Cheesy but nice. Rememerable melodies with a unoriginal yet functional chord progression. The lively, active feel to this piece almost completely makes up for any unoriginality though, and this would fit great in the background of a farm game. Well done!
I will say that some of the sounds used here for the musical parts are very cheesy (midi-esque if you know what I mean), and the overall feel of the piece could have been improved with higher quality samples/instrument sounds.
Interesting start, but that intro section goes on for wayyy too long. I got very bored around 50 seconds in, wanting some kind of change or build.
The section that comes after that isn't really a new section, but rather the omission of certain sounds for a period of time.
Did you artificially increase the volume of the climax at 1:45? Because the sudden jump in volume is very awkward and actually dampens the energy that the climax could have had.
There are some very interesting ideas in this piece, and the sounds you are using, although very basic, work well with eachother.
You definitely need to work on your mixing skills. The levels of the different sounds here are all over the place. Compare the last part of the song to the first minute, notice the huge change in volume? You may think this increased loudness adds excitement, but there are much better ways to achieve that.
I also urge you to explore progression, change and the introduction of new sections in a piece of music. Try adding new musical sections, without just taking away or adding elements.
Sorry if I'm being too harsh, just trying to give constructive criticism. You're welcome to do the same for my music too :)
WOW! I can't tell you how happy I am to have received advice like this. It is super helpful! I am definitely going to be working on that, it is still a learning experience for me. And to answer your question, I see now the volume jump I didn't see late last night, it wasn't intentional, it was just a lot of instruments got added at once. I will be lowering that and I am going to try and improve the song some.
The advice is super helpful and MUCH appreciated. I am still new to all this. And I would be happy to criticize your music as well. I'll check it out soon. :)
Thanks again!
Nice sounds! It has a very nice, spacey, atmosphere. The low bit-rate makes this very annoying to listen to though. Your snares might just sound a bit more harder because of the compression, which you could achieve without a low bitrate. :/
Is this a work in progress or just a short piece? Because you've tagged it as a loop, but it doesn't work loop at all haha. What with the fade out and everything... This track would make a very nice loop for a flash game, otherwise I strongly suggest you extend this :)
yeah, definitely a work in progress :P i'll work with the compression a lil more and see what i can do. i'll let you know if i make any more progress, thanks for the review!!!
Fucking Epic.
This is fucking nice. The intro is absolutely grand. The slow swells and rises, and the introduction of the horns almost make me shiver. Although that may be because I'm listening to this at an obnoxiously loud level and my sub is shaking the room :/
The middle section sounds great, where it opens up, letting the timpanis and horn stabs punch through. And the horn melody that emerges at 3:50 is amazing; extremely rememberable.
No criticisms come to mind. The ending was very sudden but it worked well.
Metallic Goodnessss
Great track, I especially like your combination of drillstep style drums with very melodic elements. The bass is nice, although not very interesting or unique. All of the elements sound really metallic and it works really well for this piece.
The intro is really nice. I love the percussion and little drum hits that hyper-actively start and stop, cutting through the quiet yet unnerving atmosphere. I was enjoying the intro a lot until the classic "kick drum gets faster and faster until the drop" section kicked in. That's just a personal opinion though, I never like them unless they're used really creatively. (even though I have done it myself as well lol)
The switch-up at 3:06 is a very nice touch that helps keep the energy up through the repetition.
At the complete opposite end of the spectrum to the very enjoyable intro, the ending is too sudden and disappointing, and ruins the atmosphere you created up until that point. I reckon this track could be greatly improved with a more consolidated feel, to focus more on the highlights. And I think the track could have benefited a lot from a better thought-out outro that retains the same mood and atmosphere.
Overall a well constructed track with a nice intro and a very solid atmosphere. The nice metallic sound-design and the melodic elements make up for the slightly repetitious arrangement. The ending is very disappointing though.
I followed you on soundcloud, looking forward to heae your next track!
Yeah the bass is continuing to be a weak point in my dnb producing...my monitor speakers have a pretty weak bass response, so every other dnb song i listen to for reference all sound pretty similar in the bass section. Definitely something I need to work on...
Well i can't say I've been listening to drum'n'bass long enough to start exploring the non-traditional techniques - stuff like the standard amen break, short break before the drop and the classic "kick drum gets faster and faster until the drop" techniques still do it for me :D i'll get bored eventually, and i'll start exploring new ideas
Yeah the switch up sounds pretty cool, but i'm regretting not having done more with it :(
Yes the ending seems to be a pretty common criticism...the truth is i got very lazy towards the end of this song, so i just did me a copy paste job and left it at that :/
Regretting it now, as I knew i would
So yeah, i agree with everything that you say about the outro...very disappointing
Cheers for the kind words though mate :) I'll be sure to check out your stuff on soundcloud
Merry Xmas :D
^_^
A thoroughly enjoyable ride through beautiful, catchy chiptune melodies and fun, lively chord progressions. I think the piano really works well with the 8-bit elements.
What software do you produce your music in?
Everything you make has my foot tapping lol
Was pulled right into the mood of the track at the very beginning. I really like the strings sounding a little distant and the guitar (by contrast) being right at the the front of the mix.
The piano part is very nice and feels very emotional and the occasional clashing notes have a nice effect, but I think there are some notes that are repeated unnecessarily. (That's purely personal taste though.) I also really don't like the ending. I like sudden endings if they work effectively, but the ending in this piece comes out of no where and doesn't fit well. The loud guitar strumming that comes in at 2:10 was very harsh through my sennheiser's, but I probably had them up too loud at the time.
I really like the percussion here, both the rhythm and the instrumentation.
The reasonably small amount of elements in this piece work really effectively together, without leaving.. bad space (because space can be a good thing too lol) in the piece, sonically or musically, which is something I have trouble pulling off.
Have you heard any Penguin Cafe Orchestra? Something about this piece kind of... Resonates in the same way as some of their music does. Even though this isn't your more frequent, dramatic orchestral style is still feels very much like movie music, or at least music that allows me to easily picture fictional scenarios in my head that follow along with the changes in the piece.
Great work with this piece, I haven't heard of Simon Jeffes, but after hearing this piece I am inclined to listen to his music. I look forward to listening to this piece tomorrow through my big speakers. This has made me want to listen to my Penguin Cafe Orchestra collection lol.
Simon Jeffes actually created the Penguin Cafe Orchestra. He died back in 1997 but the band continues to perform new works. I'm glad you caught the sound I was going for -- not surprised since you have remarkable taste. The ending is abrupt but symbolic, so I can leave it without it bothering me. I'm still working hard on getting a good instrumental sound, so I greatly appreciate your review. Thanks. :)
beep
The opening is very sudden but it works, and definitely got my attention. I like the little build from 0:27 towards 0:35. The percussion also comes in very suddenly, but again it grabbed my attention and it doesn't sound out of place.
1:40 - When it opened up for a bit, was really satisfying and released some of the rising tension from the intro.
The section at 2:53 made me picture a "bomb disarming" scene for a second.
In terms of production everything sounds great as does everything you make. Also, did I hear an electronic bass in there? 0:45 - Or is that just my mind playing tricks? Haha.
Very enjoyable piece. Straight to the ipod it goes!
You got my foot tapping again...
The percussion here is fucking fantastic.
The long intro works well in my opinions, and makes the climax all the more satisfying. And the ending is absolutely perfect. Well done on this one... This piece made me want to listen to your entire collection again.
Hey thanks! Yeah the flow here is much better than the Crescent piece, but I think it's because I didn't try to fit in a billion ideas. And yeah, the percussion is sick -- I'm really enjoying creating these exotic rhythms...stand by for more percussive-based tracks.
Embrace Yourself
As Peter said, the changes of pace are really great. Something I love about your music, are all of the little transitions throughout. They are always very effective, and are never too sudden or un-fitting. They always work really well to drive the music forward.
Because of these transitions, it is really easy to imagine scenes and scenarios that fit the different sections, and that aids the cinematic feel.
One thing that could have improved this piece is a little down time; it is exciting all the way through and I think a small break in the energy would have worked well. Of course there are sections with much less energy than others, but the change doesn't feel like it has enough contrast. Although knowing your talent, no doubt if you wanted to add something like that you would have.
I absolutely adore the transition at 2:07... And the theme that comes in at 2:22 had me involuntarily humming along on my second listen.
YOU MAD BRO?
Age 31, Male
Cow Tipper
Adelaide, Australia
Joined on 5/20/09
Beautiful nature 
I Am Bassracer 
The Middle Children 