headphoamz's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Path to the Eilan Tree]

To date, this is my absolute favorite piece out of any NGADM.
The piano starts off solitary, which captures and holds my attention. It’s very natural-sounding, organic, and emotional. There’s even a theme that you follow consistently and this is where you demonstrate your amazing musical prowess – the strings come in and blow me away. As analogy: We’re on the ground first, walking slowly, and these strings gently lift us and soar. I truly see a Miyazaki-type animation when I hear this, as you have a knack for painting colorful and fantastical landscapes with your sounds.
You never seem to stick in one place, either, but that’s an amazing thing here; you continue to rein in different chords, and weave this tapestry of introspection, love, hesitance, and gratification. The piano is ever-changing and the strings move right along with it, sort of like the extending fins of a fish swimming gracefully (lots of analogies, so sorry).
The production value is amazing. It sounds like you were playing all of this yourself at one point in a symphony hall, or at least were the conductor of several people. The piano is bright, but not overbearing. The strings are warm, but not shrill. You command everything effortlessly and I would not add or take away a single thing.
I think the only thing that bothered me was the ending, which is why I took off a little – I would have loved to hear more, and it seemed like you might have cut it short due to time constraints. It was a rather short piece, but even then, it was beautiful, evocative, and poignant. There’s an air of mystery that surrounds this song, as well – if you have time, I would love to hear your motivation/inspiration for this piece, as one could place it anywhere in a film and instantly make the scene meaningful. Thank you for this, Silver!

NGADM Round One Score: 9.8

SilverPoyozo responds:

It was especially hard to muster the inspiration to jumpstart the composition, so I worked on the frame for a small fantasy story about the quest of a girl and her young brother who live in an empty and stale world in which humanity is scattered, and every last human and animal relies on these trees to survive. The very last of the trees is withering, and after finding one single seed, brother and sister have to search for a way to make the elusive tree grow.

I'm surprised at your mention of Miyazaki since the colors and ambience of his works have influenced my storytelling ever since I first watched his movies, not to mention how much I admire Joe Hisaishi as a composer and orchestrator, so I can't thank you enough for noticing how the respect I have for both of them affected my work here.
I deeply appreciate the review, thank you Phoamz.

[Argentinean Memories]

Oh, those strings. And that accordion. This invokes so many emotions all at once – mostly, as you said in your description, nostalgia. Expert instrumentation here, lovely progression, and an intro that makes me want to walk down a lane full of trees with leaves blowing everywhere.
The imagery in this piece is very, very strong. I absolutely love the transition to Femme Fatale, as well, as if we just remembered this beautiful woman in the intro, and we suddenly bump into her again and start dancing in this little speakeasy with everyone watching, and afterwards the audience is so impressed that they begin to clap – MAN. I could go on. This is movie-like quality, as well, and I feel a better choice of genre would have been cinematic, even though I feel the worldly influence in the beginning.
I feel the end was a bit lacking here, although the piano of course is fantastic and I’m happy how you made it stand out in particular. I guess the beat is a little confusing to me, but I know you wanted to go with a more modern atmosphere in this segment. The beat almost gave off a disco vibe, like a Beegees album where they go full-on Mediterranean and wear snappy outfits with roses in their mouths. It was particularly interesting to hear this portion in a song that focused so heavily on classical instruments earlier, and while the earlier parts flowed and swayed with the fondness of the memories, this one was more quantized and rigid.
I also think a smoother transition into Milonga Nights from Femme Fatale would have really strengthened the piece. The ending was a bit too immediate for my taste, as well – it felt like you might have run out of time there and decided to leave it at that. Perhaps returning to the original Colores del Alma, or a motif from that segment, would have been a solid way to conclude the piece.
Overall, though, this was absolutely incredible work. I heard the accordion and honestly gasped at how brightly the pictures from this song came forth. Mixing is excellent, the tone of the piece is beautiful, and the orchestration comes together to form something truly magical.

NGADM Round One Score: 9.2

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot headphoamz for your awesome and very detailed review! I am really glad it touched you emotionally since that was what we tried to do. Editing the accordion was quite extreme, but i really love that instrument so much. I think if i remember correctly i sent you a link to ilya efimovs instruments some months ago. They are really very realistic, affordable and just incredibly awesome. Meanwhile i almost have all the important stuff from him. Check out his armenian duduk and the russian instrument ... wow. Btw i really liked the sceneries you imagined - we also thought off movie pictures like these when we did the score.

The transition from part 1 to part 2 (to be honest) was an emergency solution. Originally we had three parts and wanted to submit them in 1 file but as 3 different pieces - which was against the rules. So we had to merge them into one piece a few hours before the deadline which was quite ... extreme :D

Indeed the end was quite short since we really had to struggle hard with the deadline time and mixing / combining the 3 tracks to 1 took more time than expected. Hm - the idea to return back to colores del alma is an interesting idea. We didnt think about it but maybe this would have made a good musical "frame" for the whole project.

Thanks a lot for your very awesome and detailed review and all the best from both of us!

For the transition from part 2 to 3: Pedro told me he also would do this but finally i thought it would be better due to the concept to keep the old argentinean music parts and the modern one a little bit separated so the listener feels - ok: Now something new will happen. Maybe it was the wrong decision. But like i said: It was my fault :D

The last part - milonga nights - was heavily inspired by gotan project. Pedro and me are big fans!

[Okay]

Right off the bat, I enjoy the lyrics more than anything. I love happy songs like this, especially anything acoustic. It’s very catchy, and I even found myself humming it after listening.
You did great with the vocals in the background. It’s got a very indie feel to it; nothing it out-of-place, and the chorus is so well-done, harmony-wise. The guitar adds to the general sense of well-being in the piece, and even though the progression is simple, it’s very classically implemented and strummed appropriately.
I think we’ve all been where you’ve been in this song, so it makes your lyrics even more relatable and charming. Plus, you have a pretty nice singing voice, whereas some acoustic vocalists sing with awful affectation (i.e. Pomplamoose or Plain White T’s). It sounds like you’re telling it like it is, and you’re not about to let anybody BS you out of your way of thinking.
As much as I enjoyed the piece, I would have liked a little more complexity. The guitar continues its same chords throughout and doesn’t really change or add flair.
The song is also short, and you might have put in a break where you add an extra instrument instead of more vocals (a harmonica or piano break would have easily given the song more variety). I keep coming back to the harmonies, though, as you did an excellent job, and I would have loved to hear more of them. An extension of this song is in order, I demand it! :P
In conclusion you made a very positive, hummable piece that I’m happy to add to favorites, as it’s bouncy, catchy, and good-humored. And good humor is always a wonderful approach to life.

NGADM Round One Score: 8.7

SonicWombat responds:

Thank you for this really kind, thought-out review. :)

[Sojourn]

Jeremy Soule meets Claude Debussy - totally magical. Well done.

DamienFleisch responds:

Thanks! :)

[Cosmos]

Chills.

Pandasticality responds:

n__n awesome, hope you liked it.
- Pandasticality

[Succibi]

Holy balls. You are just too good, man. Do you have an album? I'd buy the fuck out of it.

garlagan responds:

headphoaaaaaamzz
I don't have an album YET
YET
YET

[She is Lovely]

Breathtakingly beautiful, my friend!

Bosa responds:

Just like me!

[The Sorcerers Path]

Sitting here stunned. Your flute glissandos and choir are impeccable, and the smooth progression from french horn to harp is perfection. The tubular bells that mark the beginning of a new sequence are also a great choice. You always outdo yourself, SoundChris! Wonderful work!

SoundChris responds:

Hey Elspeth, i am really happy you liked my little piece :D I think i have learned a lot of new stuff with this piece - especially about cinematic harmonic progressions and stuff - i really had a lot of fun while creating this. The only thing which still is an issue in my opinion is the mix. Mixing a full orchestra and avoiding to get the mix muddy is still very difficult for me. But i also think this one is much better than sons of valhall.

I hope we will hear from each other again soon. Would be interesting to hear how you did enjoy the GDC in SF (i envy you - i really would have loved to be there, too ;D ). All the best and thank you so much for your support!

All the best for you,
Chris

[Farewell]

Absolutely stunning work. I quite honestly think it's my favorite piece from you. Masterful piano, incredible strings, and a beautiful theme. Chris, you've really outdone yourself - thank you for dedicating this to me, I can't really find the words to express my happiness/gratitude/awe for such a marvelous and well-crafted song. Well done. <3

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot Elspeth - glad you liked my little present :D

[theme for robots in space]

How wonderful this is! It's really pretty and I love how absolutely nostalgic it sounds. What a great gift, thanks johnfn :)

johnfn responds:

Ah, thank you! I was actually super nervous to have you as a secret santa person. I'm glad you liked it. Merry Christmas!