midimachine's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Bittersweet Coffee Lo-Fi]

really nice smooth intro, beautiful soft piano + smokey upright bass = heaven. the piano parts here feel so human and playful, and the slow melodic bassline perfectly underpins everything from a harmonic standpoint. the drums, however, are comedically sloppy - and there's two different drum sets playing sloppy at the same time! take a cue from lofi hip hop, quantize the downbeats a little! they don't have to be robotically in time, but at least have 1, 2, and 4 in the pocket. keep your drum layers consistently in time with themselves too. i don't know if you recorded the other parts to a click, but the drums are so bad they sound like they're making the other instruments play out of time. disappointing overall, but i really do hope you make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

kantieno responds:

Thanks for the feedback! In restructuring the song for a more lofi vibe, I ended up being very unsure of whether/how I wanted to retain the feel of the original drums while adding in new drums to get a beat with more punch. By the end I definitely had some trouble deciding whether or not it fit at all, so it is nice to have some fresh perspective! That's something I will work on for sure.

Either way I'm glad to hear that you thought the piano and bass worked well together! Thanks again for the feedback!

[desolation]

cool instrumentation! love the juxtaposition of chunky, chorused trip hop guitars with the trap drums. reminds me of angel by massive attack in a big way. i think all the guitars can come down a little in volume, the mix feels just a little crowded right now. the high guitar part needs some more tone shaping i think, maybe just a delay or a bit of fuzz (remember to gate it if you introduce distortion to preserve the mutes properly), and the trap hihat is way too loud. love the guitar harmony that comes in at 1:07, wish that was used to cap of every 4 bars or something instead of just playing a few times towards the end. the main guitar line comes in a little late and feels sloppy once the drums come in - but i think it's just that the whole line needs to be moved back a small amount. enjoyed this, wish it was a full track!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

[beautiful spring]

i find everything about this incredibly odd. weird rhythm, kooky chords, wacky sound design. actually it's just the bass and the highpassed chord thing that feels wacky tbf. but yea, i don't feel a sense of springtime in this at all, it's more like chugging ayuhuasca. little in the way of variety for drum patterns, would be nice to have some fills in transitions at least instead of the same 4 bar pattern. flute melody is cool but the underlying detuned bass and chords don't mesh with it at all. the ending is pleasant comparatively but i think the second last chord (i think it's an A half-diminished chord?) is a really questionable choice.

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

[JuLn - Anion]

love when dnb tracks take elements from different styles together - hearing some ragga and liquid in the midst of the future bass goodness here. epiano solo is really nice touch. the sound design is definitely on the basic side, and i think the stock FL sounds used don't really fit the vibe on their own and need a little layering or replacement. really appreciate the anti-drop in the first part but the ultra-smooth kick made it too anticlimactic. second drop feels much nicer. not a whole lot else to critique, the structure is perfect, there's a lot of attention to detail and the main theme, while initially a bit goofy, is actually a dope little nod to flamenco that really grew on me. this track is a LOT more than the sum of its parts, and i can't help but imagine what it could be if those parts were stronger individually. make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

JuLn responds:

I really appreciate this detailed and constructive review, thanks for your work as a judge!

[Blossom]

lots to like about this! great chords, nice drops, tight reverb control, sweet sound design. really love the variety of tones that you've got in this. my main issue is that the kick and snare are struggling to push through despite the aggressive sidechaining - i think all of your synths and basses have to come down in volume during the drops before you hit the master limiter, right now it just lacks energy a little. the high pitched arps at 2:03 are generally too loud anyway. that "blossom" vocoder sample feels dry and muddy compared to the other instruments and sfx - i'd roll of the lows on that, pump a bit of whitenoise in the carrier signal, and lay off chorus/unison/detune effects until after the vocoding happens. would be good to have a proper dj-friendly wind down on the ending instead of the radio-edit too. apart from those minor issues the mixing is very clean, and my only real concern is the master. fantastic work!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

[Train of Thought]

very cool intro! space age steve reich vibes. wasn't expecting the transition to sassy chromatic tribal house, to energetic electro pop, to a prog synth breakdown. i guess the title should've clued me in. i think it's cool to do this sort of thing every now and then, even when the musical ideas don't come together to form a cohesive whole. that said, i prefer a lot of the warmer, smoother sounds used here than the harsh space harpsichords and loud, brittle 808 open hats. using 808s the entire time is a brave choice, they don't really convey the sound you're trying at a lot of the time and sound a little anemic. generally the mix lacks space in terms of dynamics (a lot of the time everything is the same volume) and physicality (no reverb/delay), but the first 2 minutes work around this better than the rest of the track, which i didn't like very much. bizarre entry overall, but i respect the shot at something unique.

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text

[Eah O o o o]

i'm enamoured with the atmosphere here - big dream pop/chillwave energy, definitely feeling the gold panda/xxyyxx influence. when the low synth brass comes in it's honestly just perfect. the mix is pretty decent, if a little mid-heavy. the open hihat sample is just a little bright for me. the abrupt vocal chops are cool, but the pitch is just a little too off-center to have them be that busy, like at 1:49-1:53 you can pick just one off-key/modulated high note and slather it in reverb as an accent and that's probably fine. the breakdown at 2:45 is neat but a little too busy and glitchy imo - pick your moments wisely! ending build is great. big genre bias talking here, but this is one of the highlights of the group so far. make more!

important notes on my NGUAC review process: https://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1476427/18#bbspost26965604_post_text