ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Self Portrait OST]

01:28 makes me want to take flight and/or painfully transform into a duck.

Azhthar responds:

Why not everything at once? I always want everything, because I´m greedy! It might be hard to follow directions during painful ducktransformation, though...

[The Scrap Boy]

*SWAYS* :(

[Mary]

I just want to let you know that I had a window open playing this on Newgrounds for a minute or so and then I opened a window of the one on Youtube and the track exploded with beauty because they were still synched to the same tempo, so the plucking became sixteenth echoes except in different starting points and it was just this cascade of soulful harp and I just WANTED TO CRY.

[The Mash Potato Mash]

Very groovy. And a somewhat unpredictable melodic line, which is perfect. I suppose that's what you get for using so much chromaticism. The constant change ups of instrumentation, albeit of course in 8-bit language, is also put to good use. Is this supposed to be a loop though? It would make for one catchy loop. Or expanded upon to be a full-length piece, even. I'd really enjoy hearing this as more than just a clip of a general progression/key being repeated and variated. But, it's still very good as it is, just wanna fix that loop for it though, if that is its intention, which is what it sounds like...

Veenomn responds:

Yeah, I changed it to a loop, I honestly just forgot to set it as a loop the first time I uploaded. Thanks for the review!

[AIM - Theme for the Keeper of the Reef]

Y'know...It has its own personality to it while still acting as an underline to the character itself. Interesting that you took a more cutesy route to embody the artwork, because to me the character looks more menacing lol. Also, ocean waves as ambience to any minimalist song makes me instant loves. The altered tambourine sample was a great idea as well. Nice work here!

Maverickmode responds:

Haha yeah I totally see what you mean about the character looking a little more menacing than the way it's portrayed in this song. I probably took the route I did because I found myself imagining this creature's surroundings along with the way it fits into them, and to me a reef is a place that's colorful and bright. I'm glad you liked the tambourine, I thought it sounded like the creature's claw snapping together deep under the water.

[AIM - The Spooky Witch Of Creepy Cottage]

YAAAY HALLOWEEN. How fun. Yeah, sounds like you either need a new mic or more attention to mixing. But, your voice fits nicely for this kind of bouncy music. What makes me even more excited is that you recorded the witch vocals and cackling yourself. Major props. The clavichord could have been swapped for another instrument at some point, or done a little more than just plop chords throughout. I really like how the bridge has a major harmonic change that's pretty neat! More reverb on the brass in that section would have been helpful too. Overall, I hope you do more cute Halloween music forever because I have a fetish, but that's okay if not. I'll be keeping watch for more of your...voice...

[AIM The Legend of Uncle Dave]

No kidding, that sounds like a nightmare to play and sync together. Great use of space with the production and just enough reverb to keep it alive but not drowning. Interesting inspiration for the piece; I wouldn't expect a song of this nature to be featured in a Zelda soundtrack, but it definitely would be a nice change of pace from the generally clanky soundfonts they still like to use ironically. I suppose this is specifically a representation of a personal time period and not the game itself, so whatever. Really nice dinga dinging and drawn out to just the right length of conciseness. I enjoyed this very much.

Daveisgr81 responds:

Thanks for the positive review - it's nice to be called out on the aesthetic side! It is 'about' a time when I was into video games and making music is equal measure: the art inspired the music but the piece isn't necessarily about the work of art that inspired it.

It was a nightmare to record, you're right. Playing the guitar parts so they all aligned took lots of takes... and I am definitely not completely happy with the current recording even if I am drawn to the raw sound!

Thanks again for taking the time to review this - really appreciate it!

[AIM - Wheat Breakfast Sheepman]

Hi this actually made me realize the reality of the artwork in that it's a sheepman eating Wheaties like wtf. That beep boop on the left is totes annoying, which is great. Y'know I really like your use of varying rhythms in all your works. Oh the song is speeding up and I'm not ready. Wait it just ended okay perfect. Anyways, that was fun! I just WISH there was a super obvious melodic line over the harmonic progression that I could follow because I'm cheesy. Okay goodbye.

Quarl responds:

love <3

[The Beast in the Sky]

Yeah, more reverb. It's rather deserted, especially because the art seems to depict an atmosphere full of whoosh because omg wings. But I also hate you so much that I would push you into a ceiling fan. You have fun musical ideas plus changes though hee haw wtf those VSTs can I have some great okay bye.

Azhthar responds:

"Meep moep" *Swoosh-Woosh*

[EspiDev - Strife]

Experimental in what way though? Is it the changeups in instrumentation, because that is a great thing to have in a sea of monotonous bleep bop boop. What would be a great pair for those constant changes in literal sound is some variation in musical sound as well. You were doing that a little towards the end with those chromatic shifts and I liked that; that needed to be expanded on earlier in the piece. Still, you're using the same 8-bar progression throughout the whole song, which I suppose is characteristic of the genre. But y'know, if you wanna be experimental, I believe it's all or nothing. Maybe a counter-progression, even by just rearranging the original harmonic progression in a different order, could vary the mood more. That way there doesn't have to be so much work invested into constantly changing the synth setup. Though, I do like that approach too; it still keeps the song not-so dry to listen to. So all in all, it seems you have a good grasp on what sounds sound cool together. Now, I think it's just a matter of challenging yourself musically. Pretty cool song here...

EspiDev responds:

Thanks for the review!