Phonometrologist's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Self Casting Shadow (Nikoli)]

A lot of texture! After listening to this, and if I were to simply go to a piece of my own, any other piece just sounds too empty. So great mix and arrangements here. This piece has a lot of drive and energy. I love moments like at 55 seconds. Would like to hear more like this from ya

ZLEAP responds:

I wrote, arranged and mixed this well before it became part of HG:MSOTTA. A product of chemical abuse, sleep deprivation and a love interests lack of appreciation for what I do and what I stand for artistically. She actually argued that my dedication to my craft (time spent, attention dedicated to, etc.) was something I was doing to her. Such a villain, I am. ;)

Women. *shakes head*

Thanks.

[Cathexis]

Looks like you have a committed follower below me. I like the atmosphere--
At 17 seconds, it sounds like some chaotic birdsong along with some kiddies playing at the playground in the distance. A bit short, but interesting nonetheless

HeAvEn-SmiLE responds:

Hello, thank you for reviewing this little part. :)

Yes actually those sounds are reverse violins glissandos mixed with some potamentos, and some pizzicato. This sound belong to Fergusson, That I admire for his works and his sound mastering.
I added some more glissandos, I changed the pitch, the speed, I made it a loop so it doesn't have to look wierd, and there you go, I have to admit that Cathexis wasn't really long to do, but it was fun, it is a "preview" of a piano song I'm making right now, retaking the concept of Paradise of Lies, but making it a lot better in my point of view.

By the way, Thanks for following me, I really appreciate that, and I'll take some time to see some of your musics, Looks like I finally found another person using a digital piano. :)

[AMBD: Ambidustrial #4]

Great intro! Love this kind of soundscape at the first minute and at 2:09. That with the combination of the drums underneath it reminded me a bit of the old UT'99

Anchorwind responds:

I'm very glad you enjoyed. i try not to play favorites too much but I really liked this one more than a lot of my other recent works and was hoping someone would take the time to write a review.

[Ikuisen talven maa]

Not too shabby-- it's a nice little loop. sounds quite smooth and interesting to listen to. How you end each phrase with these chord choices really drives the piece. For example, when you end and return to the beginning, it merely sounds like the music is moving in an ascending motion. Very nice

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thanks!
As always, you are amazing at noticing all the important things.
The whole point of the loop is to make it seem as the composition is just constantly modulated upwards, as it gives the illusion of progression. And to make the "illusion" even more solid, I did pretty much the same thing every 4 measures :)

[The Alpine Elven Yodellers]

yeah! I'm picturing a bunch of drunken elves swaying back and forth together in song.
Then I'm guessing they took some hallucinating drugs at 38 seconds..oh crap! this is going to be some bad trip
Seriously...this is just so fun to listen to lol!!!

Azhthar responds:

Yep, these elves were tough drinkers before the troll put 'em into his soup. But I heard these trolls became less dangerous these times and are just spamming in forums now ;)

[In Your Time, Always]

Nice lead at :18! Great choices in the timbre of these instruments.
I really can chill-out with this, and I think the tone of this piece really matches the lyrics.
Can't give ya any production advice as I don't really hear anything that sticks out to me in a problematic manner. I guess it just depends on what you're aiming for in terms of the production.
I enjoyed this

SoulSecure responds:

I don't know, man. It just felt like I didn't spend enough time mixing it, so I assumed it had mix issues.

It's good to hear that the overall tone matches the lyrics, didn't want the song to be too busy or else it'd be counter-intuitive.

Thanks for the review!

[Valley of War]

Nice little piece.
Opening chords instantly hooked me in. The rhythm and string parts were also fun to listen to. I also liked the chord progression at 2:35. Hope to hear more from ya. This piece reminds me of some of LucidShadowDreamer's work. Check him out.

TearsOfSadness responds:

Thank you.
The opening chords are practically stolen from the Valiant Hearts theme, because they really managed to capture so much emotion for something so simple. The chord progression at 2:35 is basically the same as in the beginning.
I'll check him out.

[4:23]

Well done! It has quite a bit of an alluring, suspenseful build to it. Horns seems a little too distant but the strings and percussion sound lovely. The chord at 2:10 is really cool. You could definitely continue this as I find myself wanting more.

OmegaP responds:

Alot of the library seems to have a very distant feel, but I agree now that you point it out, the horns do seems to sit weird. The ending was just terrible, but i was having trouble adding more. If you had any ideas I would gladly take them.

[NG AudioPortalPodcast#003]

"a.k.a. phonometrologist.... what?!" LOL

YouriX responds:

HAhahahaha xD

[Vos Postergum]

okay no BS. Every second of this was a joy to listen to. You have an ear for the right timbre in how you introduce each part. For example, even as the ambience starts, the piano part at 56 seconds is just a brilliant way to top it off amid the pads. The arpeggiated synth with the organ at 1:29 is another brilliant part with the rolling drums underneath it. Then that melody with the choir and organ!!!!!
D>E-flat>G-flat>B-flat>F
I could be wrong as it's a little difficult to tell but my guess is the chord progression there is G minor>E-flat minor in its first inversion> B-flat minor
Anyway, I could just listen to this one section all day. You could certainly build a piece off around this one section with the same instruments. The crescendo and human curvilinear is just perfect with these instruments.
This piece does sound like it has two different sections. 2:15 is the second half. Nice sounds, and based on your description, it sounds really well produced for recording your own sounds. I would have just guess it was some NI library. I love it. Makes me want to experiment with my microphone more…okay maybe not make me. But you give me ideas when I feel the need for it.
I thought about waiting until I commented on this so as to gain some revelation about this, but I'm not thinking of any particular story or mood when I hear this. I'm just in love with the sounds and choices of notes you did to make this. Purely for the sound experience. And I tell ya, even with all the noises and ambience that gives it a sound of dystopia and a lost feeling, that middle part with the organ and voices gives it a human, warm quality despite it sounding a little dark for some. When you provide a chord progression in the middle of ambient soundscapes, whatever the choices you make will provide a striking contrast in a way that couldn't be heard in the same light as if it was already surrounded by tonal harmony. For the purpose of a game, and I'm curious how you will utilize this music if the music is to flow with these different parts as is. To me, it sounds like an overview for the whole score of the game soundtrack. Therefore, menu music or intro seems appropriate for this. Nonetheless, that is just my own initial thoughts.
Critique despite my love for this? It's open-ended. As a personal taste, I would have liked something to wrap all of this to complete a picture in mind. Notice that this has nothing to do with your production, arrangement, or even composition as some might think of the word. Rather, the overall concept could have made this sound more cohesive as a whole in bringing this to a satisfying close. Now, this concept could be a wrong approach depending on what feeling you want the listener to have after all of it has been said and done. Think about how one might feel and what thoughts would come in the listener’s mind by the time the last note is heard and there is only silence. We are then left with reflecting upon the experience we just had with this music. What did I get?
Perhaps not very practical in terms of composition, but a good way to think about in choosing how you write a piece I suppose.
What I said might not apply to this piece in particular as long as you can defend your choices. If this was the objective, then well done.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

That's quite the review to take in! Also because you're very poetic in your writing somehow, and English is my third language... Thank you so much for spending your time by writing out your thoughts on a piece made by me :O

"You have an ear for the right timbre in how you introduce each part."

=> I usually give all credit like this to my unconscious. I really have no idea what I am doing, but I have a small voice (perhaps not literally) telling me how or what to do, and eventually, things tend to work out one way or another. Same thing when I play the piano; my unconscious brain does all the real work, while I'm just there observing, very contect, experiencing flow :/
When I start thinking, I often mess things up XD
Either way, I'd say that everything comes down to trial and error. How good something I've made is, is often very reliant on how quickly I tire and decide that a part is finished (though it could be improved upon). I'm sure many people feel like this.

Anyhow, long tangent aside...

It's funny that both places you mentioned (0:56 and 1:29) are at places that were the most inpired by the pieces I linked to :p The reason for this is probably that those are the only parts that are easy to grasp and name, as they actually use somewhat normal instruments.

"I could be wrong as it's a little difficult to tell but my guess is the chord progression there is G minor>E-flat minor in its first inversion> B-flat minor"

=> Nope, you're not wrong; you're totally right! I believe there is some kind of D-minor before the G-minor as well, which completes the whole segment. You've got a good ear, far greater than mine.

Oh, and that "arpaggiated synth" you're referring to... I wonder if anyone would ever know that that is actually DSK Harmonica unless I revealed it >:D

I mentally divide this piece into three separate parts, but that's probably only because I know the process behind the piece. Dividing it into too parts makes a lot of sense too.

"...it sounds really well produced for recording your own sounds."

=> I almost had to *lol*. I'm really happy it worked out in the end, but for the recording process, I literally brought my laptop next to some glasses, opened Audacity, hit record, and did some weird stuff. Same thing with the vacuum cleaner (the idea struck me while vacuum cleaning...). The sound sounded horrible at first, but after some HEAVY non-professional mixing, I made the best I could with what I had :)

I' happy enough to inspire a will of experimentation, even if it's not brought to action for now at least.
(I'm thinking of making a track using only sounds made with my body [mouth, hands, pen... I MEAN PECS. Yes... With my... Pecs...])...

I guess that not everything makes you visualize a story in one's head. At least this is quite often the case for me. Luckily, I'll get to create my own story for this, which maybe you'll play and read through if you're interested ;)
I can relate to listening to the "music and/or sounds alone", so to say.

"When you provide a chord progression in the middle of ambient soundscapes, whatever the choices you make will provide a striking contrast in a way that couldn't be heard in the same light as if it was already surrounded by tonal harmony"

=> I agree.

"For the purpose of a game, and I'm curious how you will utilize this music if the music is to flow with these different parts as is. To me, it sounds like an overview for the whole score of the game soundtrack. Therefore, menu music or intro seems appropriate for this. Nonetheless, that is just my own initial thoughts. "

=> Hmm, tricky thing actually. See, usually you make the game first, and then the music. Then you can build the music around the game, so that it fits. Either that, or you make a game, and then look for an already existing, suitable piece. You can of course also build a game around music, but that isn't what I'm going for either.

What I'm thinking is this: I have a very clear image of which moods/sounds I want the player to experience while playing the game, so I'm simply jumping in to the work from a slightly different angle and hoping that my subconscious was right and that the game and the music will fit together, at least to somewhat of an extent. For some reason; I think they will do.
Your idea of menu music isn't bad, but I doubt that the game needs a main menu (it'll probably feature a pause menu though, but the music will probably just be more silent). It'll be a text adventure game, which makes me pretty confident that things will somehow work themselves out.
It's difficult for any of us to critique such aspects of the piece before we've actually seen the interaction between the game and the music. There might be a different composition during the ending though)! I won't promise anything :/

"It's open-ended."

=> It sure is. Partly, because it goes on forever (though the jump loop coul've perhaps been better). It really leaves no room for disclosure. This is pretty intentional at least. As the game will be a mystery/puzzle game (with small parts of horror, lacking a better word), I think that it's best to use a very open ended piece, especially as I am intending to create another much shorter piece which will not leave things all that open for the ending (or at least one of the two endings, if I create an alternate version!).

I always try to think about the reader's perspective while I'm writing (especially if I'm writing a story), and the game will be a story of some sort (I don't want to reveal too much). This music is hopefully fitting with the story, so in that way, I guess I am thinking of the listener, which will actually happen to be the reader as well (cop out detected). I might even incorporate things so that music is literally played in the game as well, thanks to what you said though, as it wouldn't actually change the story at all, but actually help with the altarnate ending! (whoops, have I said too much ;D?). This is probably not what you intended, but it's what I'll roll with! Now I've gotten two new ideas for the game, thanks to you and LunacyEcho, because you left reviews! I doubt you'll make it to the credits though, sorry!

"What I said might not apply to this piece in particular as long as you can defend your choices. If this was the objective, then well done."

=> I won't defend anything until the game is completed, as this piece is so reliant of it. What is intended and what is not may not matter if the end result is good, is what I'm saying XD
(I didn't really think about the process as deeply as you have, so I actually don't know exactly what I intended. Maybe I should ask my subconscious.)

Once again, thanks a million for leaving such a well thought out review, Phonometrologist! It made me think more, and it definitely made my day :D!!! (Sorry for potential spelling mistakes/ grammatical errors/ muddy things that are hard to comprehend because of sloppy writing. It's late, and I'm not usually very keen on grammar checks...)