Lurker > kaonashi1

Moonstruck Blossom
The Filthy Mind (Theme of the Hive Mind)

Partizans
Endeavour

An Endless Desert
-[Deoxyribose]-

Scars of FAUNA
Apostle's Maraud

Desire Below (Flow)
Who Am I?

vagrant counting song of retrospection - first encountered: this vgmc? - trend: steady
-lots of cool and catchy elements. this is kind of the mission statement of the kirby tracks in this contest in general-- they're generally varied and a lot of fun. it's a grab bag of neat things flying at you from different directions, and I feel like that sums up the spirit of the kirby series as a whole.

desire below flow - first encountered: bost5 - trend: up
-maybe the most significant upward trend in terms of personal enjoyment during this contest. sometimes from a fire emblem music perspective I'm still too fixated on things that sound like id purpose or conquest ablaze or end of all land. this is a really cool track with a pretty different vibe from the aforementioned tracks-- but it's just as interesting, with some pretty awesome chord and rhythmic changes, and something that rewards repeated listens.

rave on - first encountered: vgmc5 - trend: slightly down
-I'll freely admit I don't really like this track. I know a lot of others do, though, citing it as a standout from this ost. it's a straightforward track to just rock out to, I think, enjoying the main loop and the changes in the different layers. and some of the layers can be kinda neat-- the percussion layer that comes in at 2:54 and sounds like rattling metal is something I dig.

who am i - first encountered: zyxyz's vocals guessing game - trend: steady
-who am i? i am - myst iv main theme - archange - atomic bird. there's a lot of tracks I can think of named who am i - les miserables, the animatrix soundtrack, the final fantasy vii remake soundtrack, the boneworks soundtrack-- and this is one of my favourites.

Distorted Happiness
The Wyrm's Jewelbox

yo-kai disco - first encountered: vgmc6 - trend: steady
distorted happiness - first encountered: vgmc13 - trend: slightly up
the wyrm's jewelbox - first encountered: soundtrack listenthrough about a week before vgmc14 nominations - trend: steady
numl - first encountered: nfun's pre-vgmc nomination prospects guessing game - trend: steady

Dungeon - Geofront 4
Fire Island Volcano

dungeon geofront 4 - first encountered: listening through fatal bullet tracks for 2018 vgm guessing game - trend: steady
a line in the sand - first encountered: vgmc6 (as beach) - trend: steady
fire island volcano - first encountered: nfun's guessing game; focused listen during vgmc13 nominations - trend: steady
the best is yet to come - first encountered: vgmc1 - trend: steady

Akeldama
Credits

akeldama - first encountered: deo's guessing game - trend: steady
-an atelier track with a really cool intro. that description's definitely come up before. I always guess wrong on which gust composer this is-- asano slips into the classic gust team sound pretty effortlessly.

the ruined city kishgal - first encountered: this vgmc - trend: steady
-another track that throws its strongest hook at the beginning. and it's a pretty cool hook! it's enough to carry the track for a good while. that violin continues to be a mixed blessing-- the section itself is cool but the violin's slight detuning doesn't quite click with me.

variations on a ra melody - first encountered: this vgmc - trend: slightly up
-this played in two different guessing games and I think I missed it both times! the music to 6TH STAGE - SUNCTUARY has a cool shimmering opening that suggests more of a dreamlike flight through the clouds before it goes into a much darker 'final stage' feel full of grim determination. this actually grew on me a bit in the process of listening to it today.

credits - first encountered: cako's pre-vgmc14 nom prospects game - trend: slightly up
-polished glitch. like the weather, my enjoyment of this track can be temperamental, but the warmth of its more analog synth sections is always welcome. like the weather, trying to pick a track in this match gives me a headache. credits/b.t. dutch mashup: 'viewers like YOU YOU YOU'

Shinjugamori Rebel Army
Zeal Continent

second dark matter battle - first encountered: vgmc12 - trend: slightly up
-this is strikingly different from the other pmd series tracks in the contest-- ditching pensive dungeon tunes for a full-fledged climactic battle. I prefer the former! but it's become easier over time to pick out the aspects of this track I like-- the mood has changed but the compositional flair has not.

shinjugamori rebel army - first encountered: this vgmc? feels like I encountered it earlier - trend: steady
-I love namiki's wondrous, almost exotic stage compositions for this series. some shmup osts go for a harder, more imposing feel but something like this, or like a night of falling stars, feels wide-eyed and light. you're flying in the sky! that mood seems to fit.

pressure cooker - first encountered: vvvvvv playthrough - trend: steady
-one of the few vgmc entries I first encountered in-game! this is historically my third favourite v track, after potential for anything and piercing the sky, though admittedly I haven't listened through the v tracks end-to-end in a while.

zeal continent - first encountered: Dire's guessing game - trend: steady
-I remember first hearing this in Dire's game and thinking it was real cool, a great find. (I also remember thinking it was familiar. did I listen to this track before? if I have, I don't remember when.) there's actually a moment where this vaguely reminds me of Kikuta, even if the composition doesn't really fit his style. (I think it's the prominent use of piano and guitar to help set up the rhythm.)

Infinite Dungeon 2
Massive X

infinite dungeon 2 - first encountered: probably in the background at some point, but focused listen first occurred this vgmc - trend: steady
-I remember toxtricity remarking on this when we were talking about pmd music: pmd music feels really tailor-made to be listened to endlessly-- such as in, say, an infinite dungeon. the intro to this track has a great vibe and instrumentation that's really easy on the ears, and it makes its way to an uplifting climax-- but nothing too jarring, so that it can loop back to its more subdued intro. enough to be catchy and fun, but not so much as to be exhausting. it's so consumable. it's like the watermelon that flygon in the video pic is going at. I feel ya, buddy.

burning force medley - first encountered: probably this vgmc - trend: steady
-I don't really start digging this track until it hits 0:57. imagine that-- a track where I'm impatient for the guitar solo to start. it does a lot of cool things from there. the part that follows at 1:36 has a really enjoyable progression as well. I always go through this loop when I hear this track-- feeling a bit deflated at the start but nodding along by the end.

massive x - first encountered: bost5 - trend: slightly down
-MASSIVE X marks the spot. this misses me by a bit in a couple of ways, though-- the main loop is held for a bit longer than I'd like, and the interlude is a bit shorter on ideas than I'd like. it's weird-- this is a cool jam and I get where the enthusiasm comes from, but my own interest in the track feels a bit colder than I'd expect it to be? who knows what that means.

another winter - first encountered: vgmc5 - trend: steady
-whatever that means, this is sort of the opposite-- it punches above its weight. there's something kinda definitive about this track for me-- it reminds me strongly of its era in vgmc, no other scott pilgrim track has stuck with me as much as this one has, and it actually makes me think of scott pilgrim fighting in the streets of toronto in the wintertime, with its piles of snow on the curb and its dirty slush-covered sidewalks and roads-- this despite having never played the game. (I did read the graphic novels and watch the movie, though.) it's a faded picture that still makes me smile, a worn joke that still makes me chuckle. I knew the first match was close in my head but the second is too, somehow.

-(Isoleucine)-
DNF FW15C (ALL PHASE MIX)

isoleucine - first encountered: 13 sentinels joint listenthrough with Toxtricity - trend: steady
-whenever I listen to this I marvel at how well-executed it is. energetic and upbeat but never in a rush, cool variations in mood, composition and arrangement while maintaining a cohesive feel, impeccably produced. even the shifts between its internal phases feels seamless. what a standout from a standout soundtrack.

move me - first encountered: deo's guessing game - trend: steady
-move me's breakbeat groove is fast but moves through its variations at a fairly leisurely pace (and anchors itself pretty firmly to that tonic chord throughout). it's the latter that makes me more impatient than perhaps I should be about this track. it wants me to sit back and enjoy the ride but I want it to 'FLOOR IT!', as it were.

dnf - first encountered: listenthrough of soundtrack after Mac's post in pre-vgmc12 topic - trend: steady
-a lot of my fondness for dnf actually revolves around dnf -I-. the buildup of the first phase is cool, and I like its airier (and strangely more wistful) feel. like other all phase mixes in blue reflection, I see dnf as a tasty fish with a lot of bones-- there's a lot to enjoy but I need to pick my way around it a bit, and it can be tiresome to do that and sometimes I just want a fillet, you know? (man these metaphors are getting weirder)

love scope - first encountered: this vgmc (I checked out some of the caligula effect soundtrack when it came out but didn't really do a focused listenthrough) - trend: slightly up
-I can dig love scope if I don't overthink it and just enjoy it as fun, catchy, high-energy j-rock track, though my feelings on the vocals getting more off-kilter as the song progresses is mixed. I can imagine it as like a cool shounen anime OP or something. you know, scenes flashing by in the first 8 seconds, followed by the title shortly afterward and then the show credits appear starting at 0:27 where the vocals kick in while the main characters show up in cool poses or goofy personality scenes, followed by actions scenes at 0:35. then at 0:43 (probably my favourite part of each verse) other characters (mysterious ones!) show up in slow panning shots. wonderful! I can see the whole thing play out in my head.

Classroom
B.T. Dutch

exec_paja - first encountered: at1 listenthrough sometime between vgmc1 and 2 - trend: steady
-while I listened to tsukikanade a fair amount a long time ago, I didn't really get attached to this track at the time-- I was drawn more to linca and rig-veda and the title track. this is a track I like more when I focus on it-- it does some cool things with the gamelan and other accompanying instruments, and the section at 3:39 is really neat. when I'm not focusing, some of the elements of the melody that end up standing out aren't the sections I care for as much. this track ends with some metallic/mechanical noises and I think 'wouldn't it be great if this just went right into bt dutch without skipping a beat!' alas

classroom - first encountered: DMs with Toxtricity, then bost5 - trend: slightly up
-this is distinctly different from the previous in that I maximize my enjoyment of it by sitting back and just basking in the vibe. otherwise I might get impatient waiting for it to get to what I imagine as the 'sunset' portion of the track-- but it's important to let the rest of the day play out too. isn't that sunset beautiful, though.

the merciless savior - first encountered: vgmc8 - trend: steady
-I do not remember this track's vgmc8 run-- but that's just my fuzzy memory of vgmc8 talking. I think the intro to this track is pretty memorable, and I dig the early sections a lot. the latter part of the track still extends a bit far for my liking, though.

bt dutch - first encountered: bost5 - trend: up
-do I need to be in the right mood for this track to really enjoy it? yeah. the section where it all comes together at 1:32 is always a highlight, though.

Bad End Syndrome
Rustling Throb ~ Cloche

bad end syndrome - first encountered: cako's pre-vgmc14 guessing game - trend: steady
-still pretty charmed by this fairytale parade of a song, with its nimble piano lines and alice schach's typical pixie-like vocal delivery. the immediate comparison to chocolate missile is pretty low-hanging fruit but they appeal to me in somewhat different ways-- chocolate missile's more overtly adventurous forays into shifting styles mid-song and its darker, mysterious tone is replaced with a more subtly evolving composition and a lighter, playful mood. by the end of it, this track almost feels like it's celebrating something-- a bad end?

the filthy mind - first encountered: bost5 - trend: steady
tcal goes METAL. what a contrast to the previous track. the changes in meter are fun and the progression is ominous. and then it goes METAL FLUTE and I like that section a lot, particularly as a foil to the heavily overdriven guitar-dominant sections. the chord progression just before that with the piano is also neat. this is a relatively short tcal track but it puts in work.

rustling throb - first encountered: at2 soundtrack listenthrough between vgmc1 and vgmc2 - trend: steady
-a standout from one of my favourite osts, a track that really says 'ar tonelico'. (well, not literally.) killer intro and sharp production-- the electronic percussion that kicks in at 0:22 is great stuff. the buildup that starts at 0:57 and its eventual payoff is really worth it. again, a pretty short track that really makes the most of its time.

midnight lady - first encountered: this vgmc - trend: steady
-catchy hooks and a big beat give this track energy to spare, but every time the track hits 0:47 I hope the track takes a delightfully unexpected melodic turn and it never does. it's a track that's more interested in dancing than talking. all right, that's cool. but I wish it had a little more to say.

Moonstruck Blossom
Thermosphere

moonstruck blossom - first encountered: bost5 - trend: slightly down
-the intro to this track is such a great sell. the first :41 and its buildup is just wonderful. its focus scatters a bit later but it gets back to sort of a meat-and-potatoes melody built on the feel of the track up to that point. turns out I was really here for the appetizer more than anything! enjoyed the meal, though.

battle! giratina - first encountered: rwlh's pokemon ranking - trend: steady
-as disorienting as ever. something I can appreciate is the creepy vibe and quick synth runs reflecting the weirdly multi-legged-bug look of giratina's origin form.

thermosphere - first encountered: einhander ost listenthrough, sometime in the mid-aughts - trend: slightly up
-probably the track in the final 64 that I knew about the earliest, and one of only two in the final 64 (RftM) that I knew about before VGMC1. this wasn't among the tracks I really loved back then-- I was more into Badlands and Madness. the glimpse of sky (I think I used this exact phrase in R1-- must be a pretty strong impression for me) the track offers at 2:15 in contrast to the freneticism of its more boss-theme sensibilities remains my personal highlight of this track (which also dictates my enjoyment of tracks like afterimage).

bitbop - first encountered: gamebop's guessing game - trend: slightly up
-the cagey, shifty, quick-stepping intro is something I really like about this track before it gets into the full-fledged bop of its title. it's a very able aural dance partner throughout, with its shifting rhythms and sly energy, a musical rapscallion with a mischievous grin.

Endeavour
Confronting Myself

endeavour - first encountered: 2019/04/19, apparently, while going through recent soundtrack releases listed on vgmdb - trend: slightly down
-'slightly down?!' there's only so far a track can go after the point where you finally wear out on listening to it X times a week. there was a meaningful chunk of time where this was my favourite song to listen to, and the way I see it that's still pretty good. it seems to carve out a fandom among a somewhat disparate group of vgm fans here. that's pretty cool to me, too.

reach for the moon - first encountered: watching videos of touhou gameplay, pre-vgmc1 - trend: steady
-I scorn its perennial presence here, but sometimes a little voice whispers: 'do you remember who was among its initial group of nominators back in vgmc1?'

confronting myself - first encountered: soundtrack listenthrough following up a post by icon in transience's video game topic, pre-vgmc12 - trend: slightly down
-this probably hit its peak for me sometime after vgmc12, probably as I was playing through the game. the celeste soundtrack feels full of imagery and emotion; this is probably the most overt and immediately striking musical example of the character's internal struggle, and was one of the tracks to catch my ear first, though I later warmed a lot to some of the tracks with more buildup that reflect this (anxiety, in the mirror, starjump).

sky tower - first encountered: this vgmc (though it's very similar to the original, which I encountered in vgmc1) - trend: steady
-the thing that bugs me about this track isn't that I don't think it's an improvement on the original (which I like a considerable amount)-- it's that it's almost the same as the original. (the top comment on that video at the time of writing actually captures this for me-- "Good news: Sky Tower is just as I remembered it! Bad news: Sky Tower is... just as I remembered it.") I want it to try something! take a shot, even if it has a chance of failing. an homage too faithful is its own peril. (maybe I feel even more strongly about this because I very recently played ff7r-- but that's something for another time.) this is a franchise with a heavy emphasis on evolution and growth! let the music follow suit.

IDOLA The Strange Fruits
Desire Blue Sky

partizans - first encountered: first focused listen was this vgmc; not sure if encountered previously - trend: slightly up
-I think this track benefits from the context of its soundtrack as a whole-- a fair amount of it is a minor-key, more upbeat take on the main theme, its sense of wonder replaced with more of a resolve-filled direction. based on the track's feel and its placement in the soundtrack, it sounds like it would be a late-game area theme. this is a pretty mood-based track for me-- there's some variance in how much I enjoy it on each listen.

idola the strange fruits - first encountered: vgmc2 nominations - trend: steady
-already talked about my initial encounter with this track in round 1! of the tracks remaining, this is one of the tracks I have the longest history with that I also really like. it's unlike partizans in that there's not a lot of variance in how much I enjoy it-- its crackling intensity is generally a good time.

flotage - first encountered: this vgmc - trend: steady
-something I randomly thought while listening to the intro to this today-- 'this reminds me of persona 4 arena music.' the comparison mostly falls apart, but I think the things that prompted that mental cue are the specific heavy first/third beat drum pattern and the low synth, which would take the place of the rhythm guitar (even though it doesn't play full chords-- there's a similarity to the progression). I think both of these things, and the track's general tendency to stick to them as the backbone of the track, is what mitigates some of my enjoyment of it. it's no surprise that my favourite parts of the track are the ones that stray from those things!

desire blue sky - first encountered: vgmc11? I can't shake the feeling that I heard it earlier than that, but I don't know when - trend: slightly up
-sometimes the sadder vibes of this track come through a bit more sharply. this is one of those days-- the melancholy of the opening sets up the sense of yearning in the rest of the track, and I feel more in sync with it than I would normally.

-[Deoxyribose]-
Class::EXPAJA

deoxyribose - first encountered: Prody's guessing game (listed as Boss Theme 1); soundtrack version first heard in deogenerate's guessing game - trend: slightly down
-it occurs to me that deoxyribose doesn't really have a 'prep phase'. that's too bad-- I like the prep phases in other 13 sentinels battle tracks. in general this is one of the things I miss in this track that appear in the other battle tracks-- the shifts in mood and dynamics (this track mostly leans on the quieter choral parts and the 'results phase' for this). this is a bit more uniform in construction, which can be a strength if it catches me at the right time, but it makes those moments a bit more specific.

ll infinite beating ver - first encountered: this vgmc - trend: steady
-I've probably mentioned-- too often, at this point-- that this style of composition and arrangement isn't really my cup of tea. it seems pretty effective at delivering a track in that style, which always feels like a backhanded compliment if that's all I have to say about it.

class expaja - first encountered: pretty hard to figure out-- at some point soon after the soundtrack's release I did a listenthrough of it, but did I go through the genometric concert sides fully? not sure - trend: steady
-such ostentatious grandeur. I think I wish the vocals played off each other a bit more. my attention keeps hooking onto 2:11 every time I listen to this (in a good way). I think it's set up by the tension of the melody that starts at 1:44-- 2:11 feels like a pretty rewarding payoff for it. "bestow upon me the power to advance through the wasteland"-- the (translated) lyric leading into it-- seems a fitting entrance to this resolve-filled section.

exec_z - first encountered: listenthrough of soundtrack around the time of release, including hymmnos concert sides - trend: steady
-I wish the vocals played off each other (and with the non-vocal instrumentation) here too! it's one of the elements I like in (some) other hymmnos. (it's been a while since I listened through AT3 but I remember finding less in that vein than in the first two.) I said this in round 1 but I really can't shake the anime OP/insert song impression, especially when it hits the chorus at 1:32.

GUERRANT-OFENZA-SUPRONT-UNNE
An Endless Desert

guerrant-ofenza-supront-unne - first encountered: pso2 vol 7 listenthrough around the time it released - trend: steady
-this is another one of those tracks where the opening is what I remember best about the track prior to revisiting it but the part I like the most is completely different (1:26). just a really cool progression. anyway people who like this track should check out pso2 vol 7 and 8 and really maybe the rest of it too!

kanata no rafflesia - first encountered: this vgmc - trend: up
-I remarked in round 1 that this reminds me of a yoko kanno/maaya sakamoto track. to be more specific-- parts of this remind me of escaflowne's OP, yakusoku wa iranai, except with more energy and pace (the strong 6/8 feel led by the piano, the major key feel with the minor chord changes). the 'verse' sections feel more like different kanno tracks (though nothing specific I can name right now). overaggresive electronic kick notwithstanding, I'm always a little surprised by how much I like this song. one day that reaction will wear off but not quite yet!

endless desert - first encountered: linked by Toxtricity during a KCF guessing game; later re-encountered while browsing Todd Baker's soundcloud - trend: slightly up
-I wrote very extensively about this in round 1. its extremely measured use of instruments and musical figures, in direct contrast with many other tracks that have made it this far, really resonates with me. it's a track without excess, that knows exactly where it wants to go, what it wants to evoke, and what to do to get there. (bucket zero candidate. I once called it 'echelon zero', because younger me thought 'echelon' was a cool word. they're just buckets of fairly arbitrary distinction. a category by any other name, etc.)

megaraph fleet - first encountered: bost5 - trend: slightly up
-when I first heard the bost5 set for spark this was by a pretty large margin the standout track for me. the vibe is backed up with some genuinely neat composition and solid arrangement. (that's the descriptor that keeps coming to mind when I hear this track-- it's real solid.)

Apostle's Maraud
Imbrium

scourge of the universe - first encountered: bost5 for a focused listen, though I probably listened to it on some random occasion before this - trend: up
-this got stuck in my head for a while between its appearance in the first round and today. I've professed how much I like the vibe and the bass in the section starting at 2:24 in prior writeups. another thing I like about this track is the way the two lead synths play off each other with little countermelodies (like at 0:48-- I love how one of them goes up, then they both descend, and then the other one goes up. pretty fun).

apostle's maraud - first encountered: Toxtricity DMs - trend: slightly up
-breathless as usual. there was a period of time where I enjoyed the 'first part' of the track (the part that opens with the news bulletin) a little more each time I heard it. the drum fills right at the intro of the section are real cool. the section starting at 1:11, really awesome. I get super hyped about that little skip of the downbeat at 1:19. the way it moves effortlessly between 7/8 and 8/8. while the track's escalating pace is part of the point of the track, I do still wish I could catch my breath a bit.

TIGAR - pre-vgmc12 soundtrack listenthroughs, following up a remark by Mac in the pre-vgmc12 topic - trend: slightly down
-NFUN describes BR music as 'saccharine'. I get where he's coming from, I think-- it's relentless in its particular aesthetic, especially in the all phase mixes, to the point where it can feel like an overdose. it's very, well, shiny. I like shiny things (this track included) but sometimes I need to look away for a bit. of this set, this track is the least likely to evoke a mood in me.

imbrium - first encountered: looked up the soundtrack sometime in 2010 after Ed Bellis talked about tin soldiers - trend: steady
-in this set this is an absolute island of calm in an ocean of turbulent waves-- not because it's subdued, exactly, but because it's controlled. I discussed this track at length in round 1, what it means from my perspective, and there's no real way my impression of this changes much after ten years of listening to it. so a quick aside-- I don't talk about track rankings much, mostly because ranking tracks tires me out, but this is one of a very small selection I'd call 'bucket zero' in my head. this is the only bucket zero track in the contest. (scourge is in bucket two. apostle's maraud is bucket one. TIGAR is bucket three. how descriptive, right? see, this is why I don't talk about my rankings.) anyway, I enjoy this track to this day thanks to two Eds.

LastPandemic
Scars of FAUNA

lastpandemic - first encountered: probably vgmc11 - trend: slightly up
-it's really the first minute of the track that makes it for me. the first section (the first :20) is the part I remember the most clearly, but my favourite sections are actually at 0:32 and 0:53. re-listening to it reminds me of those sections-- it's cooler than I remember. I also noticed that the electronic percussion is different at 1:32 than at the intro. the one at 1:32 is pretty neat! nice little detail.

rude buster - first encountered: sought out the day after release, probably after seeing a message from Dire in #vgmusic - trend: steady
-rude buster has always been rude buster. it's what it shows itself to be in its intro-- just a fun jam all the way through. catchy. this, field of hopes and dreams, chaos king, and don't forget are the only deltarune tracks I can play in my head from memory. (that's probably partly due to overall exposure, but they're the ones that stick with me, having not played the game.)

scars of fauna - first encountered: probably vgmc12 - trend: slightly down
-two Nekomata ToC entrants are a tough act to follow. I like the buildup starting at :18 the most, revisitng this. scars of fauna is more subdued than the ToC entries-- the instruments are softer, the arrangement sparser, the percussion less overbearing-- and there's charm in that. I miss some of the grandeur of something like ELFERIA, though. the vox during the buildup at :18 always makes me smile a little because it randomly makes me think of K. K. Slider. let's have a Nekomata Master/K. K. Slider collab! CAT and DOG

battle! colress - first encountered: rwlh's ranking, but only listened to with full attention in this contest - trend: steady
-this is cool and I think that's the wall I keep running into-- I think 'this is cool' but I don't feel the level of investment I would for tracks I really like. but yeah, it's cool. the goofy counting is a nice hook and I enjoy it. the way the bass walks around is neat. I like the renewed focus and energy at 1:03, and the startlingly strong melodic lead at 1:23 is nice. maybe this grows on me over some time.

probably can't keep this up but we'll see how it goes

Despair of ELFERIA

Despair of ELFERIA
Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

+1 Adventurous Inventors [Staff Roll]
+3 Memories Rushing By

+3 Who Am I?
+1 Ready to Shave
+1 Thrashard in the Cave (Arrange Ver.)

Desire Below (Flow)
Memories Rushing By
Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

The Wyrm's Jewelbox
P-R-O-G-R-A-M
Dark Legacy

+2 Ar-ciel Ar-manaf
+2 Moonlight Concert
+1 Rainbow Road
+1 Credits

YO-KAI Disco (Hell's Entrance World)
Distorted Happiness

+2 Main Theme
+2 The Least 333sec
+2 The Apex of the World (Rain)

A Line In The Sand
Fire Island Volcano

The Apex of the World (Rain)
Dungeon - Geofront 4
Battle!!

+3 Mechalullaby

Akeldama
The Least 333sec

+3 Taliyah, the Stoneweaver
+3 Zeal Continent

Shinjugamori Rebel Army
Pressure Cooker

okay, let's give this a shot

The Gardens Between, by Tim Shiel
(Glowing Pains: Music From The Gardens Between)

Between Friends
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yd1MzDUSm5A

Calm Before
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x4wd3a8Jfyw

The Storm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pPov_Ffz408

Are You The Same
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vRSKSqqhNhE

Weight of Air
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNf-3KdaWUE

Threw a couple ideas around in my head before I decided I wanted to try a fairly ambient set for this nomination-- I got the idea that something like this might work because I remember you enjoyed the soundtracks of Melos Han Tani. I checked through stuff from some artists I knew and liked in this vein (Jim Guthrie, fingerspit, Joel Corelitz) before settling on this one.

Glowing Pains: Music From The Gardens Between is an OST to The Gardens Between-- but not exactly. It's been enhanced, combined, and mixed to create a fairly seamless album. It's something that's really made to be listened to end-to-end. It's why the tracks I listed above actually constitute a contiguous sequential block of the soundtrack. It took me a while to decide which window of five tracks I wanted to feature here-- I decided on the five tracks starting with Between Friends, a track that's probably meant to be the capstone to the opening set of tracks in the OST but works very nicely on its own as well, before going into the next four tracks that flow into each other and pivot around Are You The Same, which is the highlight of the OST for me.

At times, the ambience can be very minimal. Almost always, it fills a space that's pensive and sad. I hope it's a recommendation you'll enjoy.

Zeal Continent
Mechalullaby
Invitation Flower ~ Autumn

+1 Undersea Palace
+3 Toccatina

Infinite Dungeon 2
Burning Force Medley

+1 Lake
+3 Mysterious Trap

-(Isoleucine)-
B.T. Dutch
DNF FW15C

I told you man
I told you about amino acids

The Merciless Savior
Yesterdays Opponents are Todays Ingredients
Homestuck MV

+1 Sand Canyon 3
+1 Jazzy NNYC
+3 Bitbop

Mysterious Trap
Classroom

+1 Theme of E-102 Gamma
+1 Jena Anderson
+1 Frey's Philosophy
+3 Kaine ~ Salvation

The Filthy Mind (Theme of the Hive Mind)
Rustling Throb ~ Cloche

Moonstruck Blossom
Kaine ~ Salvation
Class::EXSPHERE_NOSURGE;

+3 Sound of the Wind
+1 To the Distant Sky

Thermosphere
Bitbop

this second match, man

+3 Hinagiku
+1 Desert
+1 Beyond the Darkness