damifortune's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[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!

[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!

[(AIM) Ryzmik - "Aztec Reaper"]

(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 is a very cool mixture of sounds - everything comes together for a really interesting and engaging full soundscape. big fan of the high flute part and the blend of acoustic and electronic percussion. the wobbles and general aggression of the sound feel like they lend themselves to the, uh, spikiness? of the character, and having so many elements together feels kinda abstractly synchronized with their ostentatiousness, the full regalia of their getup. musically i liked that there were sections focusing on different parts of the instrumentation, like the segment in the middle with drums and strings; it would've been fatiguing for the whole song to be so huge but things are paced out in what feels like an appropriate way. an effective and interesting track imo!

Ryzmik responds:

Thank you very much for the review! but that missing star must mean something, right?
Regardless, I'm glad that you found the instruments/synths interesting and thinking about the structure was kind of tough, but I came up with the need to make some relaxed parts after all the banging drums.

[Deep Sinker]

(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 gorgeous piano piece - the rubato and the way you play around with the theme makes this feel pseudo-improvised and super expressive. i love the rich harmony and the use of different registers at different points (especially when it goes up high!).

there are a lot of points where i think the deep reverb and delay effects are a nice touch, like when there is less motion and they really have the space for that breath to be taken. they can really be appreciated at moments like that. but on the other hand, when the motion picks up, when there's arpeggiations in the lower registers, it gets quite muddy quite fast, and the ability to really hear all that delicate piano writing is greatly diminished. maybe there's a balance to be struck somewhere in the middle, or some automation to reduce its prevalence at the muddier points, or a high-pass/lo-cut on just the fx. i wouldn't want them to be gone entirely, because they are not only a wonderful texture but also lend the song its watery mood that pairs so nicely with the artwork inspiration you chose. which, incidentally, is so emotional! it's a poignant take on quite a poignant scene. regardless of the periodic muddiness, this is so pretty, and i appreciate the detail in your piano writing. was a lot of this liveplayed? if it was sequenced, it's all the more impressive!

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Pretty much all of my piano tends to be fully live-played! Depending on how much time I've had to practice/record, I fix some errors in post, at times. The production (piano sounds/effects) I tend to do later.

That means, I first wrote this without any of the effects. I agree it was difficult to find a perfect balance between the "clean" version and the atmospheric effects. There are pros and cons to the decisions I made, so I see your point. Thanks for sharing your ideas! I will do my best to bear them in mind :)

[Sin Tiempo (AIM CONTEST 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)

very cool choices on how to portray the day/night dichotomy shown in the artwork you chose as inspiration! it's such a striking feature of the original art and you found a good way to convey that dynamically without it even seeming abrupt from a full-song perspective; in fact it's paced quite well, with the nighttime section being a nice reprieve before the "intense" variation. love the distorted production in that part too - deliciously crunchy without being overpowering! a lot of this reminds me aesthetically and harmonically of celeste's soundtrack, which is similarly dynamic. really well done game BGM, i would gladly play the game this is soundtracking! maybe the *only* thing that stands out to me is that i wouldn't necessarily expect this to be a "desert area" theme; not that you have to play into tropes at all or anything, but the music is busy, energetic, it feels like there's probably a lot going on in this hypothetical level. but of course, we're talking hypotheticals here, so it could just as easily make a fitting soundtrack in the right game context. that's just a small disparity i sense between the artwork and this (excellent) song, despite how thematic the music itself is vs. the central split between day and night.

ZagyBoi responds:

THIS IS SUCH A HUGE COMPLIMENT OMG THANK YOU. Celeste is what started my musical journey 4 years ago and is still a huge inspiration for me. I love Lena Raine's music!

[Lunar Deity (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)

the core bass and percussion groove here is simply addictive; sounds great, irresistible to nod one's head along to, and really well-balanced. the ambience of the intro was also really cool! the opening sfx sounded sort of like being in a menu in a game?

good choices in the harmonic progression too; that plus the woozy synths that portamento around gives off the necessary "spacey" vibe to match with the artwork you chose. and it's funky enough to pair with the bright, psychedelic, colorful style of the art too. this one in particular is fairly abstract and not the easiest to interpret in music imo; lots of room to explore, but also not simple to convey. i think you landed in a nice spot with it though!

i think there might be just a little room to explore some more variation in the phrases and harmony from time to time, like a "related but contrasting" B-section with a new idea; and depending on where it's deployed, it might help the pacing of the track ease into and out of the enormity of its main section. nothing wrong with how you've done it, but it feels like there's two modes, big and small, and they hit or go away immediately. even just a hair more finesse on those transitions would elevate this track even higher, imo!

Jatmoz responds:

Thank you for the in-depth review!!

[AIM - Elegy to a Fallen Star]

(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 atmosphere of this piece is absolutely spot-on; the mood, the ambience, the textures, the pacing. all of it pretty strongly conveys this feeling of being isolated in the middle of an enormous sea. there's so many slow, undulating swell sounds, which is a nice touch that mimics the motion of waves/tides (even aside from the actual wave recordings), and they provide a really nice support to the simple melancholy piano harmonies. the way this song builds naturally to a crescendo almost without you even noticing is some sick finesse on your part! six minutes go by incredibly fast here honestly.

i think this music portrays the artwork you chose very well and clearly; though there is also potential for a slightly brighter take overall when considering the bright midday lighting and the presence of a boat, i think this is an excellent take on the subject and it is thoughtfully arranged and paced. great work!

ForgottenDawn responds:

Thanks for your review!