ChronoNomad's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Mundum de Somniorum]

Very pretty and ethereal, Lucid! In that wonderfully dark sort of way. I quite enjoyed the entire piece, but as usual your use of piano stands at the fore. The music box has a very appropriately eldritch sound to it, and there are so many other beautiful touches throughout.

How very like you to use a bit of Latin in your title, The World of Dreams! What can I say? It fits the motif quite nicely. Thank you very much for sharing.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

"Very pretty and ethereal, Lucid! In that wonderfully dark sort of way."

That's very well defined, as that was exactly what I was going for. I'm super glad it came across!

I didn't make the melody for the piano, but literally all the chords and the arrangements are done by me, and it was just suuuuch a great melody to play! Well, I guess I made the melody for that weird part at 1:20, as I needed something to lead up to the climax (which I also composed the melody for). It's really only that things that's repeated a lot which I didn't come up with xD

I used a combination of a music box, and the free (IF you own Kontakt) instrument "snow bells", by VSTBase. I also ran it through a Guitar Rig effect, to give it that... Glimmer? :'3

And yeah, I tend to like the sound of Latin, phonetically. Also, I feel it's a great way to give something meanings that aren't as obvious upon the first look, and can still be a great title without giving the listener premature impressions!
No, thank YOU very much for listening and reviewing <3

[Everything's Alright (To The Moon)]

Ah, Jordi! This is so very pretty and sad. The harp sounds so rich and full, and the song takes on even more meaning through your soulful vocals. So tinged with feeling, painting a beautifully tearful picture within my mind's eye.

Although I haven't actually played To The Moon myself, I am well aware of its emotional depths. I do not doubt for a moment that you have done great justice to the original, and we all owe Laura our thanks. Rakuen looks very intriguing, as well. I haven't listened to either version of that track as yet, but I will have to do just that soon.

[AIM - Chris, the Boat and the Tormented Sea]

Ah, Lucid! Hail and well met, my friend. Very happy to see you have arrived with an entry of your own.

You move so effortlessly and gracefully from major to minor chords, conveying both the sense of wonder and adventure of a boating excursion, and the fact that it goes somewhat awry due to the capricious nature of the sea. You're playing captures the imagery well, emotions of mixed excitement and fear being conveyed as your fingers dance up and down the keys.

Although the track itself is a very solid four minutes in length, the journey seems to end so much sooner. Yet another hallmark of all the best music would be getting lost in it, which I most certainly have. Thank you very much for the art-inspired journey! Yet another gorgeous solo piano track has been added to your ever-expanding repertoire.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

Hallo!

As I mentioned in the description, I wouldn't want to miss out on this contest ;)
That said, it ended up being a bit of a last minute one. Luckily, once I knew what I wanted to make, the process was ridiculously fast :O

This composition is indeed very reliant upon the chords used, and the changes between them. It has been a while since I composed any longer section of a piece in this style, but I found it very enjoyable to do! For this kind of atmosphere, the right chords (almost) literally found themselves. You interpretation of my composition together with the art, seems to be a shared one! I'm quite happy about that :)

It's great to hear that the length didn't feel like a drag, but more like a journey with an abrupt ending, of sorts. I love getting lost in other people's piano compositions that are similarly styled, so every now and then I try my best to evoke that experience in others. Thank you very much, for the listen as well as for your words!

Have a great one ;)

[AIM - Nostalgic Recollection]

Ah, this is just so pretty! Some really nice key changes, especially there near the end. A well-made piano and strings song will always tug at my heartstrings, and yours does just that. It certainly is appropriate for the art you chose, and actually reminds me of the music from the game Flower, which happens to be one of my go to stress relievers. Sometimes it's nice to get away from the world of noise and violence and just float around on the breeze!

Love those playful little grace notes you've got in there too, man. The ambient chimes and wind effects feel just right, so warm. And if I close my eyes, I can almost imagine myself there, surrounded by the blue sky and flower fields. So pleasant it makes me shiver. Thanks for the journey!

[Traversing the Milky Way]

I can see how this would be too complex as a contest entry, but I'm sure you'll come up with something that'll work. It seems like you could always break what you already have here down into simpler, more bite-sized thematic elements, but I suppose it's probably easier to just start over again from scratch.

Well hey, you got a beautiful piano track out of it either way, so there's definitely an upside! Thanks for sharing, and best of luck with your contest theme/melody.

LucidShadowDreamer responds:

I'm sure I could break it up, but the thing is, I've grown attached to how it sounds right now, so I find it easier indeed to start from scratch :)
I've already come up with another theme anyway ;)

I'm glad I was inspired to make this out of nothing really! Sometimes it just happens, I suppose!
Thank you for the review! I hope you're doing okay!

[Chewing Gum]

Awesome track, Shinsukelto! It has a really chill yet totally engaging vibe, and it's definitely one of my favorites out of this year's offerings. It reminds me of a few different games, chiefly among them the Mother and Pokémon series with their fun, quirky jams.

It's short and sweet, loops beautifully, and I think I've already listened to it half a dozen times in succession. Very enjoyable, and I can't believe no one else has taken the time to leave a review. Happy Pixel Day, and I wish you all the best in 2017!

ShinsukeIto responds:

Thanks Chrono, appreciate the review!

[Evilgrapez - Rainbow Resort]

And a Happy 2nd Pixel Day to you, too~!

Okay, so I went super retro with my track, but you. . . y o u . . . did this! And believe me, I'm not complaining. At all. Because it's a helluva lot of fun to listen to, which comes as no surprise.

Man, that long, slow ritardando at the end is glorious. Love the sound and dig the vibe. Sorry to hear about all the writer's block, omgsuperspeedtotallyrushedgottagofastness, and software issues. Not a one of those things is in any way pleasant, that's for sure.

I've got just one little complaint, and that's the super loud pop right at the tail end of the track. Toss your track in an audio editor and cut that bit off. If it were a loop you'd be up a creek, but you should be able to exorcise the audio demon without too much trouble and update the track. Anyway, I wouldn't feel right taking even half a star away for something like that when it was probably due to a software glitch, and besides--everything else is bonzer!

Evilgrapez responds:

Thank you so much for the kind words! Love the wording in your review. :P

And also, OH NO I DIDN'T EVEN NOTICE THAT AAAUUUUGGGHHH

Don't worry, though. Already fixed it. I checked the other formats that I sent to stores and stuff and they don't seem to have it, so I think it's just a software bug. Thanks for the heads-up!

[Alien Invasion]

Hey, FantasyWings! This is a really solid first submission. It starts out pretty simple, but builds nice and slow, then kind of blows up just before the one-minute mark. Very nice energy with a classic DnB sound.

The early snare sounds a little thin and could probably benefit from a touch more presence and a bit of reverb, but once it's replaced with the heavier snare it sounds great. Some very nice filter effects here and there, and while the overall motif is fairly repetitious, that's not really a big deal when the track is under two and a half minutes in total.

I really love that chill moment at 1:28 before it dives back into the beat, man! Such a nice touch. The ending is good, but I think it could be improved upon. I just feel like that final build and subsequent finale could have been bigger, deeper, and felt more climactic.

Overall, your mixing is decent, but there's always room for improvement there, as well. There were a few really cool elements that made good use of the stereo field, but I would have loved to hear more since so much seemed to hover right in the center. Good job, overall--keep it up!

AlexMaden responds:

Thank you so much for the feedback!
I really appreciate that you're taking your time to write such detailed and constructive review.
I'll take in everything you mentioned, thanks again!