Echo's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Esperanza de la Vega]

NGADM Review:
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This was a great piece, and very very enjoyable to listen to. I can't say I expected to hear this from you, but the surprising turn of events was in the end quite welcome. You've got some excellent composition, fantastic harmonies, and that guitar just sounds amazing. Realism-wise, it's pretty much perfect, with a few teensy touches of artificial notes, but nothing major. The atmosphere is just great, and the piece is smooth and well-structured.

I would've liked to hear that voice in the beginning again throughout the piece, as I feel as if it could have provided an extra feel that would've worked pretty well. Also, while the guitar sounds fantastic like I've already said, there were some small stutters at points, and in some cases it sounded a bit unrealistic in the sense that there's no physical way to actually play that section. Nice use of those castanets though, helped the atmosphere a lot.

Overall, great piece, even if it's a deviation from your usual stuff. Keep up the good work!

Score: 8.6/10

SoundChris responds:

Hey there Echo,

thanks a lot for review. Sorry for my late reply, but i have been really busy until the middle of decembre. I am glad you liked the composition and found the sound realistic - that was what my focus was on.
I would have loved to use the voice more often, but EWQL voices of passion is quite limited :(

I dont know if this piece really would be impossible to play. I have seen some really highskilled guitarists who played stuff like this and i think it would have been as fast and difficult as this piece.

Thanks a lot for your kind review. Merry christmas and a happy new year!

[the traveller]

NGADM Review:
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Contrary to what you might think, this was actually a really really great effort at orchestral, particularly considering it's not your normal genre. You've got great ideas and really good instrumentation, and the overall structure was pretty well-worked, albeit a bit bland at points.

My chief complaint with this was probably the lack of depth. For an orchestral piece, it lacked a certain texture to it that's normally necessary. Chords, alternate melodies, backing instruments, etc would have gone a long way to solve this, instead of just front-side instruments and percussion. That being said, I love how you managed to mix in your normal style into something which is experimental for you, as I know that's not an easy thing to pull off.

Overall, great piece, with a lot of potential. You've definitely got some good ideas, and you put them to great use, so keep up the good work!

Score: 8/10

johnfn responds:

Hey Echo, thanks for the review!

I want to ask for clarification on one point though - what do you mean by "chords, alternate melodies, backing instruments"? Like, at 2:20 you're in the middle of a 16 bar chord progression (that's a lot of chords) and there are like 3 melodies going on. Do you mean I should have had a break in that section?

I also don't totally understand the difference between front and backside instruments. This is just because I'm an orchestral noob. Could you PM me or something? Thanks!

[Another Day]

NGADM Review:
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Once again, another very high quality submission. You've got catchy melodies and some crazy addictive instrumentation. Harmonies and melodies are well-structured and fit together nicely, especially that superb main melody. Ending is great, which is something you don't get in a lot of songs, so kudos for that.

That being said, there were a few mixing issues in the piece, particularly because the track is generally so loud, making it sound a bit too compressed for my tastes. The percussion got a bit obnoxious at points, although it wasn't that much of a big deal in the whole picture.

Overall, great piece, really catchy and upbeat, with a nice driving rhythm. Keep it up!

Score: 8.8/10

[Real Life Absurdities]

NGADM Review:
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So absurd, and yet so ridiculously fantastic. This is the definitely the most original piece this round, and it's amazing how so many seemingly random melodies can fit together so superbly. You've got great compositional skills, and instrumentation is out of world, with some truly otherworldly use of those synths and soundfonts. Fantastic work!

There is very little I can say against this piece. You've got a couple of mixing issues here and there, but nothing that truly deducts from the level of the track. Drum-work could have been a bit better, but again, nothing major. Solid intro and outro, and great development in between.

Overall, an amazingly well-done piece. Keep up the fantastic work, looking forward to hearing more from you!

Score: 9.2/10

steampianist responds:

Thank you very much

[Mystical Mountain]

NGADM Review:
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Fantastic piece as always. I just love each and every new piece you submit, simply because they're just so well-composed that it hurts. I really love the feel in this one, as the adventurous/majestic feel is one that I'm particularly fond off in orchestral music. You've got great harmonies, great instrumentation, great composition, great everything really. Those strings are just stupendous, and the backing instruments are pretty amazing too.

Honestly the one I thing I could find to complain about was the lack of a instantly discernible motif, and a couple of mixing issues, both of which are nothing particularly major to worry about. Your percussion is also superb, and you developed the melodies you had very well from start to finish.

Overall, every single detail in this piece is just of an amazingly high quality, and everything just fits together to making something truly incredible. Keep up the great work!

Score: 9.4/10

[Whiteout]

NGADM Review:
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Honestly, this piece was a bit below par when compared to what you've made before. You've got some good ideas, and composition wise it's pretty sound. Mixing is also great, with no particular issues that I can hear.

However, it's just way way too short for any sort of real development to happen. The background is repetitive and kind of weak, not delivering the atmosphere you'd hope for from this kind of piece. The wind effects in the intro were nicely used, but the outro was just abrupt and cut-short. Transitions were a bit awkward throughout too, and sometimes the instruments just tapered off into random melodies which didn't really fit, particularly the bells.

Overall, this could really have used more work, as I feel that it had the potential to be so much more.

Score: 7.8

SourJovis responds:

Below par? If you say so. As a musician I don't feel the need to compare it to anything. It is what it is, and that's all there's to it. Because you're a judge I see why you had to do it.

I don't know what you mean with the transitions were awkward. I don't think they sound anything out of the ordinary, but they're strong enough to give an introduction to the next part.

With random do you mean the bells at 0:50 alternativesolution talked about? Like I said the melody is carefully calculated, and there's a clear logic to it. If you listen carefully you'll hear it. The fact that I'm able to recall the bell melody by head, proves it's not random, because that's not possible for truly random melodies. I didn't calculate the main melody that comes before and after the bell part. In that sense the melody at 0:50 is actually less random than the main one.

The song was intended as a loop, so the outro was supposed to transit into intro again, but the Newgrounds player doesn't let you do fancy stuff like that, that's why I had to cut it short a little. It could've sounded better I agree, but not under these circumstances. Nothing I can do about it I'm afraid.

I hate to say this, but none of the judge's comments convince me to change anything about the song. I'm happy with the song the way it is, and I prefer to leave it this way.

[Lying to a Stranger]

NGADM Review:
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Now this is an interesting piece. You've got a wide variety of very well-designed sounds, and I just love how punchy and liquid the bassier sounds come off. The intro is instantly absorbing and well-produced, and you make use of a very driving rhythm which moves the piece very well.

However, you do have some repetitiveness throughout, and certain bits sounded a bit empty compared to what you proved you could do in the intro. The ending was a bit too abrupt for my tastes, and the piece hadn't gone anywhere much by the time it got there, so development of ideas is also an issue.

Overall, pretty decent piece. You've got great ideas and lots of potential, pity you weren't able to work on this longer.

Score: 8.4/10

[Bajo el sol, sobre las rocas]

NGADM Review:
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After that intro, I most certainly wasn't expecting the main section. It was such a sudden change of mood and took me entirely by surprise. Kudos for the unique touch and idea. I love the sound of the guitar in that intro too, and again when it comes back in at 1:06. Instrumentation is pretty awesome in general, and you've got a good heart-thumping drive which keeps the piece interesting.

Percussion is however a bit off at points, and got a bit repetitive as the song progressed. A few transitions here and there were sloppy too, and could have used more work. The main theme got a bit boring at points too, and could have been a lot better in terms of variety.

Overall, a pretty decent piece. You've got the potential to be better though, so keep working at it!

Score: 8.2/10

InYourDreams responds:

Thanks Echo!
Yeah I know what you mean with the transitions... I didn't put enough time and effort into them, and that's what mostly went wrong. I'm dissapointed at the main theme aswell... I wrote the drums first on that part, and when the time came to do the guitars, it was a little late. So, like every normal person, I panicked like a little biatch and stayed with the first thing that sounded good at the moment xD...

I should had started earlier...

[Mote Prime]

NGADM Review:
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Now this is a fantastic submission. The atmosphere in this piece is just phenomenal. Great use of instruments, and pretty amazing composition. I was hooked until the end, and the mixing is clear and not muddy in the slightest. Great work!

A few slight issues though. Firstly, the rhythm was pretty much constant, which made it a bit pedantic next to your usual stuff. Don't get me wrong, it works pretty well as a rhythm, but I'd have liked for a bit of variety in the speed and pace of the piece. There was also a small issue with chords being repeated a bit too much, although this wasn't overly noticeable.

Overall, great piece, not your best, but definitely one of your better ones. Keep up the good work!

Score: 8.8/10

[Public Enemy No.1]

NGADM Review:
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Can't say jazz is usually my favourite genre, but this is actually pretty darn great. You've got excellent composition and technique, and a fine use of instrumentation. The piece is varied and interesting, with a couple of tiny tedious sections, but nothing major. The piano is definitely the key highlight of the piece, and it makes this just fantastic.

Percussion was a bit annoying throughout however. There were points where it wasn't all too noticeable, but in others it was downright obnoxious. That being said, the mixing is pretty clear, and I couldn't notice any instruments getting lost in the mix, so kudos.

Overall, great piece, very well-worked and structured. Keep it up!

Score: 8.8/10

SoundChris responds:

Thanks a lot for your review - glad you liked it. That was the best i could do within 2.5 days and i am quite comfortable with the sound result. The incoherence within the sax is something which i cant do better right now, because the effects for the sax which i have are quite limited - otherwise i would have had to choose extremely cheesy sounds and i was afraid that this could kill the whole flair of the piece. So i had to decide: Realistic sound and incoherent or coherent but ugly :D