LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Memory of You (Undertale)]

I'll let you in on a little secret!
I haven't actually played Undertale yet. Yes, I know. It's shameful D:
But there's a time and plac for everything. I've still heard this piece before, though :)
This is a really good rendition! I guess that it sounds a bit rough, with the timing. Is the piano made in the piano roll? It doesn't sound super human, rhythmically, but I could be wrong! Other than that, the actual piano sound is great, as is the rest. I love the fact that this is a loop too :D
Nicely done :3

P.S. I didn't eat cake for my Birthday, so you're definitely right. The cake is a lie :(

ChronoNomad responds:

Haha, well guess what...

I haven't played Undertale yet, either! So I guess we share that particular secret shame.
But I have played its spiritual predecessors, especially EarthBound, quite a bit...so hopefully that counts for something. (;

Yeah, there is an interesting sort of timing to my version, and believe it or not--that's how it played out in my head. Believe me, I was just as surprised as anyone that it turned out so...strange? Unique? I guess that alone should help it to stand out in the crowd of remixes and covers.

And yes, the piano was indeed made directly in the piano roll, but that's actually how I do it pretty much all the time. All I have to work with is an MPK Mini, so playing the full range of keys naturally just isn't possible. Weirdly enough, I wasn't happy with any of the quantization I was getting, so I scrapped the idea and left it as is...even if it does sound more mechanical.

Admittedly it's quite short, but at least it loops well. This was really just a fun little thing I decided to make and wasn't even going to upload it at first, but then I thought what the heck. Why not, right? :D

No cake for your Birthday? GLaDOS is such a meanie! Well, I hope that you managed to have some kind of delectable dessert type food item in its place.

[T-Logic - Phone Call WIP]

As you know, I love this kind of ambient and experimental stuff. I wish it was longer, but I know you made it in a short amount of time! The sound reminds me a bit of some of the stuff Isao Tomita has done :D

TaintedLogic responds:

Thanks for the review! Hopefully I'll upload a more complete version of this sometime, as this was just a short experiment for my class, as I mentioned. It's actually meant to be performed with a number of different cell phones that start playing several seconds apart. XD Thanks again, though!

[Donkey Kong Country - Gang-Plank Galleon]

I know I already commented some on skype, but this track is so good that it most certainly deserves a review on here too. And I rate you... (Obviously...) 5!!! :D
This is a wonderful cover.

Amazing work, Mattashi o.O!

[The Last Stand]

This sure is catchy as h*ll o.O
The loop is perfect too! Easy favorite :D
Great job ;)

Djjaner responds:

Thanks a lot ;)

[Edge of the Blade]

This is really cool!
I actually like the rough sound. This reminds me of some old video game soundtracks. Nothing in particular, but I can definitely see it working in something xD

What did you use in way of plugins for this track?

Either way, both the backing synth, and the melodies are really nice! The sounds compliment each other well, and help keep the track interesting. It's just a shame that it's not longer!
Good job, dude!
It's nice to hear something new from you again :D

ChronoNomad responds:

Hey, thanks Lucid! I'm happy to hear that you dig that rough and tumble sort of sound. Creating different kinds of tracks is always a blast, and it was some of the funky bass riffs that were rattling around in my subconscious, prompting me to lay down the groundwork for the track.

I personally think that this would make for a pretty cool battle theme, or some other tension-filled moment in a game. Most of the plug-ins used were the usual suspects: Stereo Enhancer, some Convolver, a touch of Soundgoodizer, as well as EQ. Then I added a bit of PanOMatic to the bass riffs to give them a bit more omni-directional presence, and applied two different Hardcore presets (followed by lots of adjustment to get just the right sound) to the bass and distorted lead riffs to enhance the grungy rock vibe.

I played around with a couple of ideas while figuring out what I wanted to have as that complementing sound, originally going with a more orchestral strings approach, and finally landing on the perfect Sytrus arp that sounded great across all the lows and highs.

Totally hear you on the length of the track, but it was originally going to be a loop that was about half as long, and even though it's just under two and a half minutes long it feels strangely complete. I could have totally futzed around with it for another week or more, but that's just what the perfectionist in me wants. If I listened to that guy, I would never feel like anything was ready! xD

Thanks again for dropping another sweet review on me, man. Very much appreciated, as always. I still have to get caught up on your latest tracks! Look forward to at least one solid review from me soon.

[T-Logic - Broken Toys]

Well, you know I love ambient, so you won me over with that alone. I listened to this when it came out, but I clearly failed in the department of reviewing it in time :D
It's really great an atmospheric! A lot of cool noises and effects going on, with different panning. The name is really interesting too!
You did really well considering the task you had at hand, in my opinion. My only complaint is that I definitely listen to this at a slightly lower volume than usually, because of the high-pitched sound xD
Over all, nicely done!

P.S. I also came here to tell you that I haven't forgotten about your reviews, nore PMs. But this week turned out to be surprisingly busy for me. I've been working on collaborations, talking to people on Skype, going to two parties, spent my time coughing (I think I'm getting a bit better though!), gone to the movies, and there was some school on top of that too. And, worst of all, tomorrow I have an exam D:
You know the drill XD
I'll try I swear!

TaintedLogic responds:

Thanks so much for the review, Ale! All of the sounds are basically made with just sine wave oscillators at different layered frequencies, but there's actually a surprising amount you can do within those parameters. I am aware of the very harsh pitches, yes. I just tried to instill as many nightmares as possible with this one. XD

Also, no worries about the PMs. I'm back at school now too, so I probably wouldn't have much time to respond to them anyway. And I understand you're very busy. Sometimes you just gotta live life. ;)

Thanks again for the review! ^^

[Masquerade]

As always, you have created some wonderful music here <3
The atmosphere of this piece is astounding.
Great job! ;)

LawnReality responds:

Thank you! Glad you like it. :)

[Learning to Swim]

Ooh, nice to hear something new from you! And something really good too :D
This is some real chill stuff to listen to past 5 am :3
The mix is great, the atmosphere is neat, and the melodies are good xD

Interesting with the speaking in the middle. I feel there's a story behind this track, thanks to the title and what's said :')

The slowdown was cool too, and I figure the ending has a symbolic meaning? Or?

Either way, really awesome stuff here!

FinaLee responds:

Thanks as always, LSD! I'm doing my best to balance my job and my studies with quality pieces. It's been quite a juggling act this year so far, and I am not a very good juggler.

There is indeed a story to this, and it is something that has stemmed from another concept track I made. Unfortunately, it's not a very happy one. In fact, I think it would come across as somewhat disturbing. I want it to abstractly revolve around a single dad and his two kids who go on a road trip. Hopefully, I will be able to expand upon this after I produce more pieces later on.

[T-Logic - Castle Guards]

This sure has quite an interesting atmosphere!

I've said this about your music before, but the style reminds me to some extent of the music I know and love from the old Crash Bandicoot games :)

Thus, I feel like this would make for perfect background music, in a game of some kind! This track also managed to paint a picture in my head better than many pieces of music do, probably because of the interesting blend of intruments and harmonies. I actually imagine someone or something trying to sneak past all of the Guards in a castle. I also imagine it being quite a dark castle, where the residing King probably isn't too nice a dude. So this could be used in a level of a game, where the objective is to get to the king, and avoide the guards or something xD

I like the simplicity too, as it allows you to really focus on just a few things that are going on at the same time! Other than that, you managed to build up quite an interesting rhythm here!

For the style of track that this is, I actually think that your melodies and intrument choices fit really well! As you said yourself, a little more automation wouldn't have hurt, but now without it, it kinda feel a bit more retro, so there's that xD
Bonus points for ending the track similarly to the way you opened it!

Keep them tracks coming, when you have time! Looking forward to hearing more :D!!!

TaintedLogic responds:

Aw, thanks for such a positive review LSD! It's funny - I actually logged into Newgrounds to listen to this track again while pondering what else to add to it before I turn in my midterm on Tuesday, only to see I had gotten some feedback on it! I'm glad it put a picture in your head - that's one of the many things I was going for here. I think I will add more automation, though. I might even trying humanizing it a bit with the velocities. We'll see...

Thanks again for the review! ^^