damifortune's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Median Way (AIM 2023)]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

this track makes me feel awash in a great, complicated, otherworldly maze for sure; not necessarily in the complexity of the track itself but the mood coming from the open 4th/5th harmonies, long reverbs, and plucky, warm synthy textures. it's a cool fit with the artwork you chose, which i think most reminds me of megaman battle network geometrically? which, incidentally, the rhythms of your track also feel geometric, with lots of parts focusing on shapes of 1 bar or 2 beats etc. it captures a world unlike our own, and the feeling of being within it, all while remaining a groovy, catchy, easy-to-get-into song. i think this one's really great! just enough going on and just enough detail in the soundscape to keep things interesting without feeling too loopy.

[Necroswamp Abomination]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

when i'm playing dark souls or its related games, i often find that i am so intensely focused on the boss fights that i barely even notice the music that's playing, so when i look it up later, i discover all this depth of detail i would've never picked up while i was playing the game. this feels a whole heck of a lot like what i'd find there - dense, busy orchestration, big stabs and swells, and an epic, cinematic atmosphere. it's killer! super fitting with the art you chose as inspiration. i sense that you've written "multiple phases" into the piece; the transition about halfway through into the second phase does feel a little abrupt and awkward, i think mostly because of how different the tempo and rhythm are there. there's so many moving parts active on both sides of the transition - perhaps this is why the transition into the final theme in the last minute of the song works a lot better, as it pares back to strings and a bit of supporting percussion to bridge the gap. overall, this feels super authentic to me; i would not be the least bit surprised to encounter this track in an action rpg boss fight, and that's 100% the vibe of the artwork too. great stuff.

[AIM - sweat]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

a cheerful midtempo synthy jam - i was a bit surprised to catch this kind of mood from a song about a workout image, but i think it works pretty well with the cute, cartoony, pixelly style of the characters and scene; like i'm imagining this as a scenario in a kitschy, anime-like rpg like Grandia and suddenly it fits perfectly. the driving rhythm of the vocal samples also helps to bring home the theme. the energy level of the track stays basically the same the whole time, which from a musical perspective i might prefer some breaks or some crescendos or some extra variation, but again with respect to the workout theme, it works! interestingly it appears like the track is clipping quite a lot but i don't actually hear it - thought it was worth mentioning that it might be good to keep a limiter on it though. the ending effect of drowning the song in reverb is neat; i wish it didn't cut off at the end lol, it'd be maximally satisfying to hear it fade down to nothing. but yeah, overall i think this is a really solid take on the artwork you chose. it's cute and fun!

[AIM - Moments In Life]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

what a pretty, serene, understated little piece! love this emotional harmonic language and all those heart-wrenching little moments in the melodies when they go up high... and the key change! really nice. one thing that's kind of notable is the whole instrumentation sorta occupies the midrange and mid-high range. being so lacking in the low end, it could've been a powerful moment to use that in the piano for a climax or something; but there's nothing wrong with the structure here either, just a thought about the chosen instruments. to me, the music feels somewhat more somber than i would expect from the bright, fanciful fields of adventure in the artwork you chose, but it is also peaceful and serene, and i can still envision a context where this would work well, especially with regard to the feelings of the two characters depicted. regardless, this is some solid writing!

AceMantra responds:

Thank you for the review and the kind words! I'll be sure to take your advice into consideration for my future pieces.

[ninetek]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

really enjoying the slow build of this one, the idm-oriented rhythms and percussion, the glitchier textures, and the colorful modal harmony. enough new ideas and sections get introduced over time that the long length of the track feels justified, and it all holds together nicely. kinda reminds me of modern 65daysofstatic at times. it does feel a bit like abstract music for abstract art, which i can dig, though i'm curious if there was anything specific you wanted to convey in the process; but at the base level, the artwork seems like it could be the cover of an idm album, and so i'm not really finding it at odds with the art you chose or anything. it's a solid abstract track!

Hyenaedon responds:

Thanks so much 4 the review!

Yeah basically i was not at a point where i could come up with a more solid or story-oriented song and decided to go the more abstract route with a neat piece i found in the art portal. It did strike me immediately as looking like an IDM album cover, reminded me of Confield/Draft 7.30 by Autechre's cover.

As for conveying something, i think in my mind at the time it was something along the lines of this merging or 'takeover' of nature by technology if you will. The single 'mountain' in the art and the sort of softer wool materials kinda contrasted with the rest of the angular stuff and sorta got the ball rolling there. I do find it fun to come up with more complicated themes or ideas thru the music, but sometimes its also just a vibe you feel haha.

Also, i have never heard 65daysofstatic before so i gotta check them out

Glad you liked it! Thanks again for the review!

[AIM - Final Frontier]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

i like the blippy aux percussion noises and background textures, which feel like the most 'spacey' thing in the tune as far as thinking about the artwork goes. overall, the tune feels immediate, close-to-home, warm and friendly, which are not things i'd immediately associate with a vista of stars and planets, though of course it's pleasing to listen to. maybe some bigger, longer pad sounds and some drumless (or even tempoless) segments could broaden the sense of space here. something you have down nicely is reworking a melodic motif as a sequence to be used again with different pitches or to be taken in a different direction. though they could stand to repeat a little less, i sense life in your melodies.

i'd love to hear some extra detail in the supporting parts, especially the harmonies; both giving them more of a direction/arc (vs sorta wandering up and down around the same space) and more rhythmic detail. a lot of this song is very "on the downbeat, every downbeat"; some more push and pull would be great, especially over the course of five minutes. the texture could vary (short vs held notes, for one thing), the speed and rhythm could both vary (parts of the phrase where you wait longer to change chords or accelerate the speed to build tension), and for that matter, building into some denser, more dissonant harmonies and then resolving them could also give phrases more of a satisfying overall path (vs as it stands, it feels like most of the chords used carry the same weight). as it stands, this song sits at around the same energy level the whole time, and because there's not a lot of introduced rhythmic or harmonic tension, it can only ultimately feel a bit static and unfocused. that's where i could see some room for improvement here!

TebyTheCat responds:

I'm happy that the enjoyment and dedication I put into my melodies reached outed to you!
About the harmonies (and this is something I'll def put in my descriptions in the future), my thought process was that to reach an "alien/space" feel I should steer away from your typical chord progressions like II-V-I or anything tonal for that matter which is why I went with a modal chord progression filled with a bunch of borrowed chords to have a feeling of never landing floatiness and constant awe through out the song.
As for the rhythmic progression, at the time of composing the song it didn't bother me, but I do understand how it can sound stale since it really stays the same throught out the song, I'll keep that in mind and make sure to explore more rhythmic variations in my future works, thanks!

[Magical Rupture [AIM 2023]]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

wow, this gets really huge! the task of taking on such a monumental event as depicted in the artwork you chose seems like a difficult one, but this feels fitting, all the way from the initial cinematic ambience of the rupture itself to the chaos in its wake to ensuing melodic section that has a bit of a 'fantasy' bent, pairing nicely with the magical facets of the art. i liked the additional harsh transition to the soft section at the end too; it's sudden but powerful. i think it really works! it's thoughtfully programmatic, but it also seems to have an interesting standalone narrative arc without that context too. a lot packed into three minutes!

[AIM 2023 - World Code Destruction]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

the mood here is excellent and super fitting - boss fight was a great direction to take this one, because the focus on the character in the artwork you chose is so prominent and they look so powerful and ready to fight... the red/black/white color scheme too evokes that combative, destructive feeling. there's a lot of texture going on in the track, between the breakbeats, all the quick stuttery notes, and the many kinds of synths, and i feel like that's analogous to the more abstract parts of the art, where there's lots of little designs and splotches and lines all over the place. i dig it!

i sort of see this as a multi-phase boss fight, yeah? there's a bunch of distinct sections that jump into one another fairly abruptly, and it borders on being too abrupt at times but overall i do think it's held together pretty well by the breakbeat & otherwise busy, active drums as well as the heady mix. (the highs in the mix also threaten to be too sharp and resonant but honestly you're kinda making it work, lol, i really stopped noticing it as i got into the tune.) there's some melodic parts that i think could benefit from shaping a little more thoughtfully, like the arpeggio patterns especially, but even just some of the lead synths - thinking on more of a macro level, giving them overall direction, might help level them up a bit. but what's here already is really delightful, you have so many cool ideas and they come together for an ultimately quite convincing tune and take on the artwork.

[AIM - Shark Dude Shanty]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

woohoo, this kind of super melodic oom-pah rhythm music is something i've surprisingly not really heard in the compo, and i'm really happy to run across it. starting out feeling a bit of that quirky banjo-kazooie/grant kirkhope type harmony and lilt, but then it picks up into full metal mode too, which is delightful; and the way those two things interweave is excellent and convincing. this tune has so much character, it's hard not to smile while listening. not only is the 'sea shanty' idea obviously well-fitting to the artwork you chose, but giving it a dark, heavy, stormy bent seems fitting to the atmosphere around this grizzled shark seafaring veteran. i'm very much picking up those decisions you put down. the melody and phrases have great shaping, and sections build into one another in a smooth way. great work, wow!

CrossCarrasco responds:

Thanks for listening! And thank you for the feedback and kind words

[Melancholy Hill - Change (AIM 2023)]

(disclaimer: AIM judge review here! these are just my opinions and thoughts, you can take from them whatever you like! music is subjective and all that. <3)

so much to love about all the guitar parts here - the gorgeous clean intro, the polyrhythms of the riffing, the occasional changeups in effects or chordal phrases, the shifts in tone. feels like you've got all that stuff down pat, and they all add up to a nicely paced tune filled with change but flowing naturally. the field recordings are also a nice touch for both adding some extra emotion to the tune and for calling back to the artwork you chose, this beautiful nature landscape full of contrast and turmoil.

one thing i thought was interesting here is how high-passed the drums sound - if there were more of a bass presence in the song it might be less apparent, but overall i thought that region felt a bit lacking. keeping them out of the way of the more prominent instruments does make sense but i expected something stronger down below if it's not the kick doing work. the rest of the mix sounds quite nice, again with the guitar front-and-center that's obviously drawing the most attention, and rightfully so. it rocks. definitely a cool take on the storm - it's here and then it's gone, and life goes on.

BBaNK responds:

You made my day Dami, thank you very much!