Deemo-R's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Event Horizon]

Hey, a new piece from you; this is definitely a treat! I've always thought you had a strong grasp on the "Sakuraba-esque" aesthetic, and I think it's only become stronger over time! I love good JRPG battle music, and this feels really compelling to me. Not especially a fan of the extreme level of reverb, but I know some SNES music had that sound to it, lol. I hope you'll have more stuff of any sort in the future, because I always enjoy what you write. I definitely feel your pain on the "getting sick of your own music" syndrome for similar reasons, so I understand how tiresome it gets, but I think eventually it'll become comfortable enough to work through consistently. Your music is definitely worth the effort!

ILG924 responds:

I think Sakuraba's earlier stuff is really great because of his previous experience with progressive rock, makes for an interesting balance when he's forced to work with hardware limitations. I went real heavy on the SNES-verb to match the sound from Star Ocean 1, and I agree it's pretty extreme, but it also has a nostalgic quality to me. Tri-ace was all about showing off their fancy sound compression technology

When it comes to actually finishing music, I think you're right that it'll get easier to work through. I just need waaay more practice to bring up my speed with writing and mixing. I think that was you who posted about that 24 hour challenge to finish a song? That definitely helps, but it's so so exhausting lol

Thanks for listening, and for the kind words!

[Xtrullor - Arcana]

Awesome hybrid track man! I had a real blast listening to this, and it sounds like you had a lot of fun putting it together! Feel free to drop more fully-orchestrated works down in the future; I've always enjoyed hearing how you use the elements throughout your work, but when they become more of the focus I feel like it's a really fresh experience. Top-notch work! :D

[Quiet Nights]

Congrats on the front page for this! Well-earned, in my opinion. This is definitely perfect background music - I could listen to this for a very long time, and it worked just as needed in the video from BGC that I checked out. I would even say that it subliminally enhanced their rhetoric. The chromaticism really helps add some interesting spice to it, and the trumpet really helps break up the continuous sound of the rhythm section that comes beforehand. I wish I could give you some useful criticism here, but I'm pretty booty at jazz, so going by ear I can only say that I hear everything I'd like to hear in a strong piece of background music! :)

[The Entrance of Heroes]

I've enjoyed hearing this through your writing process, I think it turned out great! Congrats on the pick, hoping it'll go the full distance for you! :)

CloakedSoup responds:

Thank you for all the great critiques/comments that helped me to shape it along the way! Here's to hoping I can get a TV spot! :D

[Hope]

No surprise, I still enjoy this a lot! I see what you were talking about regarding the bass clarinet now, it does have an interesting quality to it in this context! Very uplifting and reminiscent of Powell's HTTYD work, great sketch!

CloakedSoup responds:

Thanks! Wish I had more time to work on it, but counterpoint, orchestration, and creative writing homework got in the way!

[Mio/Homura (澪/炎) EXTEND Ver.]

I love what you do with your music. I'm not much aware of the history of this piece, but I read everything you linked to and it's easy to see how much of yourself you've put into this work. I find your dedication and talent to be inspirational - never stop doing what you do. :)

Troisnyx responds:

Oh my. Thank you. <3 I want to cry... not out of sadness, mind you, but just sheer joy.

[BRUCE: Bretta's Theme]

I've been in a pretty sour mood today, but your music has help put my mind at ease for the moment, so I have to thank you for that. I enjoy both sections - both are well written, imo - though I do like the latter a bit more. I believe your composition here works well enough to not be hindered too much by the lower quality libraries, which is what matters most in my mind. If you are looking for some better ones, however, I'd throw out a recommendation for Ilya Efimov Production. Not too expensive, but pretty easy to get a presentable sound from them.

Good stuff! Looking forward to your next work! :)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm glad if my music was able to be of any help at all, in any way! Thank you for finding the time to listen to my stuff.
I prefer the latter a bit more as well! It doesn't follow a specific tempo, it's a bit more dynamic, I think I used some nice harmonies, and it's not as crammed. It's not as stylistic though, I suppose!
I tend to keep actual composition in higher regard than the quality of the tools as well. Sure, it's nice to have lots of expensive and amazing instruments. But it's still the core that's the most important ^^

I already have my eyes set on a lot of different libraries, and I know about Ilya Efimov Production as well. I'm just trying to not go on completely unhinged sprees of buying all the instruments I want, as there are quite a few, hehhe. Thank you for the recommendation!
And thank you for the review as well :3

I'm looking forward to your next work too!

[Jump! (Save The Princess)]

Purely from a jamming perspective, this is my favorite track from the album. It's hard for me not to feel really satisfied with 1:16 and onwards. You really know how to put sounds together in a good way! I've yet to hear you tackle something that you haven't made great results with.

Mattashi responds:

Thanks for the review Deemo! I think I can improve on my "electronic" style though, I'm never really sure if it sounds right... actually I'm never really sure if any of my mixes sound alright. I just like to stick things together and hope for the best xD

[You Must Leave Me Behind]

Lovely! I like the way you write a lot. I'm curious as to where the title comes from. Any story behind that? In any case, I don't have any real nagging gripes about the track. It's a bit short and I can't decide how I feel about the woodwind parts as the track progresses, but I don't think it really changes my opinion on it in any meaningful way. Good work! :)

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Thank you for the review!
The name is something I ripped from the lyrics that Erutan wrote for Aerith's Theme from Final Fantasy VII. You can listen to a version of it on Newgrounds (not Erutan's) here:

http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/550494

I know it's a bit short, as it's a cancelled project, but I'm glad you like it anyway ^ ^

[FL STUDIO TECHNO]

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