ForgottenDawn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Nocturne nr.5 in C-sharp minor]

In its simplicity, there's a beauty that shines like a diamond in the desert. This piece is fantastic, it has everything it needs to provoke an emotional response from the audience, reminding me of Chopin's nocturnes so much it's almost a crime. The somber sound of a lonely piano, like clockwork behind a broken glass.

There's honestly nothing I could really nitpick about this. If anything, you could try to bring more variety to the structure and leave space for more variations. perhaps by introducing an additional theme that could intensify the drama, it would have been a welcomed element in your otherwise nicely performed composition.

//FD

newhansen responds:

Woa, nice! Thanks for taking time to review the piece. I'm trying to use more variety in my next piano pieces for sure.

[JustnotEnough]

Sometimes we don't need elaborate pieces to enjoy beauty within simplicity. Even though you claim to be a beginner, you have the potential of becoming a skilled artist given enough time and experience.

The composition is varied and enjoyable, but it is marred by a below-average production value and a general lack of cohesion between the various sections. The quality of the samples themselves don't constitute my verdict, although I would definitely look for a better hi-hat and a less edgy bass sound.

As a final note, it is not the picture itself that makes it a questionable choice, rather the relatively upbeat track you've composed inspired by the not-as-friendly picture.
//FD

bolisa responds:

Yeah you are right, the hi-hats and the bass are not that good. And its true. I AM a beginner. But thanks for saying that i have the potential of becoming a skilled artist given enough time and experience. I'll keep producing, and hopefully i'll get better. ;)

[Crime FighterZ]

It is indeed an interesting and fun piece that could work in one of those "casino" stages in the Sonic franchise. What may lack in depth, it compensates with a catchy dance groove that stretches through the whole song. I enjoyed the somewhat varied structure of the piece as well as the melodic, bouncy vibes that it gives, although I wished it would offer something slightly beyond that formula.

Perhaps a more complex progression and the introduction of more sounds would have helped keeping this song fresh enough, without giving around pattern recycling too much. Background ambiances and synths can also create some interesting undertones. In fact, giving the listener the opportunity to "switch" between different layers of focus is a sign of great attention for detail, as well as definitely enhancing the experience because by then, you'd want to play it again just to hear a detail you missed.

Overall, good job
//FD

DuttonsaysHi responds:

Hey thanks for the helpful tips man! Yeah I totally agree with the repetition issue :c The original idea was to have vocals so I structured the song as such. I wanted to have some glitchy rap style vocals (something like Hideki Naganumas work) but that backfired since I couldn't find any fitting samples or anybody to work with.

I tried restructuring it by adding new segments but they all felt disjointed and out of place but I figured that would loose me some points so I tried playing it safe, I guess that backfired xD

Still thank you for the honest review! I 'll try more variation next time.

[Glitch,Blues.Baby!]

It's an interesting track, I'll give you that. Jazzy, lounge-like vibes meet modern electronic music. I absolutely love the glitched drums throughout the whole track with those rare dubstep bass wobbles here and there, and I think the fusion-oriented sound overall seems to work in this context.

I must however point out a couple of flaws, such as the general mix being a little too over compressed and loud that doesn't give much rest to your ears, and I definitely would have loved a more dynamic track speaking of mastering. The vocal samples while fitting, they suffer from the aforementioned problem and they sound a little too prominent compared to even the drums. The piano does its job quite decently although it doesn't really offer much in terms of composition and atmosphere. Smoothing the transitions could have also helped making this song more flowing and organic, perhaps by adding some sound effects and glitching them out, playing with stereo panning and bitcrushing. Just suggestions for the future.

Keep on experimenting with this idea, as I'm looking forward to hearing more.
//FD

YouriX responds:

Thank you very for the indepth review. You gave some very usefull information. Mixing was always a weak point of mine. But i am working on it. Thanks again for the wonderfull review and hope to see you review my work again in the future!

[Real Life Absurdities]

Fact is, I really enjoyed this. It evokes many childhood memories and it's something this track is able to convey quite remarkably, in my opinion. While the structure seems sort of minimalist with a few variations on the same theme, it is indeed a solid piece where its minor problems would only be related to a coherency of sound compared to the overall mastering of the track (too much reverb on the brass instruments compared to the percussion?) which is at a professional level. So well done, good luck in this round and I'm glad to have a worthy opponent.

steampianist responds:

its always heart warming (if i had one) to know that people are reminded of their childhood!
and i love minimalism (erik satie)

ah it seems you are not sure? if the brass reverb is too much? hehe kidding anyways thanks for listening and im glad you enjoyed it, that was unexpected considering the kind of music you make and im looking forward to your track

[Ling Kano's Fighting Show]

I can see an improvement from your first round entry, as I think this track feels more coherent and solid as a whole, with a jungle-like atmosphere that is definitely spot on - nostalgic, if you'd like, sending me back to the '90s speaking of video games and why not, TV shows. I've never seen the series you took inspiration from, but overall I think this track is pretty well made with some minor problems related to EQ and transitioning which may feel a bit jarring/sudden to the ear.

SourJovis responds:

Not sure if it's improvement. I'm still on the same level. It's just a coincidence I did something different this time. The style is more continuous but that's one of the reasons why this song is shorter. The production of this was much harder than that of the first round. Hopefully people like this better. I'm not at all sure myself. The transitions were a problem from the start. I think I fixed them quite well compared to how they were, but it's still not perfect. The panning volumes and EQing were also difficult. You can work for days on a song without hearing anything wrong with it only to discover some settings should've been very different all along. When you change one thing, you have to change a cascade of other things. Creating music made me stop believing in perfection. I hope I can later fix some of the flaws.