Phonometrologist's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Sun Is A Lie]

I'm on my fifth loop because there's a lot going on for three and half minutes here! Without looking at the the soundwave initially, I was thinking about how this is probably your "happiest" piece you've written so far. First half really grooves nicely. Then the second half came around, and that was quite a nice contrast. There's that menacing sound that I've expected to hear from you. It's really cool to combine the two moods. A jekyll and hyde kind of piece where I can also enjoy both faces respectively. Kind of like the Sun: it is essential for life, but it will also kill all of us if we've lived long enough.
Seriously dude! There really should be others here on this island of mine that enjoys the sounds of ZLEAP.

ZLEAP responds:

Man, I couldn't have said it better myself. 100% accuracy. Only thing I would add is the heat stroke at 1:52 that transitions into the more violent second half.

Thanks for the kind words, friend. They made this return all the more triumphant.

[Amongst The Asteroids]

It could just be because he's been on my mind due to his recent passing, but the first three minutes gave me a Vangelis vibe. I enjoyed the synths and the syncopation in the arps. Great mood and drive

LD-W responds:

Thanks for checking the track out!

Yeah the world has lost a great one with the passing of Vangelis. Alot of his works utilising the CS80 have been an important influence over how I look at approaching my own synth-work over the last couple years especially. I'm definitely dedicating at least one track on Volume 1 to him sometime over the next couple of months

[Running From Gravity]

Fun! Started catching up on some of the action I've been missing even if this track was made a while back. Love the instrumentation on this and how it bounces. Not much of a review, but I'm very fond of this one.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hey!
It's very nice to hear from you. It has been quite a while again, so lots of exciting stuff has happened. Jordi and I are both applying for the Sibelius Academy this year. I hope all is well with you!

I too am quite fond of this song even if it was made quite a while ago, perhaps because it's somewhat different from what I usually compose. Thanks for checking it out! :)

[The Tridecahedron Blood Summoning - Insanity Abstract Emerges]

Your NGADM run was quite impressive. I think we now know what the result would've been if we ever had a chance to compete in a round. I concede that you have surpassed expectations, and that your placement is evidence that I would have a much difficult time achieving that same level of production and skill to what you were able to achieve here and the ones prior. There's a distinct amount of clarity in the foggy, dark realms you're able to create.

LD-W responds:

2021 for me has been the year where everything has began to 'click' together in terms of applying a mixture of theory, design, mixing and compositional approaches all together in a way which suits what I want to achieve. While I've still got a very long way to go until I get to the heights that I desire to accomplish, that's definitely been probably my most important year of growth (especially observable when looking at pieces from late-2020 and early-2021, to later 2021 pieces). As cool as it would be to do a 2022 ADM-run, I'm pencil'd in for actually running the contest this year after speaking to Splatter. Maybe if you've got some time this year, you could always look into doing another epic run and try and aim for another ADM win?

There's a few things looking back which I would change in the track (most notably certain mixing approaches/toolset usage, which I lacked when making this ADM FInals piece) and I would of liked to of done the original plan of having this as a 13 minute piece, but that two-week time limit got in the way of that haha. I *am* planning on doing another highly experimental orchestration towards the middle of the year without the constraints of contest time limits, so I'll see if I can get the next one of it's type to span 25 minutes (especially since I went on a massive December/January spending spree on libs which will help alot)

Thanks for checking out my tracks, much appreciated <3

[Random Access Memory]

What a refreshing use of these sounds! This style works well when you have someone like yourself whose writing reflects a optimistic, lighthearted sound.

Albe responds:

Thank you so much, Phono! I'm very glad. Also I just realized I have been thinking a bit lower of myself lately for personal reasons but now with this boost of confidence I changed the description so it fits the real thought intended. Thank you again for listening and happy 2022!!

[Do Not Disturb - NGADM 2020 - R3]

Still amazes!

Edit: I never left... and perhaps :)

Mackievellian responds:

Yooo haha you came back! Cheers phono, see you in the discord sometime aye?

[AIM - Nowhere to Hide]

Oh nice! first time hearing this piece. I like the orchestration and the mix. I honestly need to study orchestration properly as I have yet to fully dive into it, and I find this to be inspiring.

CloakedSoup responds:

Thank you! Besides taking orchestration classes for my degree in college, I do remember reading/studying Samuel Adler's 'The Study of Orchestration,' when I was in high school. Besides that, taking little tricks and textures from some of your favorite scores and applying them to your own orchestrations is always a useful practice for getting towards the kinds of sounds that you want in your music.

[The Final Stretch - NGADM 2020 - FINAL]

This is a roller coaster of a track. No going back– strap on and let’s go.
I have to ride several times through to try to catch everything.
That counter melody at 51 seconds perks my ears every time I listen.
This really concludes well, and the heart beat persisting in the end made me laugh the first time. The piece just doesn’t want to die.
Overall, it’s a fun ride, and now I need to go ride the merry-go round so I can relax and breathe.

Mackievellian responds:

LOL. It had to be ONE MORE than expecting. The final doesn't die so easily... Cheers Phono.

[61 Wishes]

I actually really, really enjoy the beginning of this piece more than the climatic end. Perhaps I’ll be alone in this, but I like how everything flows and moves around as instruments join in. There’s quite a nice tone and movement happening here that I can just let loose and enjoy. It’s a piece where I don’t find it necessary to analyze, but rather just let it wash over me as I go along for the ride. Overall the structure is what I would expect to hear as a Finale, and I wouldn’t be surprised at all if you take 1st place in the judge’s minds. The preceding text was written primarily based on what I remember of your piece. As I’m listening now as I write this, the beginning couple minutes is about a protagonist moving towards rebirth. The moment sounds just before it is about to happen. Very beautiful stuff.

Albe responds:

Big thanks man, I'm really honored that you liked it!! I felt very inspired for the first half but the creative block hit hard and I was feeling a bit stressed out for other irl things, so the second half lacks that liveliness and cohesion I gave the first half. But still, thank you for liking the song!

[Oxygeno]

Reminds me of the works of Austin Wintory. You have some interesting tones happening here... very pleasing to listen to.

Albe responds:

Thank you Phono!!