Deemo-R's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Here They Come]

Always nice to hear more music from you. Your pieces for this mod have all been very nicely done in both the writing and production department. Very percussive all around. The blending is pretty impressive given all the elements that are blaring at once. You know your libraries pretty well! There's not much aside from the minor triad to tritone at 1:28 melodically, but it does keep itself from getting old with different rhythms and a nice modulation at 2:00 to renew the tension. The nature of the project likely demands that it be more of a background piece anyhow. This would work very well as a piece to influence the tone of the scene it's inserted into. It could very well fit into a lot of action sequences in many different contexts. Tense and pounding. I enjoy it a lot!

Is the mod team planning to use this in a trailer, or in the game itself? I can't really figure out from following the links. I just saw a bunch of older stuff.

Mattashi responds:

Thanks man! I'm not sure what they will use it for, it should be for their next campaign release. They asked me to write a couple of tracks and they were going to work the music into their project so I guess they let the music inspire them which is pretty awesome! I will have to do a couple of tracks for scenes they are planning in the future.

[Africa (Singalong)]

The campfire has gotten a little bigger, eh? Really like how this turned out, definitely the biggest haul thus far! I only wish you luck in keeping up that quality into the next one... and the next! The copious amounts of percussion leaves me all tingly inside :)

Ceevro responds:

Yeah, I never expected to see a single song hit 50+ tracks to make happen...but here we are!

[Our Last Hope]

Some people seem surprised, but I honestly expect this level of work whenever I see something of yours get released. Your talent is palpable, and I truly enjoy listening to whatever you put up. This definitely has your prints all over it, both in style and professionalism. I hope you enjoy the winner's circle!

Regarding the entry, there's not a lot that I can say that hasn't been said already. I love the idea for the opening (and it sounds like you really made the most out of the choir library), but I'm not quite buying the "evil laugh". I can't really blame you for that, though, it's the limitations of the software, and I respect the fact that you tried the harder route. The intro immediately reminds me of Dancing Mad, which I'm guessing was partial inspiration? ;3

A few times throughout the song, I kept mistaking the solo female vocalist for an erhu. The range and timbre is just strikingly similar. Hearing "meow" at 2:11 is impossible not to do, I'm sorry xD But hey, it gives the people something quirky to remember! They'll be sure to be humming that when it comes up!

I highly doubt you'll need another entry to carry you through lol. Stay awesome, man! ;D

Mattashi responds:

Thank you Darkmetroidomega :), It's been a while since I last heard that song, Dancing Mad. I didn't really get the inspiration from that but definitely got inspiration from those good old RPGs (Chrono Trigger, Final Fantasy,etc...)
I had a hard time finding a good evil laugh that wasn't copyrighted or anything, there were only a few from the Mystica Library and this one seemed like the best out of all of them.
Now that you mentioned it's starting to sound a little like an Erhu for me as well xD
It's this humming vocal from Voices Of Passion.
Thanks a lot for the review man :)

[Mihai Sorohan-Forward]

Excellent composition, very tight execution by all the players, and great mixing/mastering. Fantastic work all around, I love both songs on this EP. Awesome! :D

sorohanro responds:

Thank you very much. New material is coming soon. Also, thanks for buying my music :)

[Daily Life]

Has the year been tough in terms of writing new music and finishing old stuff? Because I can totally relate to that frustration if that's the case.

I really do like chilled, mellow music like this every now and again. I definitely can see the connection with the FEZ soundtrack in the instrumentation and progression. It also reminds me a ton of something that I'd expect from that upcoming indie title "Night In The Woods". The simplicity and light instrumentation seem to go hand-in-hand with the simple visuals of those games. I'd be totally okay with roaming around in one of the early areas of a game to this. It's very pleasant to listen to, yet never too obtrusive.

If there's one small thing I'd suggest, it's to remove/alter that chromatic pitch at 0:54-0:55(ish). It's causing a sudden dissonance that I don't think really serves your piece in the way you'd want, and it sticks out to me every time the song reaches that spot.

It'd be cool to see an EP of this style from you, though I think you have quite a number of talents that could be shown in numerous EPs. Always cool to hear something new from you, Neon! Can't wait to hear what "soundtrack" you're working on :3

Neon-Bard responds:

It's been a tough year for a number of reasons, mostly personal (which has inevitably made it increasingly difficult to write anything). As with every hurdle in life, you have to pull yourself up, dust yourself off, and keep on.

It's great to know that it fits into that early game vibe and aesthetic, I was going for just that! FEZ was a large inspiration and it's good to know I've captured a similar essence in this track. Though honestly, I still haven't gotten far in the game (oops). I'm going to have to check out Night In The Woods, this is the first time I've heard of the title.

Excellent catch about that pitch at 0:55, I was too engulfed by how the mix sounded that I completely overlooked this part. Many thanks for pointing this out. Also, I really appreciate the kind words, it's nice to know that what I make somehow resembles talent hahaha! I'm still undecided on the idea of an EP as of yet, but who knows...? :)

[Endless Night]

FL Studio really doesn't have any way of changing meter within the same song? I have a hard time believing it would lack something that major, but since I don't use it myself I really wouldn't know.

The 5/4 meter gives this whole thing a nice character, which is one of the things I really enjoy about odd meters. I'm hearing the meter (in eighth notes) as two groups of three followed by two groups of two, which is imo the most effective way of using 5/4 without losing the listener. I like your melodies in here. You have a pretty consistent handle on making enjoyable melodies (and given your inspirations, I hear the influence pouring through). I also enjoy the instrumentation, especially the synth at 1:08. I swear that one in particular reminds me a lot of some of the synth lines in the RPG Maker VX music. The harmonies are fitting and well-balanced in which voices provide them, and when. The guitar and bass are solid, I like them a lot here. They provide some nice rhythmic backing without being overbearing.

I wish I could provide something of value regarding your mixing concerns, but I have no consistent record or understanding of how to bring the most out of a track. In this piece you've successfully balanced your ensemble, however, and that is the primary concern I have for any video game music. To reach the high standards of the modern age, though - just gotta keep looking at professional reference, I suppose!

Good work!

ILG924 responds:

Since FL is built around using loops, I don't think the developers bothered to put in standard music notation features that other DAWs have. I've looked everywhere for a solution, but I've only found the one initial project "time division" setting. I'm not really good with figuring out time signatures because of that, since this is my first DAW and the only one I use. I can't give up the piano roll though, it's the best out of any I've tried

The synth you hear at 1:08 came from Cakewalk's Dimension Pro VST. It reminded me of a synth used in Abandoned Castle from Castlevania Curse of Darkness
Just knowing that everything came out clear on your end helps me with my mixing. Thanks for the review!

[Five by Five]

Glad this got featured. Very cool stuff, love the mellow vibes! The vocals were decent imo, though very minimal up until the end. All around fantastic stuff, thanks for digging it up!

[everyday life]

This track is just what the doctor ordered. Fantastic stuff as expected!

johnfn responds:

Dr. electro prescribes 50cc of ... uh.. whatever genre this is!

Thanks for the review!

[Valley of War]

Saw your review on dem0lecule's piece. I don't see why the pessimistic view, you've got a pretty good grasp on writing music for this being your first upload. I liked the change at 1:20 a lot. There's a lot of pitfalls on the mixing side (and this is the pot calling the kettle black; I still struggle with every bit of mixing), but that's something that gets worked out the more you make music. You'll only grow better as you keep writing, so keep it up!

Free soundfonts are tough to sell to the listener in a piece, but good composition will always bring the best out of what you have. If you want realism from your soundfonts, start trying to humanize them when you've got their parts finished (or even beforehand). Vary up velocities and use volume automation to give your strings (or any instrument, for that matter) a personality and direction. This is a great habit to get into early on if you want to write for virtual orchestra instruments. Bringing that element of dynamic expression is essential to any piece. Your piano part is pretty nice in that regard. The sustain + long reverb tail combo kind of bleeds into the string parts a bit, though, and sections like 1:43 suffer from it. Careful not to let reverb steal too much definition from your song. It's also worth thinking about how often you clear the pedal on the piano when busier sections happen, because it no longer focuses solely on the piano, and things like the string section need some space to breath in the mix. Those kinds of things will come up endlessly when writing, and you'll definitely get the hang of them. I like your handle on composition already, I'd like to see how it progresses from here. :3

TearsOfSadness responds:

Thank you for the long review.
I was not as much pessimistic as I was complimenting his incredible skills. I don't think I'm striving as hard as him to make music, as to me it's more of a hobbey. That is why I will never reach his level.
Yes, the mixing is pretty terrible.
I agree that the composition is more important than the production and quiality of instruments.

I should have spent more time on the humanizing of the strings, but the piano is as humanized as it can be. This song isn't even in a specific tempo.
I will consider your advice in the future Thank you, for the motivation as well.

[The Al Gore Rhythm]

Took me forever to get around to writing on this one, but it's good to see you finally upload something to the site! I really like the percussive drive in this one, personally. Looks like you're already scouted, too!