I like it, I really love the build at 1:15. I dont think you have anything at all wrong with your composition, I really love it, very dramatic!
You have one distinct area you need to work on. And I know how hard it can be to get it just right, but it's that sound of having instruments in a hall. You need a good mix of reverb, highs, mids and lows. Spend some time maybe creating a template which has the right sound. Constant listen to your tracks and compare the clarity to something you are inspired by. Apart from the lack of dynamics of instruments nicely fading in and out, you have an excellent piece here.
I can absolutely feel a desert rolling here. I gotta say. I love it! And have easily listened to it more times than I have fingers. The establishing part is excellent and then the little lift at 1:15 introduces us to something bolder.
From there, its becomes a such an impacting piece. The Sitar is a great touch, especially for its little twist in pitch it does. However this doesnt dominate from the existing orchestra which was so important to keep it all consistent all the way through.
You take us all on a journey with this Stephan. A top notch track!
Good Luck. :D
Thanks :D. I really appreciate the great review, as always!
"I can absolutely feel a desert rolling here. I gotta say. I love it! And have easily listened to it more times than I have fingers. The establishing part is excellent and then the little lift at 1:15 introduces us to something bolder."
Wow, thanks :D. I tried to move the song to a different direction from around the first minute onwards, and I'm glad it worked out.
Actually, now that I'm thinking about it, this song's structure is strikingly similar to that of my old orchestral song 'Land of Kings', except instead of a sitar part that one has a harp part.
"From there, its becomes a such an impacting piece. The Sitar is a great touch, especially for its little twist in pitch it does."
I definitely have Ethnoworld to thank for that. It comes with all sorts of different instruments such as that sitar sample, and hasn't disappointed me yet.
"However this doesnt dominate from the existing orchestra which was so important to keep it all consistent all the way through."
Yeah I tried to keep the orchestra as the main element of the song with the sitar playing a supporting role, to make sure I don't break any contest rules lol.
"You take us all on a journey with this Stephan. A top notch track!
Good Luck. :D"
You too! Thanks a million for the great review; I definitely have to find the time to review your track back. That is, once I finish my nasty system analysis project...
Those pipes are fantastic, they scream passion in this piece. The strings definetly carry the story which you told and the composition suits the narrative very well! Although there is an underlying boldness it doesn't pull away from the romantic gestures throughout this track.
Few complaints at all, its one of those tracks which I dont want to over analyse, but just want to listen to. You told a brilliant fantasy tale through your music. Fantastic work!
Thanks dude! I really appreciate that!
I'm glad that you liked the pipes. There's just something about them that I can't resist, and therefore I had to use them in at least one piece. :)
I tend to be very bold in my music. Whether or not it means adding sound effects or voice-overs....I'll try anything to make it all sound good.
Thanks for that. Maybe one day I'll elaborate on it a bit, by creating an animation....well, depending on how well-received the song is anyway.
It would definitely be a dream come true to have a live orchestra play this piece or any of my compositions for that matter! For now, I guess I will just have to settle for EWQL. Thank you for reviewing! YAY! That's another morale boost for me! :D
This is an excellent piece Stephan, it has a really strong vibe to it. Im extremely impressed with the fact you changed your brass to have a more jazz stab, its stunning.
The beat and percussion throughout is excellent, its ever so catchy.
The only problem is that there isnt enough of it. ;)
Stunning work!
Hey there. There's no doubt in my mind that this is a good piece however, you could do so much more with it.
It feels like there is something missing at the start. Personally I would have liked to hear some nice horns in this piece, especially at the start where it could give you a hint to a nice sustained theme. Then all of a sudden as soon as it hits in 1:12 you blare a whole brass section with using staccato choirs to emphasise your string spiccatos. Great strong effects and crescendos would help you emphasise your gains and build ups.
You have nice percussions but rather than just use Evolve us a mixture of plugins to get a wide varied of percussion.
Great work overall but include more orchestra for more power.
If I had access to a decent brass library and choir library I'd have done exactly that. I'm branching out and hopefuly I'll have a wider selection of sounds soon.
P.S. Theres only one track of evolve working here and I've got lots of other vst's working as well (like drums of war and stormdrum).
Theatric Scoring Exercise 
"Gearing Up"