stunkel's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Magnetic]

HE'S BACK!! :O Great work man!

[Childhood Passing By]

I don't get why this has 2 stars -.- this is really beautiful. Happy 21st birthday also! This is really freaking awesome. It sounds like it could be a game or movie soundtrack. The chords are rich and full and very well put together. Great work! I love it

5/5

-Ryan

BlazingDragon responds:

Well, nothing to start off year 21 like a zero-bomb right off the bat! XD

Thank you for both the birthday wish and kind words about the music. It means a lot to me. :)

[Mining Capital of Az'ahil]

Hey Neon,

This is AWESOME! I think this is the same piece you showed me forever ago. And I gotta say, I can hear DRASTIC improvements in this from the earlier versions on this. The midi feeling from this is taken out almost completely. Unfortunately it's impossible to really take it out completely. You had some great and fun ideas in this. It sounds like it could definitely be in a video game. If I had any suggestions to make, I would say to make the new instruments that introduce as what would seem like a main melody to be a little bit louder, I felt like they were in the background a bit too much while listening. Also, the piece was nice and relaxing to listen to, and it kept it's tone and emotional content throughout the entire thing, which is great to do for a video game setting so you nailed that on the dot. But maybe it would have been good to throw some bigger parts or even smaller ones. Being at the same level throughout the entire thing unfortunately felt a little boring for me. Another thing, this doesn't really bother me at all, but for other people they get annoyed at it, would be to unquantize and mix up the velocities on all of the instruments. That shaker throughout the song sounds very much the same throughout the entire song. To fix this, if you are using East/West, I would use the round robin reset option in the Play Engine. It works very well for most instruments! Also just change up the velocity and make sure the notes don't snap EXACTLY to the grid, it's okay to do so occasionally, but you want it to sound like a real orchestra, however I didn't notice as much of a problem with that. And damn dude, RA sounds incredible, you used it very well! I'm listening with my computer speakers (which suck) so I can't tell how well you did with the mixing, but from what I can tell it sounds lovely! The scale and chords you used also fit the song and emotion you described perfectly! The melodies and everything flowed together perfectly. You are well on your way to becoming a professional video game composer! Come onto Skype sometime soon dude, we need to catch up XD

Great work man :P

-Ryan

Neon-Bard responds:

Yay! It's Stunkel! I always look forward to your reviews, my friend.

This piece was inspired by the track I showed you a while back but is more of an offshoot, so to speak. I'm glad to hear that this track would be suitable for a video game...that was my intention after all. I will certainly increase the volume of the duduk (and perhaps the strings as well) as I think that the middle-eastern vibe that this track contains is what glues the entire song together.

I apologize if there were slightly less exciting portions to this track....I have to work on creating songs that boast life and excitement, such as you would expect from a city-based track! I felt like I tinkered with the velocities enough, but there is always room for improvement and I thank you for pointing that out - I shall become a master!

The round robin option with East/West is something I definitely should experiment with, I still do not have my head wrapped around it's finer functions. However, interestingly enough, and you may be surprised to hear this, but a majority of the instruments were not placed 'evenly' on the grid. The duduk and percussion (rain stick, tablas, and ewe drums) were often all over the place without any rhyme or reason. I think the strings mask the other instruments and almost provide them with an illusive auditory quality that makes everything seem like it was placed directly on the grid (though many notes came quite close to snapping directly).

Perhaps someday I will be at the professional level, but before that I will need to go through many experiences and also criticisms from experienced artists such as yourself! I will try to be on Skype more! :)

Thanks man!

[Teaching My Students]

This is such a cool idea! Great work Bosa, love it! I had no idea that you teach, what do you teach?

Bosa responds:

Sixth grade, sir! Primary school is where I belong methinks.

[LB - The place I met you.]

Hey man, congrats on the frontpage! The song is great :3

LazyBucks responds:

Oh did I get frontpage? Yay me, thanks man.

[Elusive Truths]

Hey! I'm here for the review for review thread!

This is a nice little track. The fast piano is a nice touch. The main melody showing up by accented piano notes is a nice idea! The chords you use are really pretty. And I think you have some really cool ideas! The song sounds like something that would be a flash game so I think you came to the right place to post this :p It's very pop oriented and melodic, and the chord progression is fun!

The intro to the song is very nice with the piano starting fast but playing something kind of dark before going into it. There are some things that bug me that are mainly things that are most likely opinion based. I think that the drums are a little cheesy for the song. The song would have been a lot prettier if it didn't have a drum kit. At least the drumbeat you used seems to be very unfitting. It's that it doesn't seem to fit with the song, and it feels a little repetitive. Perhaps if you were to take it out in some parts of the song or maybe change up the drum beat. Maybe it's the drum kit sounds that you used, or it might stand out too loudly in the mix. I'm just not sure, it's all up in the air for interpretation!

The piano is probably the best part of the song. The only thing I would have liked to hear is some more diversity with it. Going full speed all of the time can get a bit boring. There are some parts like at 1:50 that are really nice, but I think it would be cool if you put something taking over as the lead melodic instruments instead of the piano. But this track would sound really good if it had some loud and soft dynamics, and even if it just hit some whole note or half note chords and went into a softer section.

Another thing to consider might be to have a larger range of instruments. Like I said having another instrument taking over as the lead instrument might be cool! Like a solo violin or a french horn or a synth. The accented piano notes works for some of the song and can still work nicely along with a lead melody on a different instrument. The only reason I say that is because it does start to get a little repetitive. Again, all of my criticisms are just opinions. I really enjoyed writing this review :)

7/10 review
5/5 star rating

-Ryan

[Chemicals [NGADM]]

Okay seriously. This makes me feel things I can't feel from any other song. You have such a unique style of music and I never really appreciated your style of music until now. The structure to the song is just amazing. The mixing is just fantastic. You change it up so damn much and composition is just AMAZING. Guitar solos and vocals with harmony. EVERYTHING changes up every 10 seconds. The chords are just so freaking awesome, the singing is smooth. Everything just pops out at me and it's all just a roller coaster of awesome emotions.

The intro just leaves me in such mystery. It sets a unique and mellow tone for the song. The effect you put on it feels very metallic which fits very well with the name of the song "Chemical". Drum production altogether throughout this song is just incredible. I will most likely be constantly praising it throughout this review. They have to be live recorded, they are just too damn amazing and well mixed. Tons of drum fills and nice diversity of use with the high hat and timing with the solo at the start. The rhythm is awesome as well. The guitar is just so awesome and mellow in the beginning, i can't get over it. That tuned percussion instrument is freaking awesome too. Really brings on the "Chemicals" feel.

All of the guitar fills and solos are just so freaking awesome. Your vocal harmonies are incredible. You are clearly comfortable with your voice and have a lot of talent. You also have a nice scream at 2:12. It doesn't just come out of no where and it comes in slowly and steadily to where it almost sneaks up on you. It's weird but I love it. I love how you manage to make this song so epic and diverse, while giving it a mellow/chill feel the entire time. Again, drums are still amazing as I listen to the song more and more and get further into the song.

This song is so freaking ambitious and incredible. I can literally feel your mindset and emotions when you created this song it's so powerful. (maybe not that much but you get what I mean :P) The effects that you use in the song (along with the intro on the drums) are freaking awesome. Panning effects and all are just amazing. My favorite has to be the 2:27. I can't even wrap my head around what exactly you did right there and how you pulled it off to make it sound so damn good. But it's DAMN good. That is one thing you do extremely well in this song. You change it up in ways where you would expect it. It starts off with a surprise, then you do something else which I wouldn't expect in the song, and then along comes something else that is even more awesome. And the how often you change up the song as I listen just makes me wonder what else you could possibly do that could top that, and with that pattern that you have been following of outdoing yourself, you keep on managing to do so. Which only makes me more excited as I listen for what could happen next.

The transitions in this song are beautiful. You manage to build an entire part up so much and so well in such a little amount of time in just one melody or part. Some composers it takes the entire 4 minute song to build it up all the way. (funny because this song just makes me feel stupid because I have done this before). It obviously does depend on the song and the feelings you are going for, where a four minute song that builds the entire time is a huge progression that happens for a long amount of time. But this might be 10 times as awesome because that emotion of the build is brought in what seems like 100 times.

The part at 3:37 shows an incredible build again. The chords are just beautiful and work together all so well. I'm starting to wonder if you have any bad ideas. I know this entire review I have just been only speaking praise, but this song just has everything. Freddy Mercury from Queen with Bohemian Rhapsody did some brilliant things like playing with piano wire and combining different songs together that would never work with flawless transitions. And I think you do what Freddy did PERFECTLY. But anyways, the part at 3:37 sounds like it should be the ending of the song, and I would normally say that if I hadn't listened to the entire song and you go even bigger with the ending.

The ending is just incredible. The combination of the drums and guitar in sync with each other with the long legato singing notes are just awesome. I have nothing else to say about it. The chords again are amazing. It's just wow. The way you manage to transition from something so epic to something so relaxing and calm like at 5:55. instead of going big and then dropping, you let the vocals go big, and then the drums slowly chill out a bit. Great idea.

Again, I know I gave nothing but praise for this song, but it's true. The only thing I might say is that the vocals can sound weak at some points. But that's only if I HAVE to. And absolutely HAVE to say one thing I don't like about this piece. Just honestly incredible work. You get 5 stars, a favorite, a download and author favorite from me. Amazing work.

-Ryan

Kor-Rune responds:

Oh my goodness, thank you for all the kind words, I've never smiled this much at a review. I'm very glad you feel so strongly about this, people like you inspire me to keep creating, thank you for your feedback! I do really appreciate your words, very moving. I'm going to continue to do my best to write more music. Thank you again!

[Visiting Old Relatives]

That's a very creative title you have there. Kind of lightens up the mood of the song for me. But this is awesome dude. Like I said the repetitiveness really creates a scary theme and it really is a powerful emotion that I'm getting from it. Nice work!

camoshark responds:

Thanks man, glad you like it!

[Encapsulation]

Okay... I promised I would do a review for you on this song, so here we go. I plan on making this a good one and worth your time. You give everyone a kickass review, you don't give a "This sounds good LOL" or a "Nice work man!" you pour everything into it. So I'm going to give you the best I can give! I have heard this before and I thought it was near perfect, so it might take me a few listens to find some flaws... but I will find them... even if I die trying.... WELP HERE WE GO ^_^

First off, omnisphere is freaking amazing. I feel like the reason you asked me to review this song is because you are trying to convince me further to buy omnisphere, and I think the way you use it's instruments on this song alone may have pushed me over the edge to where I am hanging on by one finger (my lack of money and CCC2 are keeping me on barely) But the more I listen to it, the more I want to get it x_x. This song is so atmospheric and creates a world unlike any other, the elements that you pull into the song from synth pads to what I thought would be a secret agent song, BUT NOPE, you went to some ethnic song to cinematic to secret agent for real, to... an atmosphere and vision that I can't describe. There is so much to this song, so many dynamics in composition and instrumentation and playing. I think I may have hit Nirvana while listening to this it is so immersive. And you two made it in just 3 days?? I honestly have nothing but praise for this song.

Let's go into the composition. I REALLY wish I hadn't heard this before reviewing so i could really just lose myself completely when listening to this (best way to listen to music in my opinion, and it's partially a reason why I think electronic is so awesome, it's very easy to just fall into the atmosphere created). But anyways, the start of the piece makes me feel nothingness and just going no where, I'm actually a little stuck while writing this review because I don't know what else to say... The use of the symphonic orchestra strings in the beginning as pads was a really nice touch. They can blend REALLY well with the electronic genre, and I personally think that you nailed it. The piano gives off a bit of life to the song and it really makes me feel like the song is growing as a person... is that weird? HA I WAS KIDDING? HA? The little radio effect you put on the piano makes it feel like it's smaller than it really is and really does have a great build into the next part with the heavier electronic drums.

The song has a bit of an evolution to it. Start off in a world of mystery then a build in evolution, and discovery. The electronic drums bring in the feeling of evolution and progression, and the acoustic guitar really brings in a very interesting vibe to the song. It was an interesting choice as well... On paper if you were to play a song like this and say "I want to throw an acoustic guitar in there" then I would probably disagree or let alone even try it, but it actually worked beautifully and it totally threw me off as to where the piece was going to be going. I think the effects you threw on it really made it sound nice and blended well with the track. The transition out of it with the sliding guitar into the next part is just awesome with synth going doo dee doo dee doo dee (1:46) The doo dees was playing earlier in the song and playing it at the end there after that part was an awesome idea. (I have no idea why that stuck out with me so much)

What's great about this song is, no matter how different you make it, it stays to it's electronic/cinematic roots. I think it's great when songs change things up and go from one genre to the complete opposite, but here I think the fact that you kept it semi electronic the entire time was a nice touch. And of course for the competition with the Biodome, the song should stay electronic and it really does fit it perfectly.

On to the next part! These transitions where you just let the song sit and play some synth pads in the background are really showing off the songs compositional dynamics and make the bigger parts of the song pop way more. Great compositional technique there good sir! And it isn't in a way where I am just waiting around for the next part to come or I am listening to just one chord, there are little chord changes here and there to immerse me into the song and change things up for me. And that really brings a nice cinematic element to the entire track.

I love the staccato strings (cello?) coming in at 2:05. Like I just said two sentences ago, it brings in that cinematic feel to it. However I think that maybe they could come out a little bit more. They seem to be very quiet and are a great addition to the song, so why not turn it up a bit more :p I love how you bring the piano back in at 2:16, it's not the same melody, but it gives off the same feel as before. Sometimes even putting in the same exact melody as was played before is cool because people have heard it before and it gives them a connection that they had earlier in the song. It's obviously not something they would get hooked on, but you get what I mean.

Although you change up the melody and the instruments, I still notice a little bit of the same theme play throughout everything in the entire song. That is some nice composition right there. Changing up the melody a little bit and spreading it across more instruments and such. Again it gives people that little connection from one part to the next, and maybe that is why this song flows together so well, because everything can be connected in one way or another.

Okay this might be a little nitpicky, but for some reason, the brass at 2:27 sound like they are a little too lonesome. They do pick up eventually but for that one moment they sound like they are a little too by themselves and there isn't too much going on there. There is a lot going on, but it feels empty when it shouldn't be. Maybe just adding in a little bit of background instruments like you did throughout the rest of the song would be a nice touch. The little background noises are so subtle but at the same time they have such a big impact to the final piece. It can really make or break the piece. Again, just nitpicking a bit. The drums picking up more while the song plays is just freaking awesome man. It does it so subtly too which is awesome, the first time listening i caught myself bobbing my head more and I didn't even know why.

The ending is just epic man. The part with the choir at 2:50 was awesome. The only thing that bugged me was that the last part didn't go on long enough! It was such a good part and it deserves more time! Keep on building on it as that part goes. A key change could have been epic, the ending is definitely the most cinematic part of the entire piece and it would have tied in greatly! Maybe you could have played the ending play once with an instrument replacing the choir, and then have a key change where the choir comes back in. Just an idea! And of course, ending with a solo piano and synth pads. It gives me an empty feeling, the piano ending is a little cliche, but it works so well (hell, i'm guilty of it too :P). It really does work well and no one can deny that XD

Hey guys, I had a blast reviewing this song. The melodies were powerful and they really speak to the listener. The song changes up in ways that I can't wrap my head around. I just had some small little problems with the song, but it's the nittiest of the picks that I am making on the song :p Just some stuff based off what I might have done differently really. Most of the track sounds very realistic (where there was orchestra anyways) and the electronic parts were mixed in very nicely. There are some parts throughout the song where some instruments sound very quantized like the staccato strings at 2:05, or even the spiccatto strings at 2:16. Well I've been rambling on quite a bit, but I think this is an outstanding track. Great work guys, this is probably my longest review yet, and there is a lot of fluff, but I had a lot of fun doing it! Oh and btw, throughout all of the times listening to the song, I never really got bored of it, so that's another plus. Nice work guys, you two work very well together!

5/5

-Ryan

Step responds:

OK wow this is just crazy. You promised a longer review than your previous one, but I expected maybe 3 or 4 paragraphs max and then BAM, 10 HUGE PARAGRAPHS (and 5/5, and -Ryan) OUT OF NOWHERE. This is incredible and you are absolutely awesome for writing what seems to be the biggest and most detailed review I've ever received.

I don't even know where to start! But a detailed review like this deserves a detailed response so HERE WE GO.

"First off, omnisphere is freaking amazing."

I know ;_;. The reason I asked you to review this wasn't really because I think you should get Omnisp-screw this, of course it was ^_^. Well, partly, at least. Omnisphere is just the best thing since sliced bread and while it doesn't help that much for pure orchestral or tracks which are supposed to sound realistic, it has such a huge variety of sounds that it's impossible for someone not to find a use for it.

"This song is so atmospheric and creates a world unlike any other"

I'm proud of the atmosphere in this track and I think that it's so atmospheric compared to my other works because of the fact that I originally intended for this to be ambient, but then halfway through I kinda realised I had no idea what I was doing in the genre (a notion which was verified once I made the track explode with over 20 instruments playing at one go towards the end).

"But anyways, the start of the piece makes me feel nothingness and just going no where"

Nothingness and emptiness is totally something I was aiming for, mostly in the intro and outro. It's such an awesome feeling/atmosphere to depict in a track. Glad you caught that message!

"The use of the symphonic orchestra strings in the beginning as pads was a really nice touch. They can blend REALLY well with the electronic genre, and I personally think that you nailed it."

Strings are some of the most dynamic instruments I find. Not as much as piano, of course, but I find that strings can work in a lot of genres.

"On paper if you were to play a song like this and say "I want to throw an acoustic guitar in there" then I would probably disagree or let alone even try it, but it actually worked beautifully and it totally threw me off as to where the piece was going to be going."

I'm not entirely sure why I added that acoustic guitar. I think it might be because I'm a bit more adept at using real instruments than synths, so you'll find that the instruments that carry the melody in this track are always real instruments - strings, brass, piano, guitar, etc. I thought it would be better to play it safe in that department because whenever I make songs whose main instrument is a synth it often doesn't sound that great (unless that synth is a square synth but it's PISS EASY to make a synth sound based out of square waves to sound awesome).

"synth going doo dee doo dee doo dee (1:46)"

Oh I'm happy you noticed that! It's an FL Studio preset which I heavily detuned and distorted. Wasn't sure what to do with it so brain was like "DOO DEE DOO DEE DOO DEE" and I was like "k".

"What's great about this song is, no matter how different you make it, it stays to it's electronic/cinematic roots. "

I don't usually have genre switches in my tracks (or if I do, they're usually forced). Although I do try and have a few mood switches, which I hope this track had!

"And it isn't in a way where I am just waiting around for the next part to come or I am listening to just one chord, there are little chord changes here and there to immerse me into the song and change things up for me.

Hell yeah, this is what I wanted to hear. Ambience is hard for me to make since I'm constantly worried that if I keep everything low-key and without much happening, it'll get boring.

"I love the staccato strings (cello?) coming in at 2:05. Like I just said two sentences ago, it brings in that cinematic feel to it. However I think that maybe they could come out a little bit more."

That's Echo's part. I agree, he should have turned them up a little more haha. They are pretty awesome. Maybe their rhythm might've clashed with the rhythm of the drums if they were louder, dunno.

"I love how you bring the piano back in at 2:16, it's not the same melody, but it gives off the same feel as before."

That's another one of Echo's ideas. He has a habit of using piano in quiet sections and I shouldn't be complaining because he generally does a good job with it haha.

"Okay this might be a little nitpicky, but for some reason, the brass at 2:27 sound like they are a little too lonesome."

Oh right, now that I think about it that's a good point. I felt like Echo's brass work is awesome but sounds a bit empty and dynamically flat at times.

"The drums picking up more while the song plays is just freaking awesome man."

Woo thanks!

"The ending is just epic man. The part with the choir at 2:50 was awesome. The only thing that bugged me was that the last part didn't go on long enough!"

Yeahhh, you're not the first to mention this for sure. I actually think you're like the fourth or fifth haha. Totally my bad.

"And of course, ending with a solo piano and synth pads. It gives me an empty feeling, the piano ending is a little cliche, but it works so well (hell, i'm guilty of it too :P). It really does work well and no one can deny that XD"

Yeah man it's entirely cliché but I COULDN'T HELP MYSELF ;_;. I had to do it, and it's been getting mixed opinions. Some people hate how it ends, others say it's the best way to end the track.

"it's the nittiest of the picks that I am making on the song :p"

Nittiest of picks... I'm definitely stealing that one.

"There are some parts throughout the song where some instruments sound very quantized like the staccato strings at 2:05, or even the spiccatto strings at 2:16."

Yup - johnfn and SkyeWintrest mentioned the quantized thing. Certainly an oversight on Echo's part. What a dumbass :3.

"Well I've been rambling on quite a bit, but I think this is an outstanding track. Great work guys, this is probably my longest review yet, and there is a lot of fluff, but I had a lot of fun doing it! Oh and btw, throughout all of the times listening to the song, I never really got bored of it, so that's another plus. Nice work guys, you two work very well together!"

Yeah, I really don't know what to say other than THANK YOU SO MUCH for the incredibly detailed and helpful review. That was awesome and I feel like all the cookies in the world wouldn't be enough to repay you.

THANKSSSS.

[Song Preview 8]

Crap... Well I chose a bad time to go into the review for review thread... I have never done it before and I am so unfamiliar with electronic music x_x I will do my best to review this though! And also, I apologize in advance if I seem too nitpicky as I am only trying to help, so just don't take the review too seriously if you get the feeling that I'm splitting hairs :p

Right off the bat. SO HAPPEH! A lot of people consider this kind of music to be way too happy, but I say screw that, that's not possible. This is one of those feel good songs and I love it when people do songs like this, it can be difficult to do sometimes and you nailed it perfectly. The whole track flowed together really nicely, melodies weren't too repetitive and it had a consistent mood the entire time which I assume is a good thing to have in drum n bass. Although I am inexperienced with most electronic, I wouldn't say that this is drum n bass only because of the feeling it gives me. Electronic genres are weird to me in a way that the genre can be also determined by the emotion that you get from the music. And this feels more like electro to me. It's not a bad thing at all by any means, it doesn't change the fact that you have an awesome song, it's more of a question for myself and wondering what would determine this to be a drum n bass song rather than something else.

Now onto the composition, the whole song is a head bobber. From the start I am bobbing my head and at the end I still am. The melodies are consistent in a way that they transition from one to the next very smoothly and that can be difficult to accomplish as a composer sometimes, but you manage it perfectly here. You have some cool ideas like putting a sort of radio effect on the lead melody at 1:50. It's very slight and you mixed it in nicely to where it doesn't stand out too much. The one thing I was a little disappointed in was that the entire song was staccato notes. There were no legato notes where it would have been AWESOME to hear them. Maybe towards the end you could have gone into a big chorus where some background melodies were playing long monophonic legato notes flowing into one another. And maybe earlier in the song during a verse or on a part right after the chorus, you could have had a bridge to lead back into the verse. It makes for a nice transition and it's nice to hear some variety like that! The staccato notes throughout the song sort of just come at you REALLY hard. And the melody is very fast paced so I think it would be a nice change to ease off of it and let the listener go on a smooth ride on some legato synths :3

The whole song sounded so full and worked together so well, I honestly had no problem with it, everything you did was clearly intentional and was fun and smooth. From the little drum n bass I listen to, I would say that the kicks and snares are a very important part along with the lead melody. Those should be the stand out the most and you did perfect with that so nice work on getting that part of the mix right :3 The high hats were present and easy to hear but didn't pull focus. The background mix sounded solid from what I could tell, perhaps maybe if it was a little more present then it would have been nice. When I relistened I noticed there were some nice background melodies going on and should be heard! But again, the most important part is the kick, snare and melody, so I think you did just fine!

You have a great piece here. Very happy and uh... yeah I just realized that this is a WIP. Probably should have read the description before hand. BUT OH WELL. Great work again, I enjoyed reviewing the song :D

4.5/5 stars
5/5 star rating

-Ryan

Everratic responds:

Thankyou for the review. I loved your last review, but this is even better!
I will most likely use your suggestion of using legato notes. I never pay attention to note size. I didn't know what legato meant until I went to dictionary.com lol. I'm glad the mixing sounds good. I was so worried about that.