DKPUser3678's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Commercial Song No. 5]

Heya, I got quite a few things to say about this song:

First of all, I am curious why you only published song 3 and 5 to Newgrounds. It makes me a little curious as to what the rest sounds like.

Secondly, the song itself. I must say that I am having a bit of a double feeling about this song. It classifies itself as a 'commercial' song, meaning that it would probably be a typical ad song or something (I don't exactly know what kind of commercial I would imagine with this).

But when the rock part kicks in, I think the part sounds a bit hollow or empty. It only has, like, a bass guitar, some rock guitars and a drum kit, further on not much instrumental in this part. I don't dislike this part, but I honestly also don't really like it that much. It just comes too suddenly, almost in a fashion that this 'commercial song' tries to be unpredictable. This might work greatly with your other, more electronic stuff, but here I don't think it's exactly fitting. (The way I feel about this part might change in the future, but for now, this is what I think of it)

As for the part after the rock guitars, I must say these instead sound very full and well tuned. It's really pleasant to listen to the piano's in this part of the song. Then it further evolves onto this note, with more instruments adding in on the piece as it progresses. When the bitrate comes in, I felt like there was something about this track that I don't feel comfortable placing next to the word 'commercial' (I guess I am bringing up 'commercial' way too much here) in this case: emotion.

This song goes from an okay piano solo with the same drums as Song number 3 into a rock song, into an emotional piano & electronics payoff. I really like this part, though, don't get me wrong, but I am not 100% sure if it works in the context of this song. If we leave this aside though, I like this song way more than I don't, and that's especially thanks to the part towards the end. It sounds really well produced, and it's pleasant to listen to it with headphones too. Further on, I must say, you did a pretty nice job here. It's very different from your usual works, but I kinda like it too.

So, overall, I feel a 7,4 out of 10 is into place here. I round that up to 4 stars for literally the end part alone. Well done.

[Dark Emergence]

Happy new year! I know that I am 10 days late, but I had to say it anyways.

Nice song, yet again. You also have written it in a different key than you usually do. It's good that you explore new territory, and that you reinvent your music with every song. This also strongly reminds me of Jean-Michel Jarre because of that pluck you include somewhere in the third segment of the first drop.

The song takes some unexpected turns, and so, this was a very satisfying listen overall. The tuning sounded near perfect in my headphones (JBL TuneMaster), and the percussion was definiately also well tuned. Further on, it has a nice level of detail, as you hear these bitrate plucks gently arpeggiating their way from the right ear to the left, adding an almost surround sound feel to it, as if you're in space or something.

So, overall, I am feeling an 8 out of 10, so 4/5 stars. Good job, and I would like to hear more from you.

BlighterProductions responds:

Hey man. Sorry, late response, but thanks for again another detailed review. It's always a pleasure seeing comments of that nature appear in my comment sections.

For the rest, good to hear that you enjoyed it.

[Nuetronium]

One of the better 140 bpm techno songs on Newgrounds.

[Calderas (Ambient Soundscape)]

This is a haunting song. It feels so spacey and distant and sad. It gives me the harrowing feeling of loneliness, as if I am drifting through outer space all by myself, looking at the beauty of the universe, but at the same time, no one to accompany me on my drift. It's so simplistic, yet so touching.

8.2/10 - rounded to 4/5 stars

BlighterProductions responds:

Thank you very much for your kind words.
Good that it works with your imagination. That’s what I wanted to reach with this song.

[Mount 511]

Okay, first of all, DANG this is a GOOD song! Let me point out why:

I could already hear (before even reading the description) that you went for a particularly different style here. One to completely overturn what you usually do. I love that you try new things in a completely different style, in a completely different genre.

I can hear the experimentations in your work, and they work really well, from the distant and subtle whistle, with some softly attacking pads based under it. You can really sense a build towards a point. The buildup is unpredictable and challenging, which is a really strong point about this song.

Then the rhythm comes in, and I was SOLD. Distorted/glitched up bass with bit crushed rides/crashes that somehow sound way better into place than I ever thought they would be, and a nice, seemless switching between triol and solid beats?! Now that's creativity. I fucking loved every single bit of this part. When the cinematic climate entered, I was left in awe, closing my eyes like you told me to do by the end of this song, which I will get to in just a minute.

I feel like the pacing in this track could use some work, and by that I mean not even that much of a change. Each individual section is masterfully done in it's own. But they just don't cohese too well though. I think that's what you wanted to reach with unpredictability (which is certainly a characteristic about music that I can really fall in love with), but I feel like they're a bit too disjointed, as if you shifted different parts together and moved them to form a puzzle. Maybe making them flow into each other more smoothly may make it sound a bit better.

But that ENDING! I did not see that coming. The last two minutes of this track couldn't have been better. The piano and a dark whoosing bass/pad playing each other out beautifully make for an excellent experience. Not only is it of excellent idea, but also of execution. It's calming, and feels like you're put to rest after a long, exhausting, but beautiful journey. The wind blowing as an extra side track really captures the feeling (which is already something you're really good at), and makes for an incredibly satisfying ending, slowly fading into darkness.

Overall, I'm feeling a 9.8/10 for this. The only downside that I could find about this song wasn't even a big downside. The crafting, the mastering, the emotion, and especially the unpredictability that you put into this piece really make it a standout for me, and one of my favourite track that I have ever heard on first listen.

-Big thumbs up

BlighterProductions responds:

Dang dude, what an awesome critique you’ve got there again. Thank you very much for your time and effort to give this particular piece a review, full of attention to every tiny little detail possible.

Good thing I reached what I aimed for. A completely different style of which I wasn’t even sure what the results of it would be liked or not.

[Obscured Ringings]

I listened through this several times. This is both haunting and beautiful. A nice mix between soundscape and piano.

BlighterProductions responds:

Hey man. Thank you very much.

[Techno Voltaire Pt. 1]

Hey dude. Good to hear from you again! I have been listening a few times, and I have some points to remark on. *insert a very extensive constructive feedback

The song has this kind of industrial acid vibe throughout. It starts off with some suburban city ambience, which is an interesting choice, but it works pretty well, I must say.

At 0:17, the listener is suddenly taken out of his trance (or is actually getting more immersed into it as the music intensifies) when the bassline comes in, and a fucking terrifying alarm is sounding through the entire area. Nice use of ear panning by the way. It gives you the idea that it's all around you.

Of course, it is only a forebode, for the magic starts at 0:31, when the rhythm is solidified into a beat, and a very catchy beat at that. The alarm's sound quality however, is rather lossy, I noticed.

Between 0:57 and 1:00 I expected a noise of some sorts to remain before the drop, but there is nothing there. Just plain silence. I wonder if you decided this purposedly or not, but it's a small detail.

Only, as the drop comes in, the track still hasn't quite reached it's full potential yet. It is still building up to that point. I think that makes this piece so unique.

But when the drop really comes at 1:29, it is so satisfying. The mixing is nearly perfect, and the large synth lead playing the melody sounds majestic against those other, more acidic instruments. Very good part. It even changes it's drum sequence at 1:42 for a little more variation!

The energy drop at 1:56 is nice, but the synths are getting a bit repetitive after a few seconds.
And also, at 2:10, the synth could have gotten some more release, like as if it's a fade-out. But here it just abrubtly stops.

The plucks at 2:17 sound nice but intimidating due to the melody they're playing. The very difficult to hear but also distinct hi-hats that repeat in the background give you a bit of an orientation of the rhythm so that you don't get lost in it.

Then comes a little energy increase at 2:31, when a distorted bass, sounding very clearly like the Transistor Bass from FL Studio, goes actually pretty well with the pads playing alongside it.
And at 3:12, I got another unexpected moment when the lead, which sustained longer before this drop, now is more pulsating and shorter. I want to know what let you make this decision. It's still a very good, unique touch.

The buildup between 3:25 'till 40 is very good, and gives you a sense of energy again.
At 3:42, the drop is yet again, amazing, not as good as at 1:29, but still good. I only wonder: what is with those arpeggiated acid noises in the background? They sound a tad bit out of place here.

At 4:09, the song blossoms in all it´s glory, mixing the already existent elements with the newer ones, creating a very climactic feel. That feel is actually abrubtly cut out at 4:38, when the song suddenly transitions back to an earlier part of the song, reprising itself. A funny sounding synth at 4:41 could have had it's portamento toned down, so that it doesn't slide from one octave to another.

At 5:06, the synth playing at a high note the whole time suddenly transitions into something more dark. It becomes more mutated, like it's an industrial saw or something.
The subtle removal of instruments at 5:18, and the following decrease in volume in the bass makes for a very creative ending. I find it particularly amazing how you managed to make it feel like a definitive ending.

That's great, but the song is called Part 1. So that means there's gonna be a part 2, right?...
Overall, a very solid piece that resonates in it's quality. As a fan of Techno, I expected a more light-noted track, but what I actually got is beyond my expectations (in a good way). I think this piece has got some serious potential to become more famous than it is right now (but it came out very recently, so I cannot say that it isn't yet, actually).

Overall I am feeling a 8.5/10 for this, but rounded to a solid number, you get 4,5 stars. For the effort you put into this track to make it as versatile as possible, but also for keeping a nice groove with very catchy drops throughout.

BlighterProductions responds:

W-O-W. What a way to describe this song. I can see you listened to it more than once to get an exact idea of what you had to remark on the piece.

Thanks for pointing out what you thought of each individual section. I guess it helps out sorting things a bit.

The 'ear panning' was a necessary addition to the audio file, to give it more atmosphere. Clearly it worked. It's low quality because the only way to get this sound was to record a YouTube video and squeezing the audio out of it, which I do in my video editing program. The audio was always like this. You can find it on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5lpNx5cLwig?t=25

Now, about the rest of the piece, this was solely intended as a danceable club track. I guess it went a bit deeper for you here than for me, and I love the way you pointed things out.

You also notified me of some things I didn't even know, like with the 'portamento' thing. I guess that was the cause of the octave slide, then. Thanks for pointing it out.

Now, thanks for your review, and I hope I can continue to surprise my listeners like this more than once in the future. Definitely stay tuned for part 2.

''Yours sincerely.''

[Blossoming]

Very good sounds, catchy, good melody, good use of bass. Overall, a very good result.

[Good ending]

Sorry, I just can't seem to enjoy this.