cyan11's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Indigo Soup]

This was a very intriguing piece of music! You took a very simple chord progression and varied it with different instruments and percussion. My favorite parts are the ones with the stringed instruments and I also really love the drums and beats. I'd say you're onto something here, my only criticism is the lack of variation in the main chord progression (you can vary it in many ways, add a chorus, change the octave, change the notes, etc), but other than that, nice track!
Cheers,
-Glenn

[Runa - Dareon (Orchestral/Electro)]

Really digging the piano intro. Then the strings come in and this gets EPIC! I also mlike the retro synths. So far this seems like a very well-written piece of music. Then it goes into the dub, not my usual pref but it sounds good. The gating adds a nice touch and the melodies are great. You've varied this song with different instruments = good. I'm not a huge fan of the synth guitar, but that's my pref. I'm really digging the vibe of this track. Production sounds good and tight, according to my ears. My favorite parts are with the retro synths. And you nailed the outro with the piano returning. OK so the only thing I didn't like was the guitar synth but that can always be replaced. Other than that, stellar track! 5/5
Cheers,
-Glenn

[RELAX]

This begins with a lush swelling pad that sounds beautiful. Then another pad on top of that adds emotion. The first pad reminds me of sea waves, the second adds a certain beautiful melancholy to the mix. then the pads start to cut out into the background, in the distance, and slowly make their way back to a swell and then a fadeout. Thoughts: I love the emotion in the first half of the piece, I'm hearing a little 'artifact' in the second half, like the volume transitions are not too smooth. Maybe I'm using the wrong word. Basically the transitions jump from one volume to another, without smoothing (not sure if this is what you intended). But other than that very nice ambient piece. Kudos,
-Glenn

dj-steve-francis responds:

Hi thanks for you input i please you like this i am making the music for my 432hz relax albums 10 in total and all world wide
Most will fit into the aromatherapy markets
And good for sync
I am on the album 3 and just Finnish 432hz relax 4
Getting there
Steve Francis

[Nedg - JWH4]

I like the intro pad that comes in at increasing volume, then the mood gets dark..I like it! This is actually really cool. It's kind of a dark-ambient-downtempo-house type thing. Stylistically, it's a gem. The breakdown is cool, like icicles, very treble-ey. Then, ghost-like voices come in over the main melody. This kind of has a darkwave feel to it, and I love dark synthwave. The outro is icicles again. Nice track! You've earned your next fan. Kudos,
-Glenn

Nedg responds:

thx so much! 🙏

[Edge of Delight]

ok from the top - I love the intro. Beat comes in, synths fading in, a bit of dissonance, has a nice club vibe, I can see people dancing to this late at night. It has a beauty to it actually. Kind of melancholy, slightly dark but also hopeful, not total despair. Coming to the breakdown - so far the main melody hasn't changed, but it's good so I don't mind. Let's see what the third movement has in store for us... do I hear a new synth? I love it. now there's a counter-melody. Really tight production here as well. I'm curious to see if this blows up. So far, a nice groove. Overall thoughts - Really swell piece, I'd like to see a change in the beat but once again I'm not too familiar with the genre so maybe that doesn't really happen in house music. But I liked it a lot! Kudos
-G

DJ-Cassell responds:

Your reviews are amazing! It shows how you truly listen to peoples work. Happy you enjoyed it and thank you for the great review! :D

[Pandemonium]

I enjoyed this. I like the beat with the 7/4 time signature. Production is good, just could use a mastering/compression to make it louder. Composition is good as well. I also like the ambient touches. Overall I like it, just is in need of a good mastering.

SharpenedSwords responds:

Thanks for the feedback! :)

[To My Love]

I LOVE this!! gives me a Japanese video game composer vibe, Like Uematsu or Mitsuda. Beautiful song

[Vehemence]

Killer riff! Nice front-page. You definitely got guitar skills. Wish I could play like this. And the song is well-written too! good structure. Too bad you didn't get to submit to the competition, but this is really solid. This definitely reminds me of some contemporary hard rock. Actually, it reminds me of the hard rock I listen to, like 90's/early 2000's. The production quality is really good too as far as I can tell. Noice! Cheers -Glenn

FarFromSundown responds:

Thank you so much man! I really consider myself a mediocre guitar player tho tbh. After 20+ years of playing, there's still so much I've slacked off on haha. Thank you for listening!

[Adrift]

Love the melancholy in the melody. Beat is chill, waiting for the song to evolve.........it seems not to evolve much but the tune is catchy enough so that I don't overly mind. Wait, a new synth comes in late in the song. It sounds nice, albeit a bit subdued. The end is quasi-abrupt, I feel like the piece is beautiful but never comes to a full actualization. Great melody writing though. I just can see this going to much higher places. But that's the beauty of music, you can always come back to this piece to improve on it. I've revisited some of my works 4-5 times over the course of a decade. This one's special, definitely come back to it at some point. Cheers, -|Glenn 4/5

StardustTunes responds:

Thank you very much for the kind words and constructive criticism! I didn't notice it ended that abruptly so I fixed it, thanks for pointing it out. You made a lot of valid points and I'll definitely keep your words in mind.

[Till Dawn]

OK so I'm not really into techno but good music is good music so I'll be objective, as all reviewers should be. I'd say right off the bat the music fits the genre, so you're good there. I like the bass lead and the layering, the breakdown is interesting, good arp action there, and the mood elevation is also good. Then we get back to the beat and main song. I'd say this track has to be listened to LOUD to get the full effect. Closing is ok, if not a little underwhelming with just the kick-snare, kick-snare. So I'd say this is good, but I think it could have used a stronger melody and another lead synth. But then again I don't know too much about the genre so take what I say with a grain of salt. People can dance and trance to this, which I guess is what techno is about. Final thoughts: not my cup of tea, but not bad either. I'm just afraid I won't remember this track because there wasn't a melody or counter-melody that stood out to me. Just my humble thoughts. 4/5

DJ-Cassell responds:

Thank you for still listening and reviewing even though this isn't your kind of music. It means a lot, really! I realized, after I posted it, that the mix was definitely very bass heavy and therefore felt loud when you turn it up to hear the whole spectrum properly. So I have definitely learned my lesson there haha. The outro was kinda bland because I wanted to go with a classic "dj outro", which is a type of intro/outro used in dance music to make it easier for dj's to mix from one song to another. That way there won't be any clashing melodies or different keys. Just straight up kick and snare. Anyway, I will keep your criticism with me as I produce down the road :)