Some piece I made last year for digicomp class

I strongly recommend turning your volume up to at least 70%, since the piece is really quiet

Hi Mossy84, volume turned up to 70% as you recommended. Let's dive into it:

The melodic line that is clear but subtle at the same time due to the timbre of the instrument is pretty nice. I can see the piece moving, not sure if with much coherence, but the effect is nice for now. The piece lasts more than 6 min and maintaining the same texture for that time might make people lose attention in case you did. I can hear how the piece gets gradually more and more intense up to around 2:30 where there seems to be a comeback to the subtle melodic line but clearer this time. 

Half of the piece left, and I can now distinguish some fugue-esque passages... By the way, this doesn't really sounds to me like a swamp but this isn't really relevant, as long as it resembles it to you I guess. 

A couple of seconds before the fifth minute the clearest of the voices comes and speaks in the middle of the low-pitch "swamp" (perhaps I see it now) that soaks the entire piece. I like how you go, also gradually, softer and softer, leaving a few notes and that characteristic rhythm at the very bottom of the pitches that sounds like a heart beat, towards the unavoidable end which I did like: a fading out, not only in power but also in accuracy of the tone.

Good job, I got convinced. 

Kind regards,
Daniel–Ømicrón.

I love this approach to electronic music.

So many people want to make phatty drum beats, or wobby sounds as a motif, but you crafted something with class and precision. My favorite electronic pieces are in this style, so you're speaking my language with this one. 

This almost has a creepy organ piece vibe to it. Not sure of the samples you were using, but I like the "classical" progression you were using, mixed with more modern elements, such as the heartbeat pulse with the bass and spacey textures in the upper voices. It's like if a Martian was living in baroque era Europe while also underwater haha. 

As far as the volume, have you tried using a limiter? It increases the gain without blasting the volume to make it clip. I'm sure there are other ways to help in the mixing, but just know that when writing in this genre there are loads of composers who know EVERYTHING about mixing and production. Keep studying to improve your craft, there are lots of ways to improve the quality of your music that are non-musical (something I'm always digging deeper into myself). 

How was the panning in this? I'm not using the greatest headphones right now, but it sounds like a lot of what I'm hearing is down the center. Experiment with this as well if you don't already; a lot of times clever panning will help separate your sounds and you can have each track a bit louder to help with the overall mix.

Well done, I loved the music. Keep posting, and continue to be as involved as you can with the community. There are lots of members here who have taught me tons of technique that if you take the time to share a bit of insight into their work, they would do the same. Don't be afraid if you don't have a lot to say, a lot of times a simple sentence or two is enough to make someone's day. 

Thanks for sharing!

I won't repeat what Daniel and Vince say since their comments are as amazing as always.

This is surprisingly contrapuntal. You use modern electronic sound to represent the conterpoint, which is amazing for me. You seem to have a contrapuntal thinking when composing music, base on the pieces I have heard so far.

I really enjoy those xylophone and vibraphone passage in min.5 as Daniel noted, and a very convincing end is achieved. Very nice job indeed.

Thanks for sharing!

Henry

I've never attempted an electronic work -aside from a short stint aiding a dj with sample music for rave mixes (which this is quite removed from that).

The opening is quite interesting. The bell sound is an interesting layer that reminds me almost of the psychedelic sound collages of Jefferson Airplane (one of my favorite bands). The layers here are quite distinct and I like how you bring them up within your mix -sort of reminiscent of some of Berio's concrete musique. The softness definitely adds a nice touch to this. I'm wondering if you could perhaps add another layer to this to increase the sound collage aspect of your work here.

All in all, I enjoyed this. Hope to hear more of this!