Phonometrologist's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Into The Unknown]

Alright, by the time that guitar came in, I couldn't hep but smile and that is when I decided to start reviewing. I usually like to wait until I listen to a piece several times through but ASDF;JASFDLJ!
Too many ideas and cross genres/melodies in this piece that I really can't grasp them all at once. This definitely will force me to press play a dozen times to really get familiar with this.
That delay effect instrument (?trumpet?maybe some woodwind?who cares) in Parallel Universe is really quite nice--something that perks the ears upon hearing it.
For my own taste, I want the drums at the end to have a bit more presence to give a more powerful feel as that would really drive it home.
The many themes in each section are done so well, and they really could go along the many scenes that you present to us. Very enjoyable to listen to.
With this kind of piece, I am really interested to read what others say about this and the perspectives the judges will bring to this.

[There]

YEAH THIS IS COOL! I share the same sentiments as SoundChris-- Very fun to listen to.
I could name drop a couple of artists of what this reminds me but this is also quite refreshing. The glitches were done in great taste as well. I didn't get bored with this as I usually can within electronic dance music. Great work here!

garlagan responds:

oh thank you Phono!

[Arpegia]

This actually goes well along with reading and doing other various tasks. Wasn't creepy, but I was lulled by it that's for sure. The only thing I didn't care too much for was the piano sample. The percussion, effects, and melody are enjoyable.

Eagleon responds:

As soon as I get a job back, I'm saving for a piano and making a little recording setup, because I do know how to play... The keyboard I have has A3 dead, which is pretty limiting. Midi is sad all around, haha.

[A Night in the Attic]

This is my favorite piece that you've uploaded here mainly because it's touching into more of the darker sounds than you're accustomed to writing. Because it took a lot of you in writing this, I would like to encourage you to take all the time you need away from this style just so you can return to this way of writing later. You then should be able to build a tolerance and get deeper into it without it being a burden to you.

I find nothing wrong with this--great use of effects and glockenspiel, and I'll even defend the piano part. It works very well despite it being a bit bland for some. Peter is on to something when he mentions 80s, because with the effects, I'm reminded of Vangelis.

At minute four, it has become quite lighter in character and I can certainly hear your own style of writing that we all can associate you with, and that's a good thing. I like the spin you have on your compositions with these influential chord progressions.

Troisnyx responds:

I'm going through these reviews a year after it all happened... surely there has to be something *wrong* that caused me to be left out of the competition? I won't question these matters anymore.

[The Concert]

This is very well-detailed. The orchestra starts out just like I'd expect it would with a piano concerto piece. Great intro to lead the piano in. Because it's only 3-4 minutes, you seem to highlight a typical piano concerto and just condensed it here: the intro, piano with orchestra, virtuosic piano playing, and a little return with orchestral instruments, but it lacked a finale. I really don't care that it did either. I enjoyed it without one.
You know, you did what I always thought was awkward with what some of these composers did with their piano concertos-- you left out the orchestra for far too long while the piano just does its thing. The orchestra just sits there and waits to find a place to say something because the piano just says too much. For example, and although I loved his concertos, Chopin didn't write with a good balance in the many instruments he had in the orchestra and to write it with great detail as with his piano part. Or it at least seemed that the orchestra to him was more of an afterthought and a support beam for his piano, but I'm really digressing now. I prefer that if the piano was to be played with the orchestra in a concerto setting that the orchestra would be treated as equal. But being that the Romantic period was known for this style of play, you did well to match that.
Also, since you created an atmosphere as if we're listening to a live show, I expected the piano to be more distant, and compared with the orchestra, it doesn't seem to blend well with the space. The production and mix is great no doubt, but my ears deceive me when I initially thought it to be on stage rather than sounding like being in a studio. I'm really being too picky I know. I couldn't have done a better job in capturing the style of the late romantics in such a context as this. The composition is great and the piano was done meticulously, and so working on this for less than 2 weeks really isn't fair for me to judge. As a side note, the rolling timpani underlying the piano part at 2:06 was a great choice, and I really like where the composition leads us beyond that point. You're really good.

SoundChris responds:

Wow - what an epic review - Thanks good sir! I am glad you enjoyed the track. I understand all the points you mentioned above. It really was hard to get all of this done within that shot time and also to compress a full concert experience in the time window of 4 minutes when they usually are VERY long and have more room to evolve their ideas over longer passages. But concerning this aspect i am quite comfortable.

Concerning the piano - you are right it should be more distant. I had no opportunity to listen to the track on monitors or speakers and on headphones it was very hard to hear how it feels in the space. My goal was to integrate it into the room well while still adding some extra power, so i used 80 % room, about 50 % close and also player mics and hoped it would work. I wanted to start the track about 1 week ago and wrote some ideas down to create the concept ... but then something really bad happened in my family and i had to care for my mother, also had to prepare my move to munich and the studies - stil searching a flat ... thats a really hard time right now. Thats why i had to compose it and finish the concept within 2 days which was quite heavy . I tried my best but also had massive problems with logic which always crashed and even i froze all the tracks i could not playback the track. So i had to freeze, listen, restart, unfreeze, restart ... that was extreme ... especially since i use ssd, 32 gb ram and my machine also isnt so weak ... dont know how to handle these problems in the future. These problems were btw. the reason why the french horn in the end is quite alone. I had to struggle with problems until 10 minutes before the deadline. Then the bounce process caused problems and i had not the time to export the latest version with the strings in the very end. So i decided to upload it how it is now since its always better to avoid to be disqualified. The final version is finished but i could have uploaded it only 5 minutes after the end of the deadline ... you see ... ok annoying. Nevertheless i am quite proud of it and i dont think that the result suffered much. Hopefully i can proceed in the NGADM since we want to be far more extreme soon ;D I am optimistic that this could come true.

I also understand what you meant with the orchestra - piano thing in general. Many composers like beethoven really focused a lot on the combination of both while - like you said - chopin and the late romantic russian composers were quite excessive in their solo piano parts and the orchestra was quite excluded. But as you may assume - i am a fan of these guys - they are my heroes: Rachmaninov, Prokofjev, Chopin, Scriabin. Check out the prokofjev piano concerto No.3 performed by martha argerich ... i just love that style ... or the rachmaninov concerto no.2 ... :D

Thanks a lot for your kindnes. I am really glad you liked the piece since it is the first time i try to use the piano in a bigger scenario.

All the best mate!
Chris

[ghosts]

Well, its better than some pieces I've heard.
A little criticism:
Although the mix sounds great, it did get a bit repetitive around 1:29. However, the part after that really allowed my thoughts to drift. It serves a great accompaniment to my thoughts as if it was telling a story. I will be listening to this again and again when needing a deep meditation kind of piece.

Probably best to leave things unsaid...
;-) Thank you! So Good!

johnfn responds:

Thanks Phonometrologist. I was really sad to see you leave the competition... you actually had one of my favorite pieces.. Ah well. Thanks for the review.

[Of Giants]

Someone must not like this piece, so I am compelled to counter that rating with a review saying that this is one of my favs that you uploaded here. Perhaps it’s in the melodic contour and how independent it seems to flow above and separately from the chordal progression of the Pad. The progression makes a lot of sense, but the tension of the non-chord tones makes this quite intriguing to me, i.e. the delay/pause you take before matching the tones of the melody with the chords. That second pad at 8:10 was really good to hear as well.
Very relaxing to listen to as I allow my thoughts adrift. Relaxing, but not entirely resting either.

[No Time Left]

Yes this is great--nice groove, synths, guitar part, and effects. Very inspirational.
Really can't offer you a long review as Jacob, Peter, and Luny has, but I do at least want to say that I enjoy this.
One thing I'll mention is that while I read your description prior to hearing this track upon its completion, I really expected more to "hit the fan" per say. It didn't get crazy where I thought warranted that kind of description for this piece. But this is still good nonetheless.

Chemiqals responds:

Haha yeah, I suppose that description may have been a bit a bit of a hyperbole! It was less about the intensity of the music and more about the tone for me. It's meant to be the background music DURING gameplay (at least that's what I had in mind while making it) so I didn't want it to get too crazy or dynamic lest it become a distraction to the player.

Haha, it's kind of silly that I'm defending it as if it's actually part of a game though. Guess that doesn't really hold up when it's just in my imagination! =P

[Sorcerers Path - Cale Unleashe]

Yeah this is quite impressive. Finally get the Cages?
No review here. Just commenting on how awesome I think this sounds. A lot of sounds going on in this piece.
Well, there is one more thing, I’ll just say that I would like to hear more aleatoric pieces from you and get crazy with it.

SoundChris responds:

Hey man, glad you liked it. It has been an intense night composing this. Therefore i can say; CAGE is just totally awesome. So many possibilities - just wow! There will be more aleatoric tracks in the future since i always loved this kind of cinematic tracks started with alien over munich and matrix. Just an awesome way to get a very dark athmosphere!
Hope to hear more music from you again, too!

All the best,
Chris

[Loss]

This theme is what drives me to write via literature or in music.
I enjoyed the atmosphere that your strings were able to provide. Though, there needs to be more automation curves. For this piece, I get the sense that the strings should have a more of a slow attack/ legato sound. Perhaps some rubato. Nevertheless, I still think this is good and pleasing to my ears to listen to. The tempo is just right. The basses in the beginning could use some more non-chord tones that don't resolve as quickly especially for this kind of somber mood that you're going for. By the last minute of this piece, I can easily stop the analytical mode of thinking when listening and just allowing it to wash over me. I think perhaps I'm going to go back to this for inspiration.

Bardash responds:

Thank you very kindly for your review. I am both humbled and honored. I am hoping as I learn more about Fruity Loops to develop a more 'human' sound to my music. Having composed in Finale and Print Music for a great deal of my life, owning a program that I feel I am only using two percent of its potential, composing has become all the more overwhelming in the sense that I have a broader frontier now to explore. I just recently discovered how to increase the stereo effect by simply fiddling with a few knobs. Anyway, thank you again for your review. Your music serves as an inspiration to me.