Hey,

I'm not super keen on that piano - it sounds a bit plain. It might sit better if it was an octave higher up too.

The mix doesn't sound to bad to me but I only have headphones to listen on. I'd say finish it because it's always good to finish things - or you get into the habit of starting something new every time you get bored or stuck with something.

I like melodic d'n'b but I also like drum 'n' bass to have some grit to it. Just my personal preference but might be an idea as to where to take this.

Thanks for listening. The piano is going turn into vocals. I'm most definitely not gonna keep it there permanently. I'm gonna get someone to sing over that section but for the time being I kept it in there to convey the melody. Maybe I can also add a little something fancier with the bassline as well to create some grit. I'm a fan of that as well.

andrew bayer, matt lange, jon hopkins are some of my favorite electronic producers. from a strictly technical standpoint, Noisia always blows me away.

another lesser known artist that's coming to mind is Nhato, who makes some of the craziest electro-trance i've ever heard. endlessly impressive productions coming from him

I agree that Nhato is incredibly skilled and not as well known. I remember the first time I heard 4:16 of this remix it mind f***** me so hard I had to go back and listen to it again and again.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uT1XBLmCecg

Taishi is a japanese producer who blows literally every producer I've ever heard out of the water in terms of sound design, arrangement, mixing, mastering, and composition. It's not just in one genre of electronic music either. I've literally heard him produce everything from DnB, Uplifting Trance, Ambient, Progressive House, Glitch, Dubstep, Rock... He'll sometimes even add guitar solos or drums to tracks. The guy is literally a machine.

It is a mystery to me why nobody knows about him. I've been listening to electronic music since I was literally a baby (Thank you dad) and didn't decide to start producing it until I was 16 and came across his music by accident. His mixes literally feel like they're moving as you listen to them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaZ3YLa3x7Q

Hey guys. I made this a few days ago before going to work and never got the chance to finish it. What do you guys think? Is it worth being finished? How does the mix sound? Do you guys like it or not?

Im really digging the extra fills you added into the drop Alex. Really curious about your arrangement process if you'd be willing to open up about it.

Definitely keep working on it. I really enjoy what I'm hearing. Reminds me of Orjan Nilsen, Andy Moor, or something that I would hear on Armada. Really digging the arrangement and flow of this track as well as that crunchy bass that hits after the intro. I feel like the break that comes after that section is also extremely well placed.

Unfortunately you are at a level beyond myself so I can't offer any obvious feedback. I would add a bit more variety in the chord progression during the break and use a bit more than 4 chords but that's completely down to personal taste. Also at 2:40 something about the chord synths in the mix sounds a bit off. I can't pinpoint exactly what it is but when transitioning from the previous section it's almost like the stereo image seems to disappear. I don't know whether that's because the synths are to lowly balanced in the mix or whether it's a stereo width problem. It might not have anything to do with the chord synths but it definitely feels like the stereo image suddenly disappears. My ears aren't trained well enough to pinpoint exactly what it is. Also in the section after the intro I would temporarily add some quarter note ride cymbals in the final 4 bars to give it a bit more flow and then remove them. The best way I can describe what I just heard is in armin van buurens "save my night" at 0:37. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xarUfnzIcmo

Finally in some sections I feel like the highs are a bit to harsh. If you listen to 2:40 in headphones at a mid to high volume you hear a consistent "hisssssssss" which may or may not have been what you were after but is fatiguing on my ears. This section as well as the section after the intro seems to be be harsh in the highs. Maybe try adding a bit more of a low pass filter on some of the instruments in the mix to tame the highs a bit more.

That's all I can really say right now. Once again most of these things are a matter of taste. Hope this helps and I would love to hear the finished version!

Cinematic Strings, Berlin Strings, LA Scoring Strings are all nice choices. I can't speak from experience about 8dios but apparently they're also very popular.

I have trouble with the same thing. Whenever I try transitioning between two song sections something about it just seems unnatural. How do you blend two song sections together that contain different instrumentations? Is it a matter of mixing or is it a matter of composition? It would be awesome if there was anybody else out there who had any more advice to give on the subject. I don't mean to hijack this thread but I thought that this was highly relevant to OP's main question. If it's a problem then I apologize and I'll create a second one.

I'm just gonna use this song as an example.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gxuB-aKFEzo

Notice how at around 0:34 theres this change in instrumentation that occurs in comparison to the intro and verse? I feel like when he makes the transition it sounds completely natural.

Same thing with this song and 1:20

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7w4sUNw6tI

The instrumentations within the intros, & verses are completely different from the chorus. Instead of there strings they're completely replaced by synths and yet it all sounds completely natural.

Those of you who have more developed ears it would really help us all out if you could share your thoughts on what makes these things click.