vekoN's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Above the Clouds]

good! if you want feedback i will say that the first chorus doesn't hit as hard as it could. i'd suggest adding more grit and weight to the synths in that part, maybe through some layered noise or saturation. failing that, maybe some more crashes, impacts, and swooshes would work

speaking of which, even though this is inspired by old trance, i do think some of the sounds, like the arp and lead, are too outdated and tacky. if you want to use them i'd suggest alternating them with more modern sounds, whether through layering or through playing the same melody on different instruments in different sections

lastly the mix feels a bit flat. i'd suggest emphasizing the midrange of the drums and lead to really make them pop out. some transient shaping would do wonders too

the melody is quite pretty, the orchestra sounds cool, and the b major(?) tonality is very appropriate for this mood. overall not bad!

G2961 responds:

Thanks for the feedback! I don't think you should take this track seriously, as I literally got bored today and wrote this track in 2 and a half hours.
I agree with you about the bland synths, I wanted to set the atmosphere of old Trance as much as possible, so I didn't try to add modern sounds.
It's almost B Major, or to be more precise, it's parallel to G# Minor.

[jungle, yes you like it.]

quite nice! i will say that the break chopping is a little too, well, choppy. i like to make my chops more fluid by letting the kicks and snares ring out and only slicing the breaks at the cymbal transients and the reverb air. this makes it almost sound like a real drummer as opposed to a sampled break. but that's my preference

the chord vamp is pretty if a little repetitive. the overall arrangement is short but stellar! overall very good

[Outside]

quite nice for a filler tune actually

the sustained vocal chops are very atmospheric, the chiptune synths are very pretty and sparkly, and the tonality really is quite vivid! the mixing doesn't sound bad at all either

[Shai Hulud (ft. Arponax)]

super intense and racy! the desert theme is really well done here, and the guitars are sick! i don't have anything critical to say really

[Gensokian Moon Mission]

sweet remix! you got a lot of mileage out of those 20 samples

it's always a treat to see tracker users here

[memori.]

i'll be honest, for a full flavor tune this doesn't feel that cohesive. the transitions aren't great, i'm getting whiplash from all the sudden changes. the sound design is alright but feels rather tacky and cheesy in places, especially the dubstep basses. the orchestral part sounds alright, but the riddim part doesn't; the gun pattern feels stale and too consistent, the gun sound itself isn't great, and the way the lead is offbeat in that part sounds questionable

for the transitions i'd suggest maybe teasing later sections in earlier ones, whether through reusing melodic figures or putting lowpassed sections in the background of other ones. i imagine you'd do this after you have the base sections written.

for the sound design tbh they sound too outdated and preset-y; i'd look into sound design tutorials from established modern producers and learn from those. i believe subtronics does those sometimes, virtual riot has before, and agony is another prod i like. you can also learn techniques for things like arrangement and flow from them

so yeah, it's alright but could be better. i hope my advice helps

AceTAD responds:

yeah, its just that i could only make this with the one week i was actually at home

the idea was just to put whatever was in my head rather than going for a specific melody or tune more for therapeutic reasons rather than making the best music possible. i am aware of the transition issue and the disconnection between ideas is the end product of random ahh thoughts with little connection between them
i definitely need to upskill but with little time spent at home where im already exhausted and whatnot from military training, it is genuinely a struggle

[inevitable, inescapable]

holy... yeah i'm a sucker for this type of expression

the production definitely feels like you, but in a more... bombastic, layered way. and i absolutely love that. the monologue throughout is just cathartic. the glitchy sounds are wonderful and compliment the speech so well. and that climax... it's amazing!

lastly i definitely understand your situation, i feel the same way quite often, i just don't really show it anymore. hopefully we'll find some hope through music

OVERSCORE responds:

If you like this expression, don't worry the album's full of it!
I've really grown in my production style, toward this indietronica niche genre that I can't stop listening to. The monologue (and really the whole track) was meant to wrap up the entire album experience so it had to be REALLY GOOD to close everything out.
Which, was a lot of pressure. I'm really glad you enjoyed this one, its really a relief.
I think this situation is common to introverted musicians like myself. The Asperger's also plays a big role. I just wanted to express, EVERYTHING I've been dealing with... so that someone out there, like you, could connect with it, and find a beautiful moment in it. I think that's my whole life goal at this point. Music is so much to me...

[spacewalk]

funny, at first i didn't see that this song is about space, i was picturing a sort of montage of nature and cityscape scenes with a retro color palette and filter

very calming! i love the sort of wistful aspect in the melodies and the textures

crispybatteryacid responds:

I'm glad you enjoyed!

[S?: squinty lifestyle]

i never thought i'd see you do brostep! or at least something like it

now my interest in the album has been piqued

[-Solarium City-]

cool and good. i really enjoyed the saturated ambient pads at the very end. the dubstep part actually doesn't sound bad at all! it almost feels like clutterfunk :)