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S3C

226 Audio Reviews

160 w/ Responses

Thirded!

I am not lying when I say that I'm genuinely interested in EVERY one of these samples you posted...clip after clip, I was like "ahh gotta tell SBB he needs to complete this one", "oh wait, no definitely this one", "oh wow, this one needs to be finished too". All of them are very creative, stylistic and worth taking the time to finish. It's amazing how much you've blossomed into one of the premier european electronic musicians over the years right before our own very eyes :')

But I did have FAVORITES:

00:23
-Anything that use harmonic minor I for. I really like the drums and baseline. Sounds like an awesome intro to a good DnB song.

00:43
-Real creative. A bit reminiscent of snoballanthemonyshot if you remember that fellow. I really like the lo-fi drums and the jazz harmonies

00:57
-Nice man. Somewhat like the music in the Slumdog Millionaire soundtrack. It has a pop-oriented catchy beat, but packs lots of sophstication in the exotic drum choices. The song really got interesing when the vibrato lead line came in with the airy pads. The demented bassline is tight as hell

1:19
-Now this is where it's at. Probably my absolutely favorite of the bunch. Compositionally it's fairly minimal, but the groove fucking rocks and the bass is super smooth. I love the subtle hand percussion.

2:08
-Took listening to a few times until it climbed into my favorites amongst the others. The chord progression moves very nicely, nice contrast of color with the key changes. I especially enjoyed the guitar FX. Reminds me of a city underground or something.

3:05
-Probably my second favorite. This is some great jazz man. The bossa-latin style exemplifies your diversity in creating tunes. Sounds Pat-Metheney inspired. Enjoyable jazz chording, nice tasteful guitar soloing over the top of the progression. If I was to make a suggestion hear, I would roll off the tone some more on your guitar and make the string pads sound even more synthetic by layering it some and giving it a stronger chorusing effect. Maybe through in a shaker and conga percussion eventually. Even a flute contributing to the chordal texture would be sick.

3:36-Way to quirky and original of a piece to pass up. The lead reverby synths are COLD. I like how the tiny bells and dings contrast nicely with the big rolling bassline, as if something's brewing in a mad scientist's lab.

4:09-I love the formant synths. The melody flows really well. Drum lines are very well sequenced and sampled.

4:48-Reminds me of radiohead, with your synthesizing intuition worked in. Can't say it's exactly my style, but just as it cut out and the chords started strumming, I yearned for more.

6:00-Gotta throw a nice ballad in there. I think meshing these ideas with the ones in the first sample would work great together.

/Review

Buoy responds:

Your favorites are each one except three haha. This is awesome, you've given me quite a few ideas for some of the tunes. Thank you so very much

yes

yes plz SIR

gr8

i like the overall serene atmosphere that you never fail to provide.This would work great in some bodywash/cologne/teethwhitener/breath mint commercial where some dude applies the "secret pherome" effect in the elevator before he approaches the cute girl next door. i give it a 9/10 because it is a little bit sparse in the instrumentation department, and because it could use a little more melodic or synthy substance...but what do I know. The quality is top notch, pristine clean EQing and great stereo on the pads and ornamental background synths. The bass and kick have great physical chemistry, like their sexually intimate. Are the guitar licks played by you or sampled or a mixture of both?

probably my favorite from you

I've had this track downloaded onto my MP3 player for quite some time, its a great interesting track with sweet southern america vibes :]

The melodic bamboo percussion of course is a great highlight of the track, I like the syncopated theme that's played on them. The overall feel is slightly reminiscent of Chrono Cross' OST, if youve ever played that game. The ocarina sounds sweet as well, and the two melodic lines develop great together. And of course, snazzy guitar lick. It's got a very crisp sound too.

The second section is awesome and has a cool cinematic element to it that probably fits quite well with that story :) You did a good job using the various articulation patches from the EW samples, great job sequencing the string and horn instruments, and the chord progression is colorful and interesting.

Now for my nitpicks & suggestions, because thats just what I do -_- Excuse me if I sound like I'm trying to impose, as my review style has irritated people in the past lol.

I probably would have mixed the track differently, maybe in the process making it sound muddy or flat lol. But I feel like the drums could be brought a little bit more to the front, specifically the snare. And since the ocarina is soft, quite instrument, I would try to give it a thick(er) reverb to make it stand out from the other instruments a touch more.

The interlude section feels sparce. Perhaps to fill in the void, include some more ambient samples, such as mild rainfall, a flowing river or waterfall, or even a delicate airy pad. Also, a call and response section to match the melody of the bamboo chimes in the interlude is worth considering, that is if it fits within the story.

Lastly, I think the piece would benefit if there was 1 or 2 more latin percussion instruments.

but its another awesome piece by you! i think i've got some inspiration to create something ethnic-influence now, thanks :)

sorohanro responds:

Thanks for review, really good points there :)

awesome playing & arranging

I knew you rocked at guitars and trumpet, but I had no idea you played sax as well.

-I like your subtle variations and ornamentation around the melody
-The slower tempo, and laid back drum rhythms (nice panning with the samples btw) are great for soloing against
-I love your guitar playing. Nothing is forced, your articulation is soft and brisk, good voicing, etc. and I hear that you slightly go 'outside' of the basic I-IV-V chord structure. Any tips on making interesting guitar comping patterns? what you did here is very nice.

the only thing I would have done differently which I personally think would make it easier for soloists is start off with a count-in measure and then do a four bar intro with just the bass and drums, and maybe the accompaniment instruments, so the player can get a feel for the groove of the track before the melody kicks in.

anyways, great job, thanks for posting this!

sorohanro responds:

Thanks for the review.
I don't play sax, I made it with DSK SaxophoneZ, a free VSTi.
This particular theme have a I-IV-IV#5b trick, but I substitute also IV with II or I with VI sometimes.
Good point in a metronome count-in. Next tracks will have.

the fuck man....

@_@

COOL!

i agree with the dude below, reminds me of a Sonic theme, like a retro Sonic game, a Casino....desert themed Casino. I like how you made a melody in a harmonic minor scale with tasteful use of non-scale tones to make a jazzy sound, swing feel on the drums rocks, the synths backed up by the organicish sounding strings rules...U ROCK!

great concepts!

this is quite an original track (although I feel to see the contact with the Bluegrass genre?) Cuzone, good chord progressions, love the old school upright bass.

Like the last track I reviewed, this could use some more work on the transitions but overall feels more full and flows smoother. However, some of the sounds could be upgraded while still retaining a 50s feel. The piano could be traded in for a more authentic sounds like FL keys and a GM standard. I would slap some reverb on it, slightly bandpass perhaps to give it a more 'old' feel, and vary the velocities to attain a more realistic sound. The strings (sytrus) could also be layered with a soundfont to get a fresher sound, which I think would all pair better with the bass and opening drum sounds. Listening through for a second time, sounds like you did- but one more string patch wouldnt hurt. I'd ditch the clean samples that come in later in the track and use the ones in the opening throughout. consider giving them some compression and slight distortion to bring them forward, perhaps gradually laying off the "radio" EQ/effects as the song moves forward)

The rhythmic feel other than bass (which seems to be a sample, even :/) is quite boring- The piano chords and strings hit on the strong beats in the same predictable pattern throughout the entire song. Use syncopation and don't be afraid to ditch the block chord structure.

The tape stop that came in at 1:15 was a good idea, but seemed forced. I would play more with this and don't feel like you have to go straight back into the main premise of the song. The drums could also utilize cymbals to highlight transitions and different sections. I would keep the drums flowing throughout.

The chords and piano melody, sampled bass, and lo-fi drums are definitely keepers. A saxophone or another blown instrument to play sustained notes would also be a nice addition. The composition of the song was solid, but new samples IMO are strongly suggested. Keep up the originality and meshing of different stylistic elements.

Cuzone responds:

So much blahblahblah! I didn't hire you. You don't have to tell me what to do. Don't tell me what to do. If I did all those things YOU suggested, this would have been YOUR song, not mine!

FL Keys is the worst piano sound in the planet. Goes to show how much you know.

PS: Thanks for liking, uh, portions of the song.
PPS: The bluegrass thing was a mistake, but I've just fixed it. Thanks (honestly!) for warning me about that.
PPPS: It wasn't Cuzone who wrote this. It says so on the description! Where it says "Love, Timraband".

much more listenable

this track has some interesting instruments and a more enjoyable structure. ethnic influenced music is my fav.

Like some users have mentioned below, this track is quite repetitive and IMO is lacking developed riffs. I have a feeling that most if not all of this is premade loops slapped together from mixcraft or magix or something. i havent heard them before so it would be unfair to automatically deduct points for it. However, the problem with this is a lack of a developed melody liked mentioned above, the drums also have few variations and there is a lack of transitioning. For example, the leadup to the part around 1:25 was competely unanticipated and awkward, and the simple 2 note motif doesnt hold up much on its own. 3:28 was a decent transition, as you had some harmony going on with the instruments and carried over the drums to the next section.

I recommend you chop the samples and reorganize the rhythms, possibly create a more variated melody theme from the indian instruments you have, or create one from scratch with a soundfont/synth/samplepack or whatnot. You might want to look into DSK indian instruments.

The rhythms on the tablas and other percussion parts are quite entertaining and create a good synergy when flowing together. I'd try to find a tabla soundfont and recreate the rhythms so you actually have control over the riffs. I'd like to hear some pitch/baya slap tones and faster rhythms during transitions. Also, a lot of classical Indian music is in 8/4 opposed to 4/4, if you're familiar with time signatures that might be something to consider if you were to re-compose this or something similar.

In addition to constructing a melody, the track feels a bit empty- some droney ambience like a resonant tambura or lush pad could work great as some interesting filler. This would also fill the emptiness during the (currently) rough transitions.

As for mixing, the samples sound crisp and wide. I'd pan the shakers to the left or right more and place the short string parts in opposite directions.

Otherwise, great choice of instruments, cool riffs. The digeridoo and synth are also ideas worth noting. Good job.

Keep up this style man, you have the right ingredients it just needs some more fleshing out and substance to make the perfect audible curry mix.

Cuzone responds:

So much blahblahblah! If it's repetitive, if it lacks riffs, that's not your problem. If it lacks a developed melody, that's not up to you to decide. I am not going to reorganize any rhythms. And of course I am familiar with time signatures, what the hell do you take me for?

I am glad you like the song, but, again, I didn't hire you and I do not want you to tell me what to do.

PS: if Americans play samba in 4/4, I can make Indian music like that as well. And "if you're familiar with time signatures" is a very asshole-ish way of trying to sound better than me. You're not. Shut up.

OH SHI- I voted UP THERE

this sir, is perhaps the most beautiful piece on NG. i've listened to it atleast 10 times in a row now.

Reminds me Pandora forest in the the Avatar film. Or Macalania Woods in FFX, during morning rise.

The instruments are extremely well balanced and varied and it's cool how the melody extends into eccentric different instrumental parts.. I like compositionally how you created lots of 'space' between the individual parts, and kept the piece as a whole very interesting. This piece could have been ruined by just throwing in "filler" notes but there's an adorable light, airy quality to it like a dance of fireflies.

The flute and pan-pipe lines where indeed very lyrical, as well as the harp and shamisen parts. Good sense of dynamics.

I think the swelling heavy vibrato strings were a great instrument for the chords/padding.

The piano and the synthetic choirs + other elements do subtle wonders. And I LOVE the chord progression that hits at 1:44.

I really enjoy the ethnic percussion bits and the rolls that you incorporated into indivual parts.

And you even spiced the track up with some tasteful guitar licks with a very complimentary harp.

....and it even all loops perfectly.

sir, this is a fantastic piece which I have absolutely no criticism for. I really appreciate you posting this on NG, and this is the type of music that I hope I can create one day.

Thanks!!!

Age 48, Dude

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