I love psytrance and you had the making of something quite brilliant. Too bad you're not going to be making anymore songs in this genre, because you'd be excellent at it.
Instrumentation: You definitely got the Astral Projection sound down quite nicely. Your bassline, lead, and other synths were well done for a first attempt. Plus, you did a great job on selecting the kick, and that voice clip. Oh, and the guitar was pretty badass!
Composition: While this may not be as intense as Infected Mushroom, Cosmo, Hallucinogen, Penta, or Orca; your melodies were pretty good. However, after the 3:27 mark, it's just silence. Was that a part of your rendering problem or something that you overlooked?
Other: I can see this being used in a few submissions if the movie/game creator is very clever.
The Good:
-Original
-Excellent sound
-Nice melodies
-Reasonable filesize
The Bad:
-Goes silent after the 3:27 mark
Overall: Mr Jay, how would you like a nine from me? (4.5/5)
It's too bad you never got to finish that cartoon or Out of this World 2 because this is pretty catchy. If you still have the .fla files to those, I suggest that you finish them. In addition to being a great director, you're also a great composer. (Though this is just one song)
Sound design: The percussion, piano, and trumpets were well-done considering the context of this song. Has anyone told you that you have the ear for sound design? (Besides myself of course.)
Composition: Your melodies were excellent, and I liked how it changed from tense to subtle and back. To be honest, I don't get to review music very often, but I do know good music when I hear it.
Other: The only gripe with this is that it ends a bit too early at 1:24. I mean there's nine seconds of needless silence that should have been cut, but it's your song not mine.
[+]
-Original
-Well-composed
-Great instruments
-Nice use of contrast
-Reasonable file size
[-]
-Ends earlier than one would expect.
Overall: Curt, how would you like a ten from a fellow longtime NG member? (5/5)
I see this was given a long time ago :) thanks very much for the review, it's inspiring to me.
How'd you know my name? ;)
The song ended prematurely and isn't complete, I don't know why I posted it unfinished? I think I just just though "better done than good" haha Thanks again, means a lot. :)
I usually don't review voice demos, but this is fantastic. It's surprising that nobody has asked you to voice act in their cartoons. With that being said...
The acting is really professional sounding, and sometimes funny. It may not be up to par with Mel Blanc, but this is good stuff regardless. You should consider "selling" yourself a bit considering your skills. In addition, while the voice range may not be as varied, they're diverse enough to keep it from being monotonous. This makes me wonder why people don't take the time to search for overlooked talent such as yourself and Crystal-Jawz. As for the aforementioned humor, it was somewhat funny, but felt rather dry at times.
The Good:
-Original
-Great voice acting
-Decent range
-Mildly amusing
Thanks so much for the thoughtful feedback! I truly appreciate it. This kind of constructive criticism helps me understand my strengths and weaknesses (just like a super hero). The humor is subjective, as always, but I'm very flattered you think highly of what talent I may have.
I have started "selling" myself, in fact. I've signed up on a few VO sites this week and have been auditioning for multiple gigs. I'm willing to do free work for Newgrounds members if the projects are right (For example: I'm not going to be doing vocal work for something that was put together for shitz and gigglez).
Thanks again and hope you feel free to poke around and check out my other material.
I usually don't review the latest music on here, but you have something that has potential brilliance. Allow me to explain...
Instrumentation: Your sound design is definitely befitting for the title you chose. The synths had a nice, ominous tone and your drums are also good.
Composition: Not bad for an audio cue, but it could have used a bit more in the melody department. Oh, and your drum patterns are more akin to Breaks and hip-hop than trance.
Other: This is the kind of song that should be used in numerous submissions on here. Most people on the Audio Portal put too little thought into song versatility, but what do I know?
The Good:
-Original
-Good sound design
-Versatile
-Reasonable filesize
-Catchy
The Bad:
-Feels more like downtempo breaks than trance
-Could have used a bit more melodic variety
It's always great to hear more psy-related music on NG. To be honest, I'm not very familiar with either your music or flash, but you have done well on the former.
Instrumentation: Interesting mix between Techno and Psytrance when it comes to the sound design. Plus, I like how you had the snare kick in at the second third of the song.
Composition: This is pretty sweet in this department, even though that wasn't the focus. It had a very mysterious atmosphere and psychedelic feel to it. The aforementioned techno elements added an extra tone of aggression to it, making this very expressive.
Other: It's surprising that this hasn't been used in any submissions yet.
I wanted to get this off of my chest, but this felt more like jungle than trance. However, that doesn't make it any less enjoyable. Seeing that no one else has reviewed this, I'll fill that void.
Instrumentation: You have something that definitely feels like a legitimate psytrance song, mixed with a jungle-style breakbeat at 1:38. Also worth noting is the use of a music box and wood block at the middle of the song. Oh, and the guitar used was badass!
Composition: This is the kind of stuff that is flash game material. Those melodies were energetic and appealing to the ears, like a conscious experiment done right. It seems that you have the ear for composing music, but from 4:02 onward sounded like a missed opportunity. I mean, it's just rain from that moment to the end. What happened? Run out of motivation and/or ambition?
Other: Not much else aside from being legitimately original and creative. By the way, I think you Audio Portal/SoundCloud/Bandcamp/Beatport guys ought to take a cue from Cheshyre and Zach Striefel by teaming up with various (Flash) animators/programmers on here.
What I liked about this:
-Original
-Excellent instrumentation
-Very melodic
-Versatile
-Clever mix between four on the floor and jungle-style breakbeat.
What I didn't like:
-Unfinished
-Felt more like jungle than trance
Overall: This needs both a nine and to be used in a shit load of submissions. (4.5/5)
Oh, thanks! Sorry about the late response. I don't really hang out on Newgrounds much anymore. I saw you sent me a message so I thought I might as well check out the review. About the icon, I guess I'll add one now.
I should probably get on here more as it is a nice portal to display my music to other people. Welp. Thanks for the review. It would be lovely to here more from you in the future. :D
However, it is a really catchy techno song for what you had made. Plus, it had that old Detroit techno feel akin to Derrick May and Juan Atkins.
Instruments: While it doesn't have the elements that would have made this into psytrance; I liked what you did with that wood block in the beginning and the synths were also well-done. For something that used one sythesizer; you did a great job programming it.
Composition: I found this to be really catchy considering that this was just done with one instrument. Your melodies are good even though they took a bit of time to kick in.
Other: I already have mentioned that this isn't a Psytrance song. If you try again at that genre, it would be wise to study the right material. (Consider listening to Infected Mushroom, Astral Projection, Andophoria, Paranormal attack, Penta, Psykovsky, and Hypnotic Mushroom.)
The Good:
-Nice melodies
-Clever use of a wood block
-Good sound
-Original
The Bad:
-Not psytrance
-Took a bit of time for the melodies to kick in.
Overall: Majin Khan, I'll give you a seven. (3.5/5)
I'm not very familiar with the whole Tech _____ scene, but this is really catchy. Plus, This can be actually used in a flash movie or game.
Instrumentation: Nice mix between techno synths and DnB percussion. Plus, I also like what you did with the pads. That, and the cymbal crash used.
Composition: This has some nice melodies going on, and the effects worked in its favor. However, I would like to hear something like this being elaborated upon.
Other: Nothing worth mentioning that I can think of. (In other words, I'm not much of a music critic.)
[+]
-Original
-Nice melodies
-Clever mix of techno and DnB
-Great sounding synth
-Good percussion
-Versatile
As a fan of Psytrance, I have to admit that while it's not up to par with what Tom Olive, Ocular Nebula, Theta4, and Gloony have done; it has the makings of something magnificent. Of course, why did you submit this under classical? (Just curious)
Instrumentation: You have the psytrance sounds down perfectly and it felt like something that made by Astral Projection, Hallucinogen, Infected Mushroom, or Penta. However, there are some issues that need to be mentioned. First of all, while the percussion may be a bit loud, that could have been intentional. Second, those Matrix soundbytes felt superfluous and shoehorned in.
Composition: To your merit, I loved what you did from the 5:18 mark and onward. Those melodies were really catchy and felt really natural. On the other hand, most of the song felt too dependent on both the aforementioned soundclips and overpowered drums.
Other: Not much else to mention with this aside from it being very odd to see a psytrance song in the classical section. Of course, I would understand if you had some actual instruments mixed in this.
The Good:
-Original
-Nice sound
-The melodies that kicked in at the 5:18 mark are excellent.
The Bad:
-Could have used stronger melodies
-The drums are a bit loud though that could be intentional
-Those Matrix sound clips felt tacked on and superfluous.
Overall: This may not be the best psytrance song on NG, but it doesn't justify the low score. (2.24) Here's an eight from me. (4/5)
I think you have the chance of winning Bosa's contest.
Seriously, it's surprising that not enough people turn to you for their music needs. Hell, I even suggested you to other NG members such as Doomhammr and Hyptosis. I can go on and on, but that would be meaningless. In other words, I'll cut to the chase...
Instrumentation: You sure know your VSTs well enough to find out what works and what doesn't. To be honest, I haven't played Assassin's Creed, but can tell that there's similarities between your work and UBI Soft's. They have struck a nice balance between intense and subtle.
Composition: To elaborate on that last sentence, it takes a delicate hand to make such sharp contrasts work with each other; anyone else would have screwed up. I loved what you did with the first half of this song, which had a very nice atmosphere. The second half was also brilliant considering that the first half could be considered a build-up.
Other: Nothing else worth mentioning aside from the fact that you have also great mastering and EQ skills to boot. By the way, Have you considered making a tutorial on FL Studio akin to what Steven Polley and Nav did?
The Good:
-Original
-Clever use of contrasts
-Excellent composition
-Great instrument variety
-Versatile
The Bad:
-Nothing really
Overall: Stephan, here's a ten from me and here's hoping that more people consider turning to you for their music needs.
"I think you have the chance of winning Bosa's contest."
Wow man you really think so? I've never even placed in any contest before so if I do I'll probably burst with happiness or something. But I doubt I will, dem0lecule and samulis and deadlyfishes and Buoy and WizMystery and other amazing musicians are also taking part. D:
"Seriously, it's surprising that not enough people turn to you for their music needs. Hell, I even suggested you to other NG members such as Doomhammr and Hyptosis. I can go on and on, but that would be meaningless. In other words, I'll cut to the chase..."
Wow, thanks for recommending me. That's really appreciated.
"Instrumentation: You sure know your VSTs well enough to find out what works and what doesn't. To be honest, I haven't played Assassin's Creed, but can tell that there's similarities between your work and UBI Soft's. They have struck a nice balance between intense and subtle."
That's great; Omnisphere is very new for me but surprisingly I adapted pretty quickly to it. I also used some of my favourite instruments from all of my East/West libraries too, like the duduk and mid-eastern string section.
"Composition: To elaborate on that last sentence, it takes a delicate hand to make such sharp contrasts work with each other; anyone else would have screwed up. I loved what you did with the first half of this song, which had a very nice atmosphere. The second half was also brilliant considering that the first half could be considered a build-up."
Thank goodness to that, I am really not that good at contrasts. I think the transitions between soft and powerful also need some work, but... yeah there are a lot of loose ends I haven't tied up yet.
"Nothing else worth mentioning aside from the fact that you have also great mastering and EQ skills to boot. By the way, Have you considered making a tutorial on FL Studio akin to what Steven Polley and Nav did?"
Haha, I actually did, years ago. I didn't actually finish it, but I made this little tutorial with a friend of mine for a school project we had to do where we had to make a site with HTML. It was actually coming out pretty well! No idea where that is now though haha.
That same friend and I are, in a few months, going to teach some 11-year old kids at school on how to make music with FL Studio though. It isn't exactly making a tutorial, but hey it's something.
"Stephan, here's a ten from me and here's hoping that more people consider turning to you for their music needs."
Thanks so much for the review. Hopefully if they do turn to me for music, I wouldn't be so swamped with Maths homework haha.
Psytrance? (Mr Jay) 
Michael Scott Demo 2 
Darkness 
Inception 
Crimson Night 
