etherealwinds's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kids]

This is such a solid track. I can hear this playing on the radio. I'm getting a bit of a Mika vibe from this track which I'm happy about. It's so nice to hear a fresh track that's so well done. The mixing is really nice too. There's something about this track that to me, sounds more like a demo of a great pop song, rather than the finished radio version you would hear, and I can't put my finger on it. I'm trying to work out if the drums are sequenced, or played live?

Seriously though, this is great! I'll keep sharing it around and thanks LunacyEcho for showing this to me! You got yourself a new fan.

McGorilla42 responds:

Gosh, more positive reception for this song. Thank you so much. I think the reason it doesn't sound super polished and isn't radio ready is that my mixing skills aren't too amazing yet and also, my equipment is incredibly basic. There's a picture of my "studio" (read: bedroom) near the bottom of this page: http://www.newgrounds.com/bbs/topic/1420137/2 So my acoustics are horrid, I don't have any fancy plugins and I'm still learning and trying to get better with each song.

As for the drums - they're definitely sequenced but I tried to create a natural-ish sound with pseudo-overhead "mics" (just a track with all the drums on it, EQ'd with some reverb I think?) :) Glad it sounds vaguely convincing!

Thanks again, etherealwinds! You're yet another great composer on this site so hearing positive words from you is motivating :) Keep well!

[Dust Sweeper]

hey man :)

I've not really heard your other stuff (i'll amend that today) but compositionally, this is really nice. I see what you're trying to go for and I think you were definitely successful.

I love the part at 2:46, switching it up a little which is always nice! I love your tempo changes. What microphone are you using to record your vocals? I'm not sure if it's your mixing or not, but your voice sounds a little muffled in the mix in my opinion. If it's just that you're using a lower quality mic, then I'll let you off ;)

You have a very nice voice. Glad to hear you pushed yourself this round. This is a strong track - good luck!

LunacyEcho responds:

Hey, etherealwinds! Thanks for dropping by! :D

=> composition =>

Glad to see it worked out! Especially to see that you liked 2:46—I was considering removing the section for consistency's sake, but I'm glad I didn't!

=> mic =>

I'm using a Snowball mic, which isn't the best but is DEFINITELY a step up from crappy laptop or earphone mics. I'm sure that my mixing also has room to improve! So don't let me off that easy XD

Thanks for the review! And good luck in the NGADM! :D

[Call of the Warrior]

Some very nice melodies here! I enjoyed the pace of the track too and the choice of instrumentation. I can't say that I've heard many instances in which a church organ and synths are fused. Awesome stuff!

Spadezer responds:

Thanks eterealwinds. I guess I'm now the expert in combining unnatural instruments/rhythms into pleasing listens.

But, I may have this thing for organs. Especially church organs

[All the Shades Between]

I'm so glad you managed to get a track in! This is very well mixed on the whole, and you're so talented with creating ambience. It'd be interesting to know your thought process behind each different part in this song. I don't actually think there's anything wrong with threading together different ideas in one song, but it'd be nice to know if there's a story behind each part. I think that would help guide the listener through a journey in your music!

There are many parts of this that I really love. Particularly the part that comes in around 2 minutes. That bassline is great and really goes well with the bells. Those voices that come in at 2:30 too are so atmospheric! The strings throughout are emotional and very well composed. I think the transition at 3 minutes could have been just a tad smoother!

The part at 3:58 was a really nice addition too. I think this track would go really well with a short film. The ending seemed perhaps a little abrupt, but nothing totally offputting.

Maybe you could go back to your description and put your thoughts on each part of your track? I think it would help make more sense of what you've intended and definitely work in your favour, when the judges come to look at your track especially ;)

All-in-all, I really enjoyed this. I've given it five stars because despite the little parts I suggested that I'd tweak, if I were rating this, it'd still be like a 9.6/10! I always enjoy your work a lot and you bring something special with each track that you do. Something that is unique to your work.

Also, I'd like to wish you a Happy Birthday! Keep doing what you're doing because it's fantastic.

[Safe at Last]

I love the piano and strings in this! The background ambience is also quite interesting but could perhaps be even more atmospheric with a nice wet echoey reverb. Gorgeous track!

BlazingDragon responds:

Thanks mate! I usually cake on the reverb pretty thick, but it looks like I might have been too conservative this time. XD

[Subterranean Dungeon Theme]

Welcome back, my man. You've always got a place here, and you were so welcoming to me when I joined here!! This sounds great.

BlazingDragon responds:

Thanks so much Jordi! I'm still easing back into music-making, but it would be an honor to collaborate with you in the near future if that's something you'd be interested in.

[Kytoon - Look What You Do]

This. Is. Gorgeous.

GhostLawyer responds:

:3 :3

[NGADM 2017 Round of 64 Podcast]

Goodday sir and thank you for another podcast! I could listen to your voice for hours B)

Time's ticking on it seems! Two weeks actually goes by pretty quickly. I better get to work... *googles how to make a masterpiece in two weeks*

ChronoNomad responds:

You are entirely welcome, my good man! Aw, and that's such a sweet thing to say. :D

Time is indeed rather merciless, and it somehow seems to move even faster when there's a deadline involved. Tick-tock, tick-tock... And hey, I know Google's good, but can it be *that* all-knowing?

Yeah, probably. Thanks for the review!

[Peaks]

I enjoyed this thoroughly! Beautiful piece. Definitely deserving of such a high score! I really enjoyed the instrumentation, particularly.

Onefin responds:

Ey etherealwinds thanks for dropping by

we should talk and stuff are you in the chipscompo discord? you're not, right?

[The River I Loved. The River I Hate.]

Just... wow.