Everratic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Leylines II]

I really like the introduction; instead of gradually introducing and creating themes, you fade the listener into a preexisting musical world. There is a pleasant, airy ambiance that has a strong presence yet is difficult to discern; it makes me visualize a sky world. The slightly distorted flute does a nice job at foreshadowing the trap nature of the track.

The bass sounds very crisp, and the drums sound light and clean, which further establishes the sky world visual for me. And the drum rolls are well-done and very pleasing!

The melodies themselves aren’t that interesting, but the pitch bends and automations vitalize them, and the choir pad creates a nice harmony. The piano also enriches the atmosphere and adds passivity to the track.

I have no problems with the mix.

I like the ending, but I think I would have kept more elements toward the very end. I understand why you chose to keep the static reverb atmosphere, but why did you fade out almost everything else? To me, it unnecessarily contradicts the lighthearted introduction.

This is a fantastic track! :)

midimachine responds:

hey thanks for the review! i've really enjoyed using these processed flute samples a lot lately.
honestly can't say i put a whole lot of thought into the ending, and in retrospect there are a bunch of things i could've done differently to improve it.

i really appreciate the comment about fading into a preexisting musical world. i feel like fade-in intros are underutilised or improperly used a lot of the time so it's good to know that i'm on the right track with it here. the piano is also sampled from a previous track (hence the II in the title), so the connection to another musical world is *actually* there as well!

thanks!

[Seasons]

I'm currently going through depression and this song effectively reflects my emotional state during my worst days. The slower parts of the song portray the raw emotions, whereas the busier parts of the song portray the surge of irrational thoughts and fears.

I'm usually extremely apathetic, and it carries over into my music listening; thus, I can only listen to music critically during these times. Today I happen to be able to listen to music with emotion, and I'm so glad that I discovered this song now.

Please continue the great work!

[FD - Cloud]

I have my windows open, and the rain provided a nice ambiance for the track :D This is fairly repetitive, but I get the impression that this isn't the type of music that should be listened to too analytically. Anyway, there is enough variation to retain/regain my interest.

The sound design is well done, and the mix sounds reverby and spacious. The mix and the sound design both serve to establish an extraterrestrial theme, for me at least.

ForgottenDawn responds:

Rain <3 Funny enough, back then this was my attempt at creating some kind of house-like groove. At the time I was fascinated with deep house and minimal, atmospheric arrangements, so I wanted to experiment in that direction. Personally, I could do better, but I digress. It still was from 2 years ago. Thank you for your review. :)

[Simple man]

This was quite relaxing, and it's also very catchy.

There is absolutely no way this track deserves 0 stars. Just ignore the jealous trolls. I tried to help out, but my voting power is weak.

[AIM - Faith in Freedom]

The vocals are marvelous, and they are the highlight of the song for me. The drum beats are astounding as well; they have so much depth, variation, and modulation. The song has a great progression. Some parts demand your attention, while others allow you to listen passively, which serves as a break from all the action. This is definitely one of my favorite songs of yours!

The story in your description is very inspirational :)

zybor responds:

thank you very much for your review!

i like to interpret the music as if they tell or represent some sort of story. in order to get such inspiration for such storytelling technique i usually get them from my daily life. since i have pretty much close-to-zero properties on me, beside a beat-up Civic packed with some necessities, i pretty much have to find inspirations from every single shit i did, do and gonna do. it doesn't matter of the listeners find the description hysterical when they read it. because all these shits are 100% happened and happening every single day. the same routines that i have to pass in order to survive. so i prefer my listeners to feel my stories rather than some imaginative crackpot story about flying dragon or phoenix.

people can choose not to read it if they find them strange or disturbing, i don't really give a fuck. but i like to have the audiences feel what a composer felt, because every work of such musician ever written are part of his memories and is the evidence of his existence. you can see me as an existentialist, cos i take terror management theory very seriously.

but those are just my 2 cents.

[You Must Leave Me Behind]

The beginning makes me visualize a character entering a new world for the first time and being astonished by the world's beauty. Then said character's friends join in on the fun!

I love the chord at :15. That's what establishes the intended mood of the piece :D

Your selection of instruments works well here. I love the melodic instrument, especially thanks to the lovely delay.

The transitional sound effects sound dry. I think they may actually a slight hindrance in this kind of song, in which you created a reverby atmosphere using primary instruments. Also, the sound effects with strong bass frequencies create a variance in the feeling that the mix transmits.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I like that visual! That definitely sounds kind of like an anime xD
Or Narnia, I guess :p

The chord at 0:15 definitely kind of sets the tone. I think the one at 0:20, and 0:24 are pretty important too. I guess that part in general, is where a kind of turn takes place, and the piece is defined :D

I'm glad you like the instruments! It's fun to play around with orchestral arrangements. I honestly don't remember what bell I used, but I like the delay I added too!

I think I get what you're saying with the sound effects. Mostly, they're just cymbals, and I wanted them to be soft and long-lasting at the time. But they may sound dry because of that too :)
As for the bass frequencies, this is probably not the best possible mixing xD

Thank you for the review!

[Traversing the Milky Way]

This sounds like the kind of song one would expect to hear at the end of the movie when the protagonist reaches their goal. I personally think of a movie about a dancer or skater, and I visualize the character performing with this song. The style reminds me of anime-music. The velocities sound great to me, and I like that there's a clear distinction between melodic notes and chords.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I totally get what you mean with that! It actually has a similar feel to another piece of mine, which I made for ending credits for a project, so you kinda hit the nail on its head!

Ice Skating and Anime cretainly brings Yuri on Ice to mind :D
Not my favorite anime, as it has its flaws, but it's watchable :)

Nice job on noticing that distinction! I intentionally made it so, as this was originally meant to be submitted as a theme for others to use ^ ^
Thanks!

[Continuation of Life]

I listened to this on loop for 30 minutes. It helped me concentrate on my work :D

zybor responds:

:) glad you like the track! have a good day!

[A Folklore]

this is very catchy!

[Hope (Piano)]

This is one of the most original compositional styles I've heard in a long time. The song lacks a traditional melody, yet it retains my attention for the entire duration of over four minutes! The piano layering is magnificent. I love how the low frequencies act like a pad, supporting the higher notes.

My only complaint is that I think the mix seems to be a little flat; it could sound airier. But I do understand that applying this effect could be extremely difficult considering that the low frequencies already sound spacious.

Phonometrologist responds:

Thanks for stopping by to let me know your thoughts about a particular piece as it's always an encouragement to read. I would criticize the mix as well-- I agree. This was done two years ago and my production knowledge was pretty limiting then. I've learned much since then, but of course I'm not quite there yet either. I'll never consider myself a production/mixing artist before I am a composer and pianist. But a part of the mix sounding a bit muddy within the mid to low frequencies is because of the playing style as well. When playing live, I have intended that effect in person by playing low register arpeggio's in the left hand whereas the notes themselves aren't as important as much as the overall sound and harmony changes.