i didn't know GSM tracks could only have one source.

opens with the percussion coming in stages. the melodic material comes in at 0:30 or so. interesting beat, it's more ride-focused than i'd expect for a holding pattern beat - i keep expecting it to shift to a hats-centric sound. lead's in a call/response format, and it's pretty repetitive and doesn't stick out of the texture too clearly. there's a highly consistent RMS through this entire first section (really the entire track) due to the sustained bass - no rhythm, just a very creamy bass tone.

there's a break at 1:17, and the piano carries the melodic material for a bit with the bass under it and eventually more sfx. the arp that comes in at 1:48 is much more forward in the mix than anything else to this point, as is the hat - that's the focus, more than the melodic material. this continues to swell and add elements until the kick and melody are all back in. this feels similar to the opening section - same instruments, same heavy sidechain in the lead instrument making it hard to hear the melody, bass still isn't really super distinguishable from the rest of the setting.

there's another break at 2:50, again with keys and the bass running the entire time. this is new material which is very welcome at this point. this builds up again to the full beat before having elements removed over time. there's a musicbox outro and it's done.

i think this one's still needing some time in the cooker. i think the overall shape is fine, but i found it to be pretty underdeveloped especially in the arrangement department. the lead being the same middle voice throughout the first two-thirds of the piece (which is difficult to hear) and the constant bass pattern being present with no breaks or changes were both bummers. the payoff section at 3:30 sounds strange too because it's very piano-driven and there's no compliment to the forward, bright, hats or heavy, deep kick. the heavy sidechain makes all of the backing elements feel distorted and unclear, and there's already so little between the top of whatever the piano or leads are playing and all of those hats firing at the same time.

i think some time clearing out unimportant middle/low voice elements and a focus on balancing the soundscape more across a broader scope will help a lot. some more focus on expanding the melodic material into new instrumentation would help a lot too.

NO