AIM 2023 Judge Review
What you've delivered here feels like a very bright and pumped up summer anthem. I enjoyed the use of the chopped up vocal as the hook that recurs throughout the piece, especially the filtered chords that rise at the end of its phrases. The pacing was also very good - you play out a lot of different ideas in the drops that seamlessly connect to that intermittent vocal line and I think that helped a lot with making these sections feel cohesive and developed. Although the track is very loud, I like the small waves of dynamics that come across from the filtering and the buildups.
The one huge issue that is prevalent in this entry is its relation to the art. I assume the title of your entry is a play on the abbreviation of AIM, which is amusing, but also, having some relevance to the art plays a significant role in the judging evaluation of this work. If I were to offer a generous assumption, the intro kind of feels like it could go with the idea of the sun rising, but what about the landscape or the title of it being on a different planet? I'm not saying dubstep wouldn't work with this painting - there are entries in this year's compo that manage to pull that off - but I think there was more opportunity to draw upon the art inspiration and have that be reflected in the music. Otherwise, why pick this art as the inspiration over any other sunrise or sunset piece?
Now aside from this, I think the music itself is solid - like I said at the start, I like how the sections flow and I never felt bored listening to this. I love the part at 2:59 where the vocals take on more rhythms and the melodic counterpoint with the synth adds an interesting sort of texture. This entry generally hits the spot of every section moving just right.