SpeedoRH's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Sprite (Glaremix)]

Hey! Just checking out everyone's remixes and thought I might start with you haha :D

First thing's first, I really, really like the melodic ideas in this track! The general vision you had for this track was quite phenomenal, considering you have submitted 4 tracks so far. Oh, and I love that key change at the end into F# Major! It just works so well here and I don't even know why.

On the more technical side of things, I agree with underscore8298 in that the intro sounds a little messy, and I think that the reason is the instrument you used has too much release. Just make the sample your using play for less time and it should stop it from drowning everything else. Another technical thing I would fix (and the last one, since I don't want to get nit-picky) is the drums, since they are quiet compared to the rest.

I really hope this helps! I think you have got a lot of potential!

Liftek responds:

Thanks for your opinion! Yeah the intro probably contains some particularities which can be argued about. Actually, I was thinking about removing a couple more harmonics from that intro sample but I decided not to change too much in order to keep a sound which to me offered an interesting more natural feel.
Also I thought this contest might be bit more focussed on creativity than the technical aspect because it's mentioned earlier in the criteria list of the contest announcement.

Regarding the drums I came to the conclusion that I pretty much like my drums sound a bit less powerfull on some music pieces. I was experimenting with higher volumes on the drums in earlier uploads hence I tried aiming for a less intense mix this time.
At 0:25-0:51 the low drum volume is intentional because I love experimenting with very quiet sounding samples within the first seconds of a song. Inside my headphones the drums sound considerably more punchy than on my phone speakers so I will try focussing a bit more on the stereo field in the next time.

[Three]

Holy hell, this track is coincidentally keeping it 100!

The arrangement is actually really interesting. It's like the track is trying to convince you that one thing is going to happen, but it changes into something unexpected. I find that to be a really cool touch to it!

Melodies are top notch as always. Super catchy and fun to listen to, especially in the first half. You have such a talent for these dynamic melodies for lack of a better term. Keep it up!

Also, the mixing is really, really good! I am actually surprised how well you've managed to do on SunVox out of all DAWs. It is the cleanest I have heard from you so far to be completely honest. The only thing on that aspect I would change is the volume of the psytrance's snare, but this is just me being nitpicky, and we are talking no more than 2dB haha.

Again, absolutely phenomenal and a really neat coincidence it's your 100th submission!

OVERSCORE responds:

💯 💯 💯
I like to make tracks that keep you on your toes, so you’ll stay interested! I find it entertaining.
Thanks! It also helps that this was a combined remake of two songs, so I had a lot to work with. In the future, making two IDs and then combining them could be a really nice addition to my workflow.
Thanks again! Mixing is pretty weird on SunVox, but I am making it work (with your help)! The snare in the psytrance drop is just a little clap, so I didn’t think it needed to be too loud. But it’s the nitpicks that make me better!
💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯

[Walk Away]

Holy moly, this song has such pretty melodies. I am so happy to hear with my own ears how your music just evolves and flows better and better, song after song.

P.s. That second drop caught me by surprise ngl. Crazy stuff!

EDIT: I totally didn't get that idea from you, noooo no.

OVERSCORE responds:

Thanks! I always joke that I’m usually at my best in F minor (Submerge and 2000 prove that) and this song is no exception. I had to pull out the big guns for the KO Round.

P.s. I saw you now have a Top 10 playlist, where’d you get the idea? 😂

[Time VIP]

Bruh what am I doing not reviewing your stuff? I listened to this when it got released and completely forgot to leave a review.

The first half of the song is quite simple, with a few touches here and there that make it so much of a better experience to listen to. For instance, the bass riff, the bridge section at 1:49 which is quite uplifting in a way, and so on and so forth. (By the way, I should specify the bridge part was one of my favourite things in this whole song. PLEASE MAKE MORE MUSIC LIKE THAT!)

The second half is crazy. It goes back home, and then it just goes into this trance drop that I absolutely adore! I don't know how you made that bass, but it made the drop so good alongside the saw synths on there. Towards the outro, the song just gets so interesting. Anyone can tell you put a lot of effort.

The outro section is crazy good and crazy clean. The bass is acid as fuck, the bellish melody sounds clean as heck too, and so the saws. You definitely 1UP'd your music game here, both mix-wise and arrangement-wise. This is a crazy good track, and I highly doubt this wouldn't get you to the Knock-Outs!

This is a 10/10 for me!

OVERSCORE responds:

The first half establishes the theme and atmosphere so the second half we can flip it all on its head and jam out! (The bridge is my favorite part too.)

[Ryzmik - "Wicked"]

DAMN, this is some sick tune right here! So glad you came back on such a high note.

You should submit this to NGUAC or something!

Ryzmik responds:

Thanks dude! Glad to see you here!
I would join the NGUAC but dubstep isn't what people mainly like for this contest but anyway, Imma try it out just for fun, thanks for the idea!

[Parallels]

Absolutely fantastic track! The only real issue that I found though is that the drums don't feel like they are towards the front of the mix, but they sound a bit reverbed and put at the back of the mix. I would tell you how to do it, but that would mean asking you for the FLP for the song because the mix changes song to song if that makes sense.

Anyways, it's a great track! Keep it up!

P.s. Sorry for taking so long to listen to anything of yours again. I have just finished my mock exams and that was quite a task.

See you soon hopefully!
~SpeedoRH

FarFromSundown responds:

Hey! Thanks for reviewing :) I'd be cool with sending you the project file if you wanna take a look. I feel like I get that feedback about my drums sounding "reverby" but I never know what causes it because I don't have any extra reverb on the drum bus in any mixer state. So maybe another set of eyes will help. If you wanna PM your email, I'll send it later today. Always appreciate you listening!

[Waking Up]

I had to send this one to the FP thread. This track just sounds so upbeat and fun man!

Love the style you are developing!

OVERSCORE responds:

Ayyyye thank you so much!! I’ll keep the tracks coming!

[Desolate]

The drop starts so dry and dampens up so smoothly. This is truly some interesting psytrance! I never really hear that much melodic psytrance out there, but I didn't imagine it could sound this good!

Good job! My favourite alongside Elevation definitely.

OVERSCORE responds:

I didn’t think melodic psytrance really exists!
Mine too!

[Elevation]

This one is so emotional. The arpeggio at the start is so mellow and nice, and the slow melody at the drop works very well.

I also really enjoy the variety in this one. The arrangement is just too good!

This one is definitely my favourite from your EP alongside Desolate.

OVERSCORE responds:

Glad you liked this one!
The arrangement here was an attempt to mix it up as much as possible, keeping familiarity but adding as many new parts in as possible to keep the song interesting.

[Cloudfall]

Ooooh, odd scale! Makes the melody sound that tiny bit more interesting imo.

OVERSCORE responds:

Chord progression is G major, c minor, Ab (A flat) major, then back to G major in the verses. But it varies a bit