Quarl's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[AIM - Shining Lights]

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

Woah, hello big mix down. The wave shape actually echoed the illustration as far as I'm concerned. The image was claustrophobic, and that 1980's hard rock sound mixed big was a perfect fit. This is top tier. Not wasting anytime, first critique: despite the throw back to romantic 80's synthpop, I feel like these retro genres can benefit massively from better fidelity techniques. Either there's very little pan data in this mix or I'm a little deaf in one ear (I am) but some more aggressive stereo/panning data would help this old sound pop into the year 2022. I love hearing throw-backs to old genres but I don't like hearing throw-backs to flat old mix-downs. The electronic music scene in recent decades has really pushed sound quality to new heights and going back in time can be a double edged sword.

When mixing you want lower frequency bass tones towards the middle but thin auxiliary percussion can be thrown around a little more aggressively and used to counter balance other elements. Kick drums and snares belong to the middle but toss hi-hats to one side, counter with tambourines, bells, shakers, and what have you on opposite sides of the stereo field. That percussion section at 2:42 would have been a great time to have auxiliary percussion battling across the stereo field. I love playing with an aggressive ride cymbal the way you did during that section.

Panning creates the illusion that sounds are louder than they actually are so after you pan a sound you can turn it's levels down a little and you've now made room on the opposite channel to find something to balance it with. Automation lanes are totally fair game to find new locations for things in the mix if things get boring. Panning is a tool to emulate space. A drum fill can start on one side then bias to the other as if you're right on top of the drums and you're following the drummer's motion across the kit. You don't have to be accurate to a live drummer, you can get super experimental with how you pan drums but I find it's one of the instruments in a mix that can really make the stereo field more interesting. Panning is something so many people over look but good panning is the mark of a professional. You might have played with panning in this but I really can't tell and that's not a good thing. I got very bored with that constant bombardment of texture that never really evolved. You could say that constant bombardment emulates the drawing but a poor mix only distracts from the musicality without offering anything positive.

The melodies were awesome, solid chord progressions. Everything was great aside from that static pan data and an underwhelming bass tone. Though you pushed the field to it's max the song came across a little flat. With those mid to thin sounds panned more expertly the bass has more room in the middle to just rock solid and groove. These are the reasons I took points off in production but I had a hard time justifying taking anything else off. I got on people's case for saying next to nothing about their music but you said just enough to add a human element that I often took points off for. I was asked to judge for "emotion" and people having the bravery to talk about their creative process or what inspired them makes it easier for me to sense "authenticity." It's so easy to just nab a random image for this contest and write some uninspired track, I often have no clue if someone was truly inspired or if they faked it. I have to sit here and draw conclusions from opinion but taking the time to write some lyrics, or a poem, or just saying anything at all is a deceptively powerful tool for a music contest. Newgrounds is by and large made up of a community of peers. Learning how to communicate with that audience is essential. So many users assumed the music spoke for itself and often it didn't. One user in particular wrote nothing at all. I'm over here writing reviews for everyone in the contest because I felt like challenging myself and you all deserve some solid feedback. Often I pointed out though, to all the people that wrote one or two sentences: how is it that I can say so much about your music but you cannot? I have a feeling there will be more contestants next year taking advantage of stronger writing but many of the older regulars understand who their audience is.

You've been around since 2016 (I looked) and I think I've seen you around before. You shared just enough information and wrote a good enough track to get perfect "emotion" points from me but with a slightly more nuanced mix-down you could have stood out and remained more memorable. The only time I noticed any panning were those crashes at the 5 minute mark (yay, I noticed some pan data) but everything was so balanced towards the center that there was no surprise. Every sound colorlessly hit me with the same energy and although colorlessness reflects the image well, "relevance" was only one category. You could have pushed this mix down to god-tier with just a little more experience juicing out masterful fidelity. Retro sounds honestly benefit from contemporary mix quality. If you can pull it off you'll become so powerful. I'm grateful you included all your equipment tags. Have a wonderful day Zirius. Ever upwards!

xZiriusX responds:

this is exactly the kind of feedback i needed, thank for taking the time!

[AIM - Earliest Memories]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
DarkHorseOrchestra, Earliest Memories: 9,8,8,7

Full stop, I've written a massive review for almost everyone in the contest by now. A common critique I levied is that not enough users are taking advantage of the authors comments to toy with our feelings. I'm being asked to judge "emotion" in a contest about "inspiration." To make sure I'm treating everyone fairly I have to take EVERYTHING into consideration, even the possibility that composers aren't being honest. You can share a few quick sentences to really drive home an idea or emotion you wanted to express while simultaneously providing the community with a sense of authenticity. Some composers wrote poems, others reached out to the artists and asked for permission. That actually used to be a rule of the contest back in 2013, composers needed to reach out to illustrators in an attempt to gain permissions which helped build bonds in the community across portals. The spirit of that rule was exciting but I'm not sure it always worked out as intended. In the spirit of that rule however, I gained a lot of respect for musicians that shared their feelings, inspirations, and emotions. I usually took off one or two points in this contest if the artist tried letting tracks speak for themselves because often their work didn't. This is a hard contest to judge, toy with us some. Leave a poignant statement, thesis, or poem. It helps us relate to you and makes you memorable.

I'll point out a useful thing to know, tagging your equipment is a stamp of authenticity. I used to mod audio on Newgrounds back in 2009 and back then there was a pending list where new musicians would wait until an audio mod could get around to vetting them. We were encouraged to ask pointed questions about the creative process for their music in an attempt to sort out the people that were uploading stolen or copywritten content. The process was terrible and I got burnt out quick but that need to vet my peers has never dissipated. Other judges might not be as honest as I try to be but I'm willing to say these things because it can help you in the future. This is a really strong song with some solid emotions at play and your hard work is audible, please tell us a little bit more about your baby. We are a community of peers, a dysfunctional family at times. You can reach out to your listeners and fit into that community better by expressing yourself with a little more than the music itself. This kind of goes for everything in life, never be afraid to have a voice DarkHorse. I've said nothing about the actual song to this point. This is why judging Newgrounds competitions takes so long.

It looks like the drums are taking up most the room in the mix during that climax but you could have "compressed" forward other tones earlier in the track such as those pads and instruments. For the climax, sidechaining would help balance all those bigger tones and textures. I'm not looking for a brick necessarily but this entire track could have benefit from some foreboding orchestral perc like booming bass drums, bass drum & cymbal swells, chimes, bells, cowbell, vibraslap, waterphone... I've been sharing some of my sampling techniques with others in this contest. Being a "younger" member of the community can lead to an unease with sampling because at it's core the legal issues are somewhat mysterious but the people that mod often know the struggles. Not everyone can afford a field recorder and the lifestyle to record every atmospheric sound we come across. As long as a sample doesn't become the primary focus of a song most mods will turn a blind eye. A free program like Audacity is great for just nabbing certain materials from YouTube videos or elsewhere as it can rip right off the soundcard/hard drive. Many programs let you do it, I just find Audacity faster in it's simplicity. If you ever nab a sound and feel like it breaks community guidelines just mention it in the comments and ask "is this ok?" I used to mod back in 2009, the people combing through flagged subs are honestly looking for the easy stuff like copy written music uploaded for Geometry Dash or songs made entirely from sample packs. Tagging your equipment is a newer feature that I love because it gives artists a stamp of authenticity. Don't be afraid to share your equipment so others can research techniques they like or comment on gear. I like to see headphones tagged personally because many headphone brands have variable results on quality of sound. If someone is mixing on Audio Technicas I can actually switch my gear and hear what they're hearing. The judges for an informal contest like AIM are probably not that crazy (but I am).

I loved that sensitive hi-hat programming. Given how techy the illustration was I was surprised there wasn't some more synth engineering. A sinewave synth is the classic synth for portraying sci-fi UFOs and aliens, the classic theremin produces the same sfx. A few 1950's cinema classics to use that sound are Forbidden Planet (1956), the Day The Earth Stood Still (1951), The Thing From Another World (1951)... you missed an opportunity to echo classic sci-fi sounds and atmosphere. These sinewave sounds still get used today to comedic effect in cartoons like Spongebob and Adventure Time. You can do so much with synthesis, one competitor in this contest managed to make wonderful racecar engine noises using what sounded like simple sawtooth waves.

You must be using automation lanes on the pitch of those hi-hats, see if you can slap automation lanes on your synths to invent new tones and textures. Those sinewave synths I was talking about in particular can bend, stretch, echo, and communicate with listeners like underwater creatures. Ghostly cries from deeper sinewave modulations may embody the sad cries of an interplanetary species that swim across the void of space like whales. For the imagery you chose, I felt like there was a lot of techy experimentation you could have explored. I have to keep pounding away at these reviews but I hope I was able to express some of the reasons I was able to whittle points off your scores. Always upwards and have a wonderful day DarkHorse :3

DarkHorseOrchestra responds:

Thank you for not only reviewing my piece, but also the advice and suggestions relating to the information about the uploaded track and not just the track itself. That last sentence came off horrible in my head while typing it but I really do appreciate it. Like you said, this is a community and I really did feel a hand extending out and encouraging me to join in more. So thank you again for that! I've also now tagged my software and hardware used for this piece.

The drums...well what you said about making use of the author's comment comes into play here lol. I mixed them that way to represent the crazy lines cutting throughout the picture heading towards the craziness in the middle of it, and also my lifestyle during my late teens to mid 20s(Not that anyone would know that or make that guess cause yeah lol). The hi-hats was actually a pattern for the keys, I randomized velocity(alt + R in FL) then edited it a bit.

I agree I could've done so much more and I do regret not doing so, I'm with all of you there 100%. The score I received from you is far better than I expeced, so thank you! There's a lot more I could and should respond to in your review but I'm not going too, just know Ive taken it all in and will definitely keep them in mind and try to implement them more in my future work.

Thanks again and have a great day!

[AIM - A Spirit's Thoughts]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
masterakuma99, A Spirit's Thoughts: 10,10,10,10 (40/40)

Funny story, I got on almost everyone's case this AIM about not providing feelings or information in the author's comments. I don't need an essay but you honestly wrote exactly what I wanted to see out of everyone. A few quick thoughts, feelings, aspirations, and inspirations. For a contest about inspiration, too many people assumed their work spoke for itself. This is a hard contest to judge because the theme levels the playing field a little bit. I was asked to judge for "emotion" and I take an artists statements into account because those can add authenticity to a contest about "inspiration." Composers need to have a voice divorced from their work to stand out. I was an audio mod back in 2009, the process was terrible. Back then we had to vet everyone before they could submit music. I'd send personalized messages out to new musicians asking pointed questions regarding how people made their music to try and weed out bad apples uploading copy written content for things like Geometry Dash. You wrote just enough data to win me over, including the equipment tags was very nice of you. Thank you for sharing your feelings and equipment. I respect that a lot.

I tried to avoid handing out perfect scores this AIM but you were one of the few to do it and with such a unique soundscape. That panning data was inspired and swirled nicely. Every odd atmospheric synth or stab sounded like it could be a fantastic creature. You struck such a massive chord with me in such a simple manner. The song had an almost reverse "Explosions In The Sky" decrescendo to it. Very unique in that you basically hand us the meat of the song 30 seconds in then play around that shoegaze vibe for the rest of it.

What am I doing? I already gave you a perfect score and am just stroking your ego at this point. Thank you for this wonderful piece of sound Mr. Akuma Master, congrats on getting one of the shortest reviews :3

masterakuma99 responds:

Thanks a lot for the "short" review and the perfext score! I really appreciate it when judges give out detailed reviews for the entries.
Similar to what I said in storykeepers reply it is really encouraging to see people resonating with my songs the same way I resonate with songs from my favourite bands.
It´s good that you mentioned the whole author`s description part. I often forget/don`t think it is important to describe the idea of the song. The only time I try to give information about the track is during the AIM contests. Since I wanna do some different music in the near future it is propably a good idea to give some context for the tracks.
The equipment tags are something I use on pretty much every track I publish. Exactly like you said, I respect everyone who hands out information on how they made the track. It can give you some inside and especially inspiration. That`s why I always add those for the chance that it might help someone.

[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.

[Beware - AIM]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
Spadezer, Beware: 10,10,10,10

I would expect an old regular to understand the value of the author's comments. Thanks for providing your thought process, lyrics, and equipment. Since I don't need to waste my time needlessly analyzing how this song connects to the art I can quickly hand out top scores for emotion and relevancy. Working the song title into the lyrics via acrostic poem was sassy. My fiance could hear the song despite the fact that I was wearing headphones and he made a connection to the Gorillaz. For certain this is a fun track and it exudes commercial professionalism.

I actually filled out my score sheet with a perfect 40/40 before I finished listening to it, only song to nab that. I'm trying to keep perfect scores rare but the production was through the roof. I can't nit-pick anything. You're on track for getting the shortest review out of everyone but I thank you for saving me the time and energy. The previous review I wrote was six paragraphs long, mostly sharing production techniques. This was such a pleasure to start my day with, thank you so much Spade and I wish you the best.

(This is an additional footnote I'm adding at time of posting my review because it's not fair that I gave everyone else like 8 paragraphs and you only got two. If you want me to be critical I suppose I could wait outside your window every day and every night, waiting for you to forget to brush your teeth so that I can punch out your window and say "FUCK YOU, YELLOW TEETH HAVING MOFO. ALWAYS BRUSH YOUR TEETH TWICE A DAY AND FLOSS," but I'm not sure how helpful that would be in regards to your music. You wrote something special and I hope you feel proud of your work. gg)

Spadezer responds:

A Gorillaz connection is new. I'm really glad you enjoyed it, and I'm deeply honored by your compliments. I'm glad to hear that you think I have a professional sound.

I don't think you need to punch out my window. My cat would not appreciate that

[AIM - Neo-Noir Nights]

Quarl AIM 2022 Review
Composition/Structure (0-10), Production (0-10), Emotion (0-10), Relevance to Artwork (0-10)
LuckyDee, Neo-Noir Nights: 8,5,10,10 (33/40)

I'm going to open up my review by pointing out something silly. You went with futuristic Japanese Zen garden vibes but I'm feeling like the image more closely resembles Nordic culture with that big tree of life emanating in the center and golden circles radiating over the canopy. In Norse mythology, life takes the shape of a circle. When one generation dies the next will take it's place for eternity. MINUS FORTY POINTS, CULTURAL FAIL D:< oh wait there's Japanese font in the image... this is awkward... you win this time Lucky but I'm watching you.

You can keep your points for now as I write up my review. It's a 100% bona fide inspired piece of music. There were two other competitors that went with a Japanese illustration and evoked that culture's instruments. Whether they realized it or not, I studied a little music history while at University and came across the fact that Eastern music was counted differently. Most people are familiar with bars and time signatures but traditional Japanese music was rubato as fuck, players would emotively express themselves free from time restrictions minus a discernable pulse. It's why that culture of music has an impromptu style. A measure played on traditional Japanese flute is counted in how long the player takes between breaths. Or so my music appreciation teacher told the Uni class so many years ago, she could have been high for all I know. Half of my art professors were high like 50% of the time. I might have liked to hear an ambient section that takes full advantage of those traditional rhythmic elements, lacking true rhythmic pulse. For the most part the song hits at the same energy level for the majority of the time. A good drum and bass song gives listeners a little time to rest and DJs a time to switch up or drop samples. I might recommend listening to Noisia's Moonway Renegade to hear how they really play with that energy the track over. They take long segments to build up atmosphere and creatively slow down the drums to a hip-hop esque down-tempo kung-fu break.

Thank you for taking the time to write what you did. I've been analyzing author's comments in this contest to better understand artist's intentions and inspirations. It feels a little silly that I can write so much about people's music but they seemingly couldn't be bothered to share anything themselves. Newgrounds is a community of nutty-creative renegades and outcasts. I was asked to judge emotion and having a better sense of the people behind the accounts helps me feel like I'm making the right decisions. This contest is too often left up to interpretation but I fall back on one of the original goals of the contest which was to encourage us all to reach out and get to know one another. I'm giving you solid points for emotion and relevance because you didn't risk letting the music speak for itself. A manifesto is a powerful tool to manipulate my feelings while I'm forced to sit here, taking in the sounds.

I can however take points off for the other categories. It's always dangerous to put Drum & Bass in front of me because I can really nit-pick the mixdown of my own genre. I can appreciate a lot of what I hear from the perspective of a fellow Junglist but the drum samples are a little pale compared to what's popular these days. That was a relatively tiny drum kit for a genre that prides itself on over compressed drums and tight fidelity. You're layering an adorably snappy ghost snare but without the power from the main snare drum to drive things the two snare drums fight for my attention. The most powerful element from the drum kit was the hi-hat, a sound that usually get's a little panning bias and is turned down considerably. When a sound get's panned it creates the illusion that it is louder than it actually is so you can then turn it down a little. That makes room in the mix two ways, the opposite side of the field will have more space but you also turned levels down. Win-win. While bass tones are best mixed towards the center, thinner sounds can bias left or right and find happy little homes to balance each other. Masterful panning takes a lot of practice but it's such a powerful tool and too often underused. Feel free to take notes from the pros, listen to their music and compare it to yours and try to get that fidelity they so effortlessly drivel out constantly.

The genre of Drum & Bass has gone through many evolutions but I somehow doubt this is what it will sound like in the far future. You went with classic clean jazz guitars commonly heard in liquid of earlier decades and I commend you for taking the time to use them. They had a romantic sound but could have benefit from fidelity tools, a little compression, some more pan bias + balancing. I'd have hit that futuristic vibe with timeless sinewaves. A simple sinewave can take so many shapes and grooves. They have long been used in the world of cinematography via theremins to evoke mysterious aliens and UFOs. Any program with a sine wave synth can emulate an ear test with some pan strobes. A sound that gently tickles one ear then the other activates the brain to start trying to locate where the sound is coming from. I assume the future will feature music in much higher definition than surround sound but I've always found surround kind of gimmicky tbh when you can do so much with only two channels. So many people don't make full use of that stereo field. Pan like it's the future Dee. Pan like it's the year 5000, get brave with those stereo locations!

That saw synth jarringly hits full blast at 00:27. There are ways to introduce those kinds of instruments casually. I slap automation lanes onto my volume knobs to slowly crescendo instruments into the action a measure or two early. You can simultaneously play with the pitch bend wheel to slowly "rise" the sound into play. In fact, these kinds of synths are commonly called risers, I assume because they warm up the listener and elevate the energy from section to section. I want to take this moment to apologize, the next critique is very specific and a little unfair. I've been listening to DNB for a long time and the classic reese saw-synth reminds me of a world before 9/11. The 90s were a time when Junglists could wreck a dance floor with that synth. It doesn't necessarily hit the same in 2023 but maybe slap a distortion unit on it? Follow that up with a graphic EQ to boost and cut key frequencies into a compressor. Then you slap a filter of some kind on the signal and play with the freq/res knobs. Use automation lanes to tell the filter what to do and suddenly that cheese-reese becomes a nuero bass. I'm sorry I used the phrase "cheese-reese," that was hurtful and uncalled for but I did warn you of danger when putting DNB in front of me. I mentioned Noisia's Moonway Renegade earlier but that songs a really great example of just how much can be done with a simple sawtooth reese synth after modulating it. Automation is power. Go look it up while realizing that most sources like YouTube will diminish the audio quality some. I bought that track in 2008 like a very simple Noisia whore.

I had a chance to loop this song many times while writing this review. Do understand that I loved what I listened to. There is so much great music in this contest that I'm really taking everything into account. You wrote wonderful melodies and rhythms. Just because the snares didn't pop, and some of the elements are dated, I still liked the offbeat accents and moods. A good ghost snare rhythm can carry the track. Salutations Lucky and may you have a wonderful rest of your day!

LuckyDee responds:

Wow, thanks for the extensive analysis! I won't argue your points either, I'm by no means an expert when it comes to DNB - I do enjoy listening to it from time to time, but never did a deep dive into it to figure out the basic production techniques - nor do I know the first thing about traditional Japanese music, so I'm bloddy intrigued by the picture you paint of it. Like I wrote in the description, all I was looking for was to release some music again, and I'm grateful for the AIM to help me along here. And all the better if I can get some people to dig it along the way. Thanks again, thrilled by the effort you cared to put in <3