Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Taking Out The Trash (AIM2022) Roberta]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Trackers, Taking Out The Trash: 8,5,9,10 (32/40)

Lmao, getting a little old-school Prodigy break beat vibes from those evolving acid synth lines and subby basses. I love that you wrote up a little story to direct our attention as the track changes and evolves. Other users have done similar things in the past and though it can serve as a distraction, it still shows a level of awareness that other users seem to ignore. I went into judging this competition under the impression that relating the music to the art was most essential. This requirement can be a little subjective but by directing my attention with a story you've created a means for me to feel more engaged. I've gotten on other users cases for not writing enough, you went in the exact opposite direction which makes a huge statement.

If I'm going to take off points I'm going to most likely nit-pick production issues. Being a huge EDM nerd myself I'll wonder why you opted for using live drum kit samples and sounds. The drums are the most important element to any genre of EDM and this kind of drum choice comes across as amateurish. Some of the drums sound like Garageband samples and though emulating live drummers is a good production technique for certain sounds and genres, it really takes away from the over all composition and production quality that this could have aspired to. If you go listen to some Prodigy right now you might notice that the energy from the drums matches the energy of the surrounding track as well. Since I'm feeling generous I'll include some tips for producing powerful drum samples in EDM. Often, it just requires starting out with good samples but you can own the samples better by layering sounds to make new sounds. When you write EDM you can really engineer your drums to be unique and special. These drums sound like they belong to an 80s hair metal band. EDM production techniques have gotten so nuanced that people tend to forget the drums are the most important element. With individual drum layers you can bend the pitch of your mids or highs, toy with the fidelity of tones and textures, and develop a signature drum sound that belongs entirely to you. I can respect that the drum kit evolved a little during the track but I wasn't impressed with the over all "rock-and-roll drum sample" vibe. Layer in some punchy 909 snare samples, maybe some clap snares to help crescendo and decrescendo at times? You can make drum rolls entirely from a single snare drum getting pitch bent over time.

The overall work is very strong but I have to nit-pick everything about the work submitted to the contest and my issue with the drums will be a huge hit to your score. EDM drums have gotten so unique and powerful that I'm left feeling like this one missing element is too important to ignore. Listen to some professional drum and bass or some dubstep and try to emulate those drum tones and textures via new samples, layering, and fidelity tools. You're clearly a strong producer but I know we can always be better. I hope that your proud of your work and that I will hear from you again in the future, the EDM scene needs more breakbeat producers pumping out quality tunes.

Trackers responds:

Thanks for taking the time! If I am brutally honest about the choice of kit... I just have never programmed a 'real kit' before. I was having some fun pretending I'd even be capable of playing something like that for real. I'm a big fan of The Prodigy, I'm also old ;), I know exactly what you mean. I just got caught up in the fun of playing with a new toy. Thanks again for volunteering to Judge!

[AIM - Mystery]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
TenodiBoris, Mystery : 8,7,4,1 (20/40)

I took a look at the art before listening to the music and said "oh shit." We're really left to interpret how the art relates to the music and that has the potential to lead to a little disappointment. You took a huge risk by using an abstract, psychedelic, arguably meaningless visual. I'm not getting a lot of structure from the art so when I heard the drum kit I kind of sighed and said "damn." I'm an old drummer and though I love some driving percussion it just didn't fit in with the art you chose. I can acknowledge the work you put into the track, you have some very strong ideas but you should pick a visual next time that really conveys a time, place, feeling, or setting. This track won't manage to stand out from other tracks in the competition and I'm at risk of forgetting about it when compared to some of the other presentations. I feel like you really challenged yourself in some respects such as structure and length, but given how important the art is for this competition you shot yourself in the foot a little.

I want to apologize because so far, this is the harshest review I've written. I mean no harm by it, sometimes we need to hear a little constructive criticism to help guide our creative aspirations. Hopefully I'll hear more from you in the future, I love getting to know the community better. You're a part of our community so never be afraid to share a little bit about yourself and your intentions. It can really help a judge better understand the work if you mention what makes you tick, what you were aiming for, or how you felt personally. You have the space to write a manifesto. Good luck with the other judges, regardless of my review this was a pleasurable track to listen to, if a little strange. Have a wonderful day Tenodi!

TenodiBoris responds:

Thank you for the review :)

[AIM 2022 | Siberg - The Journey]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Siberg, The Journey: 8,8,5,10 (31/40)

A smart piece of art to choose for some downtempo minimal house. The song is moody and drones which really works for the setting in the pixel art. Boring highway drives can get me listening to music I wouldn't normally listen to and admittedly I have a few house tracks in my highway driving mixes. To be honest with you the song is a little boring but so is driving across the country at night hence my high relevancy score.

Despite the positive qualities I can pick up on, I'm just not very impressed when it comes to down-tempo minimal house, artists like Sequenced can fight me. You could have toyed more with your panning data to make the track a little more engaging. Panning an instrument can give off illusions of volume and movement. A sound that's panned will give off the impression that it's a little louder and can be turned down to make more room in the field for other instruments, tones, and samples. Panning will also literally create space on the opposite side of the field. You can engage listeners more when you have tones introduced from unexpected directions. Though you perfectly managed to convey the feelings of the art, boring might not have been the best outcome. There's a lot of standout talent in this competition that got me out of my chair and drooling. Additional panning data might have grabbed my attention some more by emulating the motion of passing cars on a highway.

Though I'm not taking off points for the next bit, I'm going to say that I'm really hounding people this year for not writing more about their work, their creative process, and their feelings. We are a community of nutty artists and content creators. We learn from each other and overtime become familiar with each other's ticks, drives, and desires. I love this community a lot, even though it can sometimes get slightly petty or combative. We're like a family that bickers around the dinner table once a year. Having the courage to say a little bit more about yourself and your work can endear you to others. Regardless of that, thank you for your participation. This is the first time I'm taking notice of you and your work. I only have one "token-house-friend" on Newgrounds but you could teach the rest of us how to love the genre as much as he did for me.

Siberg responds:

Thanks for the words. I agree with you on many of your points. So, I'll elaborate on a bit of my process for this track because I agree more people on this platform should talk about their creative processes and I honestly never do that. Partially because I still consider myself an apprentice level producer even with 10 years of FL Studio knowledge in my head.

This track was made in 4 hours. I think I started with the "wow wow woooow" and added reverb and stuff. I thought it was cool so I decided to make something around that. Next, I added the backing synth chord layer to give it some life. Then, the beats and the bass. I usually try to get the sidechaining done once I decide on a kick and bass. It's a chore at this point since I've done it so many times and I try to work quickly so I don't lose the next idea in my head.

The kick is actually the very first kick in 'Tame Impala - Borderline'. All I did was turn up the bass, lower the highs and cut the tail. Also, the ambient sounds throughout the track (you can hear at the 1st and 8th bar for reference) are actually the vocals to 'Circa Survive - Frozen Creek' with a long attack reverb on it which gives you a unique pad effect. I was gonna put vocals in there but I usually shy away from the idea, but not before adding some and messing around for a bit. That about sums it up. The track is boring. :) If using these samples are against the rules, then I guess I just dug my own grave. RIPBOZO

Plug-ins / VSTs:
Bass - DCO-106
Chords - Sylenth1
Intro Synth - Sylenth 1
Lead Synth - Repro-1
Wow Wow Wow - "Cymatics - SYNTH Motion - C"

[AIM - Battle of Ships]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
JinZ Battle Of Ships: 10,8,10,10 (38/40)

Stop making me bop to this, I'm trying to compare how this song relates back to the art and the listenability/complexity is making me hella biased. Good work on making a track so wonderfully engaging and energetic.

I'm gonna nit pick the mix a little, it looks like you maxed out your sound field but the track is sounding a little flat for some reason. I might recommend experimenting with your panning data. Sounds that are panned give off the illusion that they are a little louder and panning will free up room on the other side of the field for other tones and textures. Dynamic changes to stereo data can make a track become more engaging for the listener. Panning also emulates "movement," which is a powerful tool a lot of producers never take advantage of. This track kicks so much ass, I just wish the mix down was perfect. I won't take off too many points for the mix but this is one of my genres and I'd love to hear you do it at 110%. I'm also getting on some people's case for not writing enough, Newgrounds is a community that feeds back into itself, sometimes we're like a family that argues. After spending decades of my life on this website I've come to appreciate knowing more about people that come through here. Use this creative space to develop a manifesto of sorts. Your kind to include your age on your profile, I've worked with a lot of prodigies here that went on to do impressive things. I believe you'll do very well with a metered anticipation of your future. FYI, there's almost no money in music but you can still pursue your dreams and find satisfaction with your work regardless of outcome. I'd be very satisfied with this amazing work of sound design if it was my own.

I'm not taking off massive points for the mix/panning because the art chosen is legit hi-class pixel art. The music is almost too good for the art but the fact that it's animated is playing into a deceptive degree of complexity. You did honor to the artist with work that makes me wish this was a steam game I could purchase and play. Though the mix sounds a little flat, there's still plenty of room for ambient sfx if this was playing in the background of a video game. That space is where I'd sneak in classic retro 8-bit chips and blips, panned to emulate their location on the screen. At the moment of scoring this, I feel you have exceptionally accomplished the task of the contest. Each judge will approach the subs in their own way but know that I loved this, and it was a treat to listen to. Top tier work.

An additional footnote I'm adding at the time of posting this review, don't be afraid to write more about your creative process, what specifically inspired you, and how it relates to the visual. Tagging your equipment is beneficial, this is a community of peers that often loves and rewards data. You don't have to write as much as I do but I take notice when people include their feelings. Often it feels like no one is listening or paying attention but when they do, holy shit it feels good. I hope you have a wonderful day JinZ, salud!

JinZ responds:

Tysm for this feedback
I think youre right, i should elaborate what was going on before i release a track xD

[TRANS RIOT MUSIC]

Snare after that first drop has a crispy snap to it on my Sennheiser's but I know that hi-freq snare pop would be painful on a pair of Audio Technica's. Even without switching the cans it's killing me a little on my Sennheiser babies. Include your equipment in your tags so I can know what to listen to this on, it rocks so damn hard but I want to hear it with the apparatus you intend it for. Should I turn around and plug this into my PA system? Something tells me it's gonna shake my house apart if I give it a go on the monitors... SHOULD I DO IT? SHOULD I SHAKE THE HOUSE DOWN??

FREE99 responds:

yes Yes. YES

also mixing these songs is impossible @ this point too messy, all are at +1 LUFS etc.. made with SHURE SRH840s doesnt sound painful 2 us on mac speakers, HR824's, a scarlett solo, iPhones, or DT 770s but our ears are also. used to a beating at this point. appreciate that feedback / might play around w it a bit ^^ <3

[Nowhere 2 Go (Feat. Milkypossum & Maxxjamez)]

Woof, y'all three are killing it. Explosive beats, catchy hook, romantic old school drum machine samples... perfect music collab <3

YasiinClemens responds:

Thank you so much 😭

[Shining Star ✨]

I mean, I'd toss this into cinematic or video game. Those genres tend to blend styles and ideas freely as both a movie or a video game needs music that evolves with the action. Also, VG producers tend to be super chill and experimental. Nice people. Either genre fits this just fine.

I'd give this some bigger constructive crits but I'm not an FL user. Instruments all sound hella nice, those FL presets? Kids these days get the best preset synths and drum loops, in my day we had to scrape drums off of youtube <3

EDIT/RE: it's all good love. I was actually mostly curious about that drum loop. I started in GarageBand back in 2006/2007, used only preset instruments and drum samples. Everyone starts somewhere but it looks like you've been at it a few years now. You're age excites me, you're at a great place for 16, prodigy <3

CJspellsfish responds:

aight, I change that genre to a videogame. didn't wanna mark it vgm because I dont wanna put all my songs in one genre.
the instruments used:
FLEX/Essential Strings/Violins Staccato
FLEX/General Midi Library/Timpani
GMS/Leads & Synths/Drivepass
NES VST/Triangle
FLEX/General Midi Library/Synthbass 101
FLEX/Essential Strings/Cellos Sustain
FPC/Electronic/707
Sytrus/Arp/303ish 4
FLEX/Essential Pianos/Electric Piano
GMS/Classic Detune TE
LABS/Percussion/Percussion
Boobass
FLEX/Histebe Electronica/Between Voices
samples used:
drum loop (idk where its from)
a very short static sound

[She Makes You Feel Like You're Alone]

As a bad bitch, I take offense to this song but also... I don't care because I'M BAD YO. I LOVE MYSELF, you just sads.

That wah'd up guitar solo was perfect. Damn Joe-Mega, calm down. That guitar solo takes a goofy song and makes it actually legit good. Blues/Hip-hop/Synthwave/Indy rock sandwich xD

Vocals are channeling some Faith No More... and now I'm listening to Epic... HOW DOES THAT SONG ALWAYS GET BACK INTO MY EAR??? D:<

Joe-Mega responds:

Damn, too kind truly.

[The catalyst [ambient djent 2]]

Wow, wrapped up in an almost two hour jam? Love it when creative projects happen like that. Nice guitar patches, I'm guessing it's all in DAW? I only recently patched up some guitars for a project, never liked digital sounding guitars but digital instruments have gotten better every year :D

SchattenDnB responds:

Yes, the idea was to create a short metal demo just for the sake of it, I used to make a lot of my older music in this way since I really didn't have much of a choice. Getting the full version of my DAW really changed that in a way. Everything is all in the DAW, I understand the issue behind digital guitars, i just use them in between demos and also for aesthetic purposes as well since i can't get the same result out of my current guitar. I still fiddle around with it nonetheless and can even play some of the riffs I've wrote.

[just a little vibe check]

"Vibe check" is one of those youth slang terms, yes? I think I saw a meme or two vibe checking at the academy awards recently but I try not to know what humans are doing at all times. Loved the arpeggio. Honestly this track is so much more than I was expecting. That jazzy brass patch leads perfectly. Or I think that's a brass sound? It's way high pitch... I really can't identify it, I love it. That modest percussion let's the harmonic instruments do their thing. Harmonies are center stage here. Jeez, I love it when that plucky synth line decides to join the arps in the beginning. I wish I had some headphones on right now to see if there's any panning data but I'll do that laturz...

This is a really tasty music sandwich Mr. Death. I'd mosh to this <3

Father-of-Death responds:

thank you Quarl!!! <3 You are the best! :)