DJSpire's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Lift Off (Trance Loop)]

The production quality, mix style, and arrangement remind me of Beto Ceba's work, one of my favorite trance artists. Props, you deserve the 5 stars.

PhatBoiJ responds:

Thanks!

[Wind]

The beginning started off kinda sad, but very pretty. I really like the guitar's sound, though it could have used just a tiny bit off the top end, it's a bit grating on the ears. The next portion of Wind is very nice; the balance between the rhythm guitar, lead, and the drums is just about perfect. Then in the buildup at about 1:12, the hihat gets distracting with how unnatural it sounds. Back to the acoustic guitar, with a bit of theme-and-variations battling between the left and right panned guitars. The acoustic guitar sounds like the string is pinched. The electric solo near the end reminds me of Santana or Bob Segar. Overall, the piece feels too quiet, like it could have had some extra polish so far as compression and loudifying goes, but I really liked it.
10/10 for continuity
10/10 for composition
8/10 for catchiness
There isn't one part that seems like it's too abrupt of a change, so you get top marks for continuity; the entire piece is composed extremely well, so top marks in composition. However, my personal opinion is that, since it's all in minor it's just a tiny bit unappealing. Also, the way it ends is just kind of uncharacteristic with this kind of music.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

[_Textmessengers]

Started off strong with bongos and strings :) The kick kinda seems to fade in and out a little bit in the beginning. The electro bass made me smile. The production quality in general seems pretty professional, with the vocals easily understood. The backing voices in some places sound Asian, which isn't a good or bad thing; just a small note of interest. I think that overall the song could use a bit more instrumentation to fill out the soundscape, but I really like it in general. It vaguely reminded me of Panic! At The Disco's first album, which is a good thing. It's one of my most listened to albums.
9/10 for continuity
8/10 for composition
9/10 for vocals
9/10 for catchiness
Overall, this song is one that will stay in my collection, I just think that a couple of transitions were a bit abrupt and that the sound could be filled out more in general.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

[Some are Salts]

I like the beginning. A lot. It's really pretty. The vocals could sit more forward in the mix, I'm having a bit of trouble catching the lyrics. There we go, once it got to the chorus, the vocals stood out more. I think the snare/clap sample could be a bit different; it sounds like it's clipped; it also feels really high end heavy, a bit more body in the snare would help quite a bit. On another note, you've got some nice flow. The backbeat could live with a bit more variation, it's pretty much the same through the entire song. I think that the harmonic progression you chose, the chords you used worked really well for this song. And personally, I prefer the singing portions to the rapping portions, but that's neither here nor there.
10/10 for continuity
9/10 for composition
8/10 for vocals
8/10 for catchiness
I think the vocals could be redone, they seem a bit muddy or hard to understand at some points. Or maybe if you brought the vocals a tiny bit more forward in the mix or panned some of the other sounds off center, it would help make the vocals more clear.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

[[NAC] Party Tonight]

Drum roll and... Reminds me of LMFAO. That's a pretty good start. Standard electro beat: long-long-short kinda feel. I like the bongo sound. :) Also, the beginning vaguely reminds me of Sandstorm by Darude, so that's another good thing. The overall soundscape seems a bit thin at the beginning, like there could be more going on. It gets even thinner at about 1:00, where your high voices drop out. I dig the electro feel, though. I really like the background pad at the beginning and 2:07ish. The chord progression is pretty catchy, and the drums sit really well in the mix. Nice binary song structure, ABAB. Overall, though, it could have used more instrumentation throughout.
9/10 for continuity
6/10 for composition
8/10 for catchiness
All in all, I just think you need more going on through the piece, it feels like an empty room the entire time, when I think it ought to feel more like everything's right there.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks for the review. I can see what you mean by the composition lacking. My production/mixing/mastering needs improvement. I'm probably gonna come 8th but thanks :)

[AMIOM - Hiru (Instr.)]

Nice sub bass at the beginning, the pad is pleasant. The mix is pretty good overall, you could have brought the hi-hats down a tiny bit. Maybe applied a bit less compression, it gets kinda distracting at some points. I think at 1:28ish, the piece really shines when there's quite a bit of layering of sounds. It's not boring there, there's plenty going on to keep my attention. I like the instrumentation in general, and the bass at 2:16 really caught my attention: nice raspyness. The bells really made me happy too. Ooh, and I think that was a key change at "Are you ready?" Wait, then it ended? That was kinda short lived.
7/10 for continuity
9/10 for composition
8/10 for catchiness
Overall, a great piece. I like how there's pretty much constantly something going on. However, the way that it just jumps into the gated pad thing at 1:02 is kinda distracting. Then it goes away. Pretty catchy, just some parts kinda turn me away.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

Valtanen responds:

Actually, I wanted to do a little longer song than this, but.. Kikennaime and me then figured that we want to make a song that you want to listen again when you have listened to this.

I'm newbie in compression, but I have learned a little about it. I will compress a little less in AMIOM's and my future songs. :)

I think you're right about hihats, but my problem was first that drums were a little muffled in my old songs so I'm glad they are now a little louder.

I wanted to make that 2:16 part a little clean vs dirty thing.. :)

In 1:02 I little cutted bass to make a little weird styled part there to make you clear that this doesn't repeat itself all the time.

[Duct Tape]

The instrument at the very beginning seems a bit screechy, not really super pleasant to the ear. Sounds like either an accordion or a harmonica, I think it could use just a bit of high end reduction via EQ. Sounds like the typical I-IV-V-I chord progression at the beginning, which is pretty catchy. The vocals are a bit undersung, like more body voice than head voice. The random beatboxing in the middle could have been better done as an actual drum track. It didn't sound like it belonged.
9/10 for continuity
7/10 for composition
9/10 for vocals; lyrics made me chuckle
7/10 for catchiness
Overall it wasn't really catchy, but neither was it boring. I think that slightly different production would have upped the score a teensy bit, and it wasn't until the third time I heard it that I caught "boobies" whispered at the end.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

SonicWombat responds:

Thanks man, I appreciate the helpful criticism.
Balls to you, good sir/madam!

[[Knox]Canyon (wip)]

I like the instruments at the very beginning, nice mix! Maybe a little bit too much snare at the beginning, maybe. I don't really want to make that kind of judgement. At the front of the piece, it feels pretty sad, probably due to the minor key. I'd like to see if that changes a little bit later on, or if it stays the same throughout. Like the mini build up at 1:29. The build up to 2:00 seemed to release into nothingness for me, kinda a turnoff. The soft section directly after 2:00 reminds me of Final Fantasy music, super thumbs up! The pieces all meld together fantastically through the entire piece, and it keeps the same feel through the entire piece. The ending seems a little bit abrupt, but sometimes that's a good thing.
9/10 for continuity
9/10 for composition
8/10 for catchiness
I think the entire piece was fantastically composed and the instruments were chosen with care. It just doesn't really have that oomph that makes me want to listen to it over and over again. I would probably listen to the middle section directly before 2:00 repeatedly, as well as the soft section after 2:00.
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

[Among The Wild Beasts]

The backbeat that comes in seems a little bit random, doesn't really seem to fit any of the sounds going on before it. I do like the glitchy effects around 1:20, especially with the gritty sound from the beginning coming back in. Again, the backbeat around 2:00 seems out of place with everything that's going on; it sticks out too much in my opinion. The Skrillex-ey bass in the last third of the song fits with the backbeat a bit more, but the piano seems far out of place there. All in all, I'd rate this piece at
7/10 for continuity
8/10 for actual composition
6/10 for catchiness
The piece in general doesn't really catch my attention other than how some parts just seem juxtaposed against other parts that don't really work together. However, I do have to admit that you did a good job mastering it :)
-NAC Judge, [mod15]

[{425} Voltage]

I dig it

I really dig this song. And, also, I like the challenge you've set for yourself.
I'm doing the same thing this year, except once a week, like Hydra suggested.

Next year, I think I'll do one once a day. Maybe the year after that, once I'm out of high school and have more time to dedicate to it. Mmm...

But yeah, I like the song. I especially like the piano part... Did you use a soundfont for it, or some other source of sampling? Did you actually perform it and EQ and effect the hell out of it?

Michael425 responds:

Glad you liked it. For the piano I used a preset in Nexus and added some effects to it.

Good luck on your challenge. Hopefully we can both make it through the year.

Thanks for leaving a review.

~{425}~