descara's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[KKS - Wings of Discovery]

Nice and mellow! The clarinet really needs some expression (either recorded with a keyboard's expression wheel or hand-written in Cubase/etc) data though, woodwind with a flat, even tone sounds incredibly synthy. The rest of the orchestra also feels a bit unnatural, some randomness in velocity values goes a long way to make it live, though the best thing is recording the parts with a MIDI keyboard if you ask me.

The panning feels a bit odd, especially with regards to the strings, it almost feels like the same sections come from different sections at different times, and the stereo image feels a bit wide and chaotic. I'd recommend trying out a more traditional seating plan (L - R: vln 1, vln 2, vla, vlc, cb) and going from there, perhaps it won't work with your goals but at least you've tried it! Otherwise the mix and production feels quite nice. I like your reverb!

The re-orchestration of the melody with strings provides a really nice variation! Overall though, the track gets highly repetitive, and a lot of the segment goes on for quite a while without something to really keep the listeners attention. At 03:38 for example., one would perhaps expect something like a second theme, related to the first theme. Hearing the same theme, especially with the melody again carried by strings (albeit with some extra "fills" from the rest of the orchestra?), is a bit dull.

At 04:40, the piano, and later the flute, provides some much welcome instrumental variation, but some thematic variation would really lift the track.

Just some thoughts that I hope you think are constructive, still a good job with the track!

KKSlider60 responds:

Thank you for your detailed insight!
Of course they sound synthy, I don't have a private orchestra in my garage nor Two Steps From Hell doing music for me (and even then it would still sound unnatural). XD I didn't want it to sound realistic, rather dreamy and abstract like the rest of my tracks. The legato strings suffer from velocity and attack jumps I cannot control and I am well aware of it, as well as some other samples being rather flat on their own. I just hope for a future upgrade, and well, I tried to bring the best of what Reason can do. :)
Thanks again
KKS

[Criminal Insanity]

Very nice! Great mix. Some things I thought off while listening:

The new tempo at 00:17 feels just a tad slow, it drains a lot of the energy established in the start.

Other than that, some more randomization in the MIDI, either by recording with keyboard or hand-editing, would be nice. Right now, repeated notes stand out a whole lot and really reveals it as a digital orchestration.

Overall, great job!

[Baroque Invention]

Pretty nice! Some things I reflected over:

First off, it sounds like the second statement of the theme comes in the dominant rather than the tonic key, which would make this feel like more of a fugue than an invention. Furthermore, at the second statement, there's all of a sudden three parts whereas in a fugue the parts would come in one by one. An invention in the style of Bach would on the other hand only be 2-part through the whole piece, or in the case of keyboard sinfonias (often called 3-part inventions), start out 2-part with a third voice coming in after the statement of the theme.

Formalities aside, there's a very drastic intensification of both rythm and polyphony up to 00:16, where it abruptly ends. A more gradual build-up would be nice, as well as preserving the energy of this section - for example with a straight 16-note line rather than the punctuated rythm. Preserving movement and never really stopping to breathe is something quite characteristic of baroque music. Overall, this piece felt like it halted up a bit too much and too often.

Other than that, the episodic material could have been a bit more connected to the theme. Nonetheless, a very nice first venture into baroque polyphonic music!

SoundChris responds:

Thank you very much for your review and for the absolutely constructive and applicable critics!

Of course everything you said about the formalia is right. I didnt try to bring in a consequent symmetric structure like it would be imperative within this age.
Accordingly to find a suitable apellation was quite hard: Its not a prelude, fuge or invention at all. I decided to call it invention just because of the translation from the latin word :D I also did not consciousely use stylistic devices which would have been integrated in this age.

Until now i have just interpreted many pieces from bach, scarlatti etc., but never tried to create the "sound-feeling" by myself. So this piece should just be understood as some kind of "stylistic-sound-test" or something like that.

The rhythm- and polyphony-breaks are the result of three little theme-tests within the project. First i wanted to create a simple fuge with 2-part, but then could not brace myself together and wanted more action immediately and integrated a third part, that brings better opportunities to get some "drama" in (or i have just played to many 3-lined preludes and fuges from the "well-tempered piano" and wanted the same feeling) :D.

To be honest: The only part i am rather content with is this "third part" of the piece beginning at 0:28. Maybe i will sit down and work over the piece in a seriouse way, but unfortunately i have to learn to much for my exam richt now :/ I think constructing a baroque-piece in a stylistic correct way is one of the most ambitious projects a composer can do, because you have to work really consequent, disciplined and clean and within this acerbity you have to be creative and conclusive. Its not possible to decive the audience with virtuosity or something - it would be noticed immediately :D

I think your review was really constructive and musical mature. Tell me if i am wrong, but after i have listened to your pieces - specially "dark enigma", i am shure to 99.9 percent of you being a professional?

Best wishes
Chris

[Single Gesture]

Rather nice

Nice and soft for the most part, but the staccato chords are a bit of an eyesore (earsore ? :>), they're quite jarring as a listener and makes it harder to enjoy the otherwise relaxed feel. I think playing them just a tad softer would've lended a lot more class to the track.

The cello is a nice touch and adds some dimension, but it's really low in the mix and sounds rather programmed - the patch/sample sounds decent at times in itself so I'd try record a MIDI performance, including expression data.

Nice playing by the way! Keep it up.

[Rabbit's hole]

Nice

Relaxing and soft, but it's very reverby and the playing could really use some tightening up in some parts - did you record using a click track? Even if it might be boring it's good practice.

Liked the writing and melancholic feel to it anyhow! Great for this chilly October day.

Shadeborn responds:

tnx)...I used Adobe Audition to record it...and yes, some reverb...maybe alittle much of it)...For october days...yes...you feeling it like I do, man!)

[Piano: Our Last Days Here]

Nice but problematic

It's a nice mellow, piece, but it has a few fundamental problems.

First and foremost, it's incredibly repitive - I was expecting a heavily contrasting B section to break out, but it sticks to more or less the same thematic material throughout. The middle part does have it charm with the intensication of note values, but thematically it feels pretty much the same which makes it rather dreary as well.

The left hand sticks to the same register a lot, and at times the right hand as well, which increase the repetitiveness of the piece.

The aforementioned intensification at 03:26 or so is pretty nice, but personally it feels very unprepared. Building up to that moment could greatly increase the impact it has.

Programmingwise, I mostly felt the sustain pedal was over-used and at times the right hand a bit too weak.

If you like writing in this style, I'd really recommend taking a look at a couple of Chopin nocturnes or similar - for example, Chopin's op. 9 no. 1 and the no. 20 C# minor nocturne (posthumous opus), as well as musical form in general - for example the aria from Bach's Goldberg Variations for AB form and, say, this sarabande for ABA: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISMd4v rblYM#t=01m38s (sorry for linking my own upload, no other decent version on the 'tube). Most Chopin nocturnes are also in ABA-form.

Hope you don't take my feedback to harshly, the reason I wrote it down was that I rather liked the core idea of your piece!

[M&L: PIT: Elder Shroob]

Urgent and dramatic

Certainly a dramatic feel to it! The arrangement sounds nice throughout.

However, it sounds like you've got a bit of a problem with false relations, especially in the main theme/first 4 measures, between the choir and violins. It's essentially a phenomenon where the same scale degree occurs in two forms, in two different parts, simultaneously or close to each other. For example, one part (say violas) play a sustained note on the lowered submediant/6th scale degree, while another (say violins) play a sequence involving the fifth, raised sixth and raised seventh degree.

Ever from the baroque it's been used deliberately to great effect, for example in the form of a trill alternating between the lowered 6th and lowered 7th degree over a dominant 7th chord (the false relation here being between raised 7th and lowered 7th), but taken to its extreme it can invoke an unintended, very funky and odd sensation in the listener.

[NP - Kayle, the Judicator]

Omnious, dramatic and inspiring all in one!

Very nice build-up throughout the track, but it's got an overall quite tinny quality to it which kinda hinders it from being the epic it ought to be - I'd experiment with reverb settings, perhaps especially early responses and EQ settings.

Would have loved to hear what you had in mind for the ending but a deadline is a deadline!

ProudAardvark responds:

That's what I get for trying to mix on headphones at 1 in the morning! An astute comment, seeing if I can't fix it up a bit before the deadline here. TY!

[=WannaDance?=]

Pretty neat stuff

Liked the drastic transition in mood, however, regarding the intro: not a huge fan third chord voicing. Not sure, but sounds almost like 2nd inversion (with a 4th between the lower voices?) which makes it rather uneven and all. Having some trouble making out what happens on the two last beats of the last measure but it's a bit jarring as a first-time listener.

As for the rest, I'm not very knowledgable about techno, but it sounds pretty good to me, except the wub could perhaps use a little less of the lowest low end and more low mids, on the breakdown first and foremost. That, and some parts felt like they could just a tad of support in the lower registers, not neccesarily something bassy as the wub, but just a little something - the 01:43 part for example, was nice in itself, but felt slightly off coming from the 01:31 which wasn't very bassy either.

And on a totally random note, are you stratkat from UG?

Daydream-Anatomy responds:

Thanks:3
I know what you mean with the spectrum being a little empty during what I'd call the 2nd verse, I might fix that, this is just a loop with the outline for the song it in, though I won't make any drastic changes if I decide to build upon this. But I think I might like that part how it is, idk.

And yea I'm stratkat on pretty much everything, UG, psn, newgrounds, other stuff idr.^^

[Odd Soul Illuminate (MuteMath)]

Remix with a personality

Great remix! Not that I've got any experience remixing, but from where I'm standing it sounds real nice. Comparing to the original it certainly has its own style, too.

Some things:

Love the filtered feel to the verse, but the chorus stands out somewhat roughly in comparison. The metal percussion, most prevalent in the first minute, sounds a bit too sharp, even taking into account (I hope) that my headphones and speakers are a bit trebly.

Personally I'd have liked a slightly harsher synth for the synth, but that's much up to taste as well.

Anyway, enjoyed the hell out of it!