ChrisisD's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Beginning]

Yeah, this is beginning something. Although in my opinion it remains a beginning, it doesn't really go anywhere. I really like the chords and synth introduced at 0:51. The mixing is really nice and every sound has a clear part in the song. My biggest complaint is it that there's missing a real melody to bind the song together. It sounds like 3 separate parts, the intro/outro, the chord-progression and then the part starting 1:42. Nothing really binding those three parts together imo.
So, like your title suggested, it feels like the beginning of a song. It has a lot of potential. Now go and finish it ;)

[Soul Swing]

Hit The Road Jack. Basically, though. Not really my cup of tea. In my opinion it would've been so much better if you actually played the piano instead of midi-ed it. Besides that, there's literally no swing in this entire song...

KayozKun responds:

Fair enough man. Thanks for the review!

[NGUAC Submission- "That's Why I Stay With You"]

Well the chords are basically Creep from Radiohead. Doesn't make it bad, at all. Your voice is quite soothing. But a bridge, breaking from the rest, would've been nice. And as said before, the mixing is pretty awesome. Lovely overal.
Cheers.

ConnorHeather responds:

The chords are a I, VI, IV, IVm and then Creep is I, III-major, IV, IVm.
The 4th to minor 4th is where you are feeling the creep vibes.
Agreed a bridge would be nice, but i wasn't given any lyrics for a bridge.
Lyrics i was given were "Verse - Chorus - Chorus" so i used a guitar solo as kind of "bridge"
Thank you for your feedback it is much appreciated!
Hope you are having a great week!

[Is That the One We Have To Fight?]

Let's start from the beginning. Your tension building is pretty good! The buildup works for me. But then... It doesn't really build up to anything. The main melody (if there's such a thing) comes in at 1:17 but doesn't really does it for me. The atmosphere you're creating is pretty good, but to my opinion it lacks depth. I don't really like the fadeout ending either. I'd say, get one good melody and stick to it, make it more outspoken. As for your mix, it's kind of flat to my humble opinion. Your waveform says it all, fade in, middle part, fade out. Your dynamics could do a lot better. I'll listen to some of your other tracks after this one.
Then again, great effort! Cheers

[The Incredible Adventure]

Oh man, the 6/8 always makes my ‘Pirates’ feelings tingle. Specially when it’s as epic sounding as this. Could’ve been the new score for the next instalment. The song has a great way of keeping you interested. The dynamics are great and your use of instruments simply amazing. Thanks!

VociferousMusic responds:

Oh wow! You gotta be exaggerating with this. I mean do you really think this piece has the potential to replace a master piece that was rewarded by the Oscar? I think not :D. If that really was the case then I gotta be speechless about it as that would beat my highest expections of how experienced my skills are at the moment!

However, what I wanted to add about my feedback of your composition: Yes, you definitely did very well and you made me have my own thoughts when listening to it, which is very nice! But let me explain you my point. You seem to compose lots of different genres, but when it comes to cinematic music, in my opinion it also is very important to hit the topic of what you are supposed to compose for. My personal goal is to actually compose a full score for the cinematics and therefore it's very important to underscore certain scenes and to emphasize the right feelings.
I usually set up a rough scenario before I start composing. I share my idea of what the soundtrack expresses with people to gather their agreement whether my soundtrack expresses what I personally thought it is supposed to.

Thank you for the feedback in return! :)

[Tune Machine - The Will of Fire]

Okay, so here’s a piece I really like. The sounds you use are amazing, hands down. I totally get your description of the city being under attack. It surely sounds and feels epic with enough hopefulness.
My only complaint, if you can even call it that, is that maybe you could’ve panned the instruments a bit more. There’s a lot going on in the ‘middle’, where as I think that if you’d put some instruments more to the left or right it would be a bit clearer and give a broader field of sound. If that makes sense...

Mekuu-NG responds:

Thank you very much for your words! I really appreciate it!
Also You're damn right about panning. Totally forgot about it lol

[AIM - Timeless Adventure]

I like it. Like the melodies. Like the instrumentation. Like the harmonies. But I do have to be honest and say that I think the high notes on the flute, and there are a lot of them, are shrill. Just turn it down a tiny bit in your mix and it would be a whole lot better. Of course it could be my stereo and headphones, but I still think the mixing could’ve been a lot better. Though, again, a great piece with some lovely harmonies and melodies. Thanks!

Everratic responds:

Thank you for the feedback! I'm aware of that shrillness and will try to avoid it in the future, though I personally haven't found it to be that bad with the two headphones and three speakers I listened to the song on. But yeah, I will be more careful with this instrument next time to try to ensure it sounds pleasant for everyone.

[AIM - The Mountain]

So, here I go. I like the melodies and harmonies, a lot. The one thing hitting me mostly is the ‘computerised’ sounds of it all. It misses a sort a realism imo. It sounds a bit flat. I think a lot can be fixed with some proper reverb on most of the instruments. And maybe some humitization (humanize) on the midi-tracks. (Make it a bit more like actual humans played it). Other than that, great choice of instruments. Thanks! Cheers, Chris

Quebi responds:

Oh yeah, I totally forgot to humanize in my hurry to get it done. Funnily enough, the flute and clarinet parts are actually live recordings of me playing those parts.

[Hope]

I must say, I was sceptical at the start of the song. I don't really know why you used Rhodes there, but they don't really fit the rest of the song in my opinion. First of all your sounds are really good, the piano sounds beautiful with the split(-ish) stereo. When you introduce the guitar, it takes on a Pink Floyd vibe. The sounds somewhat remind me of Shine on you Crazy Diamond. All in all, great work! I enjoyed listening to it! Thanks!

Phonometrologist responds:

Thank you so much for listening and taking time to express your thoughts on it--I don't take these for granted I assure you. I was wondering what track of Pink Floyd in particular it reminded me the most and I think perhaps you're right with Shine On mostly because of the background strings.
The Rhodes idea was just a little intro I thought keeping in there primarily to set the tone of the piece. Call it a psychological approach I took in perspective to how one would listen to it. It's meant to say, "expect to take your time," with the piece as you're listening, but it's also a production trick to have the listener adjust their volume to hear it better while the music that proceeds it gets a little louder. Another reason was because I liked the timbre of the Rhodes, and it makes the piano sound a little more refreshing to my ears when the chord progression is being done with a different sound.
I experimented with a lot of ideas on this track, and really what I'm trying to say is that the Rhodes idea was just that. Got to find out some way to see if it works. Maybe it does, or maybe it doesn't, but I'm okay with that. Thank you again for the review!

[The Great Leviathan]

I love the sounds. The bass (read: percussion) is really powerful and well done. Only comment I have is that I would've liked a bigger climax in the song. Other than that, spot on! Great job!