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ErikMcClure

151 Audio Reviews

99 w/ Responses

This is simply beyond my ability to criticize, if there is anything wrong with this, I can't find it. I don't know how you can write music like this so quickly, it boggles my mind. Despite the time crunch, I noticed that you managed to put in a ton of very subtle instrument effects that really give it an organic, natural feel. The little flutter on the strings at 2:15 is incredible attention to detail that I would never have thought of.

Lordant responds:

I'm glad you've noticed it :D Thanks a lot again!

Um, wow.

I am struggling to process how incredible this song is. You effortlessly blend a wide range of instruments together seamlessly, in ways I can only possibly compare with the legendary Thomas Bergersen.

The singular piece of advice I can give is at 1:11, where it seems like the violin attack doesn't have the same latency compensation the other instruments do, so it's a bit off beat. But that should be an easy fix.

Lordant responds:

Thanks a lot, I appreciate it! Thomas Bergersen is one of the composers whose works inspire me, so that's actually wonderful to hear.

As for complaint you've mentioned. I didn't notice it back while I was finishing the song, as I wrote that section quickly. Now I relistened it, and I agree that there is potential for improvement, will fix it after the adm, if I have enough time and desire

I think the mixing here could be better, but the song itself has a lot of momentum. Good work!

CloakedSoup responds:

Yeah, for sure. I barely managed to finish writing it today and most of the mixing was done while I tried to finish the music in time for the competition! haha

Oof, I tried to put some orchestral flourish in my dnb song but it's nothing compared to this. You have a superb grasp on how to use subtle instrumentation to craft a particular mood. Gonna be hard to compete with this :U

This is a great song, with excellent sound design work and fantastic use of different instruments to create an evolving soundscape. My only suggestion would be to bring in the melodies a bit earlier, as second minute of the song has no melodic support. Other than that, great work!

CloudUmbrella responds:

yep,I'll take your advice

This is a really great melodic trance song, although I think the overall sound design here is much more simplistic than in your other songs. Combine this song with the great synth work in Moonbow and you'll be unstoppable :D

CloudUmbrella responds:

omg!It's my honor to be evaluated by you!thanks!

This is a fantastic trance song, and I scouted you for the audio portal, because this should have way more than 16 views. You have a superb grasp of soundscape design (probably exceeding mine), but I think you could use a better melodic hook and a stronger harmony instead of relying on the admittedly fantastic synth design.

CloudUmbrella responds:

Yeah,For this piece, I did not use very colorful chords, just pay attention to the use of synthesizers. When I released this song a while ago, sorry, before I uploaded this song it was in October last year, but it was only uploaded to Newgrounds a few days ago, so I feel like it's missing something soulful. However, thank you for your comments and feedback!

The overall soundscape in this song is very good, but I think your leads need some improvement. They all seem to be in the background of the song, and a lot of them seem very plain. I'd either add some release envelope, reverb, or delay to them. I think a lot of them would benefit from pitch modulation on the tail end of the notes to give them a more organic feeling.

Also, I'm going to whine about your kick too :3 Your kick has more presence than mine, but it seems to be missing some very low bass frequencies.

The synth you have around 5:00 is just a raw saw wave with a filter on it and it sounds very cheesy. Most of the other synths seem fine, so this is really out of place.

In general I'd suggest trying to work on the repetitive nature of the song, because your melody is only about 16 bars long, and that just isn't long enough to repeat over and over and over, not without significant variation. You might be able to give it a boost by adding a secondary melody on top of it, or possibly a counter melody. I really like the drumbs at the last leg of the song, though.

ArcaneSoul responds:

thank you for the feedback man. I actually appreciate it :)

So as for the leads, unfortunately i kind of get into the habit of using presets which i really need to stop. most of the time i at least try to edit major parts of the presets though. Sound design has always been a particularly hard point for me since i can never just get whats in my head onto the vst/software/etc. Like for example, i would of made a sort of sparkly sounding lead for this but how does one get that kind of icy feel? Sure delay and reverb helps but i tend to avoid that unfortunately. i worry too much about mudding the mix.

I'm quite surprised to not see much about the mastering in this since thats always been a point ive worried about alot. You are right though, the kick is a little weak too.

Not much else i can agree or argue here. Most of the stuff you pointed out has been long term problems i have with songs. Generic leads, repetative parts, its almost a habit. Even then though, thanks a ton for the review and like i said. Please keep doing what you're doing man :)

Of all the NGADM songs, this one has the best intro, and I would argue that the intro and the quiet part at 1:40 are the strongest parts of this song. The rest is a good attempt at action-ish music, but isn't quite as well executed as the quieter parts. I really like the ideas the song explores, but I'm pretty sure time-constraints prevented you from really effectively exploring them. I kind of want to try and remix this song myself just to try and get closer to what you were shooting for.

TheBenjerman responds:

Feel free to remix!

Not really an attempt at action-ish music, I was aiming at that totally-overblown kind of style that you get in the main titles of action flicks, but I didn't quite hit that either.

And yeah, I had about a day to write this and if I had had more time after I got back to my studio I would have done some things differently, but I stand by it anyway!

Send me a link if you do remix. ;)

I have no idea what this song is about, but I LIKE IT. I do think the guitar is a tad harsh, though.

SourJovis responds:

Thank you. I'll look at the guitar. Maybe reduce some of the high frequencies, or do something about the distortion, but still have it stand out.

Angry Programmer Bunny

Erik McClure @ErikMcClure

Age 33, Male

Software Architect

University of Washington

Fundament 🜂 Software

Joined on 9/21/06

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