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headphoamz

106 Audio Reviews

68 w/ Responses

Digging it! You instantly have some great vocal work here, and the synth emphasizes the track. It does start to get repetitive pretty quickly, and I would have liked more of a beat drop after 0:31. It goes on until 1:18, which might have been a bit too long normally, but it’s a house track and I understand that.
I love the voice, very beautiful – until it was sped up. I feel like it could have stayed at a normal tempo, and still have made the song great. When it was adjusted, her lyrics were choppy and strange, so I couldn’t understand what she was singing; her voice was already very smooth and satisfying to hear, and her second vocals didn’t have the same effect. I would have asked your singer to re-sing the choppy parts so they sound more natural, and not transformed to the tempo.
I’m enjoying your beats here; simple, but doing the job. The bass could be a little punchier, I think, but overall it’s highlighting the rest of the elements and that’s what bass is supposed to do.
I would have also liked to hear maybe a key change…? I know that’s not technically how a lot of house works. Maybe you could have gone a progressive route and put in some more instruments as well. There are about four synths total, if that, and after awhile they get a little bland.
For a house song, it’s pretty well-made, though. The sound quality is good, and your genre is accurate. The vocalist is fantastic too!

NGADM Round One Score: 8.2

For this piece, since it’s a little longer, I’d like to highlight bits here.
The intro (0:00 to 1:10) has some good technique behind it. I’m enjoying the way the piano is a little like a stream of consciousness. Very relaxed, although I’d like a little more variety in the way of basic chords and notes at random. It doesn’t seem to make much sense, and the transition made from the intro to the second part is a little clunky. I do love the little space-whistle that comes in! Threw me for a loop at first, but I think it’s a great addition and I think it’d be great to hear more tiny instrumental chirps like that peppered throughout the intro to liven it up.
1:10 reminds me a lot of Banjo-Kazooie. A little mystery, something ethereal, and nothing too conclusive. The bitcrushed synth sounds great and was a good choice to get the song chugging, and the transition works well when we cross over to 1:51 with the little shaker rhythm.
At 1:51, off the bat, the piano is too much. The lower portion needs to be toned down, maybe even muted a bit, and once again no discernible, memorable melody here. The reverb on the piano is slightly overkill, and the drums have barely any, so the piano is uncomfortably bright. Again, the notes aren’t too complex here, so this would work well in a montage, perhaps with a warmer piano.
I appreciate how you continued to use the synth that started at 1:10 throughout, but it was the only recognizable element I could continue to hold onto, and it felt by the end that you started just pulling random things off the shelves to finish the song/make it longer. I would probably argue, for the first time, that this song might be too long, actually – it felt like it was on repeat after 3:38.
You have some excellent instruments, and I won’t be one of those people that says “I’d love to hear you remake this/work on it” because you meant to make this as is, and for that I appreciate it. For what it’s worth, I enjoyed it, even after nitpicking; you provided many different atmospheres, as a conclusion to your past works, and it was evident you enjoyed working on it.

NGADM Round One Score: 7.3

This has become one of my jams, officially. I’ve listened to it on repeat for hours and haven’t gotten tired of it, so here’s my review! :D
First, the beginning is intense, but a great buildup to the melody. The filter you have on it is pretty awesome and works well as a starting presentation. The mixing afterwards is so clear and bright that it is an excellent transition.
Love the riff that you have going on with the main synths, too, and the sequential synths that are added afterwards. The arpeggios are super cool and sound great, the wub that follows is a nifty way to split up the theme and add variety, and the low to high res filter also helps enhance the overall electronic feel. You really played a lot with filters, speaking of which, and I think it’s awesome how it all turned out. Everything works together well, especially that little synth break that trickles down right before you drop the bass.
The percussion, though, is what stands out to me the most. It’s extremely well-mixed; not too loud, not too thumpy, and allows the synths to shine, even though you know it would sound great on its own.
Only reason I didn’t give a ten was because of 2:04 – I felt you were building up to something that didn’t quite match up to what I was expecting. I wanted a big punchy rhythm after that and only got more synths. But it’s not as big a deal to take away from the quality of the rest of the song; I can deal with it!
After a while, upon listening to it for the 347th time, I likened this to a casino exploding and all the pieces landed in a nice pattern. :P Great work.

NGADM Round One Score: 9.8

introstalge responds:

Thanks for the feedback headphoamz!

Your piano in the beginning makes this piece start off almost weary, like it’s traveled a long distance to reach our ears. And well it should, as your mixing says you devoted a lot of time to the piece; as usual, your instrument quality is wonderful.
I don’t find anything particularly memorable about the piece as a whole, unfortunately. Even though it’s beautiful, passionate, and well-mixed, there’s nothing about it that stands out to me or that I find myself humming later. I thought for a bit that the French horns might be taking care of that, but the horns just kind of serve as a way to hurry the song up to the piano again.
I also find that it ends abruptly and I wasn’t sure why. I listened to it without seeing the time marker and found myself waiting for the next part of the song. The piano sits down on a final note and that’s that. A fade-out possibly, with strings, might have contributed to the overall excitement of the piece, instead of the punctuation of one instrument. I almost expected a huge brass noise, a la Inception, immediately following that final note. (In that regard, your composition style definitely reminds me of Zimmer’s work!)
However - even though there’s not too much of a melody, this would work excellently as a background piece, for a war that’s just started to steadily build, or a child that has trained long hours to seek revenge for her family; your talent shines in accenting a character like this and it’s truly a cinematic piece, in every definition.
You have wonderful staccato working tirelessly in the background that really gives the piece an air of tension, which is occasionally marked by the muted piano that tells us another chapter is in the making for our adventure. I also adore the percussion + French horns (even though I just said the horns needed a theme), because they truly sound like real horns and war drums, and fit right into the song nicely.
Save for the sudden ending and lack of theme, this is a wonderfully executed piece!

NGADM Round One Score: 8.4

Firstly, you have a good grasp over where you’re going with the song, and I like the story behind it! I enjoy the reverb on the saxophone as well, and the piano that plunks away diligently in the background suggests that this might be a sadder time. You have a nice synth chorus that chimes in as well.
I would say that the song is a little too rhythmically congested. It seems that you have a great composition here, but with the VSTs, it just doesn’t sound authentic and nothing flows as naturally as they would in real life. I know how hard that can be with virtual sounds, but it does take away a bit from the song.
The middle portion reminds me of something right out of an 80’s Kurt Russell segment, where he’s still thinking about how he can save his woman, and then yes, he’s made up his mind! It’s very headstrong, like making decisions, and it’s evident that you have concluded you might not be able to see Sjaan again, even though you both had a story together as friends.
The end is my favorite, with the flute and the bells ringing. It’s a very nice addition. The piano getting slower at the end, however, is what I would have loved to hear more of in the beginning, where the tempo might not be as static. This can help suggest that the tone changes or that there is something coming in the song to which we look forward.
I do agree with reviews; this is also my favorite from you! You’ve done well, and I wish you good luck if you ever decide to venture forth to find Sjaan. :)

NGADM Round One Score: 7

SourJovis responds:

Thank you headphoamz for your review. I have changed a lot about the song thanks to your advice and that of the other people who've commented. I finally got time to respond to you.

Glad you read the description. It helps put this song into context.

You may be right about the rhythm. Not sure if I've been able to fix that. All of the instruments are still pulled out of a computer. I did spend more time making them sound more alive, and I think that helped some.

I don't think this is the best song I've made, but with all of the changes I made recently it's one of the best mixed songs. That in combination with the memorable melody makes it one of my better songs. I'm updating several of my more recent old songs to get them up to my current standard.

I will venture forth to find Sjaan :)

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.

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!

I quite enjoy the voice! Your sister is spot-on with vocals, and has a very lovely timber to her singing.
My issue here is that it felt like she blindly sang into the mic without any music behind her thinking that it might be a dance tune, and then you implemented it into a completely different genre. This makes the singing sound like it doesn’t belong in the piece at all – rather, it could be a standalone with maybe one or two instruments. A backing piano to her wonderful melody might be an interesting take.
As for the music, I have to say that I’m not sure what you were going for, and from your song description, you weren’t quite sure either. The rhythm changes with every beat, and the only constant is the guitar VST in the background that drives the song reluctantly forward.
It seems like you had a really good idea, but you had SEVERAL good ideas, and put them all together in one piece and they unfortunately don’t seem to mesh.
The flute that comes in at 1:39 in particular might have been better not being in the track. It sounds like someone who quite literally just picked up a flute for the first time began to record with it. I’m not saying this is a bad thing, as sometimes it can add a world music flair, but you went to so many different places with this instrument, including flat notes and trills that went to different keys, that I felt you might have misrepresented what you personally can really do with a flute. I would love to hear a piece from you that emphasizes your capabilities, as this flute performance ended up sounding aimless.
There was also the issue of the same progression being drilled throughout the piece. You never changed the chords, and this makes the song suffer in that there’s nothing breath-taking about it – it just continues in that same vein, with a couple random instruments here and there.
I did like how you kept the beat (albeit a very awkward rhythm) throughout, but it was ever-changing, and it sounded like you included a marimba, more than one hi-hat, a calliope, and some synthetic percussion, and they didn’t quite work that well together.
Overall, the piece felt jumbled. You had so many things going on at once, and it made the listening a little difficult because I wasn’t sure in what direction you were headed. I like the instruments that you chose here, but you wrote the song in such a way that these instruments all collided head-on with each other and argued about who was going to get the melody.

NGADM Round One Score: 4

Upon playing this for the first time, the pianos made the intro wonderful. You always have a good sense of where the rhythm should be in a song, and your beats are always on point. Good job on the chords, too – very soothing, and the synths add a nice spice to it all.
It got a little crazy around 45 seconds and seemed disjointed. The scratchback that came in was almost unnerving as I was so enjoying the harmonies that you provided.
LOVE the bass at 2:02, it gives the song almost purpose, like the music was being driven towards this bass the whole time. However, I would have enjoyed a much more supportive beat here, as I know you can give us the backing percussion. The melody kind of falls away too, until we head back to the piano and end the song entirely, like the bass started up and put everything to a screeching halt.
The hi-hat throughout the piece got a little grinding after awhile in the beginning, so I’m glad that you let it fade out, but there seemed to be a break that wasn’t needed. There didn't seem to be any melody to the song, and it felt like more of an experimental piece than a dance tune.
I would have liked to a bass that didn’t suddenly go up at times, too. During this break in the middle, right before the big second bass comes out, we hear random notes popping out from below and it just struck me as a bit useless to have there. Not implementing a bass at all there would have been fine with me.
At the end, you just go full throttle and put everything we’ve heard into one giant kerfuffle. I think I heard a cowbell in there somewhere, and now you have more than one hi-hat, and the piano is still trying to hold on for dear life as you fade everything in and out. I felt like as soon as I got familiar with one noise, BOOP, it’s gone, and has been replaced by another.
A little steadiness in rhythm and familiar elements would have been good here, but I think it’s an interesting song. You did very well with the mixing; it’s just that some things felt a little out-of-place.

NGADM Round One Score: 8.2

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. :)

I'm headphoamz. Have at you!

Elspeth Eastman @headphoamz

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