme and sounded fantastic but their dryness and humanisation made it sound like I was watching a whole performance, rather than something that was scripted entirely in a DAW. I've got to say, this track sounds very authentic, and really puts you in the right atmosphere.
I can see why you decided to cut down on the amount of instruments used, but unfortunately the incohesion is still here. It's not a mixing issue this time, but the way you set up the track in such a hard-to-follow, carefree kind of style sometimes cut down on the enjoyment value. Having a contrast between more rigidly-structured sections and the more rubato sections you have now would have been a better option for this track, since it keeps the authentic sound while providing a more united experience.
Now of course this is entirely my opinion, and it's definitely a controversial one that may have even simply stemmed from the fact that I am a relatively inexperienced musician who admittedly found this a hard track to understand, but I still think not having the aforementioned contrast is a flaw for a track like this. Nevertheless, I can't fault your absolutely incredible command over melody and harmony. Excellent job, you're an amazing musician.
Score: 9.1/10