CryNN's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[PARANORMAL BOUNCE. (Spooky type beat)]

youre getting in there with this mixdown. just needs some clarity so you can hear all the ear candies

CrowdDoll responds:

I actually purposely made my mix sounds clippy and dark which is inspired by some underground bounce musicians in soundcloud I like, but Ill take your point as well

[Lament Of Dissolving Angels]

this is one of the most uncomfortable dark ambient tracks ive heard in a while. not that i dont like it, i was thinking of something really different hahaha.

this gives me so much to question, but i think thats the point of this piece. well done!

LD-W responds:

Even though it was a quick one to do, it was fun to do! 2:30 to 4:00 is probably one of my favourite 90 second stretches of pad-work I've ever done. Piece was live-improv'd in cDim.

It's quite the interesting observation really when it comes to the reactions I get when I do pieces like this, compared to what I actually 'feel': I've listened and drafted up pieces with this kind of atmospheric direction so many times over the years, that I've become pretty desensitized to it all. It's pretty much 'the regular thing' to me now, where I'm having to compete with myself to go further and further as time goes on.

[FD - Finely Aged Space Cocktail]

imagine being on a trip after drinking a cocktail in space made out of alien plant juices woo

Dnb layer is wild haha. I really love that someone produced a milder form of it too, its a nice change. I really thought of a more refined drum and bass which kinda surprised me when i heard the more oldschooly drum pattern with more mid rangy tone. I dont hate it, i just really like the newer sound of liquid :D and i do respect your approach.

The vibe is really simple, but thats what makes your track good. Its mellow, groovy and the slight progression keeps you on listening. The detune on the pads adds a nice dreamy atmosphere. What i think it should be more improved is the sound design of the bass in the second section, it might sound a bit surprising and my thoughts are that if it had a shorter decay or a bit more colour, it could sound more glued together with the mix. Anyways it was fun listening to this!

ForgottenDawn responds:

Yeah, you love to see the variety in this layer! It pretty much becomes a way to introduce people subgenres they may have never heard of before. Goldie, Photek, Shifty, good stuff. Thanks for your feedback and review~

[Ice Crasher (NGAIC 2022-2023)]

Oh shit i love how many peps went for dnb in this layer. Everyone has its own personal approach to the genre. If i were to compare your submission then i think we have a lot in common on how we make synths.

The structure is very simple, but satisfying. It does sound that you made it in a short time span especially in the drop part. The progression could be much more variable and colorful, i also miss a bit more grease and mid distortion on them, but that is just an subjective point of view ;D However, i think the better category to focus on when producing tracks in a rush would be mix and master which you did an excellent job on. GOOD JOB!!!

WakerLink responds:

ayyy, glad you like it! And yeah, the progression is very barebones, especially considering how late I started (even though I rarely refine ideas very well), however it's worth noting that I experimented in this one a bit with sound design/arrangement principles that I don't really use (which I've been doing a lot recently, weirdly enough), so it's a bit of a new experience in that regard too. A bit surprised that the mix and master turned out well, because they were DEFINITELY the most rushed part, but if it works, it works

[Dreaming Under Metallic Skies (NGAIC)]

This piece caught my attention right from the start. Especially with the detuned piano for which i have a soft spot haha. I can visually think of a lost city or a stranded spaceship when listening to it.
Some Half-life Alyx inspiration perhaps? LOVE IT!

LD-W responds:

The Piano patch was a self-made happy accident, one of the very first ones I made back around the time Soundpaint was new and there were only like 4 libs! If you ever get your hands on Palindrone 1 for Soundpaint & have the Vintage 1928 installed, let me know and I'll send you the patch

[NAVOJ-Grenedation [Doomori AP OST]]

RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR

NAVOJJ responds:

EEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

[NGADM 2022 Grand Finals Podcast]

loving ur cowbell part Lich

Anyways im really happy for fulfilling the judging part of the contest and im also happy that the entire contest went really smoothly. The contest has shown how the average music production standard has improved by a quite a ton and also how each contestant was patient and cooperative with our reviews. The finals were intense must say, loved every piece of it haha. Im thanking everyone who participated and ran the contest<3

Next time im thinking of joining the NGADM as a contestant to test out my creativity and competition spirit! :)

LuckyDee responds:

Pleased to meet you, even though I might not have shown in my activity on Discord - or through this generic message I'm posting under all the judges' comments XD

But I had fun nonetheless and had a chance for a little personal development, so thanks for your contribution to that.

[Machinery]

Yo why ur not like frontpaged???

This is dope! Id tame down the high frequencies a bit but this sounds great already!

NoMoreKawaii responds:

Thank youuuuuuu

[lost winter]

This is an official NGADM review!

Ohhh boyy look at you steaming through the NGADM with prog house! This one in particular is probably one of your better submissions so far and I really enjoyed listening to it. You’re giving me a tough one to compare progressive house yet again with other submissions that are completely diff lawl.

The track starts with an already complex groove that might be introduced later in my opinion, the hats are rolling, the shakers shaking, but a more bare intro might be a better move since it could bring more life to the progression with the other elements starting later. The first mixing details, that could be improved, came to my mind as soon as I heard the groove. One of them being the bell/triangle percussion that is resonant at 8.7 and 14.6 kHz (which isn't that big of a deal when you think about it at first since it should sound resonant, but it’s way too much and it's really noticeable.) The second one being the space around 3khz, which I think could be filled with a nice, deeper shaker. Not a big deal though.

Another subtle mixing issue is the bassline masking the kickdrum around 200hz. I think the acid could be more colorful, and less boxy around that area. That would bring more space to the kickdrum, and more variation to the synthwork. The kick could be more subby, but that might be my personal preference. The bass will sound alright on big systems.

Further into the track I noticed that it has more variation than your semi-finals entry. The break that comes around 01:35 is just at the right moment and the breakdown is really nicely arranged as well. Apart from that, I think the section before the breakdown comes in should have more automation for the listener to expect that a big break is coming. Other than that you did a great job.

Another thing which I want to mention is how nicely you’ve put the background elements such as the FMmy rising and the reverberated offbeat pads. They are carrying most of the atmospheric part of the track just nicely. Also those plucks? Sheesh!

Summa summarum. The track is really clean apart from the details I mentioned above. The loudness is just at the right spot. The synthwork is really well done. I just wish there was more movement on them to create more emotion and feelz (filter automation, reverb, delay), especially on the bassline. And the structure is a bit better than in your previous track. GJ!

-CRY

Sequenced responds:

There are a lot of atmospheric elements in the track so I fear a more subby track could be a problem.

I didn't really notice the resonance on my system or my car. I can check again.
the acid interfering with the kick could be a compression issue on the master, because it seemed OK on the mixdown.

[A Villager's Dream]

This is an official NGADM review

This is giving me some epic main theme vibes. I cant say i hate anything that has been added there and the overall piece sounds really professional.
The leitmotif in the track is really reminiscent of the soundtrack from the new Rings Of Power series. The section transitions from the moody to the upbeaty/happy ones just instantly remind me from the compositions in the Hobbit parts and I was surprised on how you can manage to compose those parts with the atmosphere being really similar. Few more tribal drums and youd have a perfect epic Hobbit theme, but I think it's for the better if you'll maintain the atmosphere a bit more unique. I'd personally love some ethno sounds thrown in to make the composition a bit more versatile.
The structure is rich, flowy and very smooth. As I said before i dig those transitions but I expected them more stretched out maybe? Some just play right away before I really start to enjoy the previous section and it might be better if those sections were more progressive. For example the part 00:54 has some very good potential but the next section came a bit to early for me.
The mixing is a part you really outdone yourself. Just tame few instruments like the shire flute or those huge crashes, they were unnecessarily loud. The overall composition sounds crystal clean:*

Wish you the best in this contest!

-CRY

Everratic responds:

Thank you for the detailed review!

I'm glad you noticed the inspiration from LoTR soundtracks. I watched the LoTR movies, RoP, and listened to some Hobbit themes within the past few months. You mentioned that the atmosphere is also similar, and there may an unexpected truth to that. I read on wikipedia that both the LoTR and RoP soundtracks were partly recorded in the "Air Lyndhurst" hall. That happens to be where most of the string libraries and percussion in this song were recorded. I purposely used distant mic positions to get that coveted hall sound.

I thought about adding some more ethnic sounds like a bagpipe but there were some technical complications and I dropped it.

I agree that some sections could be longer. I'll try to work on that next time.

The shire flute has over 8 different plugins trying to tame it and it's still not enough xD I'll try making the cymbals quieter next time, but I do like it loud so I'm not sure if I'll stick with it.