etherealwinds's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Memories]

Really enjoyed this, I got lost in it which is a good sign! :)

OpenLight responds:

Thank you! That's what I was hoping for haha.

[Quest of Infinity]

This composition is quite stunning. I'd have loved to have heard some real vocal performances here rather than vocal libraries. That said, I'm sure if you could, you'd have the entire orchestra and choir as well perform your composition! I think this track deserves it and would really elevate it to the next level in terms of emotion. Love that chord at 2:28, took me by surprise. I like it when chords take me by surprise. Love those flutes at 4:35 too. The general pace of the track and the dynamics of the composition are really pleasant and I didn't find myself getting bored, despite the length of the track. Really enjoyable climax and ending too. Great job - fav'd!

VociferousMusic responds:

I'm glad you like this piece so much! I already got to know from other fans that this composition was very well done. I definitely would agree with using real performed female voices for the track, but unfortunately, I don't have any contact of a female soloist being able to sing in the classical, opera-like style, but only the modern. I wanted to dispense with that, since it might have provided the wrong feeling. That's why I went for libraries about that.
I'm looking forward to have more access to a bigger range of instruments and contacts in the future. I already was hired for a very big movie project where I will be working with a real orchestra, and I'm very excited myself how my works will sound like being performed by a real big orchestra. :)

[Medieval Tales]

That first melody reminds me so much of Pirates of the Caribbean haha! :) I think I know what Remile means about the voices - the mood of the piece is quite upbeat and major for most of it, then these war chants come in and gregorian chants come in and it's sort of like "is this supposed to uplift me, or create tension?" and it can be a little confusing!

Overall, I love the choice of instrumentation and it's a bit of a mishmash of everything. You have some nice melodies and themes going on. I particularly enjoy those uilleann pipes! The beat and stringed banjo-styled rhythm (I'm guessing it's from the strummed lutes) can get quite repetitive. Perhaps some more dynamics in the piece would help on this front :)

Lots to enjoy about this piece! Keep up the great work. You got yourself a new fan!

VociferousMusic responds:

Thank you for the detailed feedback! Yeah, you aren't the first one saying the opening reminds you on Pirates of the Caribbean, haha. In fact, Hans Zimmer used a very mainstream medieval melody for his masterpiece, so some similarities are recognizable.
The regular switches between major and minor (relatively low held on this piece) is something I usually do and I guess that's just my style. I like to provide the listener many different feelings during the listen, so do I enjoy myself these switches.
The chord-rythm was played by the actual acoustic guitar. I wanted the guitar to be a secondary instrument (background), since it's a bit more modern. On the other hand dispensing with it gave me the feeling something important was missing. The Lute serves as some kind of leading instrument, the played tremolo articulations would serve well for the real medieval feeling of the soundtrack.

Thanks again for the neet feedback and criticism!

[A Natural Conflict]

Welcome to Newgrounds! This is super nice :)

FBole responds:

Thank you !

[Hemiptera]

I love stuff like this. It's really beautiful! Reminds me of whale song underwater, or travelling through space!

Mich responds:

Thanks, glad you like it!

[At the Ends of the Earth]

This is one of my favourite compositions of yours. Your songwriting/composing is always really incredible. I don't know many that can write as well as you do. As always, the lyrics are amazing.

In terms of the vocal performance, I think some parts are really great, and some other parts seem unstable. I know that you're going for the fragile dynamic that doesn't always call for a straight tone, but I think it takes a lot of control and attention to detail to really get the right balance between performing emotionally but also as pleasantly as possible.

For example, in the quiet verses, it does suit the part, but at the part at 1:38, because it's a rise in the composition and a swell of strength, the voice wavering between flat and sharp in my opinion isn't as effective as if you'd balance the delicate performance from the previous verses. When you sing 'you', in the 'can you hear me screaming', it literally shifts off the note of the melody four times in that short half a second and thus isn't as emotively powerful for me as a listener as it doesn't come across as intentional as it had in the quieter parts.

The part at 5:23 onwards vocally is really nice though! Those harmonies are really tightly performed and your breath support is really nice too. You sure can hold those notes well!

I really enjoy the choice of instrumentation and I love what you've done with the Celtic harp!

In terms of the mix, it's fairly clean and some of the instruments are mixed in nicely. Generally, I think the track could do with a bit of brightening in the mix. It all seems to be on the lower end of the frequency, which may be because you wanted a darker atmosphere, but it sort of makes the overall tone of the piece mixing-wise sound a bit dull. Almost like the difference between a pre-master and a mastered version of a track; when you switch back and forth between a pre-master and a mastered version of a track, so much is brought out in the master and it sounds like night and day. Did you master this track out of curiosity? :)

I hope you don't feel put down in any way by this review - a big part of what I enjoy about the NG review system is being able to impart constructive feedback! I wouldn't be where I am now without the honest opinions of those around me, and I'm ever-grateful for it. Your songwriting and composing is so top-notch, that I want to encourage the other aspects of the musicality to match that level! :) keep listening, and practising!

As always, it's a pleasure to listen to and an instant fav from me :)

Troisnyx responds:

Eeee, thorough as always -- I appreciate it. Thank you for taking the time with this one, and for the favourite. ^_^ And also for addressing the vocal weakness; even with the perfect pitch I may have course vocal control, but not finer vocal control it appears.

In response to your question: No, I didn't master this track. To be honest, I don't entirely know what mastering entails at this point, and I'm happy to let this be the start of my journey into it. I don't exactly know where to begin, and threads over on the audio forum, for instance, have overwhelmed me because it presupposes that people have an immediate understanding of what mastering is.

[Bonetrousle but its sung by Waluigi]

This trousles my bone

larrynachos responds:

good :3

[The Wizard's Grimoire]

One of my favourites of yours. This is great!

ChronoNomad responds:

You are far too kind, my friend. I am honored that you like it so much.

[Too Far (Updated)]

Aaaand he's back. <3

McGorilla42 responds:

Jordi! I miss chatting to you. I'll be done with college very soon, then we can catch up. Would actually really love to use your voice on a song sometime, so we can chat about that too!

[Love For Killing Our Children]

well, this is a song! I like this. Good job :)

zybor responds:

Hey Jordi! :D thanks for dropping by. Thank you for your review! Take care!