Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Amiss]

LucidShadowDreamer, Amiss: 10,9,10,9 (38/40)

I didn't even realize you snuck into this contest, who let you in LSD? Was is Annette? I'll let it swing this time BUT I'M KEEPING AN EYE ON YOU, DON'T TOUCH ANYTHING. I haven't even listened to your song yet as per when I wrote this. I noticed your name on the score sheet, got excited, and skipped ahead to write this initial paragraph. I hope you enjoyed it.

Ok, now I'm listening to your music. Haunting and beautiful, colorful. Despite such a small waveform you got some really loud elements and I love that. Many users gave me tiny mixdowns but at max volume this hits my ears pleasantly. Not too loud but not so quiet that I can't make out the finer details on a cell phone. I suppose these mix elements are a side effect from the one instrument you chose to write with. Your melody stylings stand out powerfully, a strength of yours I'm familiar with. I reviewed one of your songs a while back and critiqued your use of synths which are not a strength of yours but I'm always happy to hear people go outside their comfort zone. I didn't feel like this song ventured too far from that comfort zone of yours, this might have been a wonderful track to practice some gentle synth patches and evolving panning data. Dammed if you do damned if you don't, right?

The clouds in the image could imply the movement of wind. That tree is either beat red because it's a Japanese maple or it's fall. Dampness is common in the fall, the water colors makes the road look damp. The instrument patch you used almost sounds like windchimes. You have the orchestral chops to make use of chimes but you didn't. Cymbal swells could have been used to gently crescendo into transitions evoking wind and light. With panning data, those swells could have implied ghostly movements or vapor. The image uses light and shadow very well, gentle bass drums could have darkened the mix up a little to echo the potency of the darker colors. You left it up to the melodies to do all the work of creating all the contrast A VERY BOLD DECISION LSD. WHO LET YOU INTO THIS CONTEST? THIS IS WHY I DON'T TRUST YOU. GOING ALL EXPERIMENTAL FOR A CONTEST YOU COULD HAVE STUCK TO YOUR GUNS AND OWNED. This is why I love you. The competition this year is steep, and I'm trying to be fair to everyone. I hounded other competitors in reviews to write more about their work. You were very brave to say "my personal interpretation of the artwork differs somewhat from the creator's" because I feel like that showed a small flaw. You didn't perfectly embody the spirit of the original illustration despite doing it some serious love and justice. A church bell would have fit the scene well because we have headstones and even one with a cross. The artist aimed to make an illustration that showed "letting go of a loved one's loss," and she spoke of happiness. The sparse but brooding mood your dissonant notes created was odd in comparison. Though the artist was trying to illustrate a positive scene the melodies you used created feelings of unease or lingering. I honor your bravery to make a contradictory statement in the author's comments, so many people chose to say nothing of substance or value. One or two persons mentioned nothing at all. You got my emotion points for toying with me.

I'm sorry I'm not handing you a perfect score but I'm trying my hardest to keep those rare to be fair to everyone. This contest has been a small nightmare to judge because I impetuously decided that I would leave everyone a personalized review like this. You're still one of my favorites Lucid, I wish you the best and may you have a wonderful day <3

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Firstly, I wish to apologise for the delayed response. I try to reply to every review, but when someone has put so much effort in to writing one, I also want to sit down and properly take time to respond. It’s been a while since someone took such time to really put their interpretation of my work into words, so I must thank you for that; it’s nice to feel heard.

As you say, nowadays I feel more like a shadow that lurks in the darkness of Newgrounds, only to share a dream here and there (perhaps for contests or events), so one has to remain lucid or my work will pass by unnoticed.

As for the waveform, I’m guessing that many people master the tracks to -0.1 db, or perhaps even 0. I believe the NG player waveform visual might exponentially grow the closer you get to 0. I master my tracks at -1db, since this better circumvents issues with certain playback devices, and I find achieves enough loudness. These are just some thoughts I haven’t really tested too thoroughly, however! Naturally, it tends to be easier to mix a single instrument.

You caught me trying to stay within my comfort-zone. Well, rather, I chose to stay close to it whilst still experimenting with something I found novel and worthwhile. The methodology brings the Zone of Proximal Development to mind. The main reason I didn’t dare venture too far is because I was travelling, and in Portugal I had no access to Cubase. This meant I had to use FL studio which didn’t require that dongle I forgot back in Finland :p

I see that my (admittedly only slight) worry of people not really ‘getting’ my choices were unfounded with you as a judge. It was nice to mentally listen to the edits you verbally added to the piece! A good reminder that there is never really a complete song, as a single addition or retraction could completely change it, and one could argue for eons which choice is superior.

Whilst there might be some peace in death, I find it is rarely surrounded by merely one emotion. The whole array of feeling might be present in differing degree, for different people. All of this is difficult to understand, even more so to convey. This piece is my attempt to come at least one step closer to conveying that complexity, still falling far short, of course.

Never be sorry for not giving a perfect score! Always give what you feel is right <3

You wished me a wonderful day, but as I am so late in responding, I must wish that you have had a great month (precisely, in fact), and that you on top of that will have a great day.

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!

[AIM - Dusk]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Dryest, Dusk: 9,8,9,10 (36/40)

Lmao, massive relevancy points for that non stop rain. You didn't need to spam it all over the track but I laughed a little because of it. So many competitors missed an opportunity to make use of atmospheric samples, you went the opposite direction and Saran wrapped the entire track with one. It's honestly a little distracting from all the other elements. You wrote wonderful melodies and contemplative Jazz. I'm a huge fan of Mouse On The Keys, I like to point people towards them when someone manages to write a sound so similar. While the rain and thunder gave you massive relevancy points, I took off points to "Composition/Structure" and "Production" because that same element just brings everything else down a little. You handed me high-class down-tempo jazz and then suffocated it a little with that storm. For a guy called "Dryest" you ironically drowned the mix with that massive atmospheric sample. It's why I mentioned "I laughed a little because of it."

It would have done just as well at the intro and the outro, without playing entirely throughout the track. If it was your intention to depress everything with it's ever present and menacing omnipotence, you should have said so. I really dug into people during the review process for not making use of those author's comments to direct the audience's attention and confirm inspirations. The primary theme of this contest is "inspiration" and if you leave it entirely up to the judges to draw their conclusions you might miss the chance to captivate our feelings. Newgrounds is a community of like minded misanthropes, creative juggernauts, and vagabonds. We're like a crappy family sometimes, we'll argue or disagree but we still like to know more about each other. Back in 2013, an original AIM rule involved reaching out to the artists and asking for permission to write music to their illustrations. The goal was to build bonds, make new friends, and strengthen our shitty social skills. I'm reminded of that because so many users made the mistake of assuming that the music spoke for itself but there is always something to be gained by having a voice. I took one point off of emotion for missing an opportunity to connect to your audience but don't worry, I did it to like 90% of the people in this contest to stay fair. Don't be afraid to have a voice for those that will pay attention to it.

My college advisor and video professor at Alfred University had once taken a moment to inspire her students to blog about their work and several of them recommended publishing books. It's not necissarily an artist's primary focus but writing about your work is an emotional hook for those that can read. A successful artist can't exist in a vacuum. Publishing content is an important aspect of our lives and everyone does it now via facebook or twitter. It can be a little annoying in this day and age when digital opinions and thoughts seem to oversaturate everyone's lives but you're an artist and so am I. From this day on I challenge you to have more of a voice, if for anyone it's for your peers. I don't always read a wall of text but there are times when I do and am usually grateful for it.

All in all I hope this review was helpful in someway. I despise coming across like a raging bitch, have a good one Mr. Dry!

Dry responds:

Thank you for the review, ngl this made me think a lot more than I thought it would have otherwise

[AIM - Sweet Tooth]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Codefreq, Sweet Tooth: 10,9,10,10

For a theme song I feel like this was very well done, possibly even perfect. I looked at Ortani's original artist's comments about wanting to make "something cute and fun" and you managed to echo that very uniquely. Probably the most common critique I gave people is that they didn't make use of the author's comments to say a few things about how the art might have inspired elements in the music but you managed to make a song that spoke for itself better than most others. Music doesn't always speak for itself and an artist can always direct attention to key ideas. An artist can play with the judges emotions by adding that small human element. We love on our music much like a parent might dote on their kids. We love what we do and so many people just missed that opportunity to appeal to our feelings. I was asked to judge "emotion" after all and I take everything into consideration. We're a community, cult like at times. You didn't say much so I'm a little upset that I'm stuck over here doing all the work of trying to make the connections to the inspirations but at least you wrote a song that appeals to the imagery almost perfectly. Those kawaii fem vocals suit the Candi character and yes, I factored the silly candy puns. "Chew on this," "take that suckers." Very cute and in style. Jeez Code, you wrote a good one.

The music has an edge to it while still staying sweet and cute. I suppose the figure in the illustration could be ready to use that loli-pop as a weapon. A little Harley Quinn, a peppering of fun Adam West Batman high action orchestrations. I felt like there might have been minor issues in the mix but I'm not sure I can offer any meaningful feedback to improve it. I mean, the vocals sound like they were recorded in a big ass room. Aside from a negligible amount of room space on those voice recordings, the kick drum might have benefit from some more attention and power. I'm not sure if you sidechain at all but in EDM genres the kick drum is a massive part of the mix down and via sidechaining will push everything else out of the way. I'm used to heavy, charismatic EDM kicks. Compared to the energy and colors everything else has, the kick drum is the one element I can gripe about confidently. It's just not quite powerful enough, sorry my love.

I used that as my logic for taking off one point from your score, it really hurt to do. I really wanted to give this a perfect score but I'm trying to be as fair as possible to everyone in this contest. One last time, this song is so good. Have a wonderful day Codefreq and keep rocking out wonderfully.

Codefreq responds:

Wow, thank you so much for the detailed review! :D

In terms of inspiration, there isn’t really that much to say that hasn’t already been said. I saw the character, who’s name I assumed was Candi, based on the title of the art, and thought the character would fit in a 2D action game like Dust: An Elysian Tail or Metroid, and I wanted to convey the energy and vibe I felt would be appropriate based on what I was seeing through the instrumentation I chose to compose with. As with my other music, this piece is an audio-version reflection of both what I saw visually in the existing picture and what kind of corresponding animated story was playing in my head.

I did use the “music box” sound heard throughout the song to reflect the sound of an ice-cream truck driving by, given the “sweets” and “candy” themes of the drawing. Also, the lines in the song were intended to be possible catch phrases that Candi would say during combat.

I’ll keep in mind your tips about the production. Thanks again. :)

[AIM 2022 - Rock 'n' Roll]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
UncouthkidAC, Rock 'N' Roll: 10,5,10,10 (35/40)

Damn, you and Yoshiii343 got that teen grunge-indy-angst vibe down perfectly. Scott Pilgrim meets the Pillows FLCL OST. Your song brought a huge smile to my face. As someone that used to play a lot of acoustic drums for noisy youth bands I can respect the genre. Truthfully though the fidelity is going to make this hard to listen to on repeat. These high frequencies are scratching my ear drums painfully and makes everything sound a little too thin. Affording the equipment and space for high fidelity live studio sounds is a painful hurdle. You got wonderful song writing chops and I'll give you high points for everything except production. If you play a live set at a venue, ask if they can record via the mixing board.

How many mics are you putting on that drum kit? As an EDM artist I can tell you that auxiliary percussion like hi-hats and crash cymbals can be panned left or right to reflect the drum kit's location or balance the stereo field. Tom fills and rolls can emulate a right to left movement, with the first tom panned in a direction and the final panned opposite with the middle tom sitting in the middle of the field creating dynamic breathing room in the mix. That kind of sound fidelity requires more mics than you probably have. The first three songs I uploaded to Newgrounds in 2005 had maybe two microphones on my drum kit and the recordings were so embarrassingly flat. We recorded those songs in a dark basement using an old 8 track mixer that was given to us with a handful of microphones. I know the struggle all too well.

I can't overlook bad production just because I'm aware of the struggles while romantically remembering that time in my life. I'd recommend researching how to get better stereo recordings but you can still fix stuff up a little with digital tools. I'm not sure what programs you're using to mix it all but if you have the ability to slap a graphic EQ onto things I might recommend it. You're mix looks fairly full but there's still room for more bass and an EQ can help boost those lows. EDM producers have the ability to just drop fidelity tools on everything but you can also make use of those same digital tools to a righteous degree. If you have less mics you can try to record parts separately, would recommend structural elements such as drums first. Mics can be shared between instruments and voices but the more recordings you can divide the band into the better. Heck, one guitar can be recorded via two mics, one panned left and one right to get a much stronger sound. I do the same thing with my synths when I make dubstep but many a guitarist I've talked to attests to the efficiency of that stereo recording technique.

I loved hearing this track. Thank you for sticking it to "the man" and writing some old-school punk/grunge recorded in the same teen-basement energy that spawned the genres in the 80s. I'm sorry for being critical over the mix quality but I feel like I've adequately explained myself and will move on with a huge smile. Thank you for providing something unique to this contest and have a wonderful day Uncouth <3

UncouthkidAC responds:

Hey! Just wanted to say so sorry this took me so long to respond to! I had been away from a proper computer for a minute and really hadn’t time to go on Newgrounds much!

Thank you so so much for such an indepth critique of this track! I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and give your thoughts. It really means the world to me! Makes me really happy to hear that this track brought you some joy!

I think I totally agree with everything you had to say about the track including the things that didn’t vibe with you! I think something I’ve been trying to learn recently is that just because I like a crunchy punk aesthetic/sound doesn’t mean it will be nice to listen to. A conversation I had with a lot of people I showed the track to went something along the lines of:

“I really like it! It’s very catchy but it kind of sounds like shit!”
“Thanks it's supposed to sound that way!”
“... Okay. but it still sounds like shit…”
haha So definitely something I would like to get better at in capturing that punky vibe while still being enjoyable to listen to.

What I will say was kind of an unintentional compliment on your part is those drums were entirely sequenced digitally! That main break on the verse was sampled and chopped up from the Zero G Sound Sense Grime Scene sample pack and then whenever the drums kicked in on the verse/Choruses it was mainly the Spitfire Audio LABS drum kit with some subtle humanization added to the midi sequence and velocity and then layered with some samples from my DR-770 run through the filter on my SP-404sx for some added grit. Makes me really happy to hear that they sounded convincing enough to be thought of as an acoustic kit that we mic’d up!

Once again thank you so much for taking the time to really digest and give your thoughts on the track! You’ve given me some great pointers and a lot to think about with my production! I hope you also have a nice day Quarl!

[AIM - A Skilled Warrior]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
AceMantra, A Skilled Warrior: 10,10,10,10 (40/40)

Yay, someone I recognize! The community here evolves so much as the years pile on, recognizing someone often feels good and rare. Unfortunately I can't give you any additional points simply because I recognize you, sorry love. +0 points :c

This is the second Japanese-style art inspired track in this contest, you both wrote very strongly. Something the other composer made use of was rubato. Traditional Japanese music had a very flexible pulse or even lacked any sense of concrete timing. This was an emotive tool traditional Japanese composers used. I was told in college that a phrase in Japanese flute was divided not by a traditional Western count or pulse but by the length of time a player took between breaths. I doubt the other judges would be aware of that but I gave high relevancy scores to Azurenite for nailing that element. You took a very different contemporary Western orchestral approach with Japanese instruments tied into it. Though you have a very "metal" approach it still works nicely with that art. The artist chose to paint with black ink, reflecting traditional Japanese calligraphy but the scenery is high action. One of the figures is seen leaping into the air while the brush strokes imply comic like movement. The art is both traditional and contemporary. I can very easily connect the energy of the art to the energy of your song. I can't take off any points to relevancy, the two creations are near perfect for each other.

You know what, I've written so many long winded reviews at this point that I'm willing to venture giving you a perfect score to just save myself a little time, COME FIGHT ME AIM PEOPLE. I could nitpick the guitars sounding a little flat or electronic but I respect the fact that you included all the software tag so I could look it up. I could nitpick small elements here and there but the production is honestly great enough that it really stands out from the majority of your competition. Professional work, inspired sounds, and killer mix. You did great work Mantra. I'm moving on from this contest with a small nod towards your skills and ambitions. Good job Ace!

AceMantra responds:

I finally have some time to reply. Sorry for the wait.

First of all, thank you so much for all your hard work and in-depth reviews! It's not easy to go through all those submissions and even harder to write reviews for each one.

You hit the nail right on the head. I decided to mix something traditional with something more modern, much like how the image was. I experimented with some things new to me with this piece; using Hirajoshi and Blues scales in a couple parts for example.

I'm already hearing things I would do differently with this song, but that is part of self-improvement. Thank you again. Keep being awesome, and don't stop creating.

[Lost [Extended] (AIM)]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
V1ZION, Lost [Extended]: 8,6,8,8 (30/40)

Thank you very much for posting that instrument/synth data, I like to know that artists are staying honest when they write their music. I used to mod Newgrounds audio in 2009 and an artist that can talk about their creative process to any degree comes with a stamp of authenticity. It's super easy for users to upload stolen content but posting the extra data is a power move that says "I'm real mothafaka." You can save yourself a little time by using preset tags upon upload to clear up what tools and instruments you're using instead of writing that all in the author's comments. Just pointing that out to help you in the future, make some preset tags :3

The category I'm taking the most points out of will be production. Despite the lo-fi chiptune genre fitting the scene nicely, it wasn't necessarily impressive. Chiptune music in this day and age can be surprisingly immersive and complex. This illustration has shooting stars, I'd have used glittering arps with panning data moving from right to left to emulate those comets. Stars twinkle, chiptune synths can be used to gently paint the illusion of twinkling stars (or chimes if you want a more orchestral sound). Though sound doesn't travel through space there could have been some low frequency groans to emulate celestial planetary bodies moving. Explosions could emulate the excitement from a supernova. The planet looks gassy and a simple white noise synth strobing around could have given me the feeling of swirling gas giants. Please don't tell the artist I said what I'm about to say but I'm not very impressed with the illustration, you might have been better served seeking out some of that high-class animated pixel art, so many users used visual movement to their advantage. The music is a little boring and so is the art you chose but is that a good thing? I'm a little torn.

I remember reviewing this track early in the contest before it was decidedly removed for whatever reasons. I wish I didn't delete that review so I'd have something look back on and gauge improvements. I'm giving you decent emotion points for just taking the time and care to put genuine blood, sweat, and tears into your work. Writing music is an emotional process, we artists love our creations much the same way that parents love their children so I love seeing that. I took off a couple points though because the overall vibes just felt a little odd. The author's comments section is your chance to draw connections that we judges might not have noticed. What was the purpose behind the drums? I know it's a song writing contest but sometimes songs are better without needless contemporary drum rhythms. In your shoes, I'd have drawn a connection to a ship flying through space, that the drums could have driven the song much in the same way an engine drives a spacecraft. You wrote a fair bit in the author's comments, I took many points off while judging other contestants for saying nothing at all but you might have done yourself some more service by talking about how the music reflected the art. Music doesn't always speak for itself. The "emotion" points I'm being generous with revolved around what you did manage to write. Thank you for saying what you did say. The melodies were enough to make a small emotional connection for me but this track could have been many other things as well. The track is fairly low energy but even ambiance can be amazingly colorful.

I hope this review doesn't come across negatively, I do love hearing what the Newgrounds audio community is up to. I hope I notice your work some more in the future. Salutations V1ZION and keep finding joy in writing music!

V1ZION responds:

Oh shoot, thanks so much for your review. Um, I wasn’t really expecting this lol. I will keep the tags in mind for future reference.

To be honest, I was thinking about the overall feeling of the art and not looking at the tiny details of it. I kinda regret that now reading this. Also, definitely not telling the artist you said that, mm-hmm. Definitely not…

You reviewed the unextended version? Never even saw it lol. I know this song could’ve been so much better considering all of these things you just said, but I’m still happy with this. Who knows? I might just come back to this.

Man, what you’ve said in this review is really making me think lol. Thanks again for your review. :)

[Reunion - Pico vs BF FNF Song]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
TheSWOLEST, Reunion - Pico vs BF FNF Song: 5,6,1,5 (17/40)

I never played FnF but I spent a fair amount if time listening to kawaiisprite so I'm aware of what to expect from that genre of sound. I'm sorry to open up by saying that the art you choose was weak (I'm sorry because apparently you two are friends and I don't like being hurtful or meanspirited). The image was uploaded sideways and I can see the Dell logo, is this literally a quick cellphone picture? This is painful to look at because I have to crick my neck 90 degrees, I'm too old for that yo. There is a ton of FnF fan art you could have chosen but you chose to represent your friend and honestly, it wasn't the best decision for a contest. Your friend needs to improve their illustrative chops. The low emotion score comes from my general annoyance that I felt by the image your trying to claim inspired you.

I quickly looked at your catalogue to try and get a better idea of your breadth or what kind of music you make and you only have three songs. I like it when artists challenge themselves by going outside their comfort zone but I have no idea what your comfort zone even is. If you stick around and get to know the audio community a little more I'll try to keep an eye out for you, but at the moment I'm not sure what to think. You got some inspired jungle sounds, the handbag melody, pitched up vocals representing kawaiisprite's style but all I'm hearing is an emulation of kawaii's music style. The production was OK but I'm not necessarily impressed by it with everything else in mind. Your panning data was very experimental, static panning was one of my biggest gripes for other contestants so great job with that. Masterful panning gives you all sorts of production boons but I'm not hearing the pay off this time. Panning a sound with a bias to the left or right can create the illusion that a sound is louder than it actually is so a sound that you pan can then be turned down a little to make room in the mix for more sounds. Panning can create the illusion of movement. All I'm hearing is some random strobing and it doesn't echo the art at all. The art you choose can inspire all sorts of musical devices or ideas and I'm just not getting a lot of inspiration from the art. I see poorly executed art (sorry again Therealskeptic) and the music just emulates kawaiisprite's eccentric music. If anything it sounds like the music from FNF inspired you more than the art did.

I hope to see some more from you in the future, I'm a big DNB nerd and I can hear all sorts of potential from you but challenge yourself next year, listen to some of the winning pieces from this contest, and read some of the other reviews to see what others did well. With some additional awareness you could become a very strong composer. I hope this review was helpful. I'm giving everyone the time and attention they deserve but I tend to write less when something makes me happy. If I'm judging this again next year aim to shut me up with flawless work. You have a good day Mr. SWOLEST and may your ambitions bear fruit from the metaphorical tree of success and love!

TheSWOLEST responds:

Trust me fnf stuff is a lot different from sprites normal work & yes I was tryna emulate that instead of KS' normal work. And thx for the tips on panning. I'll definitely apply that to my future songs. The inspiration was the characters in the art squaring off. I've only been making music for 6 months so seeing constructive feedback like this is great! This review has it's issues but overall it's a great critique & I'll apply it in the future! TYSM!

[AIM - Red Dawn]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
HiddenVris, Red Dawn: 7,6,6,4 (23/40)

Probably my most common issue while judging this contest is that artists didn't take advantage of the author's comments section to mention their intentions or what might have inspired them. Though I can sit here and make guesses at how the song relates to the image, as the artist you can draw your own connections and guide the judges a little. It's a lot harder for me to take off points for "relevancy" or "emotion" if I can see that you took the time to really try reflecting the image. Personally, words can guilt me into handing out better scores because I know what it's like to have a vision. Conveying what it was about the art that inspired you isn't always easy with music alone. Were your instruments supposed to represent something physical like machines, clouds, or animals? Did the image seem relaxing and therefor you wrote relaxing music? I'm in the dark over here trying to figure out how the music you wrote reflects an image of a sunrise behind a city on the ocean front.

This is the perfect scenery for samples of gulls cawing and waves gently crashing. You could even have used a synthesizer to generate the white noise necessary to emulate those waves. I notice some of the flags are blowing in the wind, you could have sampled some windchimes. Though I felt the relaxing nature of the track was ideal, I don't necessarily feel like the song and the image are inseparable from each other. That synth/drum section in particular confused me to death. The song might have been better with those percussive elements muted. You wrote such lovely piano and pad melodies, you wouldn't have been shooting yourself in the foot if you just replaced those pseudo aggressive sections with more of that melodic genius. As a drummer myself it always hurts to tell people "mute the drums" but it's a valid critique. In the future, you can defend these kinds of musical devices in the authors comments by drawing direct parallels and that would make it harder on us to give out lower scores. Use every tool you got.

You wrote a very quiet mix. It would have worked with this scenery but I like to tell people "you can maximize your spectrum and still write relaxing music or soundscapes." You could have used panning data to emulate the space in the image, a wave crashing SFX can move from left to right and put us directly in the path of the water as if we're standing in it. Gull samples could be "far away" and biased to the left or right to emulate location. This song could have been amazing, you have some of the right elements in place that would have worked very well with some of the other ideas mentioned above. I feel bad giving you a relatively low score that I didn't want to keep taking points off but the more I wrote, the more I did. I'm sorry if this comes across as rude or hurtful. I only want to see the Newgrounds audio community make the best music they can possibly make. You've got some ideas to wrestle with but I know you'll be a very strong contender in the future if you keep up with it. Hopefully I'll see some more from you in the future, live long and prosper HiddenVris! Always upwards :3

HiddenVris responds:

Don't worry! I never felt this review as something rude or hurtful , instead , I thank you for your feedback and believing in me! I hope to participate in the next AIM and it'll be with a better work. Again , thank you

[AIM - Sprawl]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
isostatic1111, Sprawl: 9,9,10,9 (37/40)

I like that you included a few thoughts about your work. I'm nailing people hard for not writing enough or anything at all. This competition can be very hard to judge but making use of that author's comments space is a secret emotional tool to endear yourself to the judges. Not that all judges are guaranteed to take note of author's comments but I totally did. Had to sit here trapped for days listening to everyone's music. I took everything into account to judge as fairly as possible. Ultimately, there is no harm in saying something about your work or what inspired you so good job on using your words isostatic! Porygon is a favorite oddball Pokemon of mine, I felt like you wrote an inspired soundscape that reflected the subject uniquely. That percussion was all over the place and could have easily echoed the mechanical sounds that a wall clock might make. You actually missed a small opportunity to sample an actual grandfather clock or something similar. You could have opened up and ended the song with a ticking clock to really make a romantic impact on me. As a beatboxer, I love using my tongue to tik-tok when I'm waiting for something. Many clocks will gong once or twice throughout the day, an orchestral gong might have sounded nice to reflect that. Orchestral bass drums or swells could have fattened up your stereo field a little. I would have sampled and used old computer OS start-up and shut-down noises, some recognizable beeps or notification sounds might have benefit the psyber aspect of this. None of the judges will get squeamish or upset over small samples for a contest like this so long as the sample doesn't become the primary hook in the song. Give me some classic Microsoft error sfx please :3

The glitch rhythms were very nice but I like hearing EDM artists balance spontaneity with control. This is a little more spontaneous than I thought it should be but I found myself never really getting bored of it either. It's a very fun atmosphere and space that I looped many times while writing this. This is a very strong piece but you could have included some auxiliary percussion like tambourines, shakers, hi-hats, and the such to structure this a little more. A digital framework needs a little more structure. Porygon kind of exists in that digital world of zero and one switches like an animal that doesn't quite belong. I think you have too many organic sounds and not enough digital ones. I'm so torn on this atmosphere, it's beautifully abstract and seems to float but a more coherent orchestrated climax might have been a plus? Some reverse drum sounds that crescendo into sections would have pleasantly surprised me. Reversed kick drums, snare, or cymbals: play with them! I'm taking off minimal points for this track, it's so beautifully unique. This song is amazing, and I love it. I hope this review was helpful, I feel like my words don't do you justice. This was a very difficult competition to judge, there have been some wonderfully inspired soundscapes and I feel like you deserve to be in the top echelon of music makers for this contest. Have a wonderful day iso!

isostatic1111 responds:

wow!!! oh my gosh thank you so much for the kind words! this was excellent feedback and it really really REALLY means a lot <3 i've only been doing music for around two years now and reading about how i can flesh out weird & surreal stuff like this is very helpful!!! i hope ur doing well and have a great day :DDDD

[AIM - At The End Of the Road]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Mikaiah, At The End Of The Road: 9,5,10,10 (34/40)

Loved that atmospheric car sample at the beginning, too many people failed to use elements like that to connect the inspiration to the visuals. Those sustained reverb engine revs might have gone on a little long for what looks to me like a very peaceful scene but I won't take off any points for that. Another user managed to emulate a racecar engine sound entirely with a saw synth, I was very impressed by that competitors ingenuity. The live car sound was a little out of place in a synthwave song that echoes a pixel drawing but not everyone can emulate a car engine with a saw synth so it's really not a problem. Just an idea for the future. I can easily give you a full 10 on relevance to artwork for what you wrote and how you executed your inspirations. I'm even going to give you a full 10 on emotion, the melodies were inspired and well written. I think the track was a little too high action for such a peaceful image but that's something I'll choose to ignore to a degree. I really tore into users that didn't share their feelings or inspirations, so I feel it makes sense to reward you for writing as much as you did. Know your audience, we're your peers and we love to know more about the people we bump into here :3

Despite synthwave echoing older decades and styles, I felt like you could have made that production quality a little crisper. Retro doesn't necessarily mean low fidelity. Most notably, those drums were very weak. I'd have used the drum signals to sidechain all the other instruments out of the way a little. The quality of an EDM song often relies on crisp, powerful drums. I'm not sure if you're making use of fidelity tools, but things like compressors can boost sounds towards the front. Graphic equalizers can give you massive control over what frequencies to boost and cut. I put fidelity tools on ALL of my instruments, you can always set the fidelity units to "bypass" if you don't like the changes they make. Fidelity takes a lot of practice to master but your track is crying for some crisper tones and textures. All that hard work you put into the gorgeous melodies and rhythms, only to come across sounding dull or weak because of the mix is very unfortunate Mikaiah.

I spent a lot of time sharing the concept of panning data to other contestants, I'll do the same for you. Though you only have two channels to be creative with, that's more than enough to create the illusion of space, depth, and field. A sound that gets panned creates the illusion that it is louder than it actually is, so you can pan a sound to a side, turn it down a little, and you'll have more room on the other side for other instruments. Panning is a balancing act, done poorly it can be very annoying. Done masterfully, panning is life! Panning can also create the illusion of movement as a sound moves from left to right or right to left. Since movement was a very important element to the art, it's a little sad to hear everything hitting me from what sounds like the middle. A momentary but subtle chirp in the right ear might draw my eyes to look to the right. An engine moving from right to left would help give off the illusion that a car is driving by. You can create a lot of "movement" with panning data, it creates dynamics to a slight degree but even sounds that don't move at all create space by sitting on the left or right channel. I use automation lanes on the panning knobs for all sorts of reasons. Sometimes I'll automate a new location for an instrument when I introduce another instrument just to better balance the field. It can feel kind of nuts to focus so heavily on the pan data but good panning can really sperate the pros from the armatures. Those arp synths at the end could have teleported back and forth, I'd have loved it. Low frequencies and often mids are best mixed to the middle to help structure everything, but those leads and pads could have had a small panning bias. I have listened to a lot of really cool songs in this contest but since I gave you such high scores on emotion and relevance I have to really dig into what made the song fall flat. The production skills need a little more polish. You'll be a very strong composer if you can focus on getting those high definition sounds and techniques. I hope you have a wonderful day, and salutations Mikaiah! Always upwards :D

Mikaiah responds:

Yep, this was another big response to my song, thank you so much for it again x3, ye i must say that i too consider those faults kinda evident now that you mention it n.n', buuuut... i think it's kinda fair but i'm thankful that you made me realize this, i'll try to keep those things in mind, to try make my productions even better! :D

Thank you so much again, and despite the flaws, i'm really thankful that you managed to find enjoyment in my piece, wish you the best on luck in your endeavors, and projects and wish you a nice day! n.n