LaymanLove's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[-=LJC=- Genre Invasion]

Where am I?

I'm diggin the great choice in sounds as well as the very professional arrangement. These are things that are hard to make sound realistic, and you did just that. Bravo!

To be more constructive, I was trying to place this in a movie scene and for some reason, my mind jumped to an Asian marketplace...you know drawn carts, gypsies, the whole shibang. But you know where I wanted to go next? To the King's castle where tragedy is about to strike...I would love for this to open up into a fully orchestrated and heart wrenching sob piece. Maybe I'm just depressed. Haha, great piece anyway.

LL

LJCoffee responds:

Thanks LL - I seem to be getting a few comments about an asian feel - I never intended that but hey, it's all good - of course my g/f asked if I was going through some kind of Tim Burton phase - I didn't intend that either...

I actually have a "fully orchestrated and heart wrenching sob piece" that I wrote forever and a day ago- long before I even got a pc but I just simply cannot get it to sound right - something just isn't translating very well - I'll send you a copy when I finally get it the way I want it.

Talk to you later!

BTW - I still haven't forgotten about your flick - I'm just shiftless from time to time... :D

[psycho storm]

Owahooooo

Wow! That was really cool. Never really heard anything like it. Can I get a better quality one?

What a great Spring Break song! Haha.

Great mixing of electronic and acoustic sounds.

And no I will NOT turn down the bass.

Peace,
LL

Oh, I 4'd it (though it deserves a 5) for you because it was only a matter of time before some asshole came and 0'd it from its top spot. In the future, it's usually good to wait to 5 your song...at least until someone else votes on it. Later bro!

E7H4NF responds:

thanks man, youll be hearing a lot more of it !later

[Urban Color]

oh wow

This piece is extremely relaxing. I could use a whole cd of this. Is that a real quitar? If not, what a great sound! Not to take away from your great phrasing and mixing.

I always get so involved in trying to write a chorus hook and difference parts for a song that I often loose sight of music's most fascinating phenomenon...improv. You do it so well! Congratulations on such a great talent.

Peace,
LL

ps thanks for the review!

No1r responds:

As you saw i like your music very much :)
Thanks goes to you for this review!

Bye!

[Tome - Evo - The Ocean]

The aural ocean...

The production of this piece really stands out among most of the other orchestral crap on this website. It might be because I'm thinking of it as video game music, but who cares.

What I really like is the all-surrounding aural ambience that your choir patches create. You utilized them very well and it seems you were able to side step the often cheesy sounds they exhibit.

Again sound design continues to be your strength and I think is the single strongest factor that sets this arrangement apart. Good job mixing the bells and violins (whiny sounding as they are) for the melody

Your ability to mix a complex orchestral arrangement is the second factor that sets this apart. With headphones on and eyes closed, I am sitting in the middle of a virtual digital symphony.

I can't really find anything I don't like...so screw you for that. It would be a travesty if this piece was not used in a flash and was lost in obscurity.

On a non-musical note, pieces like this really won't get you anywhere if you don't actually have a symphony orchestra to perform it for you. Even video games now adays are moving to the real thing. Oh well...good work anyway Tome.

Peace,
LL

Out of curiosity, do you have me bookmarked too? :P jk

Tome89 responds:

LaymanLove.
You are the first member of a fan base I hope to see growing. For your creative and fair (but still idealic) reviewing, I'm repaying you the best I can. Reviewing ain't my strong side :/ since I'm a hard critic and rather discrouaging with my 3-7 scores instead of 5=bad and 10=good... I'm bookmarking you in my upcoming flash game instead. 'bout that?

When I made this track, I had no idea what you might be thinking about after submitting, since you started a thread about originality and we really strangeled the usage of samples. And I go make an orchestral piece.

I do not have a single idea of how to bookmark you, sorry...

I'm very proud of this track. Especially the Glockenspeil/Solo Violin duo. Sounds cute... And when the choir comes in... It sounds a little russian (lol) but very okay, very film-score-ish.
Made from a game that never got the attention it deserved. I love Evo. One of the most original games ever.

But I'm not sure anybody will make an Evo flash... Would really love to see it, yep...

Your reviews are freaking long.

Many thanks for your review, and (probarbly not needed) please keep listening!

^^

Tome

[Lost in the futures city]

doo doo doo

I see this is your first auio submission in a while. I really like the beat. I love ambient music and I think you have a good ear.

Therefore, I've come to the conclusion that you should continue to be creative musically, expand your abilities and post on NewGrounds more often!

See ya round?

LL

Oh, I'm off to go check out some of your flash.

[Northstar]

I can...I can see it....the...NORTHSTAR!!!!

I love the ambience of this track. And I don't care what you do to it to make it final, DONT change the name! 'Northstar' fits the feel of this ambient-trance perfectly. I've always felt that music should be geared towards evoking a certain emotion rather than sounding just like the last "HIT" track.

Man, I'm really enjoying this one. It has a much different feel than everything else on the trance page. I absolutely LOVE your sound design. your timing is impecable and everything that happens here helps bring me to the emotional pinnacle of this song.

Really well done job with this. I have no technical suggestions or comments this time...I'm too busy enjoying. Thanks dude!

LL

[Zion-The Light at the End]

good sound but...

Saw you in the audio ads. I'm going to start by saying trance is very hard. Because by nature it is so repetitive and generic, it is hard to make a track stand out.

Having said that, this track has the sophistocation and production quality of someone with experience. You use automation in the right places, you seem to work with your sounds...unless you use premade loops in which case, I scold you >:( Good builds and arrangement.

The problem I see here is that there is nothing to differentiate this track from any of the other throusands in the trance section.

You obviously have some talent and I would use it to do something with more ingenuity. However, if trance is your passion and you enjoy it, more power to ya!

Peace,
LL

I hate self-advertising in reviews, but we both have new tracks today. Wanna do mine? :)

The-XI responds:

Thanks for the review, and no, i didnt use premade loops :P I despise those.

And, don't worry man, i already hooked you up with a review :)

Thanks again!

[Khuskan - Generic Menu Music]

sniff, sniff....can you smell it?!!

Ahhhhhhhhhhhhh nothing like a fresh batch of generic on Sunday morning. Thanks Khuskan! ;-) *bling!*

LL

Khuskan responds:

I'm dissapointed, 2 days and no flash using it yet? This is not the desired effect.

[Jazz u up (with actual sound)]

get it!!!

Again, you really piece different parts together really well! Unfortunately you are using MIDI sounds...what a sin!!! You have a great ear for writing music and a good feel for a beat, but your production could use some work.

For example...again, no panning, automation or use of effects. And for God's sake please do yourself a favor and get yourself a keyboard with some good samples (you can't go wrong with any korg).

Keep jamming man!

LL

WinTang responds:

I'm buying one!! I'm buying one now!
I'll reissue this with some awesome piano playing, you wait and see!

[Start another dance (2:21)]

hmmm

I like the energy of this piece. You have some good parts that work well together but the mastering is horrible. There is no clarity and it is clipping reeeeally bad. There is little to no use of panning.

I saw you in the "Originality" thread, and I'm curious, did you write your own parts, or are these downloaded samples? If they are yours, this song has some serious potential after a good remixing/mastering. What program(s) are you using?

Peace!
LL

WinTang responds:

Thanks a lot for your review.

I use Impulse Tracker 2.14 for most of my songs. Aside from the obvious Prodigy samples, I put the whole thing together myself with separate samples for bass drum, hi-hat, snares, etc. If you're curious how I did it and happen to have that program, I can send you the original file if you want.

I do have a problem with mastering. I don't exactly know how it works in IT and besides that, I have no clue what would need to be done. I can hear there's no clarity but what causes it is beyond my grasp. Any tips?