Codefreq's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Keep Calm]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

The tension fits what you described, a gradual increase until about the 4:00 minute mark. I'd say, despite the fact you didn't start with an intention, I think a good representation of the emotion this piece ends up giving.

Nice work. :)

Original 4 star review:

"I get an interesting vibe from this piece. It feels like the kind of thing I'd hear in an abandoned warehouse level in a stealth game.

I'm curious, why call this piece, "Keep Calm"? Is there a story behind that?

It's hard to tell from the description what your intent was when you created this piece, if you had one. If I knew what your intent was, I could give you better feedback, where I'd base my review on how well I thought your ideas came through in the piece rather than on my own taste.

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

BALDORF responds:

I think of it as dealing with anxiety. The beginning is like a calm before the storm, then the panic builds and the end is overcoming and regaining composure.
I don't really have these ideas in mind when I'm making songs though.

[The Decade of Minor Regrets]

Interesting title. Can you say more about this? I'm curious about what you were thinking when you named the piece that. Also, regarding the piece itself, I'd like to hear your perspective on any ideas you had that you tried to get across through this piece. Without knowing your perspective, I'm forced to review based on how much I liked this piece.

That said, I do like this. :)

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

thomisback responds:

the beginning of the waves is everything I've said and done washing away, the slow build-up, and "sad" strings are words I've said to others and hurt. as we fade, the waves return, starting life anew, and birds to signal a new dawn

[Edge of Greatness]

This makes me think of traveling in a Jumanji-style jungle environment. It's big and epic in production, and the percussion fits with the rest of it.

I'd like to know more about this piece. Right now you description is empty, and IMO, your title, "Edge of Greatness", provokes more questions than it provides answers. What do you mean?

I'm curious what your intention was when you made this piece? The urban-themed artwork is interesting. Why did you pick it for this piece? If I knew your perspective I could provide better feedback than simply how much I liked it.

I do like it, though.

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

[Recess]

I think the vibe of this piece captures the feeling of school pretty well. Makes me think of being a kid with my GBA in school. From your description it's impossible to tell specifically what you are going for, however.

I'd like to know what you were going for beyond an abstract description like what you've got here. For example, What was going through your head when you made this piece? Were you trying to get something across here? Your icon artwork for this piece consists of a GameBoy. Why did you pick that?

I'd be happy to give you good feedback but right now I can only base my review off my own taste rather than how clearly I thought your ideas came through here.

From a technical standpoint, I think it would be a good idea to play around with the mix; as it is this piece is too quiet. Compression/limiting plugins and normalization can help with this, for example.

I hope this helps. :)

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

[A Break]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

I can see why you might name your piece "A Break" given what you've said in your response to my initial review, although without that context I don't think it's that clear. I suggest in the future you consider providing that kind of information up front in the description. Since I can only speak for myself, I'll give you the benefit of the doubt.

Regarding the album title in the description, I didn't mean to imply that you should rename the album or anything like that. I was specifically referring to the way you wrote about it in the description. You said "The shortest track in Journey". If someone didn't know your album was named "Journey", they might be thrown off by the wording, like I was initially.

I hope this helps. :)

Original 3 1/2 star review:

"In a wierd way, this reminds me of Cave Story, a game I played briefly and loved.

I'm curious about the title. What inspired the name, "A Break"? Did it involve a break from something, and if so, what? When you were making this, was there anything you were thinking of that you intended the song to express?

Knowing your perspective can help me give you better feedback; I could judge your piece based on how well I thought your ideas came across rather than simply by my music taste.

BTW, I think it would be helpful for you if you reworded your description so when you reference your album, Journey, it doesn't initially look like you're referencing the old PS3-era indie game by the same name.

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

fSYNCLIPSE responds:

Funnily enough this track went through multiple names before I settled on "A Break (From all the chaos. We'll be returning shortly)". The first title of this track was "Bitter Coffee", although that name didn't last long as I renamed it "Under The Lamppost (Dancing Alone)" when I was composing it in musescore... After that the song was just called Track 3 until I finished the song, since my original plan was to name each song track 1 to 9.

The reason it's "A Break" is because the previous two tracks that come before it has an energetic feel. This track serves as sort of a breather from those tracks, thus being "A Break". And you can guess that the next tracks will resume being energetic based on the subtitle.

Also for titles that are single worded, there's bound to be another thing named after the same word. To be honest I don't know how to reference my album such that it doesn't look like I'm referencing something else.

Thank you for the feedback!

[Approaching Black Hole]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

Knowing neither your song nor intent is story driven does help. Personally, I consider this to be more atmospheric than energetic, although I do think "Trance" is an appropriate descriptor.

I haven't heard the other songs in the album you mention, so I don't have full context. Still, I think you did a good job accomplishing what you intended.

Original 4-star review:

"This sounds to me like it could be in Metroid Prime in the sense that it seems like exploration in outer space. It's a little less intimidating than a track from the Metroid Prime series, but one of the first things I think of is outer space.

I do think that lack of intimidation throughout most of the song (at least until about 6:33 in, when the melodic dissonance kicks in) is a little problematic given what it seems to me you are intending. If what you are going for is the music you'd hear when you are approaching a black hole, I imagine there to be quite a bit of fear to go along with that, as well as scientific curiosity, the latter of which I think you've captured pretty well. Please clarify if you think my interpretation is incorrect.

Overall, though, I'd say your ideas came through pretty clearly here. I still get the outer space vibe and a sense of curiosity and adventure from this piece.

I hope this helps. :)

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

BlighterProductions responds:

Hey Codefreq. Thanks for your response. I’ll get right to the point with my intentions:

I wanted to make an energetic and catchy song that, with the samples of black holes, could bring in the context of outer space too. So it wasn’t as much intended specifically for a certain story, but rather an attempt at making a song that sounds clean, and I also liked the style of 2000’s Euro Trance to be included.

Diversity isn’t great, I admit that. But I am kind of struggling to find another composition that sounds just as majestic and great as the one I already applied, and I also kind of forced myself into finishing my album before it was going to be new year, and I have got one song left to go to finish my album now. I do have a beginning, but I cannot find inspiration, unfortunately. I will try though.

Hope I made my intentions clear, and I hope you enjoyed it further on.

[Refraction - RedMurder]

When I hear this I think of a fast-paced urban downtown environment in a place like Japan or Honk Kong or the like, especially during the parts of the piece where there's more going on.

I would like to know more about what you were thinking when you were making this piece. That way I can give you feedback based on how well I thought your ideas came through in the piece you made, rather than simply how much I like it.

For example: Why did you name this "Refraction"? The icon artwork is interesting. Why did you pick it?

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

[Ketsuban]

UPDATE:

Thank you for clarifying.

The title makes more sense now. In the future you may want to put that kind of detail in your description.

I hope I have helped. :)

Original 4-star review:

"I can hear the Pokemon battle-scene influence here. The tempo and hi hat in particular show this quite well.

I'll say this: when I think of Pokemon I think of Ruby for the GBA. Going off of that, I'd say you may want to play around with the mix so the main melody is more up-front. That way, the rest of the music doesn't conflict with it. If there's one thing I know about the battle music in the Pokemon games I've played, it's that the melody is the focus.

I'm curious about the title. Why did you name it Ketsuban? Also, why did you pick the icon artwork you did?

Overall I do think you did a good job here, though. I hope my comments help. :)

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

TsukiStuffs responds:

Hi! Thanks for the feedback! Ketsuban is Missingno's Japanese name. As for the mix, I'm still trying to master mixing.

[Diamond Power]

Neat!

The title of this piece is interesting. What's the story behind it? Why did you pick the icon artwork you did for this? What was going through your head when you made this?

I'd love to give you good feedback regarding how well your ideas came through here but right now all I can say is how much I like it.

I do like the piece, though.

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

[evening thoughts]

This gives me a real "Animal Crossing" vibe, specifically during Autumn.

I'd like to know more about your piece. What specifically were you thinking of when you made this? What was the reason you used the icon artwork you did for this piece? Why title it "evening thoughts"?

If I knew what you were going for it would help me review based on how well I thought your ideas came across rather than simply how much I liked it.

That said, I do like this piece. I find it calming.

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

SignatureMusic responds:

Haha I can totally see that, although not have played the game, i've heard some of the soundtracks. Thanks for the review!