wrong way home (wrong_way_home.xm)

Overall Impression (10/10)

This is most definitely a classic, a chillout tune with a recognizable sensual melody and one of those pieces that made tracking music sound cool and real back in the 90s. This is what you show people when you explain that tracked music is not just chiptunes.

Technique, Arrangement, Composition (10/10)

A master at work here, utilizing volume envelopes for the leads, skillfully employing portamento effects to make leads sing and wiggle about like colorful snakes, making dull noisy samples come alive.

A lovely chorus effect on drums in channels 1 and 2, achieved by panning channels to L and R respectively and then applying a slight offset effect on one of them. This gives drums space and depth.

In fact, one could be forgiven to mistake the drums in this piece for a pre-rendered loop taken from a professional sample pack. In fact, Hunz uses one-shot samples from the very well known "Jungle Warfare" sample collection, and the beat is entirely his own.

Development (9/10)

The tune has a minimalitic feel, while in reality the mix is incredibly detailed and many things are going on simultaneously. Some backing themes are audible behind the lead and form a lovely melodic texture, but quite a number of tracks will surprise you and you will begin hearing them only after having looked at the source.

In fact, for some of them I am not sure if they even work. for instance, the voice sample on channel 18 starting at pattern 8 is barely audible anywhere in the mix. Muting it seems to change nothing. If you know what to look for, you will hear a tiny bit of it in patterns 10, 16 and 17, but removing it just makes the mix cleaner. At the very least, I would have it as one-shot bursts, not an on-going pattern that nobody gets to hear anyway.

In some patterns, channels 11 and 12 carry a very quiet supporting melody, but in my opinion it is way too quiet and stands in the way of the lead melody too much to make a difference. The volumes on it are 16 and 7 for the delay. Comparing the tune with or without these channels yields no audible difference for me, and at these moments the track has lots of other melodic lines going on anyway. The only time is does work is in the intro, in patterns 0 and 1, but I think it should have been removed thereon.

I love the combination of the two leads in channels 9-12 starting pattern 8. A beautiful combo, which fools your ears into perceiving it as a single and very interesting instrument.

Creativity (10/10)

Melodically this is perfect. If I am allowed to use this rarely invoked word, this is made for a truly voluptuous pleasure.

I cannot tell you how many times I've listened to this and was immediately caught up in the thoughtful world of Hunz's melody making. A definite mood setter, along with the title the tune creates an impression of being bigger than it is, which is an unlikely thing to say about what on the surface seems to be just a jazzy chillout tune.

And one of the few tunes in the world where changing a key as a way of finishing the tune feels like a valid move.

Enjoyment (10/10)

A definite classic, with lots to explore in the source and one of those tunes that make mod music sound good to outsiders.