LunacyEcho's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[starlight dreams]

Even though it isn't chiptune, I can somehow still tell that it's you who wrote it. Your style transcends genres, it seems.

Blarg. I wish I hadn't read the notes now, because biology. Now, I can't get the image of a pulsating blob of tissue out of my head whenever you get to the sidechainy bits. That background gulping noise (?) that becomes slightly more prominent at 3:45 doesn't help either. :P At least I can see an image, so your atmosphere is definitely image-provoking, which isn't how I normally think.

Speaking of the word 'atmosphere', I've always used it as a synonym for 'mood' rather than a type of mood. I guess I've been using it wrong. I'd describe this as having an airy or breathy atmosphere, but the term 'atmospheric' describes it pretty well.

I actually think this song isn't too long. I mean, sure, it's repetitive and lulling, but it's certainly a welcome change from your chiptune. It's in a similar vein to your other music, but it's different enough to keep me interested while still preserving that johnfn quality that you've basically mastered. I couldn't tell you what it is, but I can tell it's there.

I don't really know why I'm leaving this review when you've done all your own critiquing for yourself. Come on, leave some for the rest of us! I'm docking half a star because of, as you said, the mood. Yeah, I appreciate it, but I think you've done enough work with calm and "atmospheric". Try something people can't really imagine you doing, like a rock song! :D That'll be the day...

That ending. It's like you have an obligation to piss at least one person off with each of your songs' endings or something. Fade-outs, incompleteness... It's an interesting quirk, so I don't really mind it, but it's going to garner some opprobrium. Watch out.

It's great to hear you use new instruments! Try new things! Be inventive! Great work.

johnfn responds:

> gulping noise

LOL what. That is actually some guy talking that I applied a ridiculous amount of reverb and delay. Your interpretation is 500x more terrifying than what I intended.

> atmosphere

Yeah, I totally see what you mean. Different words mean different things to different people :P To me, atmospheric = music that almost paints a picture in your head, music that is not gripping but rather relies on strength of sound design choices and ambience.

> I actually think this song isn't too long

I'm really pleased to hear this. I mean, personally, I think it's perfect, but then, I always think my songs are perfect!!! >:D I know a lot of people have different tastes and different expectations when listening to songs.

> enough work with calm and "atmospheric"

Heheh yeah. You just get a sort of urge to write out music in that style though sometimes, you know? But I think I'm going to use this sort of reactionary feeling against calm stuff as a guiding principle for my next few songs, mostly because I figured out how to inject a ton of energy into my music ever since I wrote "you win".

> rock song

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED. Uh, it could be a while though... I really want to get an electric guitar though.

> It's like you have an obligation to piss at least one person off with each of your songs' endings or something

LOL. Yeah that is pretty much me in a nutshell. I was getting pretty good at them for a little bit but then I went straight back to trolling. I just can't help myself.

I didn't even think this one would be too offensive. Nine Inch Nails has this song called "Hurt" which is amazing but then ends with a minute of repetitive, almost painful noise. Also, have you ever heard the ending of Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band (the album)? The little wobble at the end here is downright tame in comparison. >:D

Thanks for the awesome review as usual dude. You always have interesting things to say, and you always give me something to think about. I appreciate it.

P.S. Congrats at being the first person to ever use the word "opprobrium" in a review of my songs .

[you win!]

Why the heck is this only rated a 3.18?!

3:48-4:00. ALL of my yes. TAKE IT.

I find it interesting that you say this is the most upbeat song you've ever done. Personally, it's hard for me to ever make something this peaceful. And this isn't peaceful. I guess I'm hardwired to create cheerful music, while you seem to be really good at making relaxing music and sometimes dabbling into other areas and doing relatively well. Do you ever intentionally use music theory to improve your music? That might be a reason. For me, it's rare to have a key be anything other than C, F, or G.

I enjoyed the interlude from 2:08-3:10. I've noticed that there's normally tons of contrast in your music. You've got periods of soft, relaxing lull and climactic periods of power. These periods tend to contrast a lot more than in other musicians' stuff. Not a critique, just an observation. I like it, somehow.

Interesting side note: I caught strings. Yeah, people use strings all the time. What's so interesting? Well, I haven't heard you use strings since Foosteps. I haven't HEARD you. You probably sneak them in all the time, and for some reason, I never catch them. I'm always amazed at how you create such a tranquil ambience, and I think I've finally found one of your secrets. HIDDEN VIOLINS. (along with long glides, sustains, echoes, yada yada yada)

Good job! Much chip. Very music.

johnfn responds:

> Do you ever intentionally use music theory to improve your music?

Yes, but no. I never turn directly to music theory to write music. Music theory works best for me when it's on an almost subconscious level. I'll just get this feeling that the piece should go in a certain way and move the chords in that way. (It's best when I don't even know if the chords are I/V/vi or whatever.) Those 'feelings' though are usually informed by the music theory knowledge I have. (Though I've only ever obtained that knowledge by messing around on piano and seeing what sounds good.)

It WOULD be good for you to experiment in breaking away from C-F-G though, because you can get a lot more expressivity with more chords. Am is an easy one to incorporate, and then you can go to Dm and Em which have their own flavor. And then there's much more to experiment with, try messing around with Fm-C and Am -> Dmajor.

From a music theory perspective, this song is pretty straightforward. Most of the time it loops the same 8 bar chord progression I-IV-I-V-I-IV-vi-V-IV (using roman number analysis if you're not familiar). The only switchup is at 2:08 and I don't really know what's going on there... LOL. I just noodled on the piano.

> interludes

While we're talking about tricks of the trade, this is definitely a trick of the trade. I think that having a constantly changing sense of energy is probably one of the most important things. You want to have a climax, but you can't stay there forever or people will get exhausted, so you bring down the energy, do a breakdown, etc. If you pay attention to the songs you enjoy, you'll notice that this happens all the time.

> I caught strings

Hahaha yeah you remember when I said "99.9% FM synthesis"? This is the 0.1%. Strings are my secret sauce to make the song more lush and fill it up if it's feeling empty... don't tell anyone ;-P You can also hear them in "canopy melody" (though they're stereo separated aggressively and it's pretty hard to tell that they're even strings, this is another secret) and "just hold on".

I'm using a string sample from the Alchemy VST, which is free, so if you like them you can go get them heheh.

Anywho thanks for the great review!

[just hold on]

You know, I didn't even know this song existed until about five second ago, when I read TheDoor's review about you having three songs and my frontpage loadout having shown only two since two days ago. Strange.

The thing that seemed most noticeable about this song at first listen was the use of a filter as buildup at 2:30. The second most noticeable thing was the filter at 2:55, which seemed a bit repetitive, given the one that had just happened half a minute ago. The parts at 1:25 and 3:18 were quite interesting, since you changed the song to an unexpected key that probably fits once you expect and get used to it, but causes a bit of a jump when you don't.

Is it just me, or is the synth you introduced at 0:13 just SLIGHTLY too loud at its peak? Probably just me.

Anyways, this was great to listen to. I think this is your best one out of the recent three-pack. Good job!

johnfn responds:

Hey, thanks for the review(s)! I really enjoy your reviews because you always pick up on interesting things.

I think it's funny that this is your favorite, and "you are not alone" is TheDoor6's favorite. My favorite was actually "canopy melody" making a nice even spread between the 3 songs ;-)

The switchups at 2:15 and 3:18 I actually like a whole lot, though I agree with you that they are surprising on an initial listen. I think it's because the song is primarily a 2-chord song , so your brain sorta settles into that rhythm, and then BOOM more chords. Once you know it's coming it's enjoyable though. Maybe I coulda built up to them more.

Also good catch on the filter buildup. You can always tell I'm rushing when you hear a filter buildup ;-)

[RUIN]

It's definitely not something I'd listen to normally, but it's amazing for the game you designed it for. Great job on that.

When you uploaded this, did you include the 15-second silent break at the end on purpose? I mean, since it's got a creepy atmosphere, I was almost expecting a loud scream at the last second or something. In fact, in regards to the length, you could've stopped this at about 0:25 and looped it from there. Unless in the game, it's some sort of cutscene that lasts for exactly 1:45.

Anyways, it conveys an appropriate atmosphere and definitely has a home in whatever game you submitted it for. Good job.

DuttonsaysHi responds:

Hey thank you! yeah me neither, ambient isn't really my style but it's good to practice with it since a lot of games use it for in-game atmosphere.

That 15 second break was intentional. Originally, it was going to loop so I had to work to loop the reverb and bell rings back to the beginning without any awkward cuts. When I sent it him, he said I could just let the final bell drone on at the end and then they'd loop it from there. The reason it's so long is because of that bell and reverb. The ringing goes on for a few seconds then there's a slight reverb that goes on after it that you can't really hear in conventional speakers/headphones but could in my headphones and I didn't want to cut it off. So that's why it drones out for 15 seconds xP. However, it does successfully loop in the game so it isn't and issue really :).

Still thanks! I appreciate the comment ^^

[canopy melody]

When I came here a couple days ago, this song had a score of around 1.7, confusing the heck out of me. I'm just glad no more trolls have returned since then.

It's a great song, with a good atmosphere. I love how you said we'd miss the "lush detail" if listening without headphones. Because you did, I purposely set them to louder than I normally would and was blasted away by the dynamic change at 1:04. That may be a bit of an exaggeration, but I did NOT expect such a large change in volume. I guess it's not for everyone.

I think you did a lot better in percussion here than you have in some of your previous works (Wide World, for instance). The one thing I'd like to say about it is that starting from 1:37 and in similar parts, the woodblock (maybe?) thingy gets a bit too loud for my tastes. You know, the one that goes DUK DUK DUK DUKUKUKUKUK DUK DUK.

If anyone could pull off combining so many melodies together, it's you. It definitely has replay value for me, for the reasons mentioned in your description. One thing that I noticed, though: It's a bit too climactic to listen to while relaxing, while everything else fits. The glides on the synths are a bit too sentimental to listen to for an uplifting song, while everything else fits. The sustains are a bit too long to listen to as an I'm-bored song, while everything else fits. It's like you're trying to make it hard for people to listen to this!

Anyways, it's a great song. I love it. But damned if I'm going to find a good place to listen to it anytime soon. :P

johnfn responds:

I was hesitating on replying to this review because it is a pretty good one and I didn't want to do it a disservice by being like "LOL K" and moving on or something hahah... I like to include some sort of thought or insight in my review responses, so that people who review can feel like they get something in return.

Yeah the volume change was a bit of a mistake. It's because I made the "chorus" first and then filled in the intro - so I was listening to it with my volume on "chorus" level and didn't really notice a huge change. When I saw the waveform over on soundcloud I realized I had made a mistake.

> Wide World

LOL don't remind me ;.;

> DUK DUK DUK DUKUKUKUKUK DUK DUK.

hahahahaha yeah you have a good ear, that is definitely a mistake. Thanks for pointing that out. (It's a bongo by the way ;-P)

> One thing that I noticed, though: It's a bit too climactic to listen to while relaxing, while everything else fits. [etc]

This though is such an interesting point! First because I never really associated the pitch bends with nostalgia (I just do what I feel like :D) so that was really illuminating. But you're right, this is kind of a mishmash of styles. I've never really thought about music that way before, so I'll definitely be thinking about achieving a singular goal with my future compositions. I think that one of my problems is I make all my songs climactic, even though it's not always necessary to do so. I feel like the listener might just pass over the song otherwise, you know?

Thanks for another awesome review.

[theme for "only one chance"]

I've played the game, but I'm only experienced in audio, so I'll talk things here.

This is a great song, and it fits perfectly with the game. It does its job as background music and loops unnoticeably. As usual, you have amazing melodies. You made the game in 72 hours? I probably couldn't even make THIS in 72 hours.

However, I notice that the overall dynamic of the piece diminishes over time. I know that in piano music it's good to have different levels of dynamics, but this piece just goes down. Past 0:50, there aren't any sections at all that were as powerful as the first part. I know that in the game, it loops, so it provides a bell-curve-y feeling (terminology so much pro), but as a standalone song, it feels like it just peters off. I'd suggest making it a bit longer and adding a couple more sections.

But it's a background loop for a game. What do I know?

BTW, the game is awesome. If you made more, I'd definitely play them.

johnfn responds:

Thanks! I actually didn't notice the volume issue at all, but that's probably because I had it looping. Thanks for pointing that out. Glad you liked the game too :)

[Majestic]

Is it just me, or do I detect a bit of 'Whatever!' in here?

I, for one, didn't really find this song to be too Disney-esque. That's not necessarily a bad thing, though. I enjoyed the electronic interlude and the chiptune elements pervading the rest of the song. Disney songs, whether older or more recent, tend to stick to one genre. I like genre-swapping better.

The atmosphere is really uplifting and inspirational. You did a great job on giving it an overall feel. However, at 1:19, I think you didn't have to make it softer. It seemed like a good place to introduce heavier music, like the electronic stuff at 1:35. The part in between that was quite redundant.

This is more of a nitpick than anything, but it's something that really bothers me. In places like 2:50 and in many places onward, there's a sort of double kick or something that just makes me cringe. It's like the kicks are just *THAT* much off the beat, and it just bothers me. It doesn't matter, though. It makes the end of the song a tad less enjoyable, but the rest of the song is absolutely amazing. It's absolutely fine without the vocals.

Yeah, my review may not sound too positive as a whole, but I hope you know that I really enjoyed this piece. I try not to repeat what previous viewers have already said, and because of that, my batch of constructive criticism turned out to be a pile of scrupulousness. Whoops. Anyways, good job!

DuttonsaysHi responds:

No man this was really positive! It really shows that you listened through, analysed the song and gave feedback accordingly. I appreciate that so thank you :).

Now my reasons behind those flaws:

It didn't seem to Disney to me either... I blame the lack of vocals. If I had some vocals and lyrics to go from I would have been able to structure the song around that and use certain instruments and effects according to the theme. Without that the song just kind of takes it's own path of orchestral electro without any real theme. That's why I mention half way through the whole thing turns chiptune because I realised it could never be Disney-esque without the vocals, so up until the midway section it was solely orchestral you see?

That soft section was the part I had the "realisation". It was going to be a whole soft section that would build up into a newer, grander verse but again... couldn't do that so I just used it as a bridge into the electronic section :I.

Yeah, I get your point about the beat in some places but they where more or less intentional. I went for a break beat approach when it came to the drums with little fills in between the kicks, so I guess it's supposed to sound off-beat but I guess it's just not for everyone Dx. That small section you mention was just a small break to re-invite the mean melody with the added chiptune additions.

Again don't worry about it man! constructive criticism is always a positive thing in my books! I really appreciate you taking the time to listen and give me feedback! So thanks again ^^

[Enter the Neostream]

Alright, let's take it from the top.

The intro was, to put it simply, boring. You had a drum line and a single, repeating synth melody, and it took 20 seconds to get out of that.

The rest of your song was, easily, much, much better. The melodies you used were nice, although somewhat repetitive. I get that 'underground' vibe that it gives off, which means it has a nice atmosphere. There was one part at 1:19 where there was a pause and I completely lost the beat of the song. You should probably try and avoid that, because most people who get into the feel of a song feel a bit strange when there's a half-second skip that messes up the tempo.

The bassline is the gem of the song. I think what you could've done was to introduce a simple bassline in the beginning and slowly make it more and more complex through the song, adding different higher-pitched melodies to it as it went along. At least, that's probably how I would've approached it. Still, your way was great as well. As Lockyn put it, it was "spacey". I think that's a great term for this piece.

It's a good piece that explores different effects and patterns. But how the hell does it have 155 downloads and only 125 plays?!

FortressLord responds:

The glitchy stat system is where. : /
I kinda forgot about this old track but thanks for giving it a helpful review.

[Milkdromeda]

This is quite a cool song, with 'Milkdromeda' being a very unique name. I like it! Where did it come from?

I loved the sounds of the synth leads and the feel of the drums. The transition at 1:52 was also pretty well done and probably my favorite part of the song. It was a good example in showing that even if you have similar instruments and melody, the atmosphere of a song can change just like THAT.

I somewhat disliked the repetition of the song. I mean, you kept a very similar melody throughout the song either as the lead during a break or as support for the main melody. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but don't be afraid to change it up a little as well.

All in all, it's a great-sounding piece of work. I think you could change the melody/chord progression up a bit, but for the overall digital atmosphere of the song, it works either way.

FortressLord responds:

Our closest galaxy, Andromeda, is heading towards ours, the Milky Way. Eventually the two galaxies will hit and merge to create Milkdromeda. Not a realistic present-day scenario but a very futuristic concept for music like this.

And it's weird that some people have said it's repetitive. I actually had more note sequences and even a whole pad section in the middle and took it all out and copied other parts of the song over it because I felt the song wouldn't work with too much going for it.
Now I think it may need a revision.
Thanks for the review.

[-Velocity Wings-]

This is wonderful. I think it combines the aspects of your newer songs with the aspects of your older songs very nicely. It's got your old D'n'B drumline and older basslines, but also combines the instrumental stylings of your newer music. I love it.

The guitar solo is quite new, but it's very interesting. It could have been a LOT louder, though. Many parts of this song have a lot more of a 'rock' vibe than most of your older stuff, which is something I think you could explore and pull off quite well with some of your future music.

Personally, I wish there was more of a melody. Most of your recent music (Swirl, Streetwise, etc.) has had catchy melodies which trademarked the songs to be 'themselves'. This one, although the sounds and atmosphere are amazing as usual, lacks a melody that people can call to and go "Oh, you're humming Velocity Wings!"

It sounds great. It does have a distinct atmosphere, although it lacks a melody or motif. Still, it was a great start to 2014, and I hope it means that there's lots more to come this year!

Waterflame responds:

Thank you for the great review :D I actually agree with everything you said haha!
And yes indeed, there will be a LOT more to come this year :D