ZipZipper's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Cold Worlds]

Y'know...the first time I laid eyes on you, it was on Deep Within The Coal Mine and I enjoyed that piece a lot/still listen to it. That's really amazing you got to write for an art exhibition. Though I do enjoy experimental soundscape music, I can't say this was entirely in my interest lol. BUTT, I have rhythm prejudice, so seemingly free-flowing music is hard for me to catch. I'm actually wondering how you made this sound so natural here though you say it's a mockup...and I guess there's A LOT of different noises happening that makes me also wonder what was used in the live performance. Anyways bye.

Azhthar responds:

Hey! Thanks a lot! I´m happy that somebody also appreciates my more experimental music (I wasn´t really sure to post it here at all...). For the instruments: Main instrument is a bass flute. The one I took for the mockup is from Xsample (the only instrument I got from them). Their sample libraries are quite old and don´t have many round robins, etc. But... they sound quite good, have nearly all contemporary articulations and the instrument libraries are relatively cheap compared to other libraries with a comparable sound. So all the air noises, flutter tongues, slap tongues (the percussive like flute noises) and seccos are made with this. Other noises include bowed splash and ride cymbals including arco tremolos and a single crotales cymbal in B. The brushed drum set is from the free brushed kit for kontakt from Soniccouture (it also included the scratches on the cymbals with the brushes). If you are looking for a free brushed drum kit, you should definitely check this one out because it sounds amazing... I think that´s it basically.

They wanted to make some recordings in the next weeks. So it is possible that I´ll get a real recording soon and I guess I will replace the file with the original recording then... There are even some more articulations I didn´t have in any library. And yep, it was really amazing that I got the chance to write for that exhibition and I was also quite excited at the concert. I was studying contemporary music at a university close to the place where I live beside my job in the last year and this was mainly a student project. So probably not a big thing for people who do this regularely but it was a big thing for me because I never got the chance to write something which is indeed played by professional musicians and also will be recorded...

[Chuckles likes children]

DGASHJDGASHJDGHASDGHSJGJHADHJGHJSADHJGHJSAGHJDGASHJ!!!!!!!!

OMG I'M HAVING SO MUCHHH FUNNN!!!!! Though I clicked this through the Review for Review thread, that would be unfair of me to rob someone else of the opportunity to have as much fun as I'm having. I haaattteee youuuuu omg clown everything very happy much fun times! Okay...let me hit replay and be more rational about things now...

First of all, what the Hell that squeaky toy percussive is delightful. I love how it's played with and variated so effortlessly. You have a lot of instrumental changes that keeps this constantly fresh in my mind. Additions and subtractions of noises everywhere. Also, your harmonic progressions do have some unexpected changes occasionally, which I love, especially when you turned that major merry-go-round section into minor with just a slight shift. What can I say...what CAN'T I say? This is my favorite everything right now. Omg, how inspiring!!!!! <3 <3 <3 <3

*waits for others to review so I can creepily stare at them*

Azhthar responds:

Wow!!! Thanks!! That´s so awesome and means a lot to me! I´m really glad you like it. Yep. that major change worked surprisingly well. Otherwise I have to regret the harmonies are not that complex... I used mainly three chords and transposed them. The instrumental changes and to make the transitions work was actually quite some effort... For the squeaks I had the idea to let them move in space like the clown was running around but then I liked it like it is and it was already quite full... Thanks a lot again! This one took me quite some time and it´s incredibly awesome to hear from this from you!

[Frightful Kingdom]

!!!!!!!! A spooky waltz!!!!! By order of my discriminations, I love this piece immediately from the time signature alone. Now...the instrument choice is great for the season. You got the gothic style village aura presented well through all the sounds. I was reminded just a little bit of Nightwish, but the thing they have that's missing here is a vocal part lol. And that's one in the same with melody; there wasn't an obvious lyrical part leading me through. It was just a harmonic progression being repeated constantly. In fact, it seemed like half of the piece was almost exactly copied and pasted to create the last half of the song; a waltzing chord progression can only keep attention for so long! I suppose that's the only big thing I can comment on...the rest was pretty relatable. There were definite sections to the piece, some I think could have been a little less wordy; shorter and more concise. Anyways, I still think this is a cool little dancing song for howling/yelling incoherently at the moon with. Good work!

Wolfrain64 responds:

Thanks for the review!
You're right, I should've focused more on the melody.
I just noticed that I could perfectly loop the song, but I guess is too late for that (?)

[Abyssal Reflection]

I enjoyed the slinky pings. And the uhh...theremin synth was delightful. The tremolo-ing sound humming underneath was also very tingly and cool to my ears. Combined with the...something-being-slammed-on-wood percussive, there's a nice palette of sound. Definitely good ambience for a Halloween theme. The major IV instead of the predictable minor iv during one part of the harmonic progression was a great choice. It clearly stands out and gives the ambience a hint of playfulness and direction, instead of being just ominous; a nice surprise. It could have looped just one bit better if that rattling sound effect was faded out instead of cut off suddenly. But yeah...great work!

ChronoNomad responds:

Haha, glad you dig the ambient noises going on throughout the piece, Zip! Yeah, I had a lot of fun with the musical progressions, and tossing in something a bit less predictable here and there always helps keep things interesting. As you've mentioned, that one effect is kind of murdering the seamless looping effect, but don't worry--it shall be fixed! Very soon.

Thanks again for the great review, man! Much appreciated.

[Loose CanniBall]

Senpai!!!!!

Omg I hate yoU! You just had to use tingly percussion squishes and wavy theremin throwbacks! The way you really fill up the entirety of the stereo space is so...invasive. How delightful. Omg eating at the end! What great painting you've done here. I see the cannibal, lonely in his ways, but enthusiastic nonetheless. He meets a couple of posers who want to be cool like him, so he teaches him of his ways, but in the end, he eats them because mmmmmmmm how can you resist?! OmG sorry you had your own storyboard.

Anyways...your production value is, and has always been, top-notch, which makes expressing this sort of unique genre become more attainable for the general audience (something we need omg you do great I love you) The looseness of the form was both good and bad. Twists and turns for the sake of surprising the listener, akin to the scary surprises the season should hold, but musically did make somewhat a lack of connection between the purposes of each part, probably because there wasn't an obvious melody to guide the way through. But, you make up for that in your palette of noises and instrumentation pivots.

Okay goodnight I hate you.

steampianist responds:

I notice you

hehe thanks for the review, well if i followed a form with a definite motif i knew i wasnt going to make it to this year's NG spooktacular halloween and so i went aahhh fuck it. free form free form

[The Prodigal]

Now this is quite a formidable opponent. I was immediately drawn in to the percussion, then the plucking duo, and once I realized you had a quartet of voices at your disposal, I turned around and gave up on life. This was a hugely refreshing track from the humdrum and the stress of life, at least in my life recently. And it had the perfect amount of everything; not too long and not too short. It's such a huge advantage that you had live performers and instruments. I half-wish you had a jaw harp solo just so that something was a nuisance in this piece. Great work. A perfect fit for the genre, to the extent of my little knowledge lol...

bassfiddlejones responds:

This was a refreshing review! I'm glad you liked the piece man, we will have to do vocal work more often. :) maybe next time we will include a jaw harp and credit you

[Mors Vincit Omnia (Death comes to us all)]

????!!!!!?!??!?!?!?!!??!

I mean, the choral part alone is so ethereal and pretty!!! I think it would've been better that instead of using your voice for percussion, you could have used a plugin and just made a really soft beat. The percussive stuff you had at the beginning was okay, but when you started adding cymbal and kick...I thought it was awkward. To be honest...this is just so darkly pleasant that it didn't make me think of Halloween hahaha. Would be great backing perhaps for a Celtic adventure montage or a slow motion death...welp I used the word death, so I guess it can be construed to fit the Halloween vibe if used correctly.

I kinda just want the tracks for this so I can play with them :l
I would love to expand on this/ruin it :l

raggd46 responds:

Thank you! yeah I wasn't sure about the building with the beatboxing, but I'm practicing so I wanted to try it out :) send me which bits of it you'd like, I can DM to you? (tho I assume the choral bits?)

[QUI SEDET AD DEXTERAM PATRIS]

I'm semi-glad you didn't add background audience noise and mechanic sounds, even though you said you would have. I probably would have enjoyed it either way, but this is extremely pleasant being totally raw, and the reverb seems just right to me. I mean, I think ideally that's what the time period of the style would have preferred, so you did them good. What kinda blows my mind is that you had no keyboard to really see what you were doing! How did you do all those inner-voice workings with just a mouse?!

Well, I don't know if you'll ever do something with organ like this again, but if you do, you should listen to Poulenc's organ concerto. It's supposedly the most-often played organ concerto that's not a part of the Baroque period, and you can hear a modern example of how to make melody stand out on the organ.

Anyways, really nice work!!!! <3

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot Zipper! Well maybe you are right and not having background fx and stuff is the better devision. That way the listener is more forced to focus on the instrument an progressions. I usually use my keyboard to create chord progressions to get the basic concept done and then i write everything out / play and record it. But this time it just wasnt possible. So i had to follow my "inner ear". I am not thinking about the voicings that much to be honest - even that would be very important in a piece like this. I just follow my ear / intuition. When composing i can hear parts of the tracks i do already before i write them down (not huge parts but 1-2 bars. After those are written the next 1-2 bars already exist in my imagination - not totally clear but already quite far developed. Sometimes i reach a point where it becomes suddenly very hard. Maybe you also made this experience: You write down a minute without any problems. Everything is consequent and logic. But suddenly you reach a point where you really have problems to see where your path continues. In those situations playing chords on the piano / keyboard helps a lot. This time - without the keyboard - those moments became even harder...

I definitely will write organ pieces / baroque music / bach-style piano and harpsichord pieces in the future. So i am always very thankful for any kind of tipps and new info to understand the instruments / music styles better. Thanks a lot for the recomendation for poulence´s music (didnt know him before). I will give it a listen asap!

Thank you very much for your kind words. Btw - i read that you are going to become a full pro musician and that you are studying composition? Thats really awesome and i am very happy for / with you. I think you took the right path. Even those decisions are hard (i know what that means because i am doing the same here) be confident: I believe you will make it!

All the best,
Chris

[Automaton]

What are u doing???! :(
Anyways, love you.

steampianist responds:

awww love you too <3... unfortunately stuff i cannot divulge or else the director will send MI6 agents to my house

[Skeleton ship]

Well y'know me and waltzing. But yeah, really love all the instrument choices and other miscellaneous noises. I enjoyed that descent at 1:27 leading into the big end. I actually think a lot of your music is already so heavily focused on harmony...so I personally think you should delve more into melody-making. Anyways, I love you. Bye.

Azhthar responds:

Melody is overestimated ;) Actually for this piece it was quite hard to find a nice melody, due to all these chromatic chord progressions. Too many leading notes... So the melody became quite simple here and not very memorable but I really should focus on some more melodic piece in the future. Thanks for the input! Maybe I´ll also do some polka again, soon ;) Love you, too. Cheerio.