etherealwinds's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Steam's Wonderful Contraptions]

One of the visualisations is hypnotising which, along with this song makes me feel like I'm being slowly shrunk and being dragged into some sort of toy world. This is really awesome and very you. There's really something to fresh about what the audio section of NG seem to have to offer the world and this is a fine example. Five stars, amazing job.

steampianist responds:

A weird toy world haha I like that! And yes there is alot of interesting tracks here in NG (and its free)
anyways thanks for the review and goodluck in round 2. You have an amazing track as well I downloaded It haha

[Automation]

Wow. You can really tell that you've put in the hours of work it took to perfect this piece. The atmosphere is so industrial yet genuinely beautiful at the same time. Before hearing this, I wasn't sure that was actually possible. It seems I'm learning more and more about the music world every single day.

I really enjoyed the way the music box brought the beginnings of this piece together and the contrast between the orchestral instrumentation and the mechanical half of the composition I felt was extremely well thought out. I feel this is less of a review and more of an awed comment of a finished and perfected piece of work.

It shows true workmanship to take a song and receive feedback from so many other artists to really get the *best* out of a piece. I'd have loved to watch this composition unfold. Really fantastic.

Step responds:

Oh man, thanks for a second review! Love your reviews, it means a lot coming from a person who swiftly became one of my favourite composers and singers on this site.

"Wow. You can really tell that you've put in the hours of work it took to perfect this piece."

It's what I try and aim for in every track of mine. I am very, very bad at speed-writing and have to put a tonne of detail and time into every piece of mine. I don't know about other musicians but I can't compose something unless I'm entirely satisfied with how it's coming along haha.

"The atmosphere is so industrial yet genuinely beautiful at the same time. Before hearing this, I wasn't sure that was actually possible. It seems I'm learning more and more about the music world every single day."

Got to credit steampianist's track - it gave me the inspiration for this track, and probably nails this atmosphere much more than I do.

"I really enjoyed the way the music box brought the beginnings of this piece together and the contrast between the orchestral instrumentation and the mechanical half of the composition I felt was extremely well thought out."

Thanks! Glad that worked.

"I feel this is less of a review and more of an awed comment of a finished and perfected piece of work."

Aw shucks x_x. Thanks!

"It shows true workmanship to take a song and receive feedback from so many other artists to really get the *best* out of a piece. I'd have loved to watch this composition unfold. Really fantastic."

I believe getting feedback from lots of other people during the work-in-progress stage is a veeerrrry important thing to do. Opinions from other people really help clear up the perceptive "fog" of bias that a musician has while listening to his/her track, and other people can point out things that the musician himself/herself wouldn't have noticed, along with, of course, give cool ideas that can really shape the direction of the track.

Anyway, enough rambling. This review made my day (more like my week). I can't thank you enough!

[Up, Up and Away!]

2,121 plays and 5,477 downloads, what? Haha, anyway!!

This reminds me quite a bit of Pokémon and the Airship themes in the earlier Final Fantasy's. The way you've looped it is practically genius as looping goes, I can tell you put a lot of thought into this. I've always wanted to make a loopable song but I'd probably not do an amazing job myself.

This piece is really coherent and consistent as well as sweetly catchy. It also reminds me a little of Digimon World 3 and takes me back to my childhood! I loved this, there's no denying your talent!

Troisnyx responds:

I swear, though: some pieces have the anomaly of having more downloads than plays. This has happened to one of Camoshark's pieces. Some say that the abnormal download count is because loading the track in the game counts as a download. I'm a bit skeptical about this because the other tracks I used for Game Jam 7 do not have this anomaly, and it is almost MANDATORY to hear the rest of them...

I haven't heard Digimon music much, so I must investigate. Heheh, I honestly thought of Kirby, but Pokémon works too. XD Glad you loved it! x

[Sadness and Sorrow v.2]

If you had an anthem, one song that is just 'you' in a nutshell for me, it would be this one. I never played Powerstar 4, but this song has so much meaning to me. I'm actually going to upload the cover I made of this a year ago to Newgrounds, seeing as you're on this website too. It can come and join you here! Seriously one of my favourite songs of all time.

BlazingDragon responds:

That would be great! Please send me the link when you upload it. :)

Much more than any of my other pieces, this song is simple in nearly every aspect. At the same time though, I believe it is one of the most pure and emotional pieces that I've written. I am very glad that you count this little piece among your favorites.

[Sanctuary]

Seriously gorgeous, one of my favourite works of yours! Out of curiousity, what soundfonts did you use for the instrumentation? All the best!

BlazingDragon responds:

I believe I used EWQL for this. Thanks Jordi! :)

[Qui manducat]

This is simply stunning. You were right to tag this 'ethereal' and 'angelic' because it certainly is! I could get lost in your voice and it flows so naturally. The reverb you used isn't overbearing and really suits the tone of your voice too which is really important when trying to create the right atmosphere for a piece. Really great work! Great to find more vocalists on Newgrounds! ^ ^

Troisnyx responds:

Glad you loved it so -- thank you! <3

If this is anything to go by, then I have to express this wish -- if only anyone could hear me singing chant at Mass on Sundays! Because I recorded this (full) version of Qui manducat as a taster of what I do as a cantor. When cantoring, the reverb is natural and comes from the sound plinking off the church walls. This particular chant can be sung all throughout the year and is done during Communion..... I'm getting lost in the description here. Quite frankly, as a cantor, I have been introduced to beautiful songs that I've had the honour of singing. *happy sigh*

[The Festival]

I know you love criticism, but I bet you can guess what I think of this track. You're almost like the Nobuo Uematsu of the Audio section on Newgrounds. You're wonderfully talented and I love the obvious celtic influence in this piece! Reminds me a little of a better-produced version of Final Fantasy IX's "Eternal Harvest", at least stylistically! Amazing job man.

Step responds:

Nobuo Uematsu of the Audio section haha. Never heard that one before! Nobuo is amazing though, I don't think I'd ever be able to be compared to him until I've got at least 183 years of music experience!

This does indeed sound like Eternal Harvest, now that you mentioned it. Thanks a lot for the review though, much appreciated!

[Tir Na Nog]

Wow, this was really well produced. Anybody who knows me knows that I love a great Celtic track. Out of interest, what soundfonts did you use? I wouldn't be surprised if this gets one of the highest ratings of Round 2. The parts flow really well! Keep it up!

ChronoNomad responds:

Thank you very much for leaving a review and such kind words! ^_^ I am very happy to hear that you enjoy the music, and there is definitely a strong Celtic vibe in your own repertoire, which gives even more meaning to such high praise. Here's a list of all the SoundFonts that were used:

Syrien - Most of the percussion for a traditional Celtic sound
PopRockBank - Additional percussion
Cister - Strummed chords
Dudy
Saz
Ud & Ud Bass
Harp
Ocarina Legato & Staccato
Boychoir