TaintedLogic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Carefree]

Ha! Really amusing idea: mashing up two songs with the same name into one! Can't say I was ever very familiar with the "ska" genre, but I love the blissful mood and melodies. Your samples are SO much better than mine! I love the trumpets at :40, as well as their melody. You tie it all together really well, and it's very well-structured, I might add. You brought in the melody at 1:39 at just the right time. The song really speaks to that "Carefree" vibe you were going for. I should try to do some more organic stuff myself. Really nice work, LunacyEcho! ;D

LunacyEcho responds:

:O You're not familiar with ska? Well, here's some reasons why you should at least give it a bit more of a try. :)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8-5EwdEEN24
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4jN10s9hm54
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DI5_sQ8O-7Y

=> samples =>

Lots of my samples have the potential to be pretty realistic, but it's hard for me to achieve that. :P

=> trumpets =>

Yay! Trumpet success! I can't really be credited for the melodies here; all I can really take credit for in this song is instrumentation and arrangement.

=> well-structured =>

Really? I thought it was quite simple, also I did try to make it slightly more progressive as it went on.

=> 1:39 =>

That's one of my favorite parts of the song. It's also one of the most YOLO moments I've ever had in music.

=> "Carefree" vibe =>

Well, taking elements from two songs named Carefree, how could it not? :D

Thanks for the review! You should definitely try doing more organic stuff. It also helps if you can record actual instruments. I was going to try doing something like that for this, but wouldn't you know it, my guitar cable broke. Oh well.

Thanks for the review!

[Feels Like Water (Original Mix]

Okay, dude, this is just freaking amazing. I love the atmosphere and the synths and the voices. It's incredible how seamlessly you combine club-ish beats with the most gorgeous ambiance. It's a breath-taking hybrid of moods done mind-bendingly well. You have some real talent, man. The only thing I would dare criticize would be that it doesn't have a lot of dynamic contrast, but that drone-like vibe fits the piece well anyway. Keep up the fabulous work! :D

Sequenced responds:

dubstep doesn't need dynamic controst bro

lel

[groovy caverns]

I love the percussion and the funky synths. The space-y melodies offered an interesting contrast to the rather "down-to-earth" bass synths. I love the melodies around and after 1:30. Really has that genuine 80s feel...and reverb too! :D It loops flawlessly, and seems very fitting for a game otherwise as well. I'm not sure if you meant to do this or not, but that ominous melody instrument at :37 flits between roaring up front and fading to the back of the mix like crazy. Was it side-chained heavily, or was it a mixing error (I doubt it), or...am I not making any sense (that's very possible too)? It just seemed like something very bizarre was going on with that synth until around 1:20. Anyway, overall it's a very interesting, creative, and entertaining piece. Not my favorite of yours, but I'd love to hear it whilst playing a fitting video game! :) Keep up the great work, Johnfn! ;D

johnfn responds:

The thing at :37 definitely has a little bit of flanger on it, but I only hear the fading forward/back if I pay really close attention. It's probably a problem with how I listen to my tracks, which is only on headphones. I need some speakers...

Too bad I failed at making the game because that woulda been AWESOME! Just imagine.

:P

[Down in the Darkness]

Very dark and moody. I love the subtle percussive hits (or whatever they are) at :08 and other places. There's a strange sense of climax throughout the piece, yet it loops very fittingly as well. Interesting how both your games have rather grim, pensive piano music as background. It works well, though. Nice job, LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Yay, at least I managed to get this to sound somewhat dark :) The music for the last game was only a remade version of an old composition. This one though, was made entirely from scratch when I was in a real hurry! I don't like the fact that this is so short, and that the piano is the dominant instrument in every part. I originally wanted to expand on this song a lot more!

I like most of the percussive hits too! I've used them in two pretty different sounding tracks before, but since I was in a hurry, I wanted to play it safe ( :

Interesting. I'm not sure I understand what you mean when you say that there's a strange sense of climax, but I think that the part at 0:20, and 0:38 (the transitions), as well as well as 0:51 => sound somewhat climatic XD

My next game shouldn't be as grim, not have as dark music. The Construct 2 game Jam will have "The Future: 2030" as it's theme XD
Or wait... Actually I might have lied... What if the future holds much darker times, filled with misery and destruction? o.O
We'll see what I can come up with :'D

I think the loop is pretty ok. I just feel that songs loop better if they're longer :D

Thanks a lot for the review!

[deep space]

I love all the reverb and the dark synths and effects. The mood is captivating, and you really establish the theme of outer space well. I'd agree that it is trance - it's definitely atmospheric and spacious. The drums add a lot to the piece. I love the synths at 1:53, but I felt like it needed a bit more melodic development before that point. It was also a little minimalistic at times. I love how you transition into the breakdown at 2:43. The piano was a nice touch. I also like how you transition into that final melodic section at 4:00. This one felt conclusive enough, just like your last piece. Excellent work as always, Johnfn! :D

johnfn responds:

MWA HA HA EVERYTHING IS TRANCE! I never thought trance would have such epic drums haha but meh I don't listen to a lot of trance so whatever :D

Anywho I'm glad you liked it and thought it was properly conclusive! my god what is the world coming to if I'm writing songs with proper endings?? O_O

[Loop Oddity]

I love this! :D The mood is crafted perfectly, it loops extremely well, and that melody just adds to the creepiness. :D I love the effects, especially the ones that remind me of either shoes squeaking in a wooden hall after the rain or perhaps bubbles at :07. I think you should expand on this a lot more. It's a really entertaining piece already, even if it is so short. Keep at it, LSD! ;D

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hi! How's it going XD?

I'm glad that both you and LunacyEcho (and Elitistinen) like this! I think I'm getting better at these things slowly but surely ;3 As I told LE, I think I've finally figured out a way to make pretty smooth loops :D I'm really fond of the melody instrument, personally.
I'm glad you like the effects! You know, I didn't actually craft them myself, and although they might sound like bubbles and rain and stuff, they simply consist of a synth bass and some odd percussion! I just ran them through some other stuff like phasers, flangers, filters and gave them other weird effects as well as a lot of reverb! XD

I might actually expand on this somehow, when I feel like it! For one, I want to get rid of that annoying noise. I don't know if you can hear it. I was blind to the noise while making this loop (it must've looped several hundreds of times). But once I heard it once, I could not unhear it! It's a curse that has ruined a big part of this piece for me :(
It sounds like some odd scratch noises >:(

Thanks for the review ;)
Do you have any new projects going? I know you have a though schedule :/

[In Search of Asphodel]

I love the instruments and mood. The transition into 1:22 was really cool - definitely one of my favorite parts, along with 1:48. You have a lot of effective transitions between moods in this piece - I like it a lot. One suggestion I have would be to lower the volume of the bass notes from around :44 to 1:48. It seemed to me like you were going for a light vibe there (although I may be wrong) and the bass made it seem very heavy and angry in a way. It also seemed like a quieter bass would aid the balance with the higher notes. Still, I really like it overall. The ending seemed fitting as well. Good work, LunacyEcho, and sorry I'm EVEN LATER than LSD - I've been at a family reunion and college visits for the past week. XD

LunacyEcho responds:

=> transitions and moods =>

Thanks a lot! I think the two things I focused on most in this song were the velocity of notes and the transitions between parts, since those are the two parts I think I need to work on the most.

=> lower the volume of the bass notes =>

Interesting idea... I kept the bass notes louder to portray an eerie, ominous feeling, but it guess it can easily mask the higher notes. I definitely didn't want it to sound angry! Perhaps I should lower the bass, to make it sound less aggressive. :P

=> LATER than LSD =>

Dude, it's fine. Family and education are two of the most important things in this world (although in my opinion, college tours aren't worth the money it takes to get there when you can just look up reviews and opinions of the colleges online. Then again, you live in Massachusetts and I live halfway across the world. :) )

Thanks for the review! Don't stress yourself out!