ActualElf's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Dreams]

Hey! ^^

Great job with this track, also congrats on the frontpage.

The intro is strong in setting a mental image which is something especially important in lo-fi. I agree with the other comment that the tape crackle could use some fine tuning, but also the drum sounds sound like they should be brought more into the soundscape of the track, made subtler, they currently sound like they're a layer above the rest of the track, putting hats and snares through amp/cabinet simulators always helps me to get that "small" and gentle drum sound that is present through a lot of lo-fi.

Keep it up <3

ThomasTsao responds:

thanks for the actual review!! and all of your ideas are very good, i’ll definitely try to implement them into my future projects. i actually think this is one of my lesser works, so it’s kinda annoying to have it be my most popular haha.

[E]

There's a lot to love about this track, the bass automation and effective use of fx. The chopped vocals and general spacious/otherworldly vibe this track gives off reminds me a lot of Gorillaz.

Great job Quarl!

Quarl responds:

woot, gorillaz comparison represent <3

[Target And Kill [robot day]]

I always enjoy listening to your music because your production techniques differ so much from my own and my personal knowledge of production that I don't have the same fourth wall break of knowing how to recreate the sounds as I do in my other listening experiences.

P.S that's a punchy snare Quarl <3

Quarl responds:

Yay, Elf love!

I get that same 4th wall vibe when I listen to other artists, totes understandable. Musicians spend decades of their lives dedicated to practicing instruments, rudiments, and styles so that they can replicate certain genres or songs perfectly by memory on the spot. Music flows out of us in the moment and then it's gone. Sometimes it's hard to emulate something you yourself just played. You ever have one of those moments where a melody just disappears forever because you were too slow to write it down? A melody is right in front of you, pulsing through your body and then it's vanished into thin air because it's ephemeral. We're all just chasing moments <3

[Dark Forest VIP]

Hey Ando! great job with this track!

You captured a really haunting and dark sound with this track. The foley, atmospheric sounds and pitch decay brass sounds are spot on. Not to mention that the melody that comes in just before the drop is so good, having a strong melody that lands in really harmonically insecure places, I love that.

I felt the drop/main groove section could have been filled out more atmospherically, that's all that's missing to my ears, this may be based on taste and opinion but to me it loses a little bit of the haunting environment you've crafted here. although you do bring it back here and there within the drop, part of me is left wanting that crushingly low and bassy atmosphere that I felt this track was moving towards. Though I liked the offbeat "Bwop" synth and how the amount of reverb was altered between accents.

The gliding basses, flutes and bells are a really nice tone in the background, the track starts to take on a pulse after the first half, like a living organism. The risers in this are also fitting and well placed.

One last thing is that the very 80's sounding chord synth at 00:46 is gorgeous and shifts just how my ears wanted it to when it came in, it reminds me heavily of the Borderlands video-game series so that's a big win in my book.

Great job and please make more stuff like this, I'm excited at the possibility of hearing more from you in the future <3

EMBL3M responds:

Hey, thanks for the in-depth review!

I totally agree with your opinion on filling out the main groove and drop. This is kinda my first step in making an atmospheric and heavy dubstep style, so that's a point I can improve on.

Also you found the reverb automation in the drop :DDDD I was hoping someone would find that!

I took the chord synth at :46 from the original actually, just edited the swell time and pitch bend. I really wanted to incorporate some of the elements from the original that I thought made the track unique.

Again, thanks a bunch for the review!

[Early Light]

I always love when people write ideas and melodies that are shortly out of context, then the harmony is brought in underneath and you can hear how the idea relates to the harmony. That's something you've done really well here. The really harmonically ambiguous and mysterious opening capturing the wonder you mentioned but then having it grounded and cushioned by some more comforting and warm harmony, good job!

This theme takes me back to some of the lonely mountain levels of the old Pokemon games, like the gentle snowy pass that gives you a momentary break from the relentless caves. sweet nostalgia <3

EMBL3M responds:

Glad you like it! <3 you captured the motion of this piece really well, I like how you described it :D

[-V- Cacophony of Bad Sounds]

Hey Varsity!

I've been watching your recent uploads and I'm seeing a big improvement in the quality and fullness of your tracks, some nice melodic ideas in this and a lot of gritty bass sounds, great job!

I think as you continue to progress your ability to make a cohesive soundscape will greatly improve, also developing your ear for balancing sounds to make a more connected sounding mix. you're making big steps, keep churning out music! - <3

Lot7even responds:

Thanks :P

[AIM - Music Identified]

I listened to this track when you first uploaded it and again just now, from the perspective of a standalone song and also as more purely expressive standpoint. My only criticism as a standalone song would be that the main idea of the rhythmic accents can get a little repetitive upon multiple listens, but I didn't get the impression that you were going for the feel of a traditional song here so that may be a mute criticism. Also this isn't a style of music I'm very familiar with so I could be completely wrong there.

Listening from a purely expressive angle I feel I understood this, or at least I hope I did. The sampled crowd intro going straight into the track had me relating to what you said in the description about cranking your headphones and blocking the outside world. There is pure aggression in the arrangement and sound design which I really like, everything feels hard hitting and heavy whilst still having a defined place in the mix for each instrument, something I find difficult to do myself so good job on that aspect.

You can definitely tell you're a drummer, the tight rhythmic DnB beats with lots of hat work like at 0:57 are really cool. The poly-rhythmic and rhythmically displaced moments throughout are nice touches too, you have a way of creating really raw, unorthodox and interesting sounds which is always a great thing to see!

Hope you do well in AIM and keep bringing us these fresh sounds!

Quarl responds:

Haha, Im not very familiar with these genres either. Im just making things up as I go :)

Thank you for the kind words Elf Actual <3

Edit: hope you checked out zephyo's art :D

[Do Anything To Me]

Quarl this is great!

The percussion in the intro was really gentle and sounded real nice, the bass sounds are really good, the soft bells and hidden wilhelm were a bonus, Good job!

Quarl responds:

Hidden? I thought the Wilhelm was pretty blatant. Ive never used it before, there it is :)

[Push the Big Red Button [BroStep]]

Hey man!

I really like the sound design of some of these basses, I do agree with the other review saying it is a little too consistent, but I completely understand the reasoning, when your equipment and software is limited it's easy to get frustrated making a whole bunch of fresh basses. There can be a tendency to run far with a few sounds when you find something you like, which I've done myself on several occasions ahaha.

Good job on making the basses you have in the track, they're crisp and metallic and are fairly varied in the musical motifs. Keep cracking on and making music like this and when you have the synths and drive to make drum sounds you'll make some quality stuff but just focus on having fun creating!

Lot7even responds:

Thanks m8! I just got serum, so things will be easier now.

[Master]

I love the feeling of space in the drop and the melody that's focused in the right ear, really reminds me of some of the sounds and musical ideas in the new DOOM soundtrack. I also adore all of the broken sounding synths dipping in and out during the drops and the dissonant harmony that occasionally slips into the main piano part, that slightly harsher edge harmonically is something I always really like in music, Great job!

Quarl responds:

Much thanks elf :D