Liralei's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kazmo - Still Alive RMX [WIP]]

Clarification.

First off, thank you to all reviewers for the comments. I'm honored that you enjoy my voice, and I hope to keep contributing to music. :)

That said, please read carefully. Kazmo did not claim the song was originally his. The "RMX" in the title of the song means that it is a remix, and the description explicitly states that the song is originally by Lisa Miskovsky. Yes, it is the Mirror's Edge theme, but it was created and reworked by Kazmo without sampling or taking directly from the song.

Keep loving music!

[Dynasty of Destiny - BrixXMich]

Nicely done!

I do like this track. Separately, you're great producers in your own rights (Britt, you're awesome-- we need more female artists on here! who are actually skilled like you, and not just attention-mongering) and it's always interesting to hear what happens when two styles come together.

To be honest, I don't like the synth used in the main melody that starts fading in at 2:37 and comes in full force at 2:54, fading out around 4:01. It's a bit shrill to me, and makes the song less replayable, especially contrasting harshly with the more balanced first half of the song. But I like the rest of the composition. :) Keep it up, both of you! I'd love to hear more.

BrixXMich responds:

Hmm. I'm glad you enjoyed it =)
I am an attention whore too, you know =O But thanks for saying I'm skilled =D
Anyways, I agree with you about that synth. I made that part, and I always use the same synth so I tried something different. Next time I will go to my good friend the 3x Oscillator!
Thanks for the review =)
Brittany

[Fuaraya]

Ethereal!

The production quality on this is unsurpassed on the site, and perhaps I'm biased because I like your work so much, but I found this really great. I felt that it was a bit flat for the first three minutes-- not boring, but I was waiting on a plateau, not a buildup. Possibly because of the placement of the lull at 2:17. The first half was very gentle and very beautiful, but a little sleepy.

But I LOVE the style. Meh, we need more of this out there. Pitch it to Anjuna? :P

[Mirror's Edge Remix =HFX=]

Lovely!

Thank you for the kind comment on my profile! As such, I decided to take a look at some of the things you were working on, and this immediately caught my eye because it's a track I've been fond of singing in the past few days (well, sort of singing. I have a cold). Oh, the theme gives me shivers. It's got one brilliant trance remix, which is how I first heard of it, but the original is great.

That said, while the sounds you've used in here sound kind of unpolished, the arrangement is beautiful. I think you could expand on it by removing a few layers and going on a solo instrumental for a few measures at the end of this loop, for a contemplative breakdown-- just a pause, as if allowing for a musical reverie.

Keep up the work-- it sounds like you're coming up with quite a bit :)

Phyrnna responds:

Thank you for coming to listen to my songs. Yes, this is actually rather unfinished and still a WIP. I was just writer's blocked at the time and I couldn't continue on it. And it bugged me, so I just submitted it.
As for your suggestions, I was thinking of that too. I was thinking I would take it down that road later. Maybe I'll get back into the .flp file and work it out.
I'll let you know if I ever finish this. I hope I won't disappoint you.

-HFX ^_^

[- Leaving November -]

Unique effort!

I definitely liked the ideas behind this the first time I heard it, and your transition out of the waves by sidechaining it was very creative, if a bit awkward for the first few measures until you toned them down a bit.

The song length doesn't lend itself to being an actual trance song, per se, since it's too long to be a radio edit and doesn't have the structure of a full mix, but it's perfect for what you were going for, I think, and it's an excellent hybrid of electronic music & traditional instrumentation. I don't know what to call it-- and that's a good thing! It doesn't sound like every other song in the NG category.

So I'm not going to critique it as if it were a full-out trance song, because it's different. It's better in its own context, I think, and I really do like the structure. When the base slowly phases back in starting at 3:46, and you added more instrument layers at 4:00 to distinguish it from the earlier section-- that turned out really well. Kudos!

SinJim responds:

Thanks a lot for the review, Lira. I'm glad you enjoyed this.

~SinJim

[Kazmo - Satellite RMX]

Nice effort. :)

As a vocalist and Above & Beyond/Justine Suissa addict, I was very interested in hearing this remix. The reviews got me hyped.

...A bit too hyped. I was expecting more from the remix. It's a lovely track, but it doesn't have enough depth to support Justine Suissa's vocals. When I listen to a remix, I wonder if it would be able to stand alone without the vocals. I'd say no to this one.

The intro was solid; the light three-note harp-like sound was nice. But I expected a greater buildup and more creativity after that. The melodic phrase that you used in the breakdowns seemed a little tonally awkward. Phasing the vocals in abruptly, like at 2:30, was a bit unpolished. Some of the sounds used were unoriginal-- I was reminded of late '90s trance. I would have liked to hear you do more with the phrase that began at 4:34, though it was not honestly timed well-- syncopated or off-beat tracks should still feel like they go very well with the overall beat.

But I think you still have potential; I liked the first 1:30 of the song. I was disappointed that there wasn't more to go from. Keep at it! :)

Kazmo responds:

I'm sorry you weren't satisfied with this remix. :/

"I wonder if it would be able to stand alone without the vocals. I'd say no to this one." Do you mean if I took out the vocals, it would sound bad? I'd have to agree ahahah, since the vocals are what keep it all together, but aren't all vocal trance tracks like that?

If you didn't notice, the song is constantly building, adding little bits of stuff like rhythm, pads in the background, and it builds all the way to the new melody at 4:07. The build subtle, that's how I wanted to have it for this song, because it has a very mellow feel.

"Tonally awkward"..."unpolished"...I'd like you to embellish what you mean, for I can't quite understand what message you're trying to convey. Some of my sounds are unoriginal? I make all my sounds from scratch using 3xOsc, except for piano. :] It probably reminds you of '90s trance because I grew up (as well as a lot of other people on NG) in the '90s and it has probably influenced me a bit.

As for the phrase at 4:34, I thought that would make a great outro part, and it honestly can't be any better timed/syncopated, since it's not recorded live, and if it was, it's quantized perfectly, I don't overlook things such as timing when I make my music.

I'll keep at it. I promise.

Thanks for the in-depth review/critique!

[Twilight Techno]

long overdue review

I first heard this in 2006, I believe, and since then it's still stuck out in my mind as one of my favorite NG songs.

Your mixing of piano chords before downbeats really put a great touch into the music, and the opening & closing always gave me shivers. Letting the sounds dance between L & R channels also made this a great song to listen to on headphones. I feel like the synth/sound used in the main melody felt a little one-dimensional after a while, though. Still, you're the only NG artist whose submissions I generally always like, and it's about time I gave this a rating. Kudos for being always being creative and refreshing!