LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[NanoFields]

Great music as always. I've mentioned it before, but it seems as there is no genre you can't master XD

I like how this piece is actually pretty simple in some ways, while it sounds like it isn't! I'd say this means that the production is pretty flawless :p
The percussion is great, as are all the other instruments.
The transitions all work well, and all the separate parts work well together.
Even the melodies are cool!

The only thing I could possibly mention is that this piece sounds a little samey all the way through, even though the parts are different. This is probably because the rythm is pretty much the same the entire time, and the intruments all sound alike. Some variation might give this piece more re-listenability. That, however, may be difficult to implement into the piece if it is supposed to sound a certain way and fit a certain genre ;3

Splendid job ;)

LunyAlex responds:

Yea, you're spot on, in that I'm very lazy with rhythms. If I make a beat that I like, I sometimes commit the fairly repulsive crime of using it throughout a song.

Thank you very much for the review, the kind words and the advice!
#Psyched!

[Beware the Troll (WiP)]

I have no tips to give you, except for believe in your own talent and make this longer!
I can find no flaws thus far, so I'm sure you'll be able to continue composing this track with relative ease XD
The epic feel of this piece is quite unbelievable, with all the hectic brass, strings, and especially percussion.

I'm a huge fan of the sound you use at 0:22, 0:29, 1:00 and 1:07.
There are some other noises here and there that you've managed to fit in really well.

You said you owe me some reviews, but alas, I've made nothing worthwhile lately, so there's nothing for you to review. Don't worry about it; I'm reviewing your music because it's so amazing ;) You don't owe me anything :p
I'll make sure to tell you if I ever am in need of a review though!

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot! The sounds you liked that much were articulations from 8dio cage brass - very strong library IMO.

Oh yes i will review more of your tracks in the future - once my situation is getting a little bit less busy. Right now i started my audio studies and have to drive 4 times / week to munich (300 km / day) which is quite exhausting me. Also i am looking for a flat there to make things easier, but munich is the worst city in germany to find an affordable place... also i will start to work soon and have also to prepare for this. AND: There is the NGADM quarter finals where we have to work very hard this round since we meet PeterSatera - exciting!

But really if you ever wanted my help / advise / talk / review or whatever feel free to contact me and i will do what i can :D

Thanks a lot and best wishes,
Chris

[The Door - Fibonacci]

Darn it!

LunacyEcho has already said pretty much everything I could possibly mention -_-
I think you're definitely getting better with both your melodies and your production! The rhythmic aspects of this piece far exceed my capabilities XD (Meaning I couldn't come up with as creative use of percussion and rhythm).

It's good that you're exploring new keys. It's even better to try them all out every once in a while :p

I like your use of intruments. Some of them sound almost like they'd belong in some crash game (especially the older ones).
I can really feel the bass in this piece too!

I actually like the fading out at the end; it kinda fits this piece, so good job with that ;)

There's a lot in common between math and music. It's very interesting to think in mathematical patterns while writing songs. I could show you another numberphile video about pi, but I think you might find this interesting as well: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4niz8TfY794&list=UUOGeU-1Fig3rrDjhm9Zs_wg

Hmphm. I guess I'll just have to try to get to your next piece before LunacyEcho shows up with a massive review :/

What I still can say though is; amazing job, and keep it up ;)

TaintedLogic responds:

Gee, thanks, LSD! :D I'm really glad you like the rhythms and melodies and production! ^^ Yeah, I guess most of the instruments could be used in a game...I mostly used Autogun, Drumpad, and 3xOsc. ;) Yeah, I was really going for that bass-y hip-hop-ish feel. I have at least 3 basses playing at once at several points in the song: the sub-bass, that synth bass from 3xOsc, and that bass organ synth. :O I'm glad you liked the fade-out ending. It was originally supposed to loop, so I needed a way to lead back into the quiet beginning. ;) Good luck in the next race vs. LunacyEcho! ;D I didn't have time to watch that whole Twelve Tone video, but what I saw of it was pretty amusing. XD Thanks a lot again, LSD! Talk to you soon! ;D

[Plus One]

This is pretty good, and as always, very uplifting to listen to :D
The sound quality is good, as well is the composition and everything else. I know I get this a lot myself, so I'm being a huge hypocrite, but it would be nice if this song was a bit longer XD

I'm guessing you used the piano roll to make this song; that, or you're ridiculously accurate with the tempo, as well as with how hard to press each note :3
Bascally, what I'm saying is, you could try increasing the realism in this a little, as this is a solo instrument song (best noticed at parts like 0:19). That said, I like the clean sound of the piece, and some parts DO feel pretty human.
The intro is probably my favorite part of this small composition :)

Well done! I'm looking forward to those awesome projects of yours ;)
Also, you should try making something really sad or dramatic for a change (would the opposite to uplifting be downpulling? [or maybe downdragging?]).

Either way, great job XP

LunacyEcho responds:

=> a bit longer =>

... (facepalm)

=> ridiculously accurate with tempo =>

Well, they DO call me the Human Metronome, but that's only because I make a weird ticking noise whenever people touch me. ... Nah. I actually tried recording me playing it, but I could not for the life of me find the USB cable that connects my digital piano to my computer. :(

=> realism =>

Yeah, you're right. I'm glad you think I'm getting better at portraying realism, though! (I really need to find that cable...)

=> sad or dramatic =>

I really should! I've got a couple of things lined up at the moment, but I'll work on one soon.

Thanks for the review as usual, LSD!

[Market Capitaliztion]

Hey!
Just dropped by to let you know this is really awesome! Well done in every aspect :D
Favorited ;)

Fuzzy-L0g1c responds:

Thanks for listening, I'm glad you liked it! :)

[Spellbound]

Whoah, this is really beautiful!
The harmonies are great, and I love the combination of instruments you used for this o.O
Reading the description was interesting too, which is always a bonus in my book ;)

Krichotomy responds:

Thanks! I hope to continue to make interesting musics with interesting descriptions. :)

[The Concert]

Who could not like this? The great mood setting (realistic) intro that fits the name, followed by simply amazing music, both in composition and performance. Everything is great imo, which means I have nothing to criticise.
I honestly love this a lot = favorited.
Amazing work you two! :D

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot man! I really tried my best to make the orchestral sound vivid and reasonable. Even the orchestration was not totally finished here (DAW problems directly before the deadline can be a crual thing :D :D :D Almost got a heartattack...

Thanks for leaving your thoughts here good master. Btw - if you ever wanted a review (i think i owe you a few :D) just shoot. I am quite busy these months and not that active here as i wanted to be. But if you had something you wanted a review - shoot :D

All the best,
Chris

[ghosts]

Uhhh.... What Step said!
(Great job :D; favorited)

johnfn responds:

HEHE thanks LSD! :D

[Chere Modesto]

Well. At first I thougt the piano sounded a bit weird in the beginning, but once I got used to it, it actually sounds pretty great :p
As usually, your percussion is spot on.
Your melodies are almost always uplifting, and well made XD (I like the part in the middle though, where this is not the case. Well, they are well made, but not uplifting, I mean XD)

I'm pretty sure I'm in the 1% of people who know what you're talking about ;)
I can definitely hear both new stuff, and combined stuff from your earlier works. I'd also add that this piece has a bit of that mysteriously dark atmospheric feel from Desert Sandstorm at exactly 2:12-2:13 :D
Great use of atmosphere in general actually!

I agree that this is one of your better songs. Your transitions are pretty flawless in this track.
I don't know why, but I'm having difficulty with mentioning anything specific with this song. I could count up all the different parts and intruments, but I don't see the point. I guess you've simply done such a good job that I don't really have much to criticise :p

I don't think the ending is necessarily bad. It's just... The same as almost always XD (chorus/main melody + end note, right?)
I have no tips on how you should do it though.

Anyway, as I don't really have anything to say...

Great job, and good luck in the contest!

LunacyEcho responds:

=> piano sounded a bit weird =>

You know, when I was writing the song, the piano sounded a lot less distinct. I wonder what happened?

=> percussion =>

Thanks! I worked pretty hard on the percussion this time.

=> 1% =>

WE ARE THE ONE PERCENT

=> atmosphere =>

Thanks a lot! Another thing I've been trying to focus on recently (along with the originality and mixing that Lockyn mentioned on my previous NGAUC submission) is the mood I create.

=> transitions =>

Flawless?! Thanks! They're probably not, though. :D The drastic changes in this song required some forced transitions, and even though I tried pretty hard to make them smoother, I'm guessing some of the judges will still find them a bit out of place. Still, I'm glad you liked them!

=> ending =>

Hey, I did it a bit differently this time! This time, the chorus faded out a little bit, I only had two instruments, and instead of playing one end note, the instruments played two! Variation is the key to music, obviously.

Thanks for the review!

[Colophon]

This piece is great. Everything from atmosphere to intrumentation, melodies and mixing is amazing. I love the chill mood, mostly created by the soft intruments and the pads in the background. The percussion is good too, and pretty interesting.

My favorite part starts at 2:11. You can hear that there's a lot more reverb here, and the change is pretty noticable as there are more and so different intruments. Still, the transition works pretty well. I think I can hear some of the mixing issues you mentioned here and there in this segment of the piece, but I'd say they aren't that bad.
The transition back to the former format at around 3:30 is flawless.

All in all, awesome job with this composition ;)

adieuwinter responds:

thanks for the kind words, they mean a lot to me. once i get a new pair of headphones i'll see if I can't fix those mixing problems.