LucidShadowDreamer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Windy]

This is indescribably beautiful. It causes my mind to wander, in the best of ways. Somehow, your playing reminds me of everything from Joe Hisaishi, French movie music, Cloud Atlas and Russian romantic composers to Chopin, with much more. I don't mean to compare you to others, as you of course have your own distinct style, but at least I've left you in good company.

I'm looking forward to hearing about some of your influences and thoughts behind writing this, at a later point. The composition really makes me turn the analytical part of my mind off, and lulls me into a journey of pure listening and enjoyment. That doesn't happen too easily for me with piano music, so that's already quite an achievement!

Perhaps you'd be okay with sharing the MIDI file with me at some point? I would love to play around with some parts of the piece at some point :3

Best of luck in this round! I shall wait for the results with excitement ^___^

Solacitude responds:

Thank you so much! This comment is extremely meaningful coming from you!

These comparisons! I don't know what to say, it's really heartwarming, especially that you are extremely good at piano! I'm by no mean at a Chopin, Liszt or Rachmaninoff level, and would have to work extremely hard if I wanted to learn many of their pieces, but romantic music did hit me at some point in the beginning of the learning journey. Prelude in E minor by Chopin was my initiation to the genre, discovering magnificent musicality in something so simple was eye opening! We're all inspired by others in some form and we all have our own unique potential style to develop, but being compared to to others when these others are among the greatest piano composers... I won't take it as an offense! :D

Then the influence behind this piece. Maybe I could share a bit of what was affecting my mind in the present during the composition process. There was the good news of getting back into the next round of the NGADM, the good reception of my music in general, way better than expected before, the pressure and excitement of facing you! Of creating something worthy of having a chance against your remarkable composition abilities. Then some bad stuff happened on personal level, and there's this omnipresent war. I may expand on it in PM a little bit along with a midi file :)

This wandering feeling, is what I also get while playing in a more free flowing way. It feels so good! When people listening get it too, even more when it connects with a fellow pianist, it gives all its purpose to share it and only encourages me to continue on this path.

Thank you very much for the kind words and feedback!
Best of luck to you too for this round!

[FNF Guns Reimagined]

It's nice to see something new from you! And it's even better that it's pretty fire :D

FinaLee responds:

Seeing a review from you just made my day, LSD. I hope all is well.

[Angels Without Wings]

It's always super fun to hear updated versions of old songs! It's one of those things I feel like many artists think about creating all the time, but rarely get to. You did get to it, however! It sounds so nice too <3

I hope you're doing well!!

ChronoNomad responds:

Lucid! It's always super fun to hear from you, too! This is just one of those tunes that I really loved when it first came bubbling up in my mind, and the idea of revisiting it has been silently teasing me for years. I guess that I finally decided to do something about it! :D I'm really happy to know that it's so well received.

I am doing quite well! Edging closer and closer to the big FIVE OH, if it can be believed. I sure don't feel as old as all that. Most days, anyway. Haven't really done anything on the production side of things since remixing this track, but I'm always tuned in to the musical tides. Stay awesome, mate! I pray that all is well with you and yours. <3

[My Angel]

I love the energy in this song! I'm looking forward to hearing the version with lyrics :3

PapoFuradoPA responds:

it's really nice read your comment because i'm your fan!

[Lordant - A Star Like Me]

This is absolutely beautiful.

Lordant responds:

Thank you :D

[AIM - Elegy to a Fallen Star]

This was a lovely listen. I especially like that your piece takes its time to build very naturally, as I feel that many compositions are rushing to get to the point (which of course I also understand). Sometimes it's nice to just be taken along on a journey, and you've achieved that here ^___^

ForgottenDawn responds:

Hey, thank you! The track originally had an 8-minute runtime that I then cut to its current length. I'm glad that my efforts of pacing it just right have paid off!

[Posterity]

What a nice surprise! I like the rhythm a lot; it becomes almost hypnotic after awhile. On to of that, the atmosphere makes me feel contemplative.

Phonometrologist responds:

Good to see you, friend. Thank you for stopping by to leave a few comments. Never taken for granted what you have to say. Rhythm is definitely fun to play (4:3). I did this a bit last minute for Piano Day, and I'm still considering on adding some melody via strings or another kind of instrument to hover over it. Since the piano is primarily in the middle and lower register, something brighter could help balance out the sound.

[Echoes of the Fallen]

The intro, interlude and outro (aka, the harp) of this reminds me of Sanctuary by Step, and I've always loved the atmosphere of that piece.

I think the mix in this piece is really pleasant, and warm. I really enjoy the choice of instruments; I feel like I've never heard you work with many of these before. You know I love compositions with some richness to them, and you've certainly accomplished that here. You've also managed to capture a somewhat Nordic feeling (perhaps your trip helped with that!), which feels very close to home for me. All of these reasons are why I chose to favourite this track!

If there's one thing that I would critique a bit is that there's something with the vocals that doesn't work perfectly for me, although I find exactly what that is quite hard to pinpoint. I don't know if it's just something with the samples, or maybe it's because of the aforementioned "Nordic" style, whereas the vocals are of a slightly different style (although I don't think it is that; I tend to like blending styles and experimenting). Maybe they sound a bit too rough to me in some way?

Either way, don't worry about it; it's a really small thing, and would immediately be remedied had you used a dedicated singer.

Fantastic work!

Everratic responds:

Thanks for the review! Maybe Jordi can provide vocals next time :)

[AIM - Lowlands Scrapyard]

I like that you bravely interpreted the art in your own way instead of doing something very expected! It's also a fun song in and of its on right :D
Good luck ^____^

Everratic responds:

I'm glad you appreciate this direction. Thank you ^_^

[Sehnsucht]

I love the combination of styles/sounds in this piece. Reading the description, I think you managed to convey your feelings well (lovely and fitting title, btw). I wish 2022, despite the continuing chaos and uncertain future, will bring you lots of joy and meaning.

P.S. I love that this loops so well! Shame about the NG player, but I downloaded the piece so that I can listen to it on Winamp for however long I want to :3

Phonometrologist responds:

It's really good to see you. I miss our friendship and it's my fault. Time has been quite elusive for me this year, and I regrettably have not been keeping up with the people that mean the most to me here. Your presence reminds me of that so thank you. As for 2022, I hope it likewise becomes as meaningful for you as I find it does for me. Let chaos only be confined in one's mind so it can be brought to order. What happens externally shall not affect it.