johnfn's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[=(Lonely)=]

True story: most of my best received songs have been done really rapidly. Like "Flight" which only took 4 or 5 hours. Kind of insane when I think about it, I have no idea how that happened.

So hey maybe there's something to it. If you're suffering for weeks on a song, maybe that's because there's something wrong with the song itself. (Although I actually liked your recent 2-week-er submission.) I like the chord progression, it is quite sad. The melody needs a bit of work, but then again, it's a 1.5 hour song. I think your melodies in general are improving.

ArcaneSoul responds:

Improving? XD
I swear to go they are getting worse. I need lessons from you or something as i feel like i am going nowhere in general with my melodies. The best ones i have gotten surprisingly were when i was still in school using gband. For some reason i feel comfortable using the piano roll in that than the one in ableton.

[Art of the RMX]

The best part is definitely those bells that crop up at 4:01 and a little earlier too. That was really imaginative. I really like the two choruses at 2:00 and 3:50. They remind me a little bit of the stuff you were doing with moombahton, but you kinda progressed them too, filling them out with a lot of different instruments. Usually that's a bad idea but it works here.

This is a really good song. I listened to the source material - seems like you took it in a very different way, which I like.

I think maybe you could cut out the first 40 seconds of build up - I feel like the song really gets going once the piano comes in.

Sucks this got 0-voted. Probably from someone who hates MLP :p

ArcaneSoul responds:

Well ng generally hates mlp by alot so its no problem XD

Funny someone said that all the wubs and stuff were really unfitting. I made a lighter remix but im unsure i'll show that one. Also the whole filling it with different instruments, i need to stop that lol. I have no idea how to make organized wubs tho. Like i don't want it to be the same one over and over again but i don't want them to be too many different ones.

[Blue Whispers]

I like the chord prog. and the buzzy bass that kicks in at around 1:00. The melody seemed to be hiding behind the bass most of the time and wasn't really ever the foreground. I'd kinda like it to be stronger - maybe a different instrument would help. Also, there isn't really anything between your bass and the high pitched bells. I think people usually put in pads there, but maybe that was the aesthetic you were going for.

Neat song. Keep it up!

[Roots]

Me 5 minutes ago: "Who's this jerk who's beating my song in placement in the techno portal... wow generic techno instruments, this is going to suck... oh hey this sounds okay actually... wait a minute, this is pretty sweet, how'd that happen."

This is a really good song. The melody has a really nice tinge of melancholia to it. It's actually fairly well mastered too. Especially given how huge all your instruments are, it's impressive how you fit them together. I'm not a huge fan of wubstep, but you handle it subtly and pretty well.

Suggestions for improvement? Tough to say. Maybe more of a breakdown - the listener usually can't deal with such huge sounds without a lot of breaks. Maybe some more melodic variation too. Other than that, I like it! (And of course, feel free to hit me back with a review if you get the chance.)

Morphixx responds:

First off, thanks for taking the time to listen to it mate. I'm glad you liked it! I probably should have added more breakdown in this one like you said. Thanks for the input that. I will definitely go check out some of your songs as well! Oh and have a great day! :)

[-SheepHop-]

People are probably going to crap all over this song because it's not your typical style, and not nearly as polished as your traditional works. Personally, although I did give you a low score, I really encourage you to continue to explore new genres. After all, you only become a better artist by doing so.

Specific crits for this song - I feel like the beat should be a lot stronger and punchier. You really need a massive snare to bob your head to. The addition of sampled vocals was a good idea, but they seem really disjointed. I feel like they could fill the space better, if that makes sense.

Anyway, major props for trying something new, and I hope you continue to do so!

[Insurgent [MSB] (NGADM)]

This is a very good song. I'm not one of those people who 'hates dubstep' because I feel like all genres have potential for greatness. Of course, when you're writing dubstep it's incredibly tempting to just crap all over the drop...

There's a contrast in this song that's evident from the very beginning - your bass and your high synth don't go together at all. The bass is an incredibly funky tune, the synth is this more sad mournful sounding idea. You should either stay behind one or the other.

Your production is absolutely phenomenal, and I feel almost criminal docking you a few points. It's because I feel like I'm missing some sort of overall message from the track. The drops are flawless but I don't hear any kind of theme from them. There are no real gripping melodies or anything of that nature (except that funky bass which kinda gets forgotten about).

Anyway, great song.

GrantBowtie responds:

Ya some people I know object to the funky bass, but other people seem to like it, so don't know what to tell you- Thanks for the input man.

[Eerie Escape]

Hi and welcome to Newgrounds.

Sorry, you may want to reconsider your choice of venue, because Newgrounds is kind of a lame place to share music. :P

Anyway, to the song - it's interesting, although I must have missed that choir sample. Some of the ideas are good, like the one that starts at 1:04 with the violin and then is kind of mimicked later on. But I felt like some of your melodic ideas with the concert grand were a little confused and you should refine them.

[XS - Leaving (Audio DM 1)]

This is a beautiful song. My only suggestion is that it seems a little repetitive - a piano solo, or maybe just some differentiation would make this perfect.

I'm certainly not docking you on score for this, but what in GODS name is this doing under dubstep? When I listen to dubstep I usually expect the bassline to rip me to pieces. This is closer to *ambient* than dubstep. :D

(Not trying to be a jerk, just genuinely curious.)

Jimmypig responds:

Haha well it's 140 and has dubsteppy beats, so I though... Sorry :(

But no, totally agree, going to remake it for the next EP with (hopefully) singing! :)

(And yes, i'll pop a solo in)

[Nostalgia]

Hey, I found you on the audio advertisements page. This is a nice little hip hop song, although it's desperately in need of some vocals ;-) as you know.

My biggest thought for improvement would be to make your beat much stronger. Generally hip hop has epically powerful beats. You should definitely aim for that.

Other than that, maybe tweak the melody a little? Other than that, it's good. Keep it up.

[Pixelated Rainbow]

Beautiful intro.

Some comments.

If you're going to do chiptune, you may as well go all the way and chiptune the drums too. Real drums sound kind of strange when the melody is so chippy.

You have some great stuff in here. Those piano arps at like 2:45 are fantastic!

You've got a good ear for melody. They have this great tinge of melancholia. My biggest problem is that you jump from melody to melody almost at random. It's very difficult to understand the song unless you pay really close attention. Some transitions between your different ideas would really help. Once I started paying attention, it was much better.

Anyway, I really enjoyed this.

NeXsard responds:

taking notes