Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - 14]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Cresince, 14: 10,10,10,9 (39/40)

Somebody else used the same image MINUS 40 POINTS, YOU LOSE HAHAHA- just kidding, I'm actually really happy with this song a lot.

This is very unique. It expertly crafts some very haunting tones and textures. It's a definite favorite of mine in regards to musicality. This has amazing depth and texture. I think you could compress certain tones forwards a little more, there's still a small amount of space in your field for more amplification but you still got a great sound with the space you did use. I'd have definitely gone a little louder with bass tones. I had to take my headphones off and do a double take, there was some wonderful panning data in this. That guitar breakdown was romantic AF. The pads and random instruments are very cool.

I need to take off a point for not giving me a few ways that this art inspired you. I've been really leaning into people that don't share their inspirations. I can look at the image and see that the cityscape is hectic and everchanging. Buildings tower over buildings giving serious depth to the landscape. Though the scene seems infinitely complex, we view it from a distance that makes it appear deceptively peaceful. There is a feeling that many of the sounds you wrote could reasonably exist in this atmosphere. The sounds span the world of progressive jazz and musique concrète expertly. My brain is connecting a lot of dots but it's unfair that I had to mention them explicitly. A critique I've used regularly is that it's not fair that I can say so much about the art and the music but the people writing the music sometimes couldn't be bothered to say anything at all. Music doesn't always speak for itself, people can lapse and judge art & music contests based on personal taste and preferences. By saying a little more about your work you can endear yourself to the regulars here and make some friends! As a judge, I love seeing people engage their listeners. Newgrounds is a community of like-minded renegades and scoundrel. So many users are young and can absorb information like a sponge, this community feeds off of itself. You can tag instruments, tools, and programs to help us weed out bad actors that submit stolen content. That's been an issue in the past, I only bring it up because it's an unfortunate fact regarding any creative community.

I thought about taking off a production point for not making use of atmospheric samples like city noises, moving crowds of people, foot steps, construction vehicles, car sirens and traffic. That section with the panned guitar duo could have used some samples such as the ones I mentioned to help create a little cityscape. You still managed to convey great diversity and space with what elements you did use. I could pretend that French horn was a car driving by. There was a small arpeggio I could pretend was an exotic sci-fi city bird. That ending felt like the metropolis was winding down ominously much the way a city often does when it gets late enough to be the early morning and the only people up are the scofflaws. I'm absolutely in love with this track, the competition has been difficult to judge because I love music so much. I can't expect others to write essays much as I do but I think that I've managed to demonstrate the simple fact that you can freely talk about your work here. No one with any mature sense is going to read the author's comments and act a jerk.

Endear yourself to your listeners with a story about the image, anything. This is such an expert composition, it hurts to take off any points but I believe I was able to identify a key aspect that you were missing. This is my first time coming across your work and for all I know, you just happen to write amazing music all the time and it has nothing to do with the art. Addressing the few critiques I brought up, I think I can justify taking one point off of your work. I got to keep working through reviews but I hope this was helpful or explanatory. Salutations and good day Cresince!

Cresince responds:

Thank you so much for judging this year!

I do agree that I could have offered more insight about the song, especially since I write instrumental pieces that feature no lyrics, that is something I will definitely work on in the future.

You absolutely nailed the ending of the song analysis, of course my songs are free to interpretation to whatever a person feels like it is saying, however, that was what I was going for in that ending haha. And yes, my mixes could definitely use some more loudness/balancing so your advice has not gone unheard.

Thank you again for your hard work making sure everyone gets a thoughtful response and detailed review. Hearing your words has definitely helped me get some perspective on my music! <3

[AIM - Cold Breath]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
SomeguyMusic, Cold Breath: 8,8,9,6 (31/40)

I was really curious what this was going to sound like after loading up the image first. You've managed to endear yourself to me quickly with that modest piano work. A piano melody can feel chilling and lonely. The practice rooms I've sat and played in are usually impeccably clean, to say the least: immaculate. The empty space in the image reminds me of a particularly large practice space I got to play in at Alfred University. A space like that would have some interesting resonance.

I'm really hurting from judging this competition. I'm listening to such incredible music but not many people are using author's comments to write even a little about what inspired them. There have been some amazing tunes that I took points off of because the artist missed a chance to throw a few compliments to the graphic artists or mention what their goals and inspirations were. You remembered to advertise your other media sites. I struggle to remember to do that kind of stuff when I post new material but for the sake of this contest you could have written anything about the illustration to help tie it to your music somehow. Even tracks that I felt had little to do with the illustrations would receive some relevance points for just saying a few key things about what kind of atmosphere they wanted to produce and why. You've left the ball in the court of the listener to decide whether or not the image and the music go together but music doesn't always speak for itself.

You have nothing to lose by saying something like "I wanted to portray a chilling scene with a cold nocturne. There are sparse elements in the image so I used sparse elements in my song." It's kind of silly that as a judge, I can say more about your work then you can with two quick sentences. Don't let the judges in competitions simply judge your work and move on to the other submissions. Give us some of your thoughts or inspirations, doing so will never hurt your chances. I'm still giving you a decent score but it's really difficult to look at that scenery and draw the connection. I'm also not terribly impressed with the production quality but that's due to the overall simplicity. You could have amped the piano and vocal pad considerably. I'd have been a little more forgiving in ALL categories if you had just helped me piece the connections a little better. A perfect structure or production quality isn't always important but it's impossible for me to give you a higher relevancy score.

I apologize if this review comes across as too harsh or too wordy but I want to encourage everyone in this competition to learn to analyze every step of their creative process. Just because you've exported the song doesn't mean your done. You need to think of a few clever things to say that will help endear yourself to your listeners, often it's just a song title but in a contest like this you're being judged by your peers and we love to build friendships here. Your not just a webpage. Your a person, a musician, and an artist. So are your peers and so we love to know more about who we're interacting with. Never be afraid to take a risk by sharing a little bit more about yourself or what you're proud of <3

Salutations SomeguyMusic!

SomeGuyMusic responds:

I'm sorry about that but my mindset sending it off is that it would be obvious what inspired me. You probably might mean more of the creative process to which I say the cold nature of the picture was all I had in mind when I made the song. I went for a cold, spacious nature - hence the name. I don't mean to sound rude but I thought this would be quite obvious to people. The cold nature of it was the main target with the spaciousness supporting it. It didn't feel like I needed to explain this because it's what the AIM's task is. I get you're looking for how it inspired me but like I said I thought that would be obvious. It wasn't really anything too deep. It was just more of a song for fun. Just cold and spacious. To the point of the picture. As for the mixing and composition yeah it definitely could've been better but at the time I made this my skills weren't as good as they are now. I thank you for you time. I'll keep these things in mind though for next time.

~Someguy

[AIM - Showdown]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
NahuPyrope, Showdown: 10,10,10,8 (38/40)

You somehow read my mind, decided that I listened to progressive metal, and pulled out some heavy influences that I can't dislike at all. Perfect explorations of classic sounds and orchestrations. That breakdown at 2:52 becomes a noteworthy showdown between a bass driven piano and a perky snare drum. The image is a little silly in an anime-sort-of way but the music actually suits that over-the-top madness well. Anime are essentially soap operas. I can envision the ninja/cowboy character to have just delivered a ten minute dramatic monologue about needing to avenge his murdered family after a tragic plane crash while falling in love with the other character's long lost brother. This song is high action but it's also tragic and beautiful. At first I was wondering how the song related to image at all. I was expecting ye-haw horses, shoot-outs, bullet casings falling to the ground, cheesy tumble weed samples. What you gave us was far more exciting than whatever I was initially expecting due to the image.

I will however take off one point for missing that extra little atmosphere. There is space in this mix for some western sound effects and samples. A revolver spinning like a vibraslap, some tambourine spurs walking through the saloon doors, A STALLION RAGING IN THE SUNSET WHILE THE RIDER HAPPY FIRES A PISTOL INTO THE AIR. How do you expect to get a job for Disney or Pixar if you can't "yee-haw" a little? Shame on you Nahu :p

I'm also honoring the nature of the contest by taking off points when people don't make use of that author's comments section to really divulge how the art managed to inspire the music. Too many people are leaving the author's comments blank completely. With such a strong piece of music you could literally only help yourself by saying anything at all about the art you choose. "I liked the colors" or a short poem about a pistol standoff. The song sounds inspired but I shouldn't be able to say more about your music than you can.

I'm taking the time to write a review for everyone's music so I'll give you a little advice: we are a community of like minded composers and small creative assault squads. You can help introduce yourself to new people by always taking the time to express yourself a little more. Use the author's comments to share your aspirations and influences, write a short manifesto. If this contest was themed after musicality or epic guitar solos you'd have gotten a perfect score hands down. I need to honor everyone that contributed by considering the relevance to the art and though the music worked perfectly for me, I have no idea that it might translate perfectly for others. This is one of my favorite songs from the contest, next time share a little more about what inspired you and endear yourself to the community. Guilt us into loving you by showing a little additional love and respect to the illustrators that drew their stuff :3

[A+B - Lorelei]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Anonymous-Frog, Lorelei ft. BeepBoxClock: 8,5,6,3 (22/40)

When I saw that art I kind of expected Iron Maiden or Guns & Roses era metal. You might have been better suited picking some pixel art to compliment your sounds and tools but I won't hound you for being ambitious. I was very confused trying to connect the illustration to the music so I gave you an equally confusing 3 to relevance. I've been hounding musicians in this competition to write more about their music and how the art inspired them. Saying something about the art and how it inspired you can only boost your relevancy points and makes it harder on judges to give out low relevancy scores. Guilt us into loving you by talking about the art work and how special it was to you. It can feel dumb when no one notices what you write, especially if you write a manifesto but it's honestly for the people that care and as a judge I care.

I don't necessarily like looking at the art but I'm not judging your music on how much I like the illustration. I'm trying to find connections. We have a demonic figure drooling on top of a seemingly naked woman. There's a red fog in the air and waves are crashing on the shoreline. You could have sampled some waves crashing to create more atmosphere or some howling wind to transport us into the image. I don't necessarily want to encourage any illegal sampling but judges would have such a hard time identifying waves crashing sampled from a one hour long meditation YouTube video. Though most contemporary programs let you rip audio straight off your hard dive a free program like Audacity can do it too, no special equipment or skills needed. You just have to look it up and try it out for yourself.

Some aux percussion might have opened up the track a little, some chimes would go in nicely. Some high fidelity orchestral percussion. I could envision plucked violin strings and drum swells. You're really limited inside of BeepBox, the sound that program produces are very low fidelity. I'd see about putting this mp3 into a program like Audacity and playing with layering samples straight on top of your initial work. It might take a little practice and this technique won't work as well as a full fledged digital audio workstation but using Audacity in tandem with Beepbox, you might be able to get some incredible sounds. I use Audacity all the time to trim vocal samples from larger documentaries or news broadcasts. It's a great tool available for anyone getting started with audio!

I hope this review was helpful and that you keep making inspired sounds. A tough critique can hurt but my goal is always to encourage people to grow and learn! I wish you the best Anonymous-Frog and I hope to hear some progression in your style in the near future!

CrimsonKero responds:

A 3 for 'Relevance to Artwork'? I thought it would be a little higher.

I agree that BeepBox is a lot more limiting than something like Reason or FL Studio (even the earliest versions of those from the 2000s). I tend to use it because a. it's been my primary "DAW" for many years and it's what I'm used to, b. limitations help foster creativity, and c. I don't have to hog around 20MB source files on my computer, only to lose it to a hard-drive failure, just a 20KB URL that I can easily share on Twitter or in the description. I also agree that this song isn't what you expected and that I should've explained more about it in the description.

I took advantage of the new 'Simultaneous instruments per channel' feature introduced around version 4.0 to squeeze multiple synthesized instruments into just 4 channels, even though it supports 15 and most modifications support even more, so it's even more limited. This was in part inspired by video game composers like Tim Follin, who managed to make kickass music for even more restrictive systems in the 80s and 90s like the NES or Commodore 64.

= The blue channel has two instruments that I switch back and forth as a 'call and response' between the two characters in ol' Wally's artwork. The lower pitched wobbly 'voice' represents the knight and the higher pitched softer 'voice' represents the naked lady.

= The yellow channel is not just some harsh-sounding bass, I also used it for some percussion and sometimes some higher-pitched instruments.
How this works is that I have a sustaining melody instrument that's set to play regardless of the note's volume, while the percussion requires volume. That way I can have one note with percussion and one note without in the same channel. However, there's no volume control on the melody instruments and it's harder to do pitch control

This trick can also be seen here with just 2 channels.
https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/1132792

= The red channel has the highest amount of instruments, with 8 instruments that I switch between and up to 4 that can be played at once, including a copy of the knight's voice in a section where I couldn't use both voices separately.

= The grey channel's a dedicated noise/drum channel. I used this both for regular drums and also to simulate waves and wind. It's not the real thing, but it's a close enough approximation. It also helps add some 'grunge' to the red channel's instruments.

Thanks for the review! I've made a few endeavours into using samples. There is a variant of BeepBox that supports samples, Pandora's Box, but that's still very experimental. I've tried it a few times, but most of the samples there come from games like EarthBound or Sonic the Hedgehog (which might be a bit iffy for me), and custom samples uploaded by other users can only be used in an experimental beta, and there's no 'no-repeat' option, so samples keep looping. I also use Bandlab sometimes, which has its own mastering options, which I sometimes use on its own.

[AIM - Void Metrics]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Banana-head, Void Metrics: 7,6,10,1 (24/40)

As I've written to other users in this contest, writing more about your creative process and how the art inspired you will only help us judge the tracks better. At the very least, writing a few key sentences or a poem will guilt us into assuming there was an honest attempt. I've played drums in one or two bands with this kind of post-hardcore/grindcore energy and it hurts to take points off "relevancy to artwork" because I can't really picture the connection at all. I wrote reviews for everyone in this contest and I almost always managed to write more about the music than the artists did which isn't fair for me. You can't expect that your music will always speak for itself. Sometimes you need to share your goals or aspirations to help others bridge the gaps. Newgrounds is a community of like-minded renegades and creative misfits. We love to inspire each other and learn from one another. Don't be afraid to give us a piece of your mind Mr. Banana.

Language barriers exist, I noticed you are Brazilian. There's actually a huge Latin American population on Newgrounds at the moment. I'm seeing Spanish more and more often, me encanto. Though I don't use it often, I love seeing Español and challenging myself to understand it better. Google translate isn't always perfect but it's a decent tool to help us better understand one another. Don't be afraid to drop words in whatever language you need to convey your ideas. How did this music relate to the art in your own words or language? Hit us with your feelings.

Another user that submitted a similar production style was "Yoshiii343," go listen to his work because you two have a similar recording sound quality. I listen to bands like Archspire, Dillinger Escape Plan, Animals As Leaders, Mushugga, Chimp Spanner, or Chon. There is a sound quality you lack and those artists are a great example of that maximum thrash energy while still composing a perfect mix quality. You're musical ideas are wonderful but nailing fidelity techniques will help you deliver a more powerful sound.

Music is a huge part of my life and I love giving people the time out of my own life to try and inspire others to be the best that they can be. I really love this sound and energy but work to master your production quality and become the most powerful version of yourself that you can be! You can be so powerful! SO MUCH POWER D:

Salud y buenos días mi amigo :3

Banana-head responds:

Thanks so much for your review! I actually agree with your point of giving a little insight on how i came up with the song, i just never created the habit to do it on the songs i post here, i usually just say what sub genre of metal the song is and thats it for a description.
What i can say about this song is that in the instant i saw the artwork i immediately thought ''oh hey, Voivod-esque artwork, this is my stuff'' and i just had to make a Voivod style track to it. They're pretty much my favorite band with a unique sound and a unique artwork made by the drummer, i thought the sci-fi aspect of the artwork i based the song on would fit the sci-fi weirdness of Voivod-esque riffs and thats pretty much all the thought i put into the composition. I dont usually put too much thought into music as... i dont know... i just never had that emotional and subjective attachment to art, my mind is very mechanical and objective. If you ask me what does an artwork means to me or what makes me feel you pretty much won't get an answer from me lol, so as much as i love being a musician and making music myself, i never put too much thought other than ''hey, these notes sound good together and i have the musical theory knowledge so i can make it sound a certain way''.

[AIM - Lost in the dark]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
IndexatioN, Lost In The Dark: 8,8,8,6 (30/40)

Another beautiful but hard EDM track. I'm in love with this kind of stuff but I'm really hounding people for sticking to their strengths instead of making a song that undeniably reflects the image. By explaining your creative process a little more you could have at least guilted me into believing that you were inspired by the art. This isn't necessarily a competition that rewards perfect fidelity and danceability. That "relevance to artwork" category that I've been asked to reference is incredibly subjective but there are ways you could have tied ideas back to that adorable illustration. A light bulb makes a very distinct sound as it fizzles out and dies. I'd have sampled the gentle percussion sound that a dead lightbulb makes when you shake it. The scenery and character implies a hypnotic gentle loneliness. She's not exactly standing in a club surrounded by hundreds of sweaty guys, she is alone. That ending was perfect, the piano somber and reflective. As much as I love DNB and Dubstep, those pounding drums make no sense in this setting. It was the wrong energy for the illustration. The moth isn't flying or running, she is standing still fixated on the light bulb. You made a very high energy dance song when you could have just muted the drums and had a much more powerful ambient track that focused more on your graceful auxiliary sounds and tonal instruments.

I actually did something similar recently with an old DNB track in where I removed the drums and the song became 100% better. Sometimes less is more. Many artists feel that they need to shoe-horn their strengths into a track to get the judge's attention but sometimes going outside your comfort zone is how you really impress us. Music isn't always some grand affair with laser shows, pyrotechnics, and burlesque dancers. Sometimes the perfect song is a simple lonely melody around a crackling campfire. That final 30 seconds is what I most anticipated to fit the image. Try to go full orchestral percussion next time, mix in some moody French horns. Some violin strings would have sounded nice anywhere presented legato or staccato (bow vs plucked.) I'm a huge DNB nerd but I also love those romantic classical sounds. Many EDM artists hone their orchestral skills with composed introductions, breakdown, or outros. You clearly have the right skills to do that but sometimes you have to toss contemporary drums out the window entirely in favor of focusing on atmosphere.

You unknowingly shot yourself in the foot in that I happen to produce a ton of DNB/dubstep. Not only did the drums not fit the image but I felt like the drums weren't mixed perfectly. The drum samples got repetitive and lacked a little energy. I've gotten so used to hearing DNB in the last 15 years that I'm not easily surprised by a crisp kick or a punchy snare sample. Relying on good drum samples is something many users need to learn about but then you also have to put your own spin on them afterwards. Panning data is something I harp on people for not taking advantage of, the drums in particular have a lot of space to be moved around. Though you want to keep the kick and snare in the middle of the field, the auxiliary percussion like hi hats, shakers, bells, and chimes can be pushed to the sides a little and balanced. You can have two to three hi-hats battling across that stereo space to make interestingly high energy rhythms. I knob twiddle my aux percussion until they all have happy little places in the mix. I'm only hearing one lonely little hi-hat. Compliment that hi-hat rhythm with a tambourine or shaker and use the hi-hat to add energetic 16th note accents. Add a ride bell to accent certain off beat grooves. Use a ghost snare to accent the off beats as well which gives off a much more "human" sound. None of the details I'm providing in this specific paragraph would have helped your "relevance to artwork" score but I wouldn't have taken points off of "production" because of your drums.

I don't want these reviews to come across as hurtful, there is so much great music being made yours included. I can hear potential and many Newgrounds composers have something special. This is still a great track, I'm just trying to be fair with everyone. Have a great day Index!

IndexatioN responds:

Welp, that's one of the most honest reviews I've ever had. Thanks. Some parts even made me laugh. And yes, i totally agree with all the points provided there, and i would not consider this work as my best either. Anyway, I'll try to take everything into consideration :)

[AIM - Trinitron]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
CorruptModule, Trinitron: 8,8,6,9 (31/40)

Well, you may have lucked out with a judge that spends a lot of time with breakcore and hardstyle genres but I'm good at checking my bias. I can give you massive credit for finding illustrations that suit your apparent strengths. There's an honor system we have to acknowledge that the musicians are truly finding works of art that inspired them. The image you found could suit any number of "club" genres and styles, honestly breakcore doesn't bring in the crowd the way two-step does in my experience. Totally unrelated to your music, I saw Evol Intent in NYC ages ago. They have a lot of breakcore, IDM, and glitch in their catalog but the DJ set that they played had a lot of "jump up" two-step DNB breaks. It was a funny surprise, the simplistic high energy drum breaks really got the audience grooving but I was hoping they'd play more of that "Era Of Diversion" and "Human Resource" material I grew up on. Two step drum patterns in the streets, breakcore and glitch in the sheets.

Actually, you consistently used that high energy "two step" DNB jump-up pattern I'm talking about. Nice switch up towards the two minute mark, I love that nasty break section. This track is like an agreement between jump-up and hardstyle breakcore: a handshake to coexist. I'm a huge fan of progressive ideas and genres, find what you love about music and make it your own. I'll bring up a minor issue of taste, those grimy synth lines are a little boring. Over 15 years ago, a critic of my music once told me "DNB synths just sound like fart noises." It's been my goal ever since to avoid that boring low energy sawtooth tone. The drums are high energy but you're kind of relying on those "farty" tones and textures from the synths. I love what I'm hearing but I'd have dropped a filter on top of the lead synths and automated freq/res knobs to create more interesting tones and textures to get "wetter" contemporary sounds. I can hear you playing with tones and textures, I love that but the tones and textures from that grating low reese synth overpowers things a fair bit. Using a filter and some automation lanes you can draw peaks and valleys to create rhythmic accents. Boost and cut frequencies over time to bring more life to those monster synths. I never let a reese "fart" unless it's only momentary. Sorry to use that word, fart. It's a trigger word for me and I'll always squirm a little when someone uses it to describe a synth.

The song is all energy. I like to hear DNB that can deliver that max energy but also tells a little story. You have great atmospheric tricks, you could of used more atmosphere and less drums at times. Noisia made the statement very early in their DNB career that they wanted to make music that could fit in with the dance floor or a DJ set but they also wanted their songs to sound good enough to be listened to casually on their own. This track really feels like it fits in with an hour long DJ set but it doesn't really make me want to come back and listen to it in my free time. I've been listening to DNB for a fairly long time, go give "Moonway Renegade" by Noisia a listen, it's a personal favorite of mine (low quality on youtube, try to find a high resolution versions of songs when looking up Noisia). Powerful synths for 2006 but the filter modulations they programmed contributed to a really unique groove. They built a synth in that which sounds very similar to yours but the modulations they programmed have remained interesting and powerful over 15 years later. "Monster" by Noisia also uses "farty" tones but they clearly have a filter on top giving a slight wobble to the texture. Those cats programmed some masterclass grooves.

I'm sorry if this comes across as overly critical but I love what I'm hearing and only wish for you to keep pounding out some solid work. Everyone needs a hard critique from time to time but I know you can do more and I know you can do a little better. One final footnote, thank you for posting so much data, I griped on people for not writing enough about their creative process. It's a tough contest to judge and you can influence things a little by showing that extra attention to detail. Music doesn't always speak for itself but you went ahead and said everything you could. I got to keep moving forwards but have a good day Currupt! Salud and salutations :D

(Final statement, I almost didn't catch that the illustration was animated. By putting the illustration on the same page as the music I almost missed that element. I've mentioned to a few other users that the animated images seem to lend the music some energy. A moving picture is almost essential for those DNB genres in that DNB is a style that should make you want to get up and move. I added an extra point to "relevance," because that motion is a really powerful tool. I'm curious if next year will feature only moving images after I've pointed this out so often...)

CorruptModule responds:

Thank you for the criticism! I was a little bit bummed that this one didn’t make it for the finale 20 songs but that’s alright. This is probably close to a second or thirdish time I messed with this genre. I am glad tho to get this criticism from someone who has really enjoy the genre for awhile now. I myself started around 2020 just listening to it. At first I was unsure a bit but I truly love this genre now. I think what I worry the most about when I try making music for a genre I’m not to familiar with or I haven’t been part of for 10 years is people criticizing me on that but you haven’t. It’s really nice to now that a new person in the genre can still flourish in it. I also produce many other genres I can’t satisfy my self with just one genre. So thank you for this criticism I don’t really get it to often ,especially one this detailed, but thank you for it I really do appreciate it.

I still have some other things to add. I get the idea of “fart” synths. I prefer “shitting my pants” synths as a term instead. ( that was a joke don’t take it that seriously) but fr I understand that “fart” synth moment. I try and stay away from those and I really like growl sounding or kinda “electronic screaming? Thingy” sounding stuff. For some reason tho I really liked the idea of the drop being like this. When I was working on the synth I just loved how aggressive it’s was. It was mean it was nasty it I feel wanted to be put into a song that was breakcore/ dubstep/ riddim/ tear out. I feel if I didn’t make that song with this synth it would have not been the same vibe.
And being this proud I will defend my synth as tho it were my own child. Yes it was farting but with style. Yeah I’ll try and keep away from those type synths unless the song demands it of course.

I couple more things:
- I was kinda annoyed that the gif file I put on the description didn’t work. I was I bit mad but I couldn’t really find a way to fix that so thx for pointing it out. I didn’t know how it showed up on others, I really thought it was just my internet tweaking.
- I really could talk about all my songs with as much or more detail here. I try to keep it simple for the other ones. The great part about aim is that I can blabber about the song for a whole as essay and someone will ( unfortunately) have to read it.
- I’m a go check out the songs you recommended to me thank you for that.
- mfr’s love fart synths

Also once again thank you for the criticism. Thank you for taking your time with my song and evaluating it as unbiased as possible. I do feel like it can be necessary to have people on the judging team either have a lot experience in specific genres. So I guess I am lucky that I got you to judge my song. Thanks lad.

[AIM - Charon]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
AlbeGian, Charon: 10,10,10,9 (39/40)

I was looking forward to getting around to this one. I decided to write a review for everyone in the competition and it's been a real pleasure to absorb everyone's tunes. It can feel that some users in this contest tried to shoehorn their strengths into song when the illustrations called for less, I just got off a review where my main criticism was a drum kit not fitting in with the peaceful bedtime scenery. Your decision to go with minimal orchestral percussion suited the scenery nicely. It's a very relaxing tune and manages to stay interesting the whole time, inventive sound design.

A missed opportunity I noticed would have been some train station ambience samples like some warning bells, a chugging smoke stack plowing away in the distance, some footsteps, maybe the cooing of pigeons. It's a celestial train station so maybe some chimes to echo twinkling stars? Atmospheric cues and samples like that suit the AIM competition nicely. I doubt any of the judges are going to get angry with atmospheric samples. Regardless, you have such a beautiful style that stands on it's own that the only thing a sample could bring to the table is "relevance to artwork" points and some noise. I took off a point for that one little thing because someone with such professional sound design and strong composing skills should have caught onto that element in the visual. We have a train station and no audible cue to signal that. HOW DO YOU EVER EXPECT TO GET A JOB MAKING MUSIC FOR DISNEY OR PIXAR IF YOU CAN'T SAMPLE A TRAIN ALBE? HOW DO YOU EXPECT TO GET THE SEX EYES FROM HANS ZIMMER??? j/k, it's such a minor crit.

I wish you had written more about the process and how you gained inspiration from the art. Just because I think the music suit the image nicely I'm operating on the honor system that the image inspired anything at all. The image is an otherworldly celestial train station with a wonderfully inventive soundscape but I'd have loved to know your inspirations a little more. Never be ashamed to write a manifesto, only an ass would get mad at it.

gg AlbeG, salutations and all that :3

[AIM 2022 - Night Rain]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
CattyxOwOriginals, Night Rain: 8,8,8,6 (30/40)

I'm not entirely sure I'm feeling the connection to the art but I can still respect the music. Some of that melodic work was inspired, that scratch plug-in was fun. I'm pretty sure I have the same scratch samples in a sample folder originally downloaded in 2008. They can be plugged into a sampler and scratched with the mod wheels. I used to love throwing down that scratch patch but I'm getting distracted by old-person nostalgia. I guess I should focus on why I'm not feeling the hip-hop bed time vibes...

The lights are out, the dog is asleep, and we got thug drum beats. As a drummer myself I almost never play my drums into the night, I'd wake up my fiance. Neighbors can also be a huge problem when playing drums into the wee hours of the morning. It's unfortunate that I happened to disagree with your drums because drums are my favorite instrument to play. The rhythms are well written and inspired but percussion instruments don't exactly scream "bedtime lullaby." You got chops with your writing skills but I've learned over the years that you don't always have to lean into what your good at if the competition is asking for something simpler or different. My favorite part was the very end when the track really calms down and the drums completely disappear, sorry about that.

Worth noting is that the human in this scene appears to be awake and out of bed, perhaps having a cup of water or just away sleep walking. Footstep samples might have helped build an atmosphere. The rainfall outside the window could have been brought into the song with stormy rainfall samples. I'm not going to encourage you to do anything illegal but you can always download a free program like Audacity, and just rip sounds straight from any old youtube video. Judges and mods would be none the wiser for it but you can always claim "fair use" in a pinch by simply pitch bending the sample a semitone up or down. I've never had a situation where a content creator was sampled then sent out cease-and-desist letters for atonal instruments like waterphones, vibraslaps, or chimes. There are many videos that are an hour or so long, uploaded for sleep or meditation. Worth knowing is that many courts have ruled short audio samples are "de minimus" or not worth the court's time to litigate. I'm not a lawyer, only a very interested party in regards to the history and legality of sampling. As long as you're not uploading someone else's music and claiming it to be your own, many of the judges can accept that a certain amount of sampling takes place and we will look the other way. Just don't go overboard and forget to engineer your own sounds, melodies, and rhythms. Fun toys if a little expensive, field recorders will allow you to slowly develop sample libraries via sounds you come across yourself.

I'd have given a better score for composition if there was less percussion and more calming ambiance. In regards to production, the track was a little quiet which is acceptable for the scenery but unfortunately it didn't impress me. This is going to sound paradoxical and crazy but you could have written a more relaxing tune with slightly bigger sounds, and deeper tones. That bass line might have better suit the night time atmosphere written legato, sparse, and powerful instead of staccato & constant funk. This is such a funky little ditty, I almost would have preferred you to have cut loose and gotten a lower relevancy-to-artwork score just to rock out with louder funk sounds but I can't ask you to shoot yourself in the foot like that. A different image might suit your strengths better.

Aside from raindrop samples you can also program fairly realistic water droplets with a sine wave synth, a quick pitch bend modulation, and a little reverb. That takes practice but it's a fun trick. Romantic era composers would often emulate nature when they wrote for piano, hands can flow about the piano like flowing water or rain. Chimes could emulate the spirit of rain. You have a strong composition for melody and rhythm but you can get so much out of your soundscape by learning how to take advantage of those ambient sounds. A favorite fluxist artist of mine has always been John Cage who was a man obsessed with soundscapes and abstract noises as music. He's worth looking into regardless of what kind of music you make because literally every genre can make use of musique concrète influences. Often a hip-hop album can feature atmosphere with tracks built off of conversations had outside busy city sidewalks or home life. A surf rock band could intro their album to the sound of waves crashing and people having fun. Country music can feature the sound of horses or car engines. Ambiance takes work but a scene like the one you choose says to me "minimal music, maximum ambiance."

I hope this review doesn't come across too harshly. We're all creative people on Newgrounds, you are surrounded by super talented peers! After high school, I spent four years at Alfred University earning a BFA and when you major in art, you get used to giving and receiving critiques. The process is meant to be helpful and I've watched so many users grow up over the years that I've been here. If you are honestly 15 (as your profile says) we are lucky to have you here. I'd love to hear you progress, develop, and carve out a unique sound or style that represents you. Take pride in your tune, despite my critical feedback it's a good one. Salud and salutations CattyxOwOriginals, excelsior!