etherealwinds's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Alone]

Smooth like butter. I love this.

[🌆 #1: March '19 ~ Welcome!]

What a great addition to the community! :)

GroundsPatrol responds:

Thank you! Glad you see you joined the Discord!

[CURIOUS? LISTEN TO THIS FIRST]

Nice idea! :)

[The Ocean Path]

This is really beautiful! Check you out with all those awesome libraries! I love the soundscape you've created in this song and of course your choice of plugins and libraries is nice.

They're designed to be some of the most realistic on the market, but I think your track could definitely benefit with some more techniques to make the digital composition as instrumentally realistic as possible. One particular part that stands out for me is the string part at 0:45 (viola/violin?) - the individual notes all sound exactly the same volume and strength. Varying the dynamics of the individual notes, even slightly, will make it sound much more like a natural performance. If you imagine a string player bowing the notes, as the arm moves from right to left along the string, the force they use for a part might be very similar but never exactly the same for each note. The same with pressing the keys of a piano.

Other than that, the track is really interesting and very sweet. I love the vox! Keep making lovely music.

Followed!

siteml responds:

Thank you!
And oops, you caught me at my laziest - I usually don't forget to do that lately, especially with the more pronounced bits, but here it is, in full glory xD Guilty as charged haha. To my defense, I've been hellishly busy lately and trying to keep up with a lot of matters swirling about my head. So while I polished the other elements, I left the staccatos desiring a bit more :/ D'oh! I'll do my best to keep this in mind - people *do* notice! ;P

In all seriousness, glad you enjoyed this one :) And thanks for the follow! :D

[Until the end]

You compose lovely melodies, NiTi. I'm glad to have found your work! I like the vibes here. Some of the melodies feel a little buried in the mix, but the track is lovely nonetheless. I'd say the percussion is a bit too bassy, but perhaps that's just down to my own preference :)

Thanks for sharing such nice work.

TodukenMusic responds:

thanks again bro <3

[Golden Time]

This starts off beautifully. Gives me a Yoko Kanno vibe. I love the atmosphere you've shaped here and the mix sounds really nice. The very slight detune of the guitar gives quite a nostalgic feel which I enjoy.

The bass and the percussion sounds well mixed - packs a punch yet not too intense, and not lacking in any way.

Really great chorus too, kinda reminds me of Utada x Skrillex 'Face My Fears' from Kingdom Hearts (which is a compliment)! I actually think while this sounds nice instrumentally, it'd sound really great with some vox and lyrics too as a track.

I like the dynamics in the composition and all the variation. All the elements come together nicely and make sense in the context of the track. I love a great key change too, and that transition at 3:47ish was awesome and quite unique. You have a really interesting style that keeps me on my toes as a listener.

Fav'd & Followed! Great job, Toduken :)

TodukenMusic responds:

thanks for u feedback boi <3
I'm thinking to search a vocalist for this track, so, maybe can fit very well

[Phyrnna - Of Rainbows (Splatterhead Remix)]

This whole track sounds really sweet, I like it. The music box sound, with the strings and the piano sounds really pleasant. Though, starting at 1:50, the chords of the strings could benefit with a bit more clarity. It's quite hard to hear the individual notes played. :) The reverb on the percussion at 2:45 muddies up the mix a bit as well, as the only thing I can really hear clearly at this point is the music box, as it's sitting nicely in the frequencies.

I like the variation in the dynamics throughout the track and lot of the instrumental choices are quite nice! The brass at 3:12 onwards is slightly clipping on my end at times, though only a small amount. The fade-ins sound quite unnatural, but perhaps that was your intention :) it gives it less of a realistic sound and more experimental.

That's a really nice transition at 3:50! Haha I was just about to say I liked the birds tweeting, but realised I have my window open and can hear them from outside. That said, the atmosphere at this part is my favourite part of the track and leads onto a nice climax at 4:30. I like the addition of the choir on this part to build the dynamics of the piece up, but the strings still get a little lost in the mix.

Really enjoyed the outro! Very enigmatic.

Overall, quite a nice job with this and lots of things to enjoy about it :) great work SD!

[Fleeing the Storm]

I do enjoy a good weather related username and song title ^_~

Compositionally, it's really interesting and it's always nice to hear something more symphonic on NG. Some of the choices you made at 58s such as that long note might sound a bit more fitting with a different instrument, but I did enjoy that brass at 1:15 and the section that comes after this sounds very boss-battle theme. It somewhat reminds me of the track 'Heishin Duel' from the game Yu-Gi-Oh! Forbidden Memories with its level of intensity and style of composition, so I can definitely appreciate it on that level.

The entire composition is actually really interesting and on a purely compositional level, I can appreciate it as a composition draft as opposed to perhaps a final recording as imagining a live orchestra performing this, that would be an incredibly invigorating performance to experience. You make a lot of bold, confident choices in your composition like at 3:14 for example that sound pretty awesome in the context of the entire piece. I love the slow-down at 3:17 and that cello that comes in at 3:37 with the harmonic minor scale and that intense piano is great.

I kinda feel that the composition could perhaps benefit with a more developed climax > outro section. It ends on what feels like should be a climax section to me! I think it's because there's so much going on at the section at 2:39 that is really satisfying, then the song after that slows down and begins to rise again, but doesn't take me to that same level of activity that I'm almost led to expect. The part at 3:18 with the beating drums creates a feeling of tension that leaves me as a listener, waiting to hear where it's going to lead. I would personally have those drums slowly rise in tempo around the 4:18 mark to lead and inject more energy somewhere into the end of that 4:38 part to develop it into a climax, but of course that's just me. I love that shift in tempo, and there are many things in this composition I would never think to do myself.

Probably one of the most interesting compositions I've heard in a while - Fav'd :)

[Wind]

This composition reminds me a lot of Johann Sebastian Bach's 'Ave Maria' melodically! I can't figure out if the (I assume) feedback from the reverb is satisfying or distracting. It's certainly interesting and it's not unpleasant, and I like the way it spreads across the sonic field, but when there's a lot going on, it can become a bit distracting. The drum also seems a bit out of place and doesn't necessarily fit rhythmically. It could do with being quantised so that it fits exactly to the beat, which I think might improve it.

Overall, this song has a very relaxed and ambient feel and could be a 5 star with a few tweaks!

[Pear-ish]

The composition is pretty good in most of its elements. Strong rhythm, dynamic structure, nice synths and a nice retro feel to it; very sega megadrive. The overall track is just very quiet! The waveform looks like a thin string. Everything could do with being turned up by quite a bit. :)

nice work otherwise!