Bezman's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Yumbo-Yak_Beat boxin']

fun to listen to, but not enough to really get me

I liked the combo of everything you've got here.

The beat-boxing sounded good, though a tiny bit rough. I mean the beats could've been a tiny bit more 'pronounce', yaknow?

When the drums came in, that complemented it well.

I really liked the children's voices. I'd have maybe preferred it if it was laughing rather than a sorta distorted half-way point between laughing and crying as you've got here.

The melody was cool to listen to.

Everything here was tight, but I'd have liked a bit more going on personally - maybe if you kept up the beatboxing throughout, added another couple of instrumental tracks...

==
fun to listen to, but not enough to really get me going.

Yumbo-Yak responds:

i don't know y but da tracks i make with vocals always end up not coming to par with what it needs to be...
at any rate, i've pretty much given rappin' up. I'm not a rapper, i make music...like jazze phae, i'll throw my voice in there, but for tha most part i'll just stick to da beats.

[Better Off Alone {Sylacone}]

I'm looking forward to hearing it when it's fini

Despite a fairly repetitive melody, this manages to stay fairly fresh and diverse.

I like the way you bring in, then double up on, the beats at the start.

The way you put slight emphasis on some of the notes of the melody is cool - I reckon you could/should maybe play with that more.

Nice cymbal sounds.

I really liked the high-pitched light keyboardy melody at around 1:46.

The slight variation on the melody at around 2:36 was cool.

There are a few times when I felt you maybe could/should've introduced a new twist a bit sooner, maybe put in a bit more variation. That's my only criticism. Yeah, it's a nice remix and cool for the type of music, but I'm just the kinda guy that thinks if you can, you should keep it always fresh and avoid playing the exact same thing twice in a row unless there's a real reason.

Maybe bringing up the volume of the background resonating notes a bit, playing with the highlighting of some notes...

==
Good to listen to, and I'm looking forward to hearing it when it's finished. You did well with this.

Sylacone responds:

Well... it is supposed to be finished... but if you want me to redo it I'll gladly do so. I like this song alot so doing that wont be a problem considering i got new talent over the time i didnt have a computer.

[Oasis Serenity 2025]

could be on one of Enigma's albums!

Really reminds me of some of Enigma's tracks.

I love the cricket sounds in the background and the melody itself (played with the flutey instrument, starting around 1:23) is great; peaceful, yet driving - specially when you bring it back for the end.

The beats are cool. It'd be nice if they were a proper instrument, rather than just a loop though.

I really like the slow melody and wind-noises at the start, before the real beats start.

I enjoyed the pauses and all the instruments have that sorta 'tribal' quality.

The whole thing is brilliantly produced and this honestly wouldn't be out of place on one of Enigma's albums!

TheOrichalcon responds:

Enigma is one of my favourite music projects. I'd be lying if I said it didn't inspire my music. Glad you enjoyed it.

[Dark Sub Woofer]

aggressive & high-energy. Ideal for some shooter.

Really cool.

Though you kinda slow it down for the end, it loops practically flawlessly.

The constancy of the beat gives it a real energy and I like that you only drop it for one bar.

The high-modulating instrument for 0:06 to 0:17 sounds wild! The higher pitched melody that then comes in kinda echoes the bass-melody well.

There maybe as much going on here as I'd like, but for a high-tempo simplistic shooter, this would be perfect. Maybe for just one level, to be played for a few minutes.

Or maybe even a beat'em up. It could be ideal for a boss tune in a 2D horizontally shooter, if the boss was a big robotic wasp with a lion's head, sharp teeth and big arms, with which it'd try punching you. Its long range attacks would consist of shooting stings or charging at you. You'd be playing some sort of anthropomorphised giraffe. You'd be following this bee through some sort of a tunnel, avoiding the obstacles on the mine-cart tracks, whilst you tried to keep up.

==
Anyway, great loop. I'm not normally one to make shooters but if I ever do so, I'll check back on this.

mooseymaniac responds:

Wow! Nice review... I like nice reviews.
This song definatly holds a certain african plain feel to it because of the digereedoo sounding thing that dominates.

If you wanna use this in a game go ahead, it would make good boss music. Thanx for the review.

[Blue Bosa at Chitter Street]

flawless produced, wonderfully joyful piece

Like the other tune I reviewed (Ace vs King), this doesn't seem to have been made with looping specifically in mind but at the same time, there aren't any silly pauses that irritate too much when listening in this manner. It does seem to skip a fraction of a beat when repeating, but still - not too bad.

I was kinda wondering though if any of your tunes had actually been made to loop perfectly?

Anyway, I know practically about music creation at your level. I assume the instruments are all samples rather than genuine?

The piano is 'played' wonderfully - it's got a nice sense of keeping us surprised, whilst you don't just get silly and play really quickly or whatever - it's got a good sense of precision.

I specially like the little bit at 0:17.

I notice there isn't much going on in the left hand on the piano. There seems to be something there, but it's kinda played at a much lower volume - greater difference than I reckon would be possible. Or is it another instrument? Hard to tell?

-----------------------------------------------
Outside, the rain poured, but in here was a night to savour - a night of boogying with the oldest friends.

Feet, legs and hips moved in unison.

Mrs Donoval called out to her son, "Don't touch the giraffe!"

The beasts of the jungle had risen and their talents were as great as any man.
-----------------------------------------------

==
Yet another flawless produced, wonderfully joyful piece.

Bosa responds:

I'm right handed, heh. I don't use samples unless I don't have the instruments. Anyways, I didn't really understan what you meant by "Music creation at my level" but, I'm starting to kick in it. I don't look at music as skills or level of possibility. I like to look at it as an endless stretch for creativity and really just imagination. Let it soar, and it will soar smoothly.

[Ace vs. King]

Gloriously upbeat!

I love the whistling lead-melody. It is generally a fairly repetitive piece, but it's just so damn groovy, with happy vibes!

It reminds me of some Fatboy Slim songs.

I can only hear 4 layers - whistling, beats, the fast bg guitarry sound and the 'whoooooooo' near the start and also just before the whistling resumes. Apart from the change-up half-way through and the first 25s, where the instruments are introduced, there is a lack of variation. All the layers seem to be fairly constant. I would have maybe liked to see a couple more layers and some changes in the background melody or the beats mebbe.

But again - it's a short piece and it's so damn groovy!

My other slight gripe is that it doesn't loop quite as well as it could. I reckon there's maybe a fraction of a second you could cut at the start - it kinda skips part of a beat when it loops, which is mildly irritating.

Regardless, I listened for over half an hour and found myself still grooving along.

Flawlessly produced apart from the marginal looping issue.

I'd love to use this somehow. Maybe in a short animation, or maybe a game involving speed and light colours.

Question: why is it called 'Ace vs. King'? Is it based on some beat 'em up tune?

Bosa responds:

Well, I was thinking of a card game I used to play and how competitive it was. It deserved a beat. Of course, when I released this tune back in 2005, I was looking at a fast paced heart with a mind to run over. Now, I've learned that all things cannot be fast paced.. N.U.M.N.U.T.S.

[-*Short Beat 3*-]

shame (again) that it's not brilliantly produced.

Even glitchier a join than the other - the way it breaks the beat is really annoying.

Also, there's a sorta static surrounding the whole thing, specially on the bells, or whatever that high-pitched instrument is.

I love the upbeat, uptempo vibe though. It reminds me of calypsos and hula dancing.

Also, limbo and Thai islands.

There's a fair bit going on here too.

It's just a shame (again) that it's not brilliantly produced.

ClockMuffin responds:

Meh, I see where you got that. It is kind of annoying that the reproduction is bad. Shouldn't have rushed my work :/

[Bassynth]

Shame it doesn't loop well...

I really love the bassline and the sweeping notes you start off with, as well as the t.t.t.ttttt noises that start just before the electric-sounding melody (around the 24s mark).

However, I did find the melody that comes in just there is sorta 'too obvious'. I mean, with a loop I feel it should all be kinda constant, with loads going on, changing and fluxing, but the general 'sound' and volume should be fairly constant. Hope you understand what I mean.

The sustained, echoey notes you drop in near the end are cool.

If you sorta made the end/start connect perfectly instead of having a 2s pause and had it so that the instruments you use drew less attention to themselves, this could be a great piece for a chilled out puzzle game, or maybe a 1D platformer involving stickmen with dark bg and simple white lines.

It's got a lot going for it, but with those 2 faults, it falls short of something I'd wanna use for a game.

Nav responds:

Thanks! People seem to like this one, so I will try to make it better. My friend actually is working on a platformer, so maybe he will use it later!

[what i ask of this dream]

Surreal and keeps us guessing.

I assume that's you recording yourself playing on a single track?

I kinda liked the composition - it had a surreal nature to it and the notes had an almost random quality.

I felt it could have been nicer a bit more legato.

Also, there's a few bits of static or distortion on the mic that annoyed me.

But I'm really looking forward to hearing more from you.

thelotusbox responds:

why thank you, it more of an experimental piece

[Mistahmoo Goo Gai Pan]

it's a cool sound

The first loop you start with has a sorta tropical feel to it - it almost sounds like a sorta prehistoric tune. I was gonna say it sounded like they're playing little bones, but on 2nd thoughts maybe it doesn't sound like that much at all... I can't place what it is...

Anyway, the xylophone/bell-type instrument's melody gives it a nice vibe and it all comes together really nicely.

I enjoy all the layers and the timing, general production work... is all spot on.

I did feel though that the xylophoney melody could have shifted after every phrase or 2 instead of after every 2 or 4.

Also, I can't help feeling how much cooler this would have been if it looped properly rather than coming to a complete stop before starting up again. Maybe having a sparse section, for variety, but having it a real loop.

Anyway, it's a cool sound and I'd love to hear how it'd go if you persued this avenue a bit further with the aim of making quality loops.

mistahmoo responds:

Hey, thanks for your input, man. Well, seeing as I was primarily experimenting with the different sounds I could get with the FL engine, I wasn't expecting to go anywhere with this piece. As for the prehistoric vibe, I was going for that at first, but I decided to go for more of a Chinese approach. I'm happy you can discern that from the rest of the loops. The thing with NGAP is that the songs never loops properly, no matter how close together you make the beginning and the end. Well, once again, thanks for the review, I'm glad you enjoyed it.