The-Cupbearer's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[afternoon morning]

This is a really good piece of ambiance. I wouldn't mind having this be an interlude piece in my own works. This is the sort of thing I wish there were more of in the "Ambient" category. You got a good style going here. I'll definitely check out more of your works.

25lives responds:

thanks

[DAC2023 - Prehistoric Disruption]

I'll go ahead and ignore the long silence at the end for the purpose of this review.

I think the mixing in this track is good, and the instruments are interesting and give it a lot of character. That said, I feel like there was a fair amount of discordance with the song that doesn't feel entirely intentional. It might be worth working on your harmonies for future tracks. Try more playful things that take you out of your comfort zone. If it sounds bad at first, that's alright, but keep playing with it.

namosaurus responds:

thank you so much for your feedback! I'll keep going..

[The Reason between Stars]

This is a decent progression, though I feel the track suffers from a lack of identity due to its use of basic-sounding instruments. I would recommend experimenting with more personal sounds. If you can't record things yourself, you could always take some sound or synth and modify it until you have something unique to your particular DAW. Just a thought. I think you could take it places nobody else has been.

Hikigeki responds:

Thank you very much for your detailed review! I'm currently passionate about sound synthesis and I'm trying to spend more time on it. Although it takes a lot of time. I sometimes try to do something with only one sound for an hour, ahahah
But yeah, thank you again!

[Platonic Mines]

The instrumentation and mixing in this is very good. Super smooth synths and good progression. Kind of reminds me of Knytt Underground's figure spaces. I'll definitely check out more of your stuff.

Midnights-Ocean responds:

Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it. <:3

[[Belastet] ~ Rainfall]

It has the feeling of a montage track for some serialized drama. I think it does its job very well. The mixing is on point and it doesn't feel compromised at all. The melody leaves me wanting more, though.

Belastet responds:

Thanks for the feedback :) I will try my best to improve with mixing and melodies.

[Grey Skies, Sour Wind]

This is a good track with a good sense of balancing. The percussion acts as a nice counterpoint to the main melody, which I find sufficiently playful within the given confines. It reminds me a little of Aphex Twin's early work, though not nearly as noisy.

Also, nice pumpkins.

BusanBlack responds:

Thanks mate!
Yeah I was feeling those 90s/00s music era vibes.
Also I'm proud of my pumpkins! But then the squirrels ate them and shredded them to bits :(
RIP

[Zodiac]

I think this sounds appropriately epic, and it's a good effort. That said, there are a few issues I've noted:
1 - The instruments don't always harmonize very well. This is particularly noticeable at the start of the track.
2 - The song kind of starts abruptly, with little buildup. Makes me feel like I'm coming in halfway through the first act rather than at the beginning.
3 - During the louder parts, the song gets pretty distorted. I feel like it's been limited a bit too heavily. You might want to try more natural forms of volume control if you don't want that effect. It doesn't sound intentional to me.
4 - The song seems to end abruptly and in a way that doesn't really match the rest of it.
5 - This doesn't feel like an Ambient song to me. Perhaps it would have been better classified as "Dance".

Anyway, just my thoughts. Please continue developing your style.

RealJosh responds:

Finally, someone who can give some actually decent feedback. Thank you for your advice!

[Technocracy]

I guess it's not fair to judge this as a traditional song, since the intention is for these different parts to play under different circumstances. I think the audio balancing here is good, and the instruments are pleasing to the ear. No issues with the mixing, either. I could definitely see this being used in a Flash game. That said, I feel like the melodies at play here are a little muted. I feel like they could be saying more than they do.

Overall, though, I think this is fit for the purpose. Good work.

OktoPianist responds:

Thank you for the advice, I appreciated this. I think yours is a wise suggestion to have. I would say the melodies could sound a little muted due to the fact that they remain a simple part of the mix instead of being stroingly enhanced by other instruments. This fact could not be bad for the purpose of the piece, but may reveal perhaps my lack of experience. I admit I did not overthink the structure of the melody, thinking mostly about the general flow of the song, its structure.

[15-4-20 B]

This is a really good ambient piece. Really stands out from most of the stuff that gets uploaded to the Audio Portal. I think I will be purchasing your album.

Jabun responds:

Ah thanks so much and hope you enjoy the rest of the album! The next batch of experimental/ambient music should be coming in the spring (another 4 track mini-album) :)

[Past Passes]

I've certainly seen worse for a first song. You seem to have all the essentials down already. All that's left is to see what original vision you construct from here. Best of luck to you.

THOFF responds:

Thank you very much, this means a lot for me!