Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Found Accordion]

UPDATE:

Cool reference. Like fan fiction. :)

Original 4 star rating:

"This sounds like a throwback to 90's hip-hop.

Not sure what you are going for with this piece. A little more detail in the description, preferably about your thought process, would help me determine how clear I think your intent comes across.

Found Accordion is an interesting title. How did you come up with that?

Personally, I think this piece is pretty cool.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Czyszy responds:

The title (and to some extend the song) is a reference to Lost Accordion by Galus https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCXgHLeS9Ng

[Kirameki]

UPDATE:

Thanks for clarifying in your reply. I'm going to try really hard to keep my opinion out of this.

It's definitely something I'm not used to hearing. You get points for doing something different.

I'll give it the benefit of the doubt. It is, after all, an experiment.

Part of the problem I have with the piece is there's a lot to keep track of at once, especially in the beginning. You may want to take that into account with your future works.

I hope this new feedback is more helpful. :)

Original 1/2 star review:

"In order to keep this review out of my own subjective opinion, I need to know your thought process behind this piece. That way I can judge based on how well I thought your intent came across rather than based on my own taste.

Also, I would like to know the story (if any) on the title.

My personal opinion, and I hate to down on someone's work without constructive criticism, is that this song is grating for me to hear until about 33 seconds in, and again to a lesser degree in the last third. Something about the way the rhythms clash in those two sections really rub me the wrong way.

There's a chance my score will change if you provide enough information for me to go off, but right now, unfortunately, my personal opinion is all I can provide.

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Poosac responds:

I watched a video about quintuplets (by Shawn Crowder) and how they can be used to create a swing feel. So all the notes are subdivided in a 5/8 time signature, which is an odd time signature and maybe the reason why it sounds off to you.

[Childish Dream]

UPDATE:

I see you've added a description. Much appreciated. :)

In terms of the Childish Dream vibe, I think it comes across strongest in the beginning with the children sound effects. That's not to say the rest of it is bad, by any means. I think the message is still slightly unclear at times, although it's hard to criticize mode of expression. I'll give it the benefit of the doubt and give it 5 stars.

It's a unique take on a dreamy sound, combining trap beats with drops and ambient music. It's well mixed.

Nice work. :)

My previous 4 star review:

"A piece like this would really benefit from a proper description of your thought process while making this song. Otherwise, I have to judge it by my personal taste rather than how effective I think your message comes across.

That said, as it is, I like it a lot. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

ElementalPenguin responds:

Ok I can put a description. Thanks for the comment.

[Interstellar Waltz]

What an aptly named title! This is exactly what I think of when I hear this, especially with the triplet delay. It has an outer space feel to it without being frightening. In fact, I'd argue the main vibe is curiosity and awe.

Well done. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

PythonBlue responds:

I deeply appreciate this comment! Thanks for listening and for the input!

[Melodramarama]

I don't sense any melodrama here, but I can definitely see the potential for an RPG battle soundtrack. It almost sounds like Custom Robo to me. :)

The track is also quite well mixed.

I suggest if you want the tone to be more exaggerated to fit with a theme of melodrama, you could exaggerate the arrangement to be more bombastic; Cheesy enough to be "so bad that it's good", if you will. Mind you, that is a delicate balance to strike. I personally think the song is good as is, and adding too much cheese could ruin the vibe of the song.

The only other suggestion I could make is, as the audio is submitted as a loop, that it doesn't resolve. If you are going to submit the piece a loop, as you currently have, it should cut off abruptly at the end in a way so it can smoothly loop over itself, rather than fading out.

Still, I think it's a cool piece with a cool title, too. More importantly, the idea is clearly expressed. Nice job. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

MightyMuso responds:

Thanks for the feedback! Not sure what Custom Robo is but I will check it out. I say melodrama mainly because of the bridge. I initially thought it was a bit over the top to include that part but ended up really liking it. But I see your point. And I see what you mean by the loop, I thought that just meant the type of composition. Thank you!

[Anguish]

Interesting description. Unfortunately, I'm not getting any emotional resonance from this piece. Normally that wouldn't be a problem, except the emotion, both implied in the title and explicitly stated in the description, doesn't reflect the theme you are trying to present, IMO.

If you still want to modify this piece, I suggest you try different ideas experiment with more variation, such as different chords and/or additional fleshing out of the arrangement, like adding percussion/drums or pads or something. The monotony and repetitive nature of the piece, while it could be seen as reflective of the exhausting nature of encountering hurdles one after another, isn't enough to represent the negativity in your description and title.

The mixing is well done, and technically it's a good piece, I just think the writing could be tweaked. I hope you find my feedback helpful. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Kelpalots responds:

Not sure if I could tweak it since it's a 2006 track. But imo beforehand with all the suffering I had gone throughout my life, it sounded like ocean waves. But I also heard anguish in some of the parts to the track. And it had an anti feel to it.

[friendly battle]

Neat! It's almost like a Pokemon game, where you're fighting your rival.

I think you could make the mix a lot louder with normalization and/or compression/limiting plugins, if you have access to them.

The song has an abrupt ending, so I think it works better as a loop rather than a song. You may want to consider changing that setting.

Your theme of battle certainly comes through here. good job. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[True Damage - GIANTS (ft. Becky G, Keke Palmer, SOYEON, DUCKWRTH, Thutmose) Teckmo X Remix]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

I definitely know how hard it is to sync vocals up with a song where the tempo is different. I stand by what I said about it in my review, though.

Knowing your intent now, I think the "party" aspect comes through pretty well.

The only reason this doesn't get 5 stars from me aside from the editing issues is I feel I'd have to play League of Legends to get the full context, and I don't plan on playing the game any time soon.

Still, I think you did a good job with this, as far as what it seems you are going for. :)

Original 4 Star Review:

"Without knowing anything about League of Legends, I think this is an interesting take on the original song. The editing could be a little tighter; some of the timings of the voices are off. The party beat is an interesting juxtaposition to the melancholy melodies present in the piece.

Given that it's a remix, it's hard to give constructive feedback. Remixing is its own art form, and if done with enough of a spin on the original, can provide a whole new perspective on an established piece. With that in mind, What was your intent with remixing this? I'd like to see the answer to this in your author comments so I can get a better perspective.

I hope you find the feedback I do have to offer to be of use to you. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806"

Teckmo-X responds:

League of Legends is an online multiplayer game where you play different champs with different skills and use items to beat your opponents. The point of the game is to get to the enemy base and destroy the nexus.

The song first came to mind when I thought about adding vocals to my music for the first time (well second time after a collab with @jimmypig. I wanted something more in the party route of things which is how the beat came to be. The song is simple yet constructive in many ways. The vocals were actually in sync except for the ending where it says " Sleeping Giants". Synchronizing vocals isn't easy even for an experienced beat maker so I'm actually proud I took time to make it. The rapping parts were actually harder to sync with the song. The other hard part was coming up with the bridge towards the chorus because one of the singers speaks spanish and I wanted to add that part but it was impossible to sync unless I chopped every single word she said and that was too much work to begin with.

The point of this remix was to challenge myself to try and incorporate vocals into my music which is one of the biggest challenges I face with music making as well as mixing and mastering.

[Massimo Banzi]

Without knowing what "Massimo Banzi" is, IMO "A Strong Opponent" is a better fitting title. This feels like an enthusiastic, hopeful, and determined fight against the final boss of a Gameboy or NES game.

Other than that, I think you did a good job. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

[Into the complex]

This really effectively gives the feeling of sneaking around an old warehouse at night. Currently, I find no improvements necessary. Very well done. :)

More info about how I review music here: https://codefreq.newgrounds.com/news/post/1089806

Yqarus responds:

Thank you for another great review.
I really appreciate it. I tried my best to give the listener a certain feeling while focusing on every other sound in this little chaos.