LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Fall to Ashes]

The lyrics are indeed still copyrighted for some stupid reason XD
Cool rendition of the track, dude!

larrynachos responds:

Thanks! I really like this song, although it's a bit melancholy ^^;

[Elegant Tentacle Cuddlefest]

Interesting take on the track. The sound design is pretty cool! I guess that the very high pitched noises are not something I would've used for a melody, but more as an atmospheric effect, as that high frequencies aren't as clearly defined as something that'd be in the middle register or a bit above (you can hear that they are pretty buried in the later parts, like at 0:45).
I really like the intrument that comes in at 0:13 though, in a slightly lower register. I think it might be a bit too loud in the mix (as it becomes a bit dominant later int he track), but whatever :p
The choir is really nice! :D
As are the strings :)

I get why you took away the percussion. I still think you could've put in an atmospheric crash or gong at a few places though, to add impact to the transitions.

Overall, this is a pretty cool rendition. Interestin name choice too XD

Good job!

SkelaNG responds:

The instrument coming in at 0:13 is just a little thing I made in NI Razor, I quite like additive synthesis.
The high bit at the end and such is Synplant, my Bae VST.
And yeh, as far as mixing I like to mess around on my own tracks with unconventional methods, I wanted to place emphasis on more simple sonic qualities that typically don't cover front, such as the over-bass, and putting the lead melodies all behind the atmospheric elements as atmospheres of their own.

I agree I could've done some atmospheric percussion, it probably would've helped fill out the track, but I wanted to give it a go with apercussive composition, for flavor.

Thank you for your review!

[Improv 4 ~P~]

Great job!
I was wondering when you were going to upload this :D
I've listened to the first 10 minutes, and things sounds really nice :3

I'll listen to the rest as background music when doing something else sometime, but currently, I don't have that much time, unfortunately. I'll totally upload an even longer improvisation when I get to recording one though :3
I'd love to recrod it on a real piano though...

Phyrnna responds:

Thanks~! <3 I guess if you read one of the previous review someone made a time-list of points in the song xD

I actually wasn't aiming for length on this one, but it ended up super long. xD I wonder how long your next improv will be! :O

And yeah, a real piano would be lovely~! Q^Q One day.... #lifegoals

[BVYS N GVRLZ]

Even though the lyrics don't really speak to me that much, I can really dig this :p

midimachine responds:

what lyrics lol

[T-Logic - The Ritual]

Tssk, tssk. The review king himself has yet to receive a review even though it has been a few days, huh? That sucks :p
I am hear to solve crises like this one.

Alright. You know the deal. You made something ambient, you already have my ultimate bias. So you know this means that many other people would probably be much more critical than I am XD

Interesting fact. You say this is atonal, but while that certainly is true for some points, I can hear a lot of melodic melodies here; ones that actually sounds pretty neat!

Yeah. I actually thoroughly enjoy listening to this track. I think you've gotten better at both sound design, and mixing. Progression too, at least in this genre. I love how this isn't just a simple creepy track, but instead one that opens up for a lot of different moods. Parts actually sound like the "decetive show intro" tracks XD (just listen to 1:58-2:34, for the best example).
Other parts do indeed sound a bit ethnic, while there are toooooons of other feels as well.

I enjoy the percussion in this track. Actually, I enjoy all the instrumentation. As I said, I really like the sound design :D

Hmm, I find that I don't have much more to say. It's very difficult to write something, when you only have positive stuff to say, ya know?
I know I could find a few nitpicks and point them out, but in general, I find nothing wrong with this track. I'm pretty lenient when it comes to this genre of music though :3

Also, time is short at hand this time a life (yup, I just made up a new expression).
And dude, I'm suuuuuuuuuuuuper sorry that I haven't writted a response to you for a while now. I haven't forgotten, not even close; I've actually thought about it probably once a day or so (in the very least) for an entire month. But It would seem I find it hard to find enough time while I'm motivated to actually write something, as I am super busy atm (I don't even have time to procrastrinate much, so you know it's bad)!
I know I have a very busy week ahead of me as well :(
I'll try to see if some time opens up at the end of, or after this week! With a little luck, you may expect a response (but no promises) not too far in the future :D

But yeah. This track is rad, dude, keep it up!!!

TaintedLogic responds:

Awww, thanks so much, Ale! Review king, huh? Well, I'm actually quite far behind where I wanted to be at this point tbh. XD

I appreciate your compliments regarding the sound design and mixing, and I suppose I see what you mean that it's not "completely atonal." I used a ton of instruments, from synths to Far Eastern strings to Indian reeds to violins.

I'm glad you like the progression of moods. I personally thought that the piece might've been too fast-paced. 1:58 was originally supposed to be a breakdown for a more climactic part before it, but I didn't end up fleshing out the melodies at 1:28 as much as I would've liked. The piece was already long enough IMO, and I had to save the really juicy stuff for the end. >:D

"It's very difficult to write something, when you only have positive stuff to say, ya know?" --> As an avid reviewer myself, I definitely know. :D

Thanks again, and don't worry about not having responded to my PMs yet. School is always more important, man. That said, I'm really looking forward to hearing about how school is treating you. ;)

I appreciate the review. Talk to you soon!

[QUI SEDET AD DEXTERAM PATRIS]

Great to see that you made it in time :D! You had us all worried, with your insanely bad luck o.O

I love the fact that you two are pitting solo intrument compositions against each other in the competition. Somehow, it feels very apt, right? Great choice for a track to make :)

As for the piece, it's simply wonderful! It's easy to hear the inspiration behind this, which I will dare to claim is mainly Bach, though there of course may be some other influences as well. I especially like that classic homage at 2:15 XD

In general, this really feels like a piece that is written specifically for an organ. Which I suppose, it indeed is! But I mean this as a compliment, as you really managed to stick to the style, while still creating something new and interesting. The movements and interactions of and between both hands while playing feel great to listen to. Of course, the chord choices and melodies are amazing as well.

As for the progression, I think that is what I like the most about this piece. It feels very free and natural, as if you would've left part of your spirit into this composition. While some parts remind me very much of the kind of movement I would hear in "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor", I really appreciate the general creative flow behind the piece. Especially the way you play the piece makes this track sound as if it was not a vst, but a real recording of an organ; you play it in a way that makes it feel very alive, with the free tempo and all the emphasis put on different notes.

As to really strengthen this fact, there are spots like 0:38, 1:10 and 1:45 (among many, many other spots), where you can almost imagine the figers in from of you, and hear that it is indubitably a human that is playing.

I won't even go deeper into the chords and specific sections of the track, as they are all rather complex. I just want to let you know that I really enjoyed all the interesting segments, examplewise 0:44, and 1:30, where you seem to progress so naturally, while making use of large portions of the keys by moving across the them, as not to limit yourself to only a section of the keyboard.

Finally, I absolutely love how you let the track bleed out slowly at the very end, instead of cutting it off. Too few people do this, imo :p
Actually, in general, I find that too few people upload tracks with church organs in focus, nowadays. I really enjoy the sound, especially when it's as expressive as this. Very good sound design choice with all the reverb. Listening with good headphones definitely gives the best experience (easily available one, at least).

I don't really have any criticism at all to give. Awesome job, especially after all you are going through, and good luck!!!

SoundChris responds:

Hello Sir! Wow what an epic and detailed review - speachless!!

Oh yeah - getting this piece done was ultra hard. I had to prepare my win notebook for pro tools and music productions and setting up this again made me so much trouble. But i am happy now - once my mac with my beloved logic is back i will have an emergency station. I Started to compose yesterday at 5 pm, so it really was extreme. I think overall it has been created within 7-8 hours. The workflow with PT was a little bit strange, but in the end it turned out to be very solid and system friendly as a daw (if it just would look a little bit better ...).

Concerning the solo instrument choice: I wanted / had to go the safe way. My notebook is quite weak and i could not go the risk to start e.g. a large orchestral production to finally get insuperable problems - the deadline was too near. My fav piano library doesnt work ere so i decided to go for a cathedral organ. I am a huge bach fan, and so it was always my wish to get a better understanding about the harmonies and progressions in this kind of baroque music in general. So it was a great training for me and i learned a lot here.

Of course the main inspiration is bach. He is just so awesome. I think my fav organ piece is the passacaglia in c or the choral "ich ruf zu dir herr jesu christ". The simple beauty is just so impressive. But also bach´s grasp over the voicings ... well i just find no words to tell how impressive this is. Also all the very modern harmonies and progressions he used. If you play some fugues from the well tempered piano II you really have jazz chords. Just try it and you will instantly see why bach is that important. He just was so modern and progressive which is only visible if you really go very deep in your analyzis. I have to confess that i didnt understand that for a very long time. I always loved his music but didnt realize the REAL value.

You are right if you say that this piece was written for organ. If i would have gone for a piano version i would have had to change a lot of things i guess. There also was a short moment where i was thinking of creating a piano piece like you could find it within the english / french suites - love them!

There are several things about writing an organ piece that i found out to be quite complicated to manage. E.g.: If you write a piano piece you can accentuate the voicings and play the voice which plays currently the melody a little bit louder while the other voices have to stay in the background. In an organ piece this really is a problem because everything is full volume. Sometimes it really isnt easy to follow the melody - especially if it becomes quite complex and fast. Another hard aspect was the reverb: In a church the sound just is massive and has got a lot of bass. But i was thinking of using EQ quite a lot. I am stil not totally sure about what i do think about the sound. On some speakers it sounded very awesome, on others it was a little bit washy. Thats why i recommend headphones here.
My biggest restriction during the composing process was the missing possibility to use my midi keyboard. Usually i prefer to play the chord progressions and create a concept. This wasnt possible this time so i had to improvise. But i am happy with the results. So just to make that clear: This time i didnt play anything. Its all editing, humanizing and especially tempo editing :D

For the progression: I am really glad that you especially liked that aspect. Progressions always are the most important thing within a piece IMO. The art is to connect everything logical but stil being inventive and surprising. THats what i tried to deliver here. I hope it worked. Glad you liked the passage at 1:10. I like how the bass melody becomes so dominant, too.

The reverb that i have used was the one that came with the instrument. I think i would have prefered QL Spaces. But i wasnt able to get it running here. Mac installer - Win system. Not even TransMac could help me here :( If i would have had all my software availiable i would have inserted bachground crowd fx and other noise that happens in a church. Also i wanted to insert the organ mechanic sounds, but i stil didnt find the soundiron lakeside organ (dont really liked that one but the fx are fun - like browsing sheet, the creaking chair of the organist and other stuff.

Thanks so much for your super massive and awesome review - it really made me happy. Also thanks again for the dedication of your piece for my birthday. I was in such a hurry that i almost had overseen it. Highly appreciated.

All the best,
Chris

[Echoes of Fading Dreams]

175 plays, 6st 5-votes, 21 downloads, and no reviews, huh? Time to fix that, hehhe :p

Oh my! I was thinking of remaking my own piece actually, but now I feel no need, tbh. This is a beautiful version :3
To start off with, the grace notes you added, like the ones at 0:17 are wonderful. I really like your intrument choices too :D
Bonus points for pulling of the weird percussion I tried to make in MIDI form, and even better than I ever could!
And that echo effect on the light bells in the end are wonderful (well, they are earlier in the track as well, but they can be best heard here) o.O

For the most part, you put your focus on the same parts that I would, but that is why I find 0:39-0:51 to be interesting, as you focused on a completely different melody that I felt I did there. I love it!

How could I not enjoy this, hahha XD?
Great work, and thanks a lot for making this :O!!!

ChronoNomad responds:

I was hoping to get a review soon, but to have that review be from you is supremely special! Thanks a lot for your kind words, Lucid. I am so very glad that you like what I've done with your track. The MIDI itself is one of my favorites (I did vote for it, after all), and it was a real pleasure to rework your track. It's our first ever collab! :D

I'm really impressed that you can hear the echoing bell instrument earlier on since it kind of gets swallowed by the mix. It's actually a music box, if you can believe it! It just sounds so darn pretty with all that delay and reverb added that you can't even tell what it is anymore.

Thanks again for laying down the first review! This is my homage to you and your music, so I suppose that is only fitting. Excelsior~!

[Graveyard Shift (track3)]

Awesome track, dude!

eatmeatleet responds:

thanks if you really think so I think a bit too simple and repetitive

[song preview 27]

Very interesting!
I am biased against everything that uses bells though :D
But also in general, the progression is nice, and there is a lot going on at the same time. The loop is actually really smooth too :)
This is actually really relaxing to listen to. I like the instrument choices. I hope you'll manage to finish this, as you've got some really good stuff going on here!
Great job ;)

Everratic responds:

I like bells because they enhance sad-sounding melodies.

Thank you!

[No Hope in the Horizon]

(Notice: this is a review for the older version of the track, in case it gets updated).

This is a wonderful piano piece you have here :)
The melodies and harmonies are wonderful.

As you said, it's a bit short. I also think that the left hand is a bit basic. In the great (but perhaps a bit brief) intro, it's a bit different, as is it in the end, but for more than a minute, it uses the same movement. Maybe you wanted to focus more on the melody, but I feel that the shorter a track is, the more detailed you probably want it to be.

Did you use Piano One for this, btw? Just wondering, because between 0:02 and 0:03 I can hear sounds that I find that Piano One typically makes (when the bass notes stop being held in, there's the noise of the reverb kinda dying on the low end) XD
In general, this also has kind of a Piano One feel, but maybe it's another vst that's sampled in a similar way :p
(even though 0:06-0:08 also has an echo that I recognize the sound of).

Speaking of reverb, you use quite a lot of it. I tend to do so too, especially if I want to get an otherwordly feel to the track. But bear in mind that using much wetness, will also make the piano feel further away. Sometimes, in a solo piano track, it's not what you want to go for. But as I said, I've done so myself too, and I really like the sound it gives. It just removes some power, especially from the base, you know? But you still managed to bring the volume up enough. I'll think of this as a stylistic choice, in this case, just wanted to give a heads up in general.

Another thing are those hits at 1:14 and 1:37. I like the fact that for this piece, the tempo is not set. It works well for solo intrument pieces. But in contrast, those hits feel very mechanic for some reason. The dynamic is fine, as the volume floats upwards with every hit. But especially at 1:37, especially the base feels very mechanic (try to listen to just the left hand, and notice how all the notes and rhythms feel the same volume and pretty stale at that one specific point). The buildup to 1:37 is really nice though! 1:33-1:37 is pretty perfect.

I probably wouldn't have ended the track on the same notes that you did, but whatever. It's the natural progression, so I'll let it slip by, hehhe... I guess I just feel like I would want something a bit less predictable for an NGADM submission? Not to say that predictable is always bad, but the ending feels a bit rushed in general, to me.

Oh, I almost forgot to say it! There's some minor clipping at later points in the track. I won't point out every part, becuase it ranges from at least 1:09 (Edit: heard some at 0:16 too) to the end. But it can for example be heard at 1:17, 1:18 and 1:20, as well as at 1:38 (those are the most prominent examples).
It's not much, but with good headhphones (maybe with good speakers too), you will hear it even at lower volumes. You may have to sacrifice just a little bit of loudness to fix this. You could for example lower the main volume just a little bit, then if there's some room left in the file that you get, you could normalize it to get the track to be as loud possible while keeping the dynamic range. Up to you.

Once again, at the very end, you can hear some of the notes dropping out at 1:40. Not necessarily a problem, but I'm pointing it out anyway.

Now, it may seem that I mainly gave negative criticism in this review, but I want to let you know that I really liked it despite that :p I especially enjoy how alive this track felt, at most parts. I enjoyed the small rhythmic misses like between the base and the melody at 0:55. Well not necessarily a miss, bad word choice. Rather that the left hand and the right don't hit the note at precisely the same time. It gives more of a realistic sense.

I also get that you were in a hurry. I think it's good that both you and Chris get a few more days (I think it's only fair). If you want to keep working on this track instead of making a new one, I think you might want to pay attention to the more important things I mentioned in this track (clipping, and such), as you're going up against SoundChris, after all (if he gets his things working).

If I were a judge, I'd probably go for a score of about 8.8, at the moment. But I would be a pretty un-harsh judge too, so keep that in mind!

Good luck, and I hope that this review was of some help!

NyxTheShield responds:

Thanks for the feedback, i will deff check what you point out (This is not even mastered, i really made this track in 3 ours while studying for a computational statistics exam i had today hahahaha), when i get my phones i will check the clipping problem (again, i mixed this with my Notebook's speakers XD)