Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM 2022 - Heaven's Night :// City's Light]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
TheVodouQueen, Heaven's Night :// City's Light: 8,7,9,10

You managed to perfectly hit a number of points I drilled others for. Atmospheric samples and SFX were inspired and engaging. I was expecting some Bjork Hyperballad stylings but got something a little different. You actually wrote about your work and ideas, too many composers failed to realize the advantage in filling up the authors comments but that's an emotional element that perhaps only I personally care about. My video professor at Alfred University used to stress the importance of blogging or publishing a book. Though she didn't get into massive detail why, I've found that writing helps develop your voice, your goals, your image, or a cult following. I try to keep posts positive because I'd rather people enjoy their time on my page when they scroll in. Comfort people when they visit your page with neat content and a welcoming voice. It can be hard when we want to vent anguish, we all get emotional and sads sometimes. Interestingly I was asked to judge "emotion" and mine are very easily toyed with. I love knowing more about the contestants. I used to be an audio mod in 2009 during a time when artists had to be approved and vetted first often via interview. I was encouraged to write messages and ask pointed questions before approving artists to the portal. The whole goal was to verify if they were uploading original music or not and the task fell on any four or five mods at the time. It turned the whole process very personal and I got tired of it. People don't understand why it's so important to share equipment and techniques but I take everything into consideration because I like to know people are real. Communicating ideas adds a degree of authenticity.

You asked for feedback, sorry I haven't talked about your music yet. I was awestruck by that intro. Though some of the recordings had fidelity issues, I forgave that very quickly. It mostly just sounded like there was a little wind or too much ambient space hitting the mic. What I didn't forgive quickly was that experimental background melody at 1:55. I took off my headphones off and looked around the room because I thought a cell phone was ringing. I paused the track because it was very out of place. As someone that personally used to do things "just because, nothing really matters" I can respect the decision to put that there but it was very jarring.

There is still a lot of room in your stereo field to boost sounds, the wave shape shows all sorts of space that could have been filled by slapping some compressors on things. Compressors can boost volume as much as they "compress." In Reason I'd have given that gentle airy pad more umpf by splitting the signal and sending it to two separate mixer channels then hard panning both, one to the left and one to the right. Many instruments can gain some presence with that trick, it's essentially putting the same instrument in a room twice and telling them to stand on opposite sides and be loud. You can then sidechain instruments with the drum kit's kick. I'm never sure how much any individual person knows in regards to sidechaining but it's such a useful technique for controlling the levels of one instrument with the levels of another.

I like to think that the drums are the most important element in any EDM genre so getting them to slap nicely is important. I actually program an independent mixer for the drums entirely which then get's chained to the main mixer. Between the two mixers I'll sit down a filter for playful EDM drum crescendos and decrescendos. If layering drums, I'll usually use two or three kicks, three snares, and three hi-hats. I can then merge the signals as they leave the drum machine. All the kicks get their own fidelity units, as do the snares, and hi-hats. Example: once I merge all the snare signals they get put through a graphic EQ, a compressor, and a stereo imager. Then they get sent to a mixer channel as one signal and labeled "Snare." You can repeat this trick for all the bass drums or all the hi-hats but I usually skip fidelity units for the hi-hats. A useful trick with having three hi-hats is that you can slightly pitch bend them, change their volume a little and just quickly write up rhythms that switch between each or all of them simultaneously to fake some dynamics. Another fun trick for faking dynamics includes automating volume knobs. I'll set an automation lane for an instrument's volume and quickly draw some dips and peaks then copy & paste the data really fast to quickly fake dynamics which makes the instruments sound more alive and emotive.

You really challenged yourself with the length, I noticed that Annette seemed interested in length. Personally I prefer a less is more approach assuming a song can be a few minutes long and still say everything it needs to say but I can't dictate that as a reason to give or take points. Just thought I'd bring it up.

Something else I'll bring up needlessly is an old Jazz adage: "it’s the notes you don’t play that are as important as the ones that you do." Sometimes I don't make a song at all and that's honestly the same idea. Everywhere I go, I'm silently still playing Jazz.

That horn melody towards the end was lovely but I didn't realize how discombobulated that drum panning was until 4:13. The kick drum and snare sound panned far to the right, usually those elements stay in the middle to help give a mix some structural spine. The thinnest elements of the drum kit can get panned challengingly. You managed to balance it decently in earlier sections, not sure what happened towards the end. You can counter balance hi-hats with shakers, tambourines, güiro, rides, bells, chimes, and all sorts of fun percussion noises. I know the genre is synthwave but I find the drums got a little boring. Please don't hold that against me, I'm a drummer and I get bored playing the drums sometimes. Holding a beat can be a job and in my opinion jobs can suck if they remain static and unchanging. Though you challenged my ears with that late pan data, I think it was the wrong kind of challenge, as it came across jarringly. You can experiment with everything on the drum kit but the kick and snare which should stay towards the middle.

I think I've managed to say enough to justify the scores but if you have any questions don't be afraid to reach out. I try to stay somewhat accessible to the people of Newgrounds even if I'm a little reclusive. I wish you the best of luck with the other judges and may you have a wonderful day Voodou. I hope to hear some more from you in the future :3

[AIM - Cosmic Harmony]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Remfy, Cosmic Harmony: 8,7,8,8

You are the second person to choose this image but don't worry we don't take points off for that. If anything it's an homage to the artist in that multiple people are swooning over their things.

Thank you for writing extra comments this time. I'm not sure if the poem is yours or if it comes from somewhere else but it's beautifully written. The rhymes were graceful. I notice your profile says your Swedish, I'd assume writing a little more about the music isn't that big of an issue? The amount that people shared in their author's comments was a common critique I levied during this contest because making the conceptual connections on your own conveys authenticity. I'd have totally respected a wall of text in a language that I couldn't understand. At the very least I could use google translate. All in all, I just want artists to realize what kind of community this is so that they can better belong in it. I'm far from the only crazy person here. Much of the community uses Discord now. The forums have always been a part of Newgrounds, not certain how active they are anymore because I don't spend much time in there myself but words are a powerful tool. You can be as vague as you want or as detailed in your commentary but you can never hurt yourself in contest by writing a little more. Some of us can read.

Something I noticed is that a lot of the instruments hit at the same static velocity each time. Human players use volume emotively to help convey feelings. I'd love to hear this track with some sensitive dynamics. A cheap trick involves slapping an automation lane on a volume knob, easy crescendo/decrescendo. It sounds like a synth patch your playing with has a long attack. That's a cool patch but most the time I just do that volume automation trick for stuff like that. I've gotten to the point where I can quickly draw in volume data as the track plays on. All instruments could have benefit from some evolving dynamics as that pad did, if not as dramatically.

I think there are issues with the instruments in how perfect every instrument's timing is. Human players have a warmth that radiates from small fluctuations to timing. Humans are not perfect. It's not like you need to get totally random but an odd exploratory note can really stand out and grab attention. The art was very organic, emulate that with some surprising timing or changes to tempo. I like to slap an automation lane to the BPM to create the illusion of rubato.

Something I pointed out to composers who echoed Japanese illustrations is that tempo is counted differently in traditional Japanese music. In western styles, we have time signatures you may recognize like 4/4 or 6/8 to denote pulse. In old Japan, players emotively made use of time and divided phrases by how long it took between breaths. Elsewhere in Europe rubato came into use during the romantic era which means "robbed time." Again, this is when composers would slow and accelerate time emotively. Some of my favorite romantic era composers that use rubato are Frédéric Chopin, Felix Mendelssohn, Tchaikovsky, Debussy, there are so many greats. It was a wonderful time for European music. I only bring up these composers and ideas to try to inspire something a little less mechanical and stiff, more Zen-like shifts in keeping time.

The melodies are beautiful though. I really do like how inspired the melodies are, they are wonderful. Percussion isn't bad, I caught that güiro. Maybe some more orchestral percussion like cymbal swells and big bass drums could have helped convey celestial bodies? A French horn played in a really low register would sound lovely. I feel like this song is missing some things but that's not the end of the world. Some reverb might have sounded nice on one or two things. I like to automate my reverb units on and off to create certain effects and sounds. The song is dream like and thought provoking. I really would like to know what that poem is :]

I hope I cleared up a few things or provided ideas to think about. I don't like taking off points from anyone's tracks but this is a contest and the competition was stiff. I do wish you the best. Good luck and salutations Remfy!

[AIM - Sunny Afternoon]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Remfy, Sunny Afternoon: 9,9,9,9

Another composer aims their scope at animated pixel art and gives me chiptune to listen to. It was a very smart choice for this contest. I've pointed out to a few people that this contest bridges a gap between skill levels in that a decent chiptune can nab fairly high scores while a high fidelity dubstep or DNB tune can fail because it just doesn't echo the art. You took a small experimental progressive chiptune risk with those full fidelity drums but they sounded really nice and programmed well. That last section was easily my favorite. It wasn't too intense of a climax but maybe more of the song could have used that full spectrum energy? The track doesn't seem to repeat itself much but for an almost four minute track two climaxes are better than one, imo. They can be different from one another but I felt like I waited an unnecessarily long time for that climactic pay off.

So almost everyone in the contest got the next criticism but don't worry about it too much. I only say it to help you all but writing a little bit more about the creative process can help the judges hear things they might not have noticed. If you had an idea for how the sounds echo back to the music, point it out. If you had something you were particularly proud of, point it out. If there's information you feel we need to take into account, point it out. The judges are your peers and if someone like me happens to be on the judge panel, your words can sway emotions. I was asked to judge for "emotion" and that's a fairly conceptual idea that can subjectively change from judge to judge. I love the Newgrounds community and taking the time to post some of your thoughts can help endear you to the community. I've witnessed so many artists grow up here. It can feel silly to share your ideas and it takes a little bravery but use every tool at your disposal to be an artist. Sometimes it can feel like no one is listening but for those that do, take that risk to communicate to them.

I'm having a hard time finding things to take points off of. This is a really great track that just works nicely with the image you chose. The critiques I levied at others have a harder time sticking here. This wouldn't necessarily benefit from atmospheric samples. Maybe some waves crashing at the end with some gulls or something similar might help transport us into the image? You totally took a "less is more" approach that many others could have benefit from. I'm not as impressed with your tune as I am with some of the other contestants but the score kind of reflects my unwillingness to toss you into the shark tank with the best composers. I don't know if I'm being unfair or not. I've highlighted some minor issues but overall this song was a strong contender. Hopefully this review is somewhat helpful in illuminating how hard it is to judge contests. Write a little more next time to make a statement that undeniably connects the art and the music and I'll have a much harder time justifying taking off points for such minor things. The author's comments is your chance to post a decisive manifesto.

The judges are your peers so don't be afraid to talk to us through that specific means. For all I know you could have already written this song before you found the image but a quick blurb about how you were inspired by the image makes it impossible for me to suggest that. I'm glad you took a second to shout-out the artist but there is so much more you could have said about your work and hopefully this review inspires you to share a piece of yourself with the community. Your music is lovely but we love to know that artists are being authentic. What tools did you use? Did you spend a lot of time on this or are you showing off your chops with something that was made in a day? You don't have to write anywhere near as much as I do but you can't hurt yourself by sharing a little more. It can often be somewhat therapeutic and often people may leave reviews addressing your feelings. I have one more song of yours to judge, but I do hope to hear more from you in the future. Be proud of your work and have a good one Remfy :3

[AIM - Sending It Lightyears]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
fSYNCLIPSE, Sending It Lightyears: 8,7,10,7

As I mentioned in the previous review that I wrote for you, it no longer appears you have to reach out to the artists per the rules of the contest. I looked over the rule sheet a couple of times to make sure it wasn't in there but huge kudos to you for reaching out to jouste, even if they didn't reply back. I see and appreciate your efforts. I'll hand over some decent "relevancy" and "emotion" scores for that detail alone. You also went the extra mile and provided author's comments. So many composers fail to realize that in competition, judges have to take all things into consideration. Though this contest is very informal, I've been taking the time to write everyone a review and though I don't anticipate composers to write manifestos or essays as long as the one's I tend to write, a few key sentences can really twist feelings up and positively affect scores. There is a very human element to music making but I think too many people hoped the music would speak for itself and failed to point out what they found inspiring. Certain elements in music can evoke the imagery very intentionally but leaving the work of making connections up to the judges is a huge risk. At the very least seeing that you had fun working on the track pleases my inner human, I too enjoy writing music.

I feel like theme music for a character is dangerous territory compared to scenery that might evoke the sounds of running water and birds chirping, sounds easily echoed with atmospheric samples. There were a few composers that knocked theme music for a character out of the ball park but with that kind of competition to battle I felt like many artists managed to bridge their lack of skill with imagery that suited their skill level. Pixel art in particular led to some awesome chip tune music. The playing field for this contest is more level than people realize but our ambitions sometimes get the better of us.

I'll have to zone in on some technical information to justify production & composition scores. The music comes across like a handheld video game boss fight. As someone that loves to toss tempo changes into music, that element was inspired and interesting if at times a little random sounding. EDM genres have pushed drum engineering to silly levels but I'd recommend combining layering techniques with fidelity units. In Reason, I program a mixer entirely for the drums, it chains to the main mixer. I could put fidelity units between the mixers but instead will merge kick drum and snare drum signals into their own fidelity units. I like to have at least three snare drums working together, layered and each hitting their own unique area of the spectrum or texture. Your drums sound like your doing it to some degree but that bass drum could use a little more character. Another benefit to merging your drum sounds, you can then split the signal to a compressor. I like to put a compressor on most my instruments simply because you can send a drum signal into a synth patch to control the synth's levels. A crisp bass drum can push sub basses to the side via sidechaining to avoid over powering the mix with a lot of noise at once. You can then turn the sub bass up a little because the bass drum is doing work to keep everything in check. Sub basses usually take up their own are of the sound spectrum but bass drums share that spectrum. Sidechaining is such a powerful tool to control levels of one instrument via the levels of another by pushing sounds momentarily aside. I also make room by chaining the kick to pads, leads, and other things. You'd be surprised how much you can do with one simple kick drum signal.

Whether a snare layer is a simple crisp 909, a clap, a jazz drum, or an amen break snare they all get merged into the same signal then sent through a graphic EQ, a compressor, and a stereo imager before getting sent to the drum mixer. You can really use those fidelity units to get a lot of character out of your drums. Fidelity units in conjunction with good layering allows three snare drums to become one unique sound or used individually throughout the song as you did. These techniques can be applied to anything from bass drums to synthesizers, consider layering synths to make really unique tones and textures.

That lead patch your using growls nicely. A lot of my synth patches start out like that but I like to use distortion units in conjunction with filters to make fuller, juicer tones. Be it low-pass or high-pass filter, you can get some amazing texture by automating the filter knobs for frequency and resonance. It's how dubstep/DNB producers make the high fidelity "bass" lines. With the synth you're using you can get some awesome classic 808 Infected Mushroom/ Deadmouse sounds, automation lanes are real power behind evolving synth patches. You can also use automation lanes on panning knobs, volume knobs, or whatever you want.

I love what I'm hearing in regards to melody and rhythm. You seem to have a solid understanding of music theory. There are few hi-hat doublets that sound kind of weird but I can over look that. In reality, the only problem I want you to focus in on in the future is with fidelity. I'm not going to get too into panning data, I can hear it most in that ride cymbal so I know your playing with it. That open hi-hat might have been biased left or right a tad... actually since I wrote about panning for so many others I'll share a few ideas you might already be familiar with. Panning can create the illusion that a sound is louder than it actually is so after you pan a sound you can turn it down a little. This also makes more room on the opposite side of the stereo field. Panning can emulate live acoustics to a degree, our ears can sort of track location. Though bass and mid tones are best mixed towards the middle the thinner elements such as the hi-hats on the drum kit can get a good bias and you can balance them with other auxiliary percussion layers to work across the stereo field. I usually have three hi-hats, sometimes I pan them left sometimes I pan them right but the end goal is to balance them against each other. Again, I can hear it with the ride cymbal but a more interesting mix might have a unique space for everything.

(scrolls back up and realizes how much I've written)

Ok, I really got to keep pounding through the reviews if I want to get everyone done in a timely manner but don't be afraid to ask questions. You're the only person I've mentioned this too but I love talking fidelity with people, don't be afraid to reach out if you have audio related questions. I'm only vaguely familiar with LMMS but I've noticed it seems capable of doing everything you need it to do. I'm also happy you enjoyed the process of working on the music, that's the single most important thing. You are surrounded by people on Newgrounds that have a massive passion for this kind of stuff so don't be afraid to communicate with the community. You're one of us fSYNCLIPSE. Keep enjoying yourself and have a wonderful day :3

[AIM - Boundary Beyond]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
fSYNCLIPSE, Boundry Beyond: 9,8,10,10

I loved that art by PrisonerCoin you choose to compose to. Many artists choose to utilize those animated illustrations and I feel that visual movement is a powerful element to echo back to music. Not many people are aware that the hip-hop scene developed in NYC along side the energy and visual grace of breakdancing while paired up with the talent of early beat boxers (when drum machines were unavailable or unaffordable) circa the 1980's. It was an entire experience. Many bands will hire dancers that will groove to the music to communicate movement with the audience and get people into the beat. Visual movement is a powerful element in music often lacking here on Newgrounds. Now, none of this information necessarily relates back to the image and your music, I just like to share music history with people when I have them trapped. I HAVE ALL THE POWER IN THIS RELATIONSHIP SYNCLIPSE, I AM YOUR AIM 2022 JUDGE & REVIEW MISTRESS MWAHAHAHAHA!!

Ahem, sorry about that. So anyways, I love how the track swirls and crescendos. It's a little empty and I usually take off points for a mix not fully taken advantage of but it played into the retro-arcade-space theme expertly. The image itself manages some incredible sense of depth and technicality with very few elements and colors. Classic to wonderous soundscapes, those piano arpeggios were simple but elegant. Playable on two hands without the need to hand-over-hand, sometimes simple ideas are the most pure.

Though most people choose to go chiptune for pixel art, I can respect your orchestral approach. Something I felt was missing were bass tones and percussion to emulate the movement of celestial bodies. Meteor showers could glisten if symbolized by chimes, comets can zip across the stereo field via panning cymbal swells. Bass drums can blast away to create the feeling that planets are colliding and stars are exploding. Though outer space is 99% emptiness, many composers dramatize the void with massive orchestrations. I loved your minimal take on space but I'm greedy and could easily anticipate much more.

I have a lot of respect for the fact that you provided so much data for me to read. I was asked to judge for "emotion" and too many people missed an opportunity to have a voice. One or two competitors opted not to write anything at all. I'm pouring my soul into these reviews so I can totally respect a user that has the courage to write a thesis and direct my attention to ideas they are proud of or inspirations I may have missed. Massive emotion points for both the music and your awareness to communicate your ideas when given the opportunity. It's important for artists to have a voice. An old video professor of mine would encourage her classes to blog about their work and publish books. It may seem irrelevant but it's actually a decent networking and organizational skill. An original theme of this contest was networking. An rule from 2013 that no longer applies was "ask the artist if you can use their picture for the contest and make a song inspired by the picture." This contest is truly about making connections. I thank you for making one with me (if somewhat unintentionally.)

You were brave to point out that you repurposed another project. I've done it many times, repurposing material is a powerful tool too many people don't take advantage of. It's not entirely in tune with the theme of the contest but your honesty is respectable and I won't remove any points for it. I do feel justified taking points off the first two categories but you're still getting a wonderful score. I've done everything in my power to make sure I judge this contest fairly. I'm combing everything with sensitivity to every idea and genre. The competition is fierce and though I've tried to avoid giving out perfect scores, there were several that completely deserved them. Go find them and make some friends! You're a strong competitor and I wish you the best, cheers fSYNCLIPSE!

[AIM - Sonarity]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
DiosselMusic, Sonarity: 8,8,10,7 (33/40)

I admire you for being honest about your thoughts and feelings in the author's comments. Too many people couldn't be bothered to write much and in one case, nothing at all. I was asked to judge for "emotion" and that's an element open to massive interpretation. When Johnny K. Guy introduced this contest back in 2013, community was a huge theme. A rule that was lost over the years but was integral to the original contest was "ask the artist if you can use their picture for the contest and make a song inspired by the picture." The point was to build bonds, connections, and social skills. The contest reached across the music portal and into the realm of the art portal for the first time resulting in a network of messages going back and forth across Newgrounds. These bonds helped build the integrity of our community. Dizzie's review was heart warming. I wish you had said a little more to how exactly the image and your music was thematically connected because I'm not sure I understand the connections but I'm respecting you for just having the bravery to make the statements that you did. It sounded like you actually reached out to Dizzie and got permission, THANK YOU <3

The mid-tier relevancy score kind of stems from that lack of certain inspirations. Theme music for a character can be hard to write, a couple of the other contestants nailed it. As a huge Junglist myself, when I hear Drum & Bass I immediately associate it with people and faces from the scene. EDM genres pulse with nostalgia of nightclubs, video games, and long-ass DJ sets. I'm not quick to remove DNB from that very specific scene and history. I'm seeing stars and mobiles in the illustration which I would have connected to the music via glittering chimes, gentle cymbal swells, and panning data... actually, I caught your creative use of panning data with those delayed piano patches. Effing beautiful patch Diossel <3

Sadly, sometimes it can feel like musicians are sticking to their strengths when they might have benefit from going a little outside their comfort zones. I know you're a Junglist and this track rocks but an image with some more futuristic architecture and space imagery might have played to your strengths better. I have a lot of respect for this song but I'm trying super hard to take everything into consideration so that I can say I judged this contest fairly. You did the artist serious justice, I just wish I could hear the connections to the illustration as well as Dizzie could. I gave you a few extra points in relevancy and emotion for that little bit of networking I saw.

Despite the somewhat low relevancy (imo) you made some awesome breaks if just a little old-school at this point in time. I'd love to hear you engineer some of your own drum kits. Between you and me, I have the Amen break tattooed as a sheet music band that wraps around my right forearm. It's a very romantic sound as far as I'm concerned but the world of DNB has moved on from namesake loops to snappy pitched up snare drums, multiple drum layers, and depressingly oppressive yet futuristic reese basses. Learning to engineer your own kits give you a unique style and energy to stand out from the pack. Liquid made a notable comeback in recent years. To get those techy unique sounds out of your drum kit: experiment. You always have to start out with good drum samples, I usually have a tiny layer of the amen break mixed into my snare drums but they exist only as a layer amongst many simultaneously or sometimes used individually as ghost snares. I typically have three snare layers that work together to make a big sound but on each layer on their own can be used individually from section to section. A nice crisp 909 snare is great for build ups. A snappy jazz drum or clap snare can be used for an intro or breakdown. Find some snare samples that layer nicely. You can do the same layering tricks for everything on the kit from bass drums to hi-hats, tambourines, and shakers. For an old school break it sounds fairly crisp and well mixed but I would love to hear a slightly more contemporary drum kit from you. It wouldn't have necessarily helped with those relevancy points but I'm using this technical data to inform my scores for "Composition/Structure" & "Production." For such a wonderfully written song I hated having to take off points for anything but I'm doing everything I can to be fair to everyone in this contest. Competitors were at a small disadvantage putting drum and bass in front of me because it's a genre I can nit-pick like no other.

I linked to the following YouTube video for one other composer. Though kind of low fidelity, the snares out of this YouTube video might help layer into your sounds? As a layer, the low fidelity aspect might get lost to the other sounds you use. The video might also demonstrate how special a unique drum sound is, Koan has some great snare drums:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dUUx3GeZa_g

Maybe you'd have been better off muting the drums and making two separate versions of this track? An ambient song with these beautiful melodic elements might have vibed with the character better? She's fantastic, stars in her eyes and wings on her head. Drums are super aggressive but I'm not feeling that from the character at all. She's too sweet to roll hard into the club with rude bois, original nuttahs, and grove-riders. I'm so sorry, I'm only coming in here with an essay of feedback because I love what you're writing. We can always get stronger and compose new ideas. This track reminded me of "Run, Run, Run" by Russian DNB artist Receptor, that cat can write some techy DNB. Again, I'm highlighting an issue in that I know the genre and sound very well. You impressed me with great writing, please don't take any of this feedback as hurtful or rude. You knew it wasn't your best but I admire that honesty deeply. Thank you so much Dio <3 <3

DiosselMusic responds:

I'm not going to take any of the comments in a bad way at all, I really appreciate the time you took to write a review on the song, I really enjoy getting feedback from another artist ^^
To be honest, I would have liked to work a little more on the song.
I know I didn't talk about the connection between the song and the art, I was really inspired by what the stars are in the drawing, sona's look makes you notice that they are like her wishes, shooting stars, maybe I went over it too much in my head and ended up adding the amen break lol, once I did there was no going back.
I didn't want to do a quiet song at first.
I wanted to do something moving, that could generate emotions or some kind of connection, which is super hard to do, but I always try.
I will keep in mind all the points you mention and try to improve as a junglist.
Thank you very much Quarl ^^

[The Amalgamate [AIM 2022]]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
TSRBand, The Amalgamate: 9,10,10,10

Space scenery usually lend itself to EDM elements and genres but you clearly reflected hard on the illustration via those lyrics. I had to open up the original illustration page to come across the phrase "amalgamate," I loved that you clearly weaved the other artist's words and inspirations into your own. I wouldn't have caught onto the lyrics with all that throat singing but you clearly wrote lyrics that endeared themselves to the original artist's intentions. The scene they painted and the words themefinland wrote were brutal. Full stop, I can't nit-pick your choices so far.

Given how harsh the competition for this contest is, I justified taking one point off of composition/structure for giving me maximum energy the entire time. I would have loved to hear a more progressive track with an intro, breakdown, or outro that reflected some of that sci-fi futuristic fidelity and atmosphere we hear in genres like dubstep. Don't take that comment the wrong way, for metal this fidelity is pro. To clarify, I'm a huge fan of David Maxim Micic, Chimp Spanner, Mushugga, Animals as Leaders, Chon and those guys really know how to make full use of instrumental diversity and fidelity to make atmospheric metal and inspired soundscapes. Though I don't anticipate you'd want to make use of synthesis to emulate the SFX of shooting stars, space craft, and organic creatures I figured you could have implied some added textures with creative guitar shoegaze. Gentle low volume finger tapping in the frets closest to the pick-ups could have given me a sense of sci-fi organic creatures communicating amongst themselves. Similarly a high pitch slide panned side-to-side could have emulated spacecraft movements seen in the image (like a theremin or sinewave). In all fairness, that throat singing could have been a nod to the amalgamate creatures but I wish you had said so. I'm doing my best to judge this contest fairly and I'm often forced to make a ton of conceptual connections without the aid of the artist sharing their feelings or intentions. Sharing more of your intentions probably wouldn't have affected your score as far as I'm concerned, this track is amazingly brutal but hey... couldn't have hurt with the other judges, right? So many users tried to let the music speak for itself, one user in particular wrote nothing at all. If another judge is biased against metal, they might not hear what I hear. Sometimes you got to defend your thesis with some good words.

All in all, this track is such an incredible show of force. I'm sorry for taking off that one point but that comes from a place of encouragement and fairness. You have a ton of skill and I made sure to promote this in the "front page suggestion thread" via the forums. It was too awesome to not promote some. I wish you included a little gear data because I love to know what people are using and playing with. I see you put that data on your main user page, thank you. I wish you nothing but positive adventures in the future, keep thrashing hard TSR <3

TSRBand responds:

Thanks so much for your kind and detailed comments! I'm happy you liked it :)

[AIM - Panorama Drone]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
CryNN, Panorama Drone: 9,9,9,9 (36/40)

YOU WENT FULL AMBIANCE? Bravery, courage, strength... these are words I am using to describe your audacity. In a world over saturated with high fidelity EDM drums, sexy rock and roll bands, and hip-hop rappers with gold teeth you so bravely took a very different approach this time. I used to pick on ambient to a degree as being a genre that lacks a hook. My sonic arts teacher at Alfred University slapped that out of me a decade ago but that kind of thinking is a serious issue within the world of music. Often times a musicians worst enemy is another musician that just doesn't like your genre or groove. Expanding tastes and growing influences builds a better artist and lets us become empathetic towards one another. Never hate on others in the world of music, even if they're a tragic asshole. Ego plays a big part in our lives, it can be very easy to suddenly become full of yourself and lash out at others. I've fallen into that in the past, maybe everyone does? Never let the rush of being on stage or in front of an audience go to your head. Never boast or brag about signing tracks to labels or publishing albums. Always be a positive force in the world of music, be the role model I wasn't at your age.

With that commentary out of the way, onto the song itself. I can respect your pride in having not used any samples (atmospheric or otherwise) but they don't necessarily hurt dear. Another competitor managed to engineer a saw synth to sound distinctly like a racecar engine revving up. I love hearing what people can do with synthesis and I know you have chops. It's a relaxing image and equally relaxing track. I definitely like this song more than your other track "Dusk." It's a splash of wonderfully mixed sounds. I caught that evolving panning data. There's a car in the image and that might have been an excuse to use a sample of a car driving by, panned from one side to the other to illustrate movement? The clouds imply a little bit of wind and vapor. I can possibly relate the creative panning as an echo towards the swirling environmental elements I just mentioned: wind, clouds, and vapor. I wish you had said a little more about how the track reflects the art, you wrote a fair bit more for your other track. I'd have tossed you a perfect score for emotion had you realized that extra information could have helped you. I've been doing a lot of work for this contest trying to make the connections to the music that people presented. Many users failed to understand that music doesn't always speak for itself. Taking a few moments to say a little bit more about your work when you have the space for it can help toy with our emotions. I don't want to come across like a jerk that scores music unfairly so I take every aspect into account. Newgrounds is first and foremost a community of peers that are all doing their own little thing because they love doing it. I respect my peers deeply, even if it doesn't always come off that way. It's not fair that I can say so much about a person's song and many couldn't be bothered to write just a little. One person in particular wrote nothing and for a contest that primarily revolves around "inspiration" you can only help your case by bravely saying "THIS WORK OF ART INSPIRED ME DEEPLY." You could point out that the panning data was meant to reflect environmental visuals. Some instruments and techniques can reflect things like shooting stars or moving cars. Instead, many users left it up to us to make those conclusions and honestly it takes an idiot like me to make those kinds of conceptual connections. Don't risk it, say it. Make a manifesto that your best peers will acknowledge and compliment. Newgrounds has become a world wide community and you shouldn't miss an opportunity to communicate with it when you can. Some of us can read.

It can feel silly sometimes to write an essay, especially when people hit you with "tldr" but you're not writing your thoughts for those people. Write your thoughts and feelings for the people willing to read it, show pride in your work. My video professor at Alfred University always pushed us to blog and publish books as a means to have a voice as an artist. Personally, I don't like feeling like a webpage that people use to download music for free. I use the author's comments section to tax listeners with the fact that I'm a human with feelings. I don't like feeling used, so I use my voice to stand out where my music cannot. I use my writing to vent frustrations and voice concerns. You're not hurting yourself by saying a little more about your music and your ambitions. I'm a little torn on this track, it's still very good so I'm still giving you a solid score but do chew on what I've mentioned in this review. Never miss an opportunity to endear yourself to your listeners. They might not always want to know you more but you have the power to choose whether they do or they don't.

I got to keep plowing forwards with these reviews but I wish you the best. Regardless of outcome, I'm happy to hear this track and hope you have a wonderful day Cry <3

CryNN responds:

thank you for your kind words. ill try to compone the description more into tracks like this!
tysmtysmtysm

[AIM - Deep Dawn]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
SomeGuyMusic, Deep Dawn: 9,9,7,4

Next year will be very interesting, I've been hounding on competitors for not providing enough data in the author's comments to help direct the judging process. I often had to guess and make my own sad connections to the art. An original theme of the contest when it started in 2013 was building community. Rule #2 from the original 2013 rule set was "ask the artist if you can use their picture for the contest and make a song inspired by the picture." Though the contest dropped that rule I'm sitting over here judging songs and wishing that more users realized that the judges are peers. We have feelings and you can toy with those a little by mentioning your feelings, ideas, which instruments echoed elements to the illustrations, lyrics, anything. I love getting to know more about the artists, musicians, animators, and programmers that I'm surrounded by. Offering up those deeper conceptual ideas can add a degree of authenticity to the aspect of "inspiration." You can endear yourself to your peers by just saying a little more. This is a tough contest to judge and I take EVERYTHING into account to justify the scores I give people. Only took off one or two points for failing to help bridge connections, often music didn't speak for itself. Newgrounds has become a global community and artists need to realize the power their words can have in shaping this community, I want to "inspire" everyone to participate in it just a little bit more by not being afraid to post a manifesto or feelings. You can be more than just a webpage. You can be a role model, memorable, and layered.

There are some incredibly inspired tracks in this contest, you mostly used the author's comments to promote your own music on other platforms. I'm glad that I was asked to judge for "emotion" because I'm feeling a little annoyed writing up essay after essay to justify my scores only to notice that some artists couldn't be bothered to write anything at all. I actually appreciate it when artists and musicians have the self awareness to promote their other projects and websites, good job, but I could have used more insight into your creative process. You've left interpretation entirely up the listener and that's a little dangerous. I took off one or two emotional points for everyone that failed to share their feelings and inspirations but you're also losing an emotion point for keeping the track at one constant energy level for the majority of the time. Some more diversity would have played into crafting a more interesting song.

I also hawked on people for not making use of atmospheric sounds and samples to transport listeners into the scene. The image implies a lot of nature. I can imagine hearing birds and rain. I've pointed to nature documentaries and 1 hour meditation YouTube videos as a decent source for atmospheric samples. Though it's questionably unethical, the judges for this competition and Newgrounds audio mods won't care or hold it against you so long as the sample doesn't become the primary focus of the track. Citing and giving credit back to a particular sample in the author's comments also keeps you honest and we understand that. We're your peers and this is a very forgiving contest. Though copywritten samples can be troublesome, we on the judge panel know it's still a creative tool and you could use it sparingly/justifiably. Not everyone can afford a field recorder and a trip to the ocean to record the sounds of waves crashing, many composers on Newgrounds are young or broke. You could also try to synthesize SFX as an alternative if sampling feels too risky. Another competitor managed to produce very accurate racecar engine noises via a sawtooth synth. You can make rain and wind from a little white noise. A simple sinewave synth with pitch bends and reverb can emulate water droplets.

I hope this was helpful in some way, I'm sorry if you don't understand the point I was trying to make in regards to using the author's comments section to your advantage. I go a little overboard when it comes to feedback but I think I've unintentionally highlighted the simple fact that it's fairly easy to take a little extra time to stand out for your peers. This is a review you might remember for a little while because I'm trying to get you to think. Some of my professors at Alfred University tried to stress the importance of writing blogs or publishing books. As an artist, you can always have a voice outside of your craft and that makes you a more accessible person, skilled in defending a thesis or work of art. The critique process was a huge part of receiving my BFA and there were times when I needed to defend more conceptual work. There will be times when you have to explain yourself. Music doesn't always speak for itself, especially in a contest like this. I wish you the best. Do have a good day Mr. SomeGuyMusic, and I hope to see some more from you in the future :D

SomeGuyMusic responds:

I will definitely keep this in mind for next time and I definitely see your point! The knowledge you've gave me with this review is nothing short of gold that will carry through not just a competition but through some aspects of my music production journey! Thank you so much! I can promise you, everything from me will always improve!

[AIM - Lowlands Scrapyard]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Everratic, Lowlands Scrapyard: 10,10,10,10

Very lovely orchestrations and elements. Providing me with info in the author's comments was a common point I levied at users who failed to make an effort to write much. That one element can guide judges and listeners to the musician's inspirations possibly not apparent via the music alone. Music doesn't always speak for itself (though my favorite tracks did), it's always worth sharing your thoughts or feelings for the users that are willing to engage with it. This is a community first and foremost that rewards honest engagement. The track was also good enough that I couldn't really be bothered to wait until the end of the track to give you a perfect score for emotion. The orchestral transitions were lovely, chimes and cymbal swells well used. Even a little gentle synth play midway. This is an expertly done soundscape the relies on many traditional elements, very professional and commercial.

I asked many other users to make use of atmospheric samples to echo back to the illustrations. That storm at 2:16 was very subtle. I looked at the image again and there is a hint of rainfall. That illuminated ending gives way as if a storm is gently passing. The intro might have benefit from some running water SFX but I actually thought I heard water drops on my first listen. After going back and really listening for it I realized it was a percussive instrument. This track implied a lot with very little. I suppose I could nitpick the mix being a little quiet but despite that tiny waveform the instruments manage to be full and lush. You orchestral people and your paradoxically small wave shapes are an enigma to us hardstyle EDM losers.

Out of 92 tracks I reviewed, you are the 6th and final perfect score. I had hoped the other judges were little more critical to make up for my friendly scores to avoid a short list of perfect 40s. I wish you the best and encourage you to listen to the other submissions. This contest is always a blast because I get the opportunity to get to know Newgrounds musicians a little better. Though I recognized your name in my score sheet I'm giving everyone the same critical eye but I couldn't take off any points for this without feeling overly critical. It would have hurt me to do so. Have a wonderful day Ever <3

Everratic responds:

Thank you so much for the detailed review and for being a judge! It was a fun event and I enjoyed listening to many of the submissions - there were indeed many excellent ones this year.