Cyberdevil's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[HYPE IT UP]

Dreamy, spacey, synthy like the eighties...

I was wondering when the hype would come in though. I'm not sure it ever does. Maybe that's the idea beyond the fourth wall? That you're trying to build up a hype but can't seem to manage...?

I don't mean to criticize, but it seems too calm to be savage. Atmospheric, but not... hype. Starts getting a little repetitive about a third of the way in too...

I could imagine playing this on a rainy weekend though, feels like the perfect mood for that. A little melancholy; a little cozy comfort in the calm a pattern brings in, as the rain patters on the pane...

Nice and atmospheric song, though a little basic structure-wise, and a title that don't much match IMO.

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[My Ordinary Life-The Living Tombstone]

Nichijou by Kyoto huh, that explains the name! Nomi Yuuji's such a legend too... curious which bits I'm hearing here that he might have composed.

But never mind the samples, the very ordinary sounding song: it's extraordinary man! What a vibe. Wasn't sold on the main vocals initially, felt a little overly processed, but when the chorus kicks in... woah! Skills. Could be an R&B singer too.

The composition overall's so catchy, dreamy instrumental, crisp vocals, stellar lyrics...

Love this.

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[Quartz Quadrant Present (Inside) - Sonic Hysteria OST]

Catchy, cool and continuously groovy.

Would definitely work well with either game or movie. Has that arcade style of sound to it, I wonder what defines it... plenty of space, calm and catchiness? An energy that isn't overbearing, but rather nourishes you; keeps shifting; keeps moving as you move along.

Wonder what sample that was at the end there (and beginning - re-occurring)...

This is dope. Great sound for a game that's... apparently based on the music?! Is this what came first; what started that fan project?

Really cool if so. Still really cool if no. Catchy; upbeat and appreciably atmospheric VG music - I have no critique!

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[WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON?!]

Oh my gawd the sound design on this... it's short but so satisfying! That bass, those whispy vocals, the entrancing layers of... whatever it is you play with.

Wish it looped too, so you could just play it over and over again... or of course, was longer. As it is the pause at the end breaks the spell a little. I could get dragged in otherwise. Could stay here forever. Dangerously good.

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[Cafe Mocha]

So soft, so subtle, so cool, so unlike the coffee you'd presumable intake at such a place... and though it seems simple there's maybe more to it than meets the ear initially. The brass and flute (I think it is?) fades in after a while too. They play so peacefully you don't quite consider them, but definitely amp up the vibe too; the atmosphere.

Also reminds me of Gorillaz. Of probably a specific track of theirs, though I don't recall exactly which one. Just the base rhythm. Seems a common one though. Jazzy; danceable to.

Might add this to some kind of playlist and keep on loop for a while... very calming.

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[Ling Kano's Fighting Show Final Season]

Woo those shifts, at 1:18... and 2:20...

It's epic for sure. Sounds like a story of not just battle but more so victory, and honor, and all of the good things that the battlefields of old entailed. Of valor and courage and skill and discipline and all those traits that make the greats great, that we've somehow managed to dehumanize and lose and no longer value the same way...

Anyway, as far as this song goes: awesome. Unconventional guitar. Pompous brass and strings; a subtle orchestra in back. A little tinge of Funk too with that background bass - though it seems unexpectedly far off considering it's the main genre.

I love the nuances in this; the build; the overall... epicness, really.

It's catchy. And immersive. Mighty. Great work.

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SourJovis responds:

Thank you for the feedback! Glad you like the song!

It's meant to sound like an opening/main theme to a Japanese show from the 70's. That's why it's uplifting. Not really a theme for during action scenes probably. I like your description!

I'm not good with genres. I don't know if this is really funk or what precisely makes a song funk anyway. I wrote this song first the way I wanted it to sound. Then when NG asked me to fill in the genre I was like; "I haven't uploaded any funk songs yet. This could be a funk song."

[Sky Gardening]

The story goes deep with this one...

I love the music. The instruments - is that a pan flute too? Though unfortunately the song - though tonally just perfect - is a little hard to understand, and seems to be heavily processed too, not sure if it's autotone or something else to intentionally give it this airy effect. It contributes to the atmosphere, though I find it also sounds a little artificial, and either due to effects or accent (or a combination thereof) it's not so easy to catch the lyrics... which by the way are beautiful!

I love the atmosphere, and the story behind it. With that in mind I couldn't possibly suggest someone else sing this, but I do feel the vocals are unfortunately the weak point. Read that you removed the vocoder but I still find it hard to make out the words, the delivery's a little mechanic sometimes; the accent's there; there's a lot of reverb and layers of wonderful sound the flow over the song...

So good but a little hard to hear; a little restrained vocally...

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SourJovis responds:

Yes that's a pan flute solo during the prechorus. In the second prechorus it's backed by a mellotron flute. That's a sample pack called "Impact Soundworks - Ventus Winds - Pan Flutes - Nai". A very good one. Of course I created the melody myself and didn't use the complete "phrases".

Too bad you couldn't understand the vocals well enough. I'm not entirely sure what the exact reason is they sound a bit metalic. Could be many things. I don't have "Antares Auto-Tune". I don't really like the sound of Auto-Tune. I did however use the pitch correction and quantisation options build in my DAW manually and sparingly whenever I thought it was necessary. That could be it. Other reasons could be I used a bit of an outdated audio interface to record the vocals. I got a new one a year ago with a warmer more natural sound, but I didn't have it back then. I also used effects like chorus to make it fuller, I doubled the vocals with a more breahty version recorded with a dynamic mic and mixed thinner, with a phaser and more reverb, to give the lead vocals an airy shimmer on top. I know I'm not the best singer, but I don't mind. I don't like singers who are too good. I prefer singers who are technically bad. I think that sounds rawer and more honest somehow. Maybe that's weird, but it's just my taste. A friend of mine who also sings the Botsing songs offered to re-record the vocals. We tried, but it didn't work. He couldn't sing what I wrote and it didn't sound like what I had in mind and neither of us liked it. Anyway, you're not the first to complain about the vocals, but I think they're good enough.

I'm glad you liked the rest of the song though. Thank you for taking the time to write such a detailed feedback.

[Pluto]

Pitfall... your name rings true in the audio too. Such a depth to this. It feels like you're running at the precipice of the abyss, the music just lining the sides of a deep ravine, radiant and airy, yet with that cliff so close by...

At least it starts that way. Moves on. Shifts into something very different, all the more bright and tasteful. The drop comes knocking occasionally but no longer surrounds you; it's like you moved from the ravine, run through grassy fields, but all the while in the background... the fall's still there, beckoning you back, a fascinating; compelling void without reason or end...

Maybe I took this to an undeservedly dark place huh. XD

I love the sound design. Tasteful. Melodic and rich. Catchy beat and plenty of nuances.

It's legit!

And a planet huh... replace the cliff with the planet in my interpretation of it: maybe it still applies.

Great work.

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[Time Travel (w/ Retrograde)]

Dank drops, intricate sound design, clear mix... it's a banger all the way! Beats and synth pass the baton in a nice way; you never get too much of either. It's ferocious but not without those moments of airiness and echo, flowing oceans and floating notions-like... and a feelgood vibe all the way through.

Great energy; solid work!

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[Button Masher]

It's got ice in it's veins and a beat with a brain... love how much space there is around the synth; how otherworldly and unpredictably this is. Sometimes it's incredibly atmospheric, almost cinematic, sometimes it's more contained but instead appreciably upbeat and punchy, with Daft Punk-like vocals that fade in and out; intersperse the barrages of sound...

Not sure the 2:15 part specifically was necessary, it felt unfinished in a way, a bridge between breaks, that doesn't really build or conclude any particular way, and towards the end it's all the more beat and all the less atmosphere and audial resilience

Would've been cool with more of that towards the end too, a bit less loudness and a bit more life, seems to forget its roots a bit along the way, but what a banger!

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