AIM 2023 Judge Review
Despite this track's relatively short length, I felt like the structure was generally well-paced and flowed together quite cohesively. It's quite amazing given how drastically different that long intro is in contrast to the rest of the track. The intro gives off dreary and grey kind of vibes, but it works as a super dramatic, cinematic opening to the parts that follow.
It definitely helps that the piano is the connecting glue in the structure of this track and the way those pads fade out slightly and then back into the faster-paced section helps to bring it all together. I love the two-note piano rhythms paired with the chippy percussion. The crunchiness evokes the sounds of sweeping, complementing the back-and-forth motion of the piano chords. The best part is that soaring chiptune melody on top of these layers buzzing away like a bee.
I can picture a narrative related to the art inspiration, with the intro being this sort of start to the day as the sun begins to rise but the city is still sleepy. At 0:52, maybe this character starts the morning routine of sweeping. By the time we get to 1:58, it feels like the afternoon and perhaps the bee has moved onto other household cleaning chores. The part at 3:00 comes across as winding down and finishing up the chores for the day, especially with the slowing down of the tempo and dropping out layers of instruments. I like how the conclusion is not final, as if it signals that the job isn't done and there will be more work to do tomorrow. Overall, this entry is super cute and well constructed with a nice sound design to boot.
By the way, plagiarizing unintentionally is a relevant and understandable fear to have and something I do experience especially when composing with an idea I really love. As far as what I can hear, I didn't immediately think of any song that this entry would have ripped off. Even then, I believe there's a lot more to ripping off a track than just happening to share the same chord progression or even similarities in the melody, which usually seems to be what many look for in terms of rip-offs. This entry feels quite driven by the aesthetics of the art and perhaps a narrative surrounding it, so I would be surprised if it somehow completely ripped off another track.