ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[VAC9 - Double T Retail]

Oh wow. Perfect everything! The script is fan-tas-tic. Alliteration is such a funny and clever theme, plus you add a few other small humorous bits to make it special, like the "wait for it..." Each character sounds vastly different from the next. The duration is perfectly concise and the background sound design was constructed so effectively. And such control of voice! You sound as if you've had years of practice and rehearsal beforehand. I'm just amazed at the harmony and balance this has. Bravo! Wonderful job!

[Blactap Voice Demo 2012]

Marry me. You have so many different voices that each have their own character to them, which I think is so difficult to do. It's one thing to change and mix your voice but to also have each with their own persona is...beyond me. Fantastique. My favorite one is the country guy getting a pizza.

Blactap responds:

Thanks man. I really appreciate the comment. ^_^. I planning to do more stuff soon.

[The Earwig Machine]

This reminds me a little bit of Circus Contraption. I am overwhelmed with joy that you included the bass trombone line. Did you play all these instruments live yourself? If so, that's amazing that you can play all of those instruments. Even still, if these are software instruments, the tone and atmosphere you put on them makes it sound like I'm right in the room. Indeed, the sound is a little sleazy. But I think it's also got a depressing melancholy vibe that's also wonderful. Definitely a gloomy cabaret sort of jazz. I think some raspy vocals with crazy lyrics would be fantastic over this. But I can't help but appreciate the solemn nature of the instrumentals as well. Thank you so much for posting this. This is the kind of music I seek out and adore. Outstanding job!

ToliveAnimations responds:

Thank you, that really does mean a lot to me.
Best wishes to you.

[Free like the birds]

The vocals are perhaps just a little too strong, or the instrumentals are a little too weak. This is especially noticeable because the drum and percussion line is barely even audible. So I think it's the latter because your vocals sound great; they're crisp and clear and you've got a perfect voice for the style too. The instrumentals just need a little extra. To me, I'd especially like the ambient synths to have a bit more prominence, and of course the drums need that prominence too as I mentioned before. Other than that, this track is pretty cool. Nice guitaring and singing. The panning between the vocals and the guitar near the end is a surprise. Great work!

DivoFST responds:

Thanks a lot ZipZipper, i am going to remaster the synths even today to make things balanced!

[Ecosystem]

I definitely agree with more percussion at that 1:22 point. Amazing melodies and integration of instruments and styles. Definitely has the sound one thinks of when they hear the word ecosystem; a tropical plate with mallets and congas. The piece remained around that idea of like...the Amazon rainforest predominantly. It broke away a bit with the little soloing of the guitar, the bassoon standing out sometimes, and a very faint didgeridoo. I mean, there's more than one kind of ecosystem that isn't the typical tropical scene. I think it would have been very interesting to have a huge, obvious mood change to swamps, deserts, polar regions, or whatever. Then again, you do also note the harmony of things, which is perfectly implemented here. So in a creative sense, I think things could have been different; perhaps an unharmony in terms of moods. But musically, there's nothing really upsetting. Great work!

Step responds:

Wow, thanks for such a detailed review! It's so great to get constructive criticism.

"I definitely agree with more percussion at that 1:22 point."

Good. Considering you agree with it as well, it's clearly something I should definitely consider.

"Amazing melodies and integration of instruments and styles."

That's really great to know. Before this I was doing lots of remixes. I made a whole 8-minute medley of Monster Hunter Tri remixes, an Okami remix and four Metroid remixes so I was afraid that I lost my ability to make entirely original melodies haha. Good to know I can still make good-sounding original stuff after doing so many remixes.

"Definitely has the sound one thinks of when they hear the word ecosystem; a tropical plate with mallets and congas. The piece remained around that idea of like...the Amazon rainforest predominantly."

That's certainly what I was going for!

"It broke away a bit with the little soloing of the guitar, the bassoon standing out sometimes, and a very faint didgeridoo. I mean, there's more than one kind of ecosystem that isn't the typical tropical scene."

Yeah, as I said I wanted to make it diverse, so I threw in stuff like the guitar... and the bassoon to an extent. You almost never hear bassoons in orchestral music here on Newgrounds. It's such a shame, it has a lovely sound. Although I admit, with it being my first time using a bassoon in one of my tracks, I found it pretty hard to get it to fit right.

"I think it would have been very interesting to have a huge, obvious mood change to swamps, deserts, polar regions, or whatever. Then again, you do also note the harmony of things, which is perfectly implemented here. So in a creative sense, I think things could have been different; perhaps an unharmony in terms of moods. But musically, there's nothing really upsetting. Great work!"

Thanks! Yeah I thought of adding a mood change... but the thing about that is that adding mood changes require lots and lots of development and hard work, and this is for a project where I might not have time to take on such an ambitious task of throwing in a mood change.

Although believe it or not I did try and add a mood change in one of my earlier versions of this track. Download this:
http://www.mediafire.com/?9n72tamktmy2umf

It's basically the same up till 1:10 but at 1:10 I threw in a more eerie, mystical mood change. However, I didn't like how it was coming along and almost everyone who heard it said it just doesn't fit and broke the momentum of the track, so I scrapped the whole thing haha. I am a fan of mood changes though; looking back I wish I had more time to make one.

Thanks again for the fantastic review dude!

[Lacuna Matata]

I love you Stephen Coleman I'm your biggest fan! :(

I loved this song when I first saw it on iComp. Again, I'll say that I especially love the end bit with the glitchy vox along with the synth melody which then slowly dies down solemnly with the beat. Love your fusion of different genres in a slightly unconventional structure. You guys are great at what you do. xoxoxo <3

[Flared - Odyssey]

Very very cool! I love the chipmunky vox, though not so much the speaking vox you have that occurs at the pauses. The talking, I think, could be replaced with something much cooler, something with more lead up like a reverse cymbal or synth. I love the slowing down into the hip-hop groove with a dubstep tone. It was a nice change up, and then it speeding back up into the drum n bass. Overall, I enjoyed it. It's got a creepy aura to it from its melody that I really like. Perhaps a little bit stale on its repetition of sounds, but an excellent song for its genre. Great work!

[Spagettios]

WOOOOOOOOOOO. Damn when the effected vox came in I started dancin' SO HARD. I also like the ambient screechy vox that lurks around the space. That's a pretty cool hip-hop groove you have, and with the creativity of turning some initially apprehensive lyrics into something fun. I picture this in a movie somehow. Like the theme for some ballin' 8 year-old kids walking down the street? I dunno. I do know that I really like this hahahahaha! Great job!

[-SheepHop-]

Instantly reminded me of the music in the first Frogger game for PlayStation. I also agree that the voice samples weren't strong enough and could have been played around with more. I even think in a sense they kind of ruin the mood at some points. But I think the beat and its melodic tone is great...and repetitive. There's just more to be explored. Perhaps, like your other works, you could incorporate your classical sounds into this sort of groove? Not sure how that would work out, but I guess what I'm saying is that branching out still requires one to stay true to themself. Though since you said this was made while bored and isn't fancy, I won't stress that. I have to say that I love the style you usually implement, but I also enjoy when you get different. I guess no matter what you do, people here are gonna notice. Nice Frogger song.

[Happy Fun Sing!!]

Wow! Cool a cappella! I enjoy the artists here who inject their voices into their music, especially in ways that are predominantly vocal. You have a very good tone and a wide range of emotion, not to mention a wide range pitchwise. I especially love the operatic sort of yeeaahh eeee yeeeaahh eeee towards the end. That's a very interesting use of voice. I think you have a lot of potential vocally. It's quite enjoyable to listen to you and you don't sound like just one genre. Excellent job!