Nav's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[DJ Comet-Psychosis]

No matter how distorted this is...

I can't express what it has done for me... at least not in simple typed words. All I can really say is that this song was one of those songs that... without it... I wouldn't be producing or listening the way I am today. To say it was influential would really be an understatement.

Therefore, I give this song one of the highest compliments that any song can get. Its not about production quality, but its about those songs that contain memories which instantly set the mood. This song really does dredge up memories for me, of listening to this song... on max volume, no less... not caring about distortion. In fact, that only made it better at high volumes, felt more hurried, contributed to the mood.

Really, this is on my favorites list because I REMEMBER this song. It stuck out amidst the hundreds of songs from NG that I listened to over a year and a half ago, and got stuck in a place in my head... somewhere that I can't remove it. I can always hear that haunting melody... back there... It really does bring everything back.

But I'm starting to ramble. The memories contained in this song are, sadly, private. For me. Only. But either way. This song doesn't have the best production or style, but it does set the mood perfect, and it makes me remember early days of my visits to the AP.

[Retribution (Mac8)]

Some good, some bad.

I'll start with the bad, so that you can improve on it, then I'll go to the good to cheer you up after reading.

1. The drums. All around... not too good, sorry to say. Even the patterns. As a drummer, I'm sure you know one of the main elements of a good drum pattern is simply... GROOVE! Let me make a quick quote from a DogsOnAcid interview, where they get an established artist to answer questions from the members there. Its all dnb. This is Q&A 18: http://www.dogsonacid.com/showthread.
php?threadid=585407

Quote: "Breaks. How do you get them realistic. Rolling like a real drummer. Technical wise not by feel."

Response: "It depends

In dnb it is important it is mixable - and also that it sounds alright in the mix. As such I prefer MOST of the time to have quarter notes strictly quantised, eighth notes probably/possibly strictly quantised and th 16ths, well, we'll see.

What's important is that a) that drummer is more than likely a bad motherfucker. For example, James Brown didn't have Clyde on drums for umpteen years cos the geezer didn't groove like an absolute motherfucker. He had him play for years cos he was a fuckin groove machine. This should be respected and utilised - your tracks will benefit from it (that's my belief anyway).

So it is a question of balancing what you have (raw grooving drums) with what you want (tight for those DJ luddites )."

In other words, dnb is about groove. I advise sampling some old skool breaks, because no matter how good of a drummer you are, those old skool dudes could groove. Check my first news post for some sample pack links. The drums in your song.... sound sort of rushed. No real flow or groove.

The samples could also use some work. It sounds like an Amen layered with a 909. Try just using a basic breakbeat sampled and layer that. Then, layer individual kicks and snares on top. That's generally how it is done.

2. The arrangement. If you were going for a DJ type arrangement, then you need to know the DJ structure of dnb. This is more of a non-informed rather than a negative. It goes:
64 bar intro
64 bar drop 1
32 bar middle bridge
64 bar drop 2
32 bar outro
Its been tried and true, tested for many, if not all dnb songs released in the past 10 years. (there is one variation on it, but I'm not going to waste your time by mentioning it).

Ok, now that I got that out of the way, the good.

1. Reese is fucking awesome. I don't know how you do it, but they do always sound awesome. Not the wobble, but the 'duck' one. It sounds almost pro, but the drums are always the limiting factor, holding it back. If this had some real groove, and that reese, it would be an ace track.

2. Synths are also great. They really improve the mood of the song, and they sound nice too. Yes, the power of simple filtered bleeps. Never underestimate it. Nice synth usage here.

And that's it. Hope this helps you improve. You've really got some talent there, but you just gotta stop taking your drums for granted. Really focus on working on them. A/B with professional tunes and overall just keep trying. That's about all I can say.
-Nav

Quarl responds:

Great review, and the more technical aspects of the drum programing were helpful, but perhaps you could help me out here by defining grooove?

Really though, when I think modern drum and bass, I don't think groove. It reminds me more like metal drumming, with raw power and testosterone pouring out of every nostril. Granted, the older styles had what I'd call groove, I wasn't really aiming for "groove." I was aiming for madness. When I think groove, I think finesse and polish. Not really what I was going for... meh.

You've told me about that song structure before. I'll give it a try on my next track but I don't entirely see the point of structuring it to a tee like that. I get a lot of shit from the n00bs telling me that my songs are too repetitive, but it seems like all the pros want otherwise. It's all so confusing. I don't know who I want to please more, the masses or the masters.

I always walk away from your reviews scratching my head but it will kick in later. I feel like your words always come back to haunt me. I'll get it eventually.

(Also, the snare/ kick was mixed half amen. It was lower though. You have damn good ears.)

[Unofficial NG Ventrilo]

EPIC

I win. NO I DONT TOUCH MY COCK IN MY MOTHERS ROOM

:P Seriously, it was fun, I was there.

[+The Lycanthrope+]

Er...

I hope not to make a long review, but I probably will. First of all, the beginning is extremely crowded and muddy. Filter that reese. Bandpass it. Sweep the bandpass around. Mess with patterns. Don't just leave it there to muddy up the drums.

Har har, still using my breaks.... I've made much better now. Still, sounds alright. Kinda reminds me of Current Value... Man, that reese is all over the place. Really, tighten it up. ParagonX9 isn't dnb. Reeses aren't melodic. Pitchbend, filter, fucking mess with it. Don't make melodies... That just makes it sound like trance with breakbeats pitched down. Srsly, if you don't process reeses, they can be extremely similar in different octaves.

The drums here have more flow than the others, but still the excessive use of the snare drum. I really should give this a try. This song was alright. Not your best, by any means.

WritersBlock responds:

Hey nav, thanks for the review. Yeah, those drums. I'll mess around with some samples from time to time, but I get lazy and just slice up these ones. I really need to kick this habit =P. The melodies, what can I say, I'm drawn towards adding melodies in the bass, but yeah, as you say, it's lacking that weird ass bassline.
Thanks again, man. Let's hope the next one's more DnB than this.

[{-^MP^-} Techno Funk! V2]

Nice...

Techno Funk? Dude, that's a huge genre... called HOUSE!!! Yes, house is bringing the funk to techno and has been since the 1980s... You're a bit late there.

I like the synths a lot. Awesome soundscape, I think that the sidechaining really adds to the effect. The stabs rule and the sampling is also cool.

Now, for the issues. Note that I really like this song, so I'm getting a bit nitpicky here. First of all, the kick is really pushed back at times. I'm not if this was intentional, but the kick could use a bit more volume. Loudness overall, though, is fine. Sounds good on that front.

My main issue with it is that it seems sorta random. I don't hear too many elements which appear throughout, even though I really liked the break in the beginning and those strings too. It makes it feel a bit disjointed. Lots of synths everywhere, all over... just coming at me. My favorite part was that little arp thing at 0:49 which only appears once more, just after. It needs more continuity, more flow, more thought given to arrangement. Its as if you took 6 minutes of music and compressed it into 3. If this was in FL Studio, send me the file :P I'll do a club mix if you'd like, and separate it all out into distinct sections.

Overall, there were no really serious issues with the mixing. Its not mastered, but that's not a serious issue: Most tracks here aren't mastered either. Some great elements here, I'd like to hear more of it.

Nice track. I really liked it! I think I will check more of your music now... but don't expect more reviews... they tire me out. But inspire me. I might go make something funky now. Or just listen to my Saturday Night Fever vinyl. BURN BABY BURN! DISCO INFERNO!

Bye, 9/10 for minor arrangement issues. 5/5

Musical-Pants responds:

Wow, sweet review!
House? hmmmmm. I've never really heard that many house songs, so I don't know what it's all about. Thanks for the heads up!
And I love where you say "Its as if you took 6 minutes of music and compressed it into 3". That's a problem I have a lot, because if there's one thing I can't stand, it's a repetition overdose. I usually "solve" this problem by throwing one bassline over the entire track, with mixed results.
I actually made this one for my brother. Hes obsessed with fast-paced electronic music, and kept asking me, "why can't you do more techno stuff?"
So I decided to humour him, and since he likes a song with lot's of different synth, funky drums, and a lotta bleeps, I figured this would be his dream song.
If you want to check out a song which proves I can actually use music theory, see 'Someday'.
You use FL 8? I'd love to do a collab, unfortunately in this case I used different software.
Again, thanks for the review.

-Pants

[the birthday song]

wewt

<3 u chim u has acid lols

PLZ MAEK MOAR ACID LATER THX

That lead can go die plz where's the acid? It needs more. And more distortion. And more overcompression.

BUT IT ARE GOOD I ARE JUST STOOPID.

ENjOII Ur barfdaiii

Wuv Naveeejayoneoneone

CLKIN responds:

LAWLZORZ THX
<_i_)

[{Forever Young} [cnb Remi]

Lol COMPETITION!!!

You're competing against big names here... Namely Antisocial (aka Hixxy), who did a remix of Forever Young too... Whatever. I can safely say that I like that one better...

This track was nice, but, as I've been learning, Happy Hardcore here is different then happy hardcore in the 90's. This stuff is like faster trance with some slightly different synths and breakdowns. However, the music from back then ("Classic" Happy Hardcore) was totally different. Where the kickdrum COULD sound distorted. Back when cheesy pitched up vocals was ok, and encouraged. Whatever, I didn't live through it.

All I know is that this is a good production, but not really hardcore enough, if compressed for "energy." Nice job, but not my favorite. I like your dnb better ;P

Keep it up.

[Mario Paint - TtFaF]

Epic win...

Saw this on Youtube, had to review it, from one audio author to another.

Amazing ear training skills, you has... or just no life :P

Eitherway, good job!

[[GF]SaD[GF]Preview]

HxC eh?

I've been listening to a lot of Happy Hardcore lately, and this isn't Happy Hardcore. Sorry :( Its way too slow, and its not "happy" or cheesy. Then again, this is somewhat of the direction its been heading lately. This is more like Hard Dance, though. Not Happy Hardcore.

Cool song, though. I like the kickdrum, but not so much the breaks. I like the melodies, and the synths are kinda... generic.... but cool nonetheless. Keep it up. I'd review more if I was at home, but I'm on vacation, so I don't have as much time to sit down and critique.

GroundForce responds:

Hey have a nice vacation!!!! ^^

"I've been listening to a lot of Happy Hardcore lately, and......."

yea blabla ^^ jk

i'm not that genre professional, but thanks for the hint!!

"Cool song, though. I like the ...."

luckily this project is under development ^^

thx for your review!

[(::Surfing On Color::) GWC]

Alright...

"Furthermore, I use Garageband to its fullest potential in making and customizing my own home made loops. I DO NOT USE ANY FROM THE LOOP BROWSER! Sometimes I grab one and change it around a bit, but that is no different from making a home made loop. Get your ears checked or something man."

Actually, there is a difference. Do you know the difficulty of synthesizing your own sounds? Have you ever tried Reason? Open up Thor, make a loop, and then tell me that its just as easy as in Garageband. No, it wont be. Know why? Because actual synthesis takes a large amount of skill, or at least know-how.

The beginning of electronic music was based on people making their own, original sounds out of the tools they created. It was totally new, and totally unique. The Synthesizer eventually became a staple of the industry. If you didn't know how to work a synthesizer, as in what an oscillator was, or an LFO was, or some basic effects processing, then you would not be able to succeed.

Its only in this new age of music that songs like this, created using loops made by others, that you can make popular electronic music with absolutely no technical know-how. I know many artists here who haven't achieved half as much popularity as you who are more skilled and more creative than you. All you know how to do, really, is spam your music.

Now, about ambient and minimal. The basic idea behind ambient (Correct me, others with knowledge if I'm wrong) is to create a unique soundscape which expresses a particular idea or vision. I know that using garageband loops makes it easy, as the developers of the loops were excellent musicians. They expected people to use the loops as a basis, or for small jingles, not boring 5 minute tracks. It takes a complete lack of originality or skill to do something like that.

Minimalism emerged with techno, and can actually be a lot of fun. It involves tracks with little or no distinct key, so large numbers of tracks can be played on top of one another. It has nothing to do with using a sparse number of textures.

One last thing: If you're making music for this club, then its obvious that you didn't spend much time on your music. Generally, I'd be hesitant to submit all kinds of music for an organization because I take time when making music, allowing for all the steps of the creative process. Its painfully obvious when someone slaps together a bunch of Garageband loops and calls it music.

0/10, 0/5

PS: I agree with Quarl, if you haven't figured that out yet.

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

That is why I want to get Reason or Logic Studio. So I can show what I can do. But because I use Garageband you vote 0 on my songs. Of course I use the instruments the program provides! Isnt that the same thing as using a piano to make a piano melody?! I use the instrument, then play my own loops (usually ambient) on my mac keyboard. The only loop that I draged out from the loop browser is the drum loop. You really piss me off and have a lot of nerve to say that I use only loops from the loop browser.

I dont see why you think there is any other pre-set loops other than a drum loop on this song. DO YOU WANT A PICTURE OF THE ENTIRE SONG OR THE FILE AS PROOF?? I have had ebnugh of you and Quarl stating immature lies about my music. And I work VERY hard on making it. It took me weeks to come up with this song and make it! I dont know why I can't get it through your thick skull that I DID NOT USE AMY PRE-SET LOOPS OTHER THAN THE ELECTRONIC DRUM BEAT FROM THE LOOPS LIBRARY!!!

Furthermore, for you to blindly state that I use Garageband loops in my ambient tracks is just plain retarded. Most Garageband users know that their are barely any ambient loops in Garageband in the first place. In all my ambient songs I use 4 or more pads that Garageband has to offer. Isnt that the same as using 4 different instruments to create a song?

I have not used Reason yet because I dont have the money to afford it right now. Once I do get it, I hope to make my own synth sounds. But with Garageband I can at least make my own recorded synths.

Plus, most of the instruments Garageband has I alter with some filters and bass improvment. I usually dont use an instrument as it is already made in Garageband.

For you to state that my music is crap I dont care about, but for you, Quarl, and all the rest of your buddies to state that my music is "stolen" "not original" "easy to make" "no effort put in whatsoever" and "minimalist, sampled crap" is completley immature and LIES. Why would I post sampled crap when I still want an opinion on what people think about my hard music? I wouldnt care what others thought if I just plugged in a whole bunch of stuff made by other people because it isnt made by me! So when someone says. "wow this is cool!" I wouldnt care because they would be talking about the others who made it!"

Jesus get off my back.