Buoy's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Essence of Time V2]

oh neat, some orchestral ish stuff. Um, yeah the first version of this was better I think. This doesn't sound like it has LESS reverb at all. And you have a bunch of terrible piano melodies, and you're also going off key occasionally here. The mix could be cleaned up so much by just laying off the damn reverb a bit. The percussion towards the end is kinda cool!
And hey, a ritardando. Trademark Step feature. Neat.

Step responds:

Really, a ritardando is one of my trademarks? That's pretty cool, hehe.

Yeah right now I can't be arsed to decide whether this one or the other version's better. At the time I thought this one beat the other one by a mile. But yes I did abuse reverb back then, just like anyone would after recently finding out what a mixer actually does... right? :(

[D'n'B Thing]

The first 10 seconds were kinda enjoyable, the track had a bit of a groove with the regular beating kick drum. But the horribly reverbed kick and frantic drumming kinda messes everything up after that. And the main synth is bright and horrible. And the bassline is off key, you're not consistently in either a major or a minor key.

Step responds:

Yeeaaah this one's horrible. I made another full DnB thing with Decibel once (http://goo.gl/LyfHF if you're curious)... after that I never touched DnB again :3.

I'm fairly sure I'd find DnB even harder than jazz if I had to try it now.

[The Essence of Time]

Time to pick it up where I left off.

Okay I don't have your other songs that clear in mind but this seems like it's actually pretty musically sensible? Granted a lot of the piano stuff is goofy and shit but the strings are okay and the drums occasionally make sense too, and the mixing is kinda okay! So you seem to be making a bit of progress here. It still gets repetitive and boring after like half a minute though.

Step responds:

OMG you're still reviewing these. That's awesome, thanks so much. It's actually really interesting to know what you think about these old things believe it or not.

Haha yeah I remember being pretty darn proud of this. It is super boring though! Although I think this was like one of my first songs that actually had a sensible melody.

[Ecosystem]

These instruments are wonderful, the heavily reverbed percussion do create a certain rainforest vibe. They also play with each other really nicely, I love how the guitar and the mallet instruments play appropriate variations of the same theme and complement each other. I love the melodies you're using too, the ones at 0:22 and 0:32 are wonderful and really memorable. So are the ones later on. They're awesome.

Everything is.
The dorian-ness of it all is good.

Well I think you might want to liven up that arpeggio at 1:02 a bit, cause it's 100% quantized feels a lot more like a mechanical scale run than an actual defined melody like the super strong one at 0:32. I'd either change up the timing of some notes or switch it out entirely. I love the dissonant chord at 1:21. According to your description/the background of the tune, it kinda sounds like an unwanted or unbalanced element in the ecosystem that swiftly gets balanced out after a second. Don't be afraid to really emphasize that by making it louder, since you keep it so brief anyway.

The introduction of the more standard orchestral instruments sounds really nice, and in this whole ecosystem allegory it's sounds a bit like you're zooming outwards and showing the grandeur of the habitat's biological machinery in its entirety, whereas earlier you were kinda focusing on a smaller level of it and looking at relationships between individual creatures. That's neat

The strings at 2:00 are really warm and big, I wish you had more of it. The calm part from 2:11 is kinda progrocky actually, since everything is really restrained and subtle and it has a hint of improvisation. I like the harmonized thing at 2:18 and then 2:23, it really fits your description. The transition that happens within [2:42 , 2:48] is really great, I love how easily you bring back the original melody. The last reiteration of the main theme didn't really bring too much new stuff to the table except some small variations on the theme, so maybe add something more hectic there to spice things up. The ending is pretty okay but it just kinda dies out a bit since it gradually goes down in intensity.

I really really like the little detail at 2:52 where the guitar plays a high A and there's this synthish fluttering sound behind it, and together it sounds exactly like what water droplets bouncing off leaves looks like. More of that kind of stuff would be awesome and add another layer to the whole "cooperating ecosystem" feel.

The mixing and production pretty perfect so I don't think you need to think much about that.

Step responds:

OMG dude I just remembered how much I miss your reviews. Amazing review, thanks so much. I need to review one of your tracks again sometime.

COMMENCE OPERATION QUOTE RESPOND.

"These instruments are wonderful"

Thanks goes to the VST of the East and West variety.

"I love how the guitar and the mallet instruments play appropriate variations of the same theme and complement each other."

Very glad you noticed that; it's not often I make those kinds of background elements because I can harmonise just as well as a minor 2nd interval can... that is, not that well at all.

"I love the melodies you're using too, the ones at 0:22 and 0:32 are wonderful and really memorable. So are the ones later on. They're awesome."

Woo, thanks! Feels good to make something original after all those remixes haha.

"Well I think you might want to liven up that arpeggio at 1:02 a bit"

Good point. I'll do that!

"I love the dissonant chord at 1:21."

Yeah thank Skye for that. He's the one who said "there needs to be something playing before that massive hit" so I decided to throw something dissonant in there for once. I'll make it louder, I agree it's waaaay too quiet.

"The introduction of the more standard orchestral instruments sounds really nice, and in this whole ecosystem allegory it's sounds a bit like you're zooming outwards and showing the grandeur of the habitat's biological machinery in its entirety, whereas earlier you were kinda focusing on a smaller level of it and looking at relationships between individual creatures. That's neat"

Best. Comparison. Ever.

"The strings at 2:00 are really warm and big, I wish you had more of it."

Yeah, those are cellos. I love their sound but I didn't use them much in this particular track (OK that's a lie, I used them a lot, but at considerably low volume), reason being the mallets and guitar and stuff provided plenty of depth already and throwing in any more depth would mud everything up.

"The calm part from 2:11 is kinda progrocky actually, since everything is really restrained and subtle and it has a hint of improvisation."

Yeah that part is taken from an idea I had. It was my first attempt at making this school project song and failed miserably:
http://www.mediafire.com/?cfq7kyuypz3m64w

I hate its sound now but I had that melody locked away inside me for months and I had to find a way to do it justice.

"I like the harmonized thing at 2:18 and then 2:23, it really fits your description."

Yup, I used it again at 2:32 and one last time in 3:11 in the final reiteration of the main melody, hence the whole idea of having different motifs and stuff cooperating with each other like an ecosystem would.

"The transition that happens within [2:42 , 2:48] is really great, I love how easily you bring back the original melody."

I was actually not so sure about that transition so yay!

"The last reiteration of the main theme didn't really bring too much new stuff to the table except some small variations on the theme, so maybe add something more hectic there to spice things up."

You are absolutely right, I did try and add some xylophone arpeggios or something but they failed so I just took the xylophone rhythms I used at 1:22 and threw them in there. I'll try and think of something else.

"The ending is pretty okay but it just kinda dies out a bit since it gradually goes down in intensity."

Yeah I felt an intense ending wouldn't really work for this track. I dunno.

"I really really like the little detail at 2:52 where the guitar plays a high A and there's this synthish fluttering sound behind it, and together it sounds exactly like what water droplets bouncing off leaves looks like. More of that kind of stuff would be awesome"

Fantastic idea thanks, that's what I'll work on next time I open the project file!

"The mixing and production pretty perfect so I don't think you need to think much about that."

Sweet. I was hoping the song wouldn't clip because it peaks above 0 dB pretty badly.

Thanks a LOT for the great review man! I love your reviews.

fillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfillerfiller.

[Omniwitch]

I dunno. I might have a particularly weak point for your style since I'm consistently giving you scores so high even you don't agree with them, but I feel bad about it at all and I honestly don't feel that it's an overstatement to say that the stuff you come up with in a couple of weeks challenges the stuff of established prog rock/metal bands.

My old praise remains: the instrumentation is absolutely glorious, from the absolutely authentic sounding drums via the playful latin jazz piano to the layers and layers of tight, squeaky clean and impressive guitar playing. There seem to be more chord progressions in this entry than the other entries this round combined. I thought the flow was great as well - sure, there are a whole bunch of abrupt and unexpected transitions but after a few listens I find none jarring enough to throw me off.

This time around your submission is one major issue away from jackpot, and it's a composition-related one, for this track certainly tests the listeners endurance and attention span: the song just keeps on going and going and going at full steam with hardly any change of pace save for the occasional roadbumps (i.e wonky transitions and triplet grooves). It's like the musical analogy of a stream-of-consciousness essay with stunningly beautiful prose that doesn't actually convey a big coherent meaningful message, but has an overarching feel and certain recurring ideas, and ends up being a hell of a ride in the end.

9.3/10

Kor-Rune responds:

Wow Buoy c: thank you so much for the kind review! I think I should try to find a new approach to transitions though. I think BTBAM is already doing the whole abrupt thing XD

Thanks again Buoy y r u so nice

[Alpine]

I was surprised to hear this song from you, given your previous entries. Just goes to show that you're a pretty damn versatile and skilled artist. The thin brushed drum loop has this nice breakbeat-like rhythm which, combined with the lush pulsating pad, makes this feel like something of a liquid DnB / jazz fusion combo. Quite a departure from the fluffy orchestral and piano ballads indeed!

The piano playing has a really laidback and sophisticated style that reminds me of Khuskan's old tunes if you remember that guy. Loving the little runs at higher octaves, and the leading tones and the altered chords you imply with the piano and the bass are an absolute treat to starved analytic ears.

Your tracks have been a relief to listen to throughout the contest but man the production on this one is smoooooth. You've got snappy drums and an at times quite bright piano, but no element of the mix ever makes me want to turn the volume knob down (except to some degree the 0:56 cymbal). The drum kit has a great width, and it really opens the track up at 0:56 when it gets introduced after the mono brush kit pattern. The drum fill you ended the track with is brilliant, I wish you'd used more of that stuff and maybe expanded the tune a bit. By the way, you mentioned something about loops so just out of curiosity where are they from? ezdrummer?

Overall: top freaking class. You've become one of my favorite artists on NG and the internet as a whole.

9.3/10

BlazingDragon responds:

I've loved jazz for years and have wanted to break away from purely orchestral/piano music, but all I have are orchestral sound libraries. Since I wrote this piece in the MIDI lab at the college, I had access to a broader sound palette and was all too happy to take advantage of it. I've never heard of liquid DnB until I looked it up just now. I definitely want to play around with sounds like that.

With most compositions, I'm really focused on harmonic progressions. Strangely enough, I hardly thought about chords at all with this. I just went outside of the box and improvised a pad chord progression. Then I improvised a piano part over the top...Then I improvised a bass line...I actually haven't analyzed this piece, but it was more of an improv than a true composition. I do love using upper extensions in my chord voicings though. :)

The pad and beginning percussion loop were from Mach5, and the drums and fills were EZDrummer. The piano was MiniGrand, and the bass was XPand. I really wanted to extend this piece. The big drum fill at the end was actually intended to be the pickup to the next section, but time didn't allow for that.

Thank you for the awesome review Buoy. It seriously made my day to get great comments from an artist I respect!

[Nice to Meet You Here]

Aw man, I would really love to hear this turned into an epic, fleshed out song, because I'm hearing little cues and ideas that would be so amayyysing if they were revisited after a turning point of sorts. Such a lot of potential. As it stands currently, yeah it's pretty underdeveloped and doesn't get to say much before it ends. You should do it sometime.

The samples feel very midi-like here and make the song sound a little bland overall. I imagine that with some tempo manipulation, better samples and more expressive playing, this tune could have conveyed just as much emotion as say Bosa's entry for this round.

And the mix is nicer than last time! Probably just because you have fewer instruments and less intensity but it's a good thing still! Heh. Anyway, overall this is freaking good for 2 hours.

7.5/10

CheckeredZebra responds:

Woo! I'm glad there was a lot people got from this song, despite the circumstances. I actually have figured out a whole scene for this, and if I could gosh darn animate I'd go ahead and make the whole thing a small movie. xD
And yes, I'm fairly certain I'll revisit this some day. Just don't have the ability to right now, haha, =P

[Descent (MSB)]

Nice, after showing off with some dubstep with kickass production, what else to do but make an electro house banger with kickass production? :) Most of my comments on your previous submission apply here. You have a very definite style that feels something like a mix of xKore's production values and Haywyre's sense of melody.

Also what an incredibly catchy and wonderful melody you introduce at 1:02 and use as the main melody throughout the rest. It has both a cool tonality (highlighted with the 4th and 5th notes) and a very detailed, organic, kinda slushy bitcrushed sound. The generic electro pad complements it very well, both tonally and, er, timbrally. There are a few other melodic goodies as well, but only that one really stands out (and admittedly it feels a bit tiring by the last time you repeat it).

The mix and general production is fantastic as usual, though it could possibly be a bit cleaner during the busiest parts. The highs are also a lot harsher than in your previous submission.

9.3/10

GrantBowtie responds:

Thanks - I appreciate the comments.

[Harmonic Symphony 12]

I loved some of the tunes from Animusic man. Harmonic Voltage and Heavy Light especially. I think you captured some of the great things about Harmonic Voltage, and most of the variations and new stuff is neat too, but the mix is a bit hot and compressed and I'd still prefer listening to the original unfortunately. c:

Rinileki14 responds:

Fair enough ) Thanks for listening and the review!!

[Her Wish]

This is definitely one of the most thoroughly and objectively pretty songs of the round in well, every aspect. Your strings sound fantastic, as does the oboe, the choir and the flutes (the harp, the glock and piano are comparatively bland but it doesn't take anything away from the track of course). The mixing does them justice too. I don't know to which extent the playing style is something you programmed or if your instrument just does that, but both the emotionality and the sound of the instruments is greatly enhanced by the way some notes in a chord lag behind others and have different release times. And it feels more complex and engaging too!

Another objectively pretty aspect of the song is the chord progressions. For the first half they mostly float around and convey a mood, while in the second half they create some interesting variations on that mood - the chord at 2:01 sounds dissonant at first, then it sounds brilliant a few seconds afterwards when you realize what just happened (for me at least). The new set of chords at 1:20 is wonderfully uplifting.

This is also a song I've downloaded and keep listening to occasionally regardless of its ngadm submission status because it's relatively short, easy to appreciate (but still mentally stimulating), and overall just does its job really well. So there's not much wrong about this submission that knocks it down, but it's also clearly not developed enough to bring it all the way up to a top score either.

8.5/10

Bosa responds:

Thank you, good sir! I shall pour all the money from my bank account into yours.