DooganFreebish's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[FFVII - Battle Theme]

This is not bad

I mean if you didn't just re-master a midi it's good replication! That's a big problem with doing remakes and having them sound so close to the original. I don't much like things that are directly ripped or repped without some hint of original content. I normally wouldn't bother with a review in a case like this but I would like something original out of you.

I have to say you have some suspicious music up. Nothing you have submitted is original and all of the midis are easy enough to find. I haven't actually voted on the submissions as I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. The reverb kinda masks things too. Try less of a "Recorded from the back pew of a church" mastering.

Submit something original soon. Surely all this study in replication has given you some pretty decent music skills, right? If you can produce something really original of this quality then I'd be impressed

Beacon515L responds:

"Nothing original?!" Try looking through my stuff properly...
Still, thanks.

[Ambiance]

Not so ambient...

I won't be so nice regarding first timers, but I think it helps develop them. The song was ambient from 1:43 to the end. But everything else seemed like a bunch of pop loops. Ambient music should be something that can easily blend into the background of everyday. It's very definition is music that could be listened to actively or ignored For instance, during some sort of task where the music could otherwise be a distraction. I'd probably be too interested in hearing this to let it be a subconscious background song in any situation. It can be hard to decide what genre to put things under as we are limited here. Not so much your genre selection but the fact that you called it "Ambiance" prompted this rant.

Other than the genre faux pas it's a bit too generic and lacks originality. It sounds like you used popular hip-hop beats and synth pop riffs from the 80s and stuck them together. In fact, this could have been an 80s song. It's solid and doesn't sound like it was mastered in a cardboard box.

onionahoy responds:

Thanks for the productive feedback. :D

[Noize of Our Lettered Livez]

I really like this one!

Lots of good things to hear in this one! It's got layers off stuff. Yummy like lasagna or a good casserole. I really like the glitchy-ness of it all.

Did you bend your own Talking Teacher? Mine was a bit of a mess when I finished it but it's one of my favorite instruments right now.

[Non-Vegetable Midnight Circus]

For your first...

...if this is really your first song you've made then you seem to have a innate understanding of the ambient music genre. It's a very good attempt. You've got lots of good layers going on. I would change the delay effect up a bit. Maybe use a manual delay, meaning that you play the instrument again yourself but at a progressively lower volume or random volume. Sometimes I get clipping or distortion but I've noticed that happen when I upload things here... it may be the transfer the site does. Also more dynamic usage of syncopation would give you a more original less mechanical sound. But then again, non vegetable midnight circuses may be mechanical...

My inspiration comes from:
Brian Eno
Pink Floyd
Random noises
Nature
http://bushofghosts.wmg.com/home.php - Probably the best album I have as far as inspiration goes.

I'm curious as to your influences and inspiration.

Iamnotasweater responds:

This is my first track ever. I have a friend who produces way longer than me and i learned much from him. I would really like to learn more about that manual delay and dynamic usage of syncopation.
Yeah me knows, the quality of the song get less if you upload it hear. It suksorz.
My inspiration for a lot of things is pretty much everything i go thru in life, nice and sucky stuff. But sometimes my inspiration comes from totally irrelevant things like koala's n stuff.
My influences are mostly from The Knife and Aphex Twin. Also a lot of other stuff, but those are the ones i'm focusing on the most lately.
Well thank you for your review, i appreciate it.

[Doctor Who Metal]

I like!

I think everyone would agree that it's really missing the middle eight. That just ties it all together and makes it the "Doctor Who Theme!" rather than just "doctor who theme..." A full accompaniment of drums in bass would be awesome. I vision a composition like "Wizards in Winter". Your guitar playing is spot on. I personally use a bit more high range and less mid range in my equalization, but I'm not sure what you where going for since all guitarists have their own preferences.

[CANON IN Death]

More manual mastering... less compressor...

I'm not a pro (or I'd be making money for magazines and not writing reviews on newgrounds) but it sounds like you rely too much on a compressor or something similar and the beat pulls everything down too much when it hits. The beat would work better if you slowed down the song a bit. I'm estimating, you have a 100bpm tempo bass/melody and the drums are at 200bpm.

I enjoy the somewhat subtle deviations in the melody.

[Joowna - City Night]

Interesting take on Hip-hop

It's a good effort and It's always admirable to see people trying new genres to expand their musical vocabulary. To me this is sorta more tame Acid rap or Abstract Hip-Hop rather than a traditional type of Hip-Hop. It could have more variation mostly in the louder synth that does the rather repetitious phrase through out the song. It would make a good intro theme.

Joowna responds:

Thx for your opinion, I always have a bit of problem defining my song to a genre, but when I first created the beat, it was hip hop, but then the synth, it was more acid, so i choosed hip hop.

And do you mean a good intro theme for a flash?

[purple things that are yellow]

So that's what they sound like!

I've seen a lot of them but never been close enough to hear them. Very nice ambient song. The high pitch synth at the end was interesting like the very tiny fat lady singing to signal the end. The dirty/clean variant sounds make it interesting to pick at mentally.

[Mold me]

A fish swims slowly in pudding...

Tis in need of something... Cayan? Lemon Pepper? No, I think the chef calls it mastering... after he mixes it. Good ingredients but poor preparation. Should let it sit in the minds oven at 350* for a bit longer. Perhaps you don't have the right tools? The bass drum, could be distorted for effect... but just sounds clipped.