Review the track(s) above you

[Freewave]

I want to see if a megathread of this nature will work on MLR. This SHOULD allow people to get some guaranteed feedback and be able to promote their own track. It SHOULD allow people to step to the stage in terms of showing off their music and also in how dedicated they are to reviewing. I think a million different song threads are part of the problem as few people LISTEN to OTHERS tracks. You NEED to do that if you're using this music subforum! This thread IS all about reviewing so if you wanna just do that w/o posting anything you can do that to. Just please do not get sidetracked on a lot of back and forth chatting (link to a sepearate thread if you want to do that)

If you are going to put your track in here you HAVE to review a few tracks above you. One is nice, 2 is better, 3 is awesome, but be descriptive and specific on what you like and what you don't. By all means feel free to post your own thread in the music subforum for your track in addition to posting it here (you can even point to it from this thread if people want to spend more time talking about it). This is just a thread that will hopefully get more volume of looks and responses and allow for us to shine as reviewers and musicians. Please make positive feedback (what you liked about it, what you didn't).
If you can't review the tracks above you don't bother to post your own music in here.

Again post one track of your own (it doesn't even have to be brand new, just one you want feedback on) along with your reviews of the ones above. Feel free to explain what your track is or how you made it and why. I would recommend posting completed tracks rather than WIP's as I think WIP's require a lot more back and forth discussion than this thread will be designed for (but if you wanna ignore that hey it's your call).

[vladnuke]

I submitted this to EqD 5 times and never got a responce.

I just want someone to tell me what they think.

[Freewave]

Yay a track to review!! Just a heads up i can't view ANY soundcloud embeds from work (where i am during back half of the week) so VERY glad you did a youtube.

Well I really like the album art with the concept (wish there were a few more pieces). It does feel like an odd crossover but i can see the thought process and it is as a little unique. Would EQD give this a greenlight as is AS pony track? they might not as its out of the box conceptual-wise .... Musically it's an odd track; i LOVE the hardcore breakbeats that phase in (2:34 OMIGOSH) and those flute-ish synths, and those deep old skool basslines. Musically it doesn't fit any real genre standard classification which could freak some people out (although i think it does have an old school hardcore / rave feel that i think we need more of).

The pinkie samples seem sort of half-hearted tbh. They aren't bad but they're so sporadic they just some tossed in. Would have loved it if they could been timed a little better, consistent, and selected more appropriately. Wouldn't mind a few more layers or samples tossed in for variety but i think this still is an overall good track with a unique sound AND idea. I wouldn't feel bad if this didnt make EQD because i don't think you made this track for them in mind (although i think this COULD have made a track of the day if you had entered it during their new criteria i think). They won't review it again if you ve already sent it so learn and move on to better future tracks as this is pretty cool. Course you could always do more work on it and VIP if you wanna make it 20% cooler and have it love up to it's potential.

I guess I'll post something from a few months back. A Balloon Party spoof / Afterparty entry. This was pretty rushed and i might go back and re-mix the levels to sharpen it up a bit as my vocals are too low and the overall volume is as well. Then again it's kind of intended to abrasive and rough. Very glad with how the glitching on ATR's guitar went tho. Every thing about the Balloon After Party met a lot of apathy so i never really got to spotlight or get feedback for this track to the level i hoped it would get but otherwise like how it worked. I kinda half assed the video (should do a full pmv or keep with only a few images)

[Paianni]

I really like the arrangement. The samples really fit quite well with the underlying instrumentation somehow. I can feel the effort that went into every last detail and effect, which is awesome. My only main quibbles are that the entire piece sounds like an outro, with too many themes repeating too many times. Thats why I have so little to say about it; its just a wash and no part of the mix stands out to me. It needs some kind of structure.

Anyway, the piece below seems to have been a hit on SoundCloud, so I'd really like a review of it. Yes I know, the artwork is extremely sparse 'cause I don't really have much time and skills for that when I export stuff to the web.

[Freewave]

Good points ^ thanks for the feedback and yeah it could use more structure. It does meander a bit too much in one place in parts and could use some sculpting.

Yeah on your track the artwork is going to be the original incentive for someone to click on it, so if it's lacking and people don't click on it then it's already failed. I'd recommend getting permission for a better art piece on D.A. at least. But the art does at least fit the mood at least. Definitely a BIG desert vibe and fitting that episode well.

Now regarding the music. I really like most of the music minus the drums (do not like them!) as this whole track has great atmopshere. I have to think even using better drum samples or loops OR a better drum simulator would be an upgrade from that snare but i like the mood you set here. Biggest issue is that it's stil very minimal and pretty synthetic when it seems like it's mimicking some real instruments. Some of them sound almost real, others not quite. I would recommend adding a few more different sounding additional layers or some sort of automation perhaps, and also giving it a bit more reverb in places i think. Again this is another rather good track with some great complementry melodies but it just seems it could still be improved in places by creating a bigger diversity between the instruments. Genre wise it seems closest to a New Age or Ambient feel (then again I'm not 100% sure what you were aiming for) with a real midwest desert feel that's rather cool and fitting the ep.

I did this remixed track awhile back to go for an episode response to that Appleoosa episode.



On reflection I might have a bit too many different rhythms and loops thrown in here that don't always gell and certain ones i'd likely change as they seem oddly placed. Some instruments (piano) need a bigger focus in the mix at times. Any other things i missed? Kinda struggled with this one....

[Stars In Autumn]

Awesome idea. I'll sticky this in the forum.

And in regards to the above song, I like it. The only thing I don't like so much about it is the guitar. It's painfully obvious it's sequenced. I would of tried to humanize it a bit, put the guitar within the soundspace more, maybe panned it a bit. The piano could of been a bit bigger. But I really like the groove.

[Freewave]

drop off a track, join the scrutiny^^^

thanks tho!!

[vladnuke]

I did this remixed track awhile back to go for an episode response to that Appleoosa episode.



On reflection I might have a bit too many different rhythms and loops thrown in here that don't always gell and certain ones i'd likely change as they seem oddly placed. Some instruments (piano) need a bigger focus in the mix at times. Any other things i missed? Kinda struggled with this one....

I liked your track, but yeah, the watery sounding synth and the ride cymbal don't sound too good, and the piano definitely needs more presence.

[vaceslav]

Pinkie Goes To Mordor
The vocals sample at the start of the song was a little harsh, maybe that s what youre going for, IDK, sounded a little unpleasant to me, the rest sounded fine
The delay on the Oki doki loki sample could be brought down a little in volume.
While I really liked the flutey synth, I felt the attack could be shortened.
I like the feel this song has, kinda wonky with a bunch of weird synths that I wouldn't think would go together, bot somehow do. I think the sporadic vocal samples fit with the theme of the track.
Overall this is a really cool track.

[LoreRD]

Tree By Tree (PasPie):
Yeah, I agree with a lot of what Freewave said. I don't like the drums. They sounds really, really dry and it sort of kills the atmosphere. That being said, the atmosphere is otherwise great, especially at point like 2:56 where there are lots of distinct instruments working with each other. The guitars also feel a tad too synthetic, try humanising (randomising) it up a bit. Overall, I like the composition itself, but the instrument design could use some work.

And here's a track for you guys to review!

[Freewave]

Wow a really lovely strong progressive electronic (ie Tangerine Dream-esque) meets downtempo. While it's a little sparse near the beginning when those drums and alternate melodies come in they REALLY complete the track and make it rather epicly chill. Also one of those times where the ytube image and Luna concept really fit the track well. Great varied drums too. I don't have much to complain about on this one even if it might have a niche audience who'll like it.

[LoreRD]

I was playing Mothership Zeta (from Fallout 3) while composing it, and as such, listened to all the WIPs of it repeatedly at the time. So whenever I hear it, I'm immediately reminded by that. But due to composer bias, I wasn't ever entirely sure if it sounded "space-y/Luna-like" to others. Guess I succeeded in the end

Anyway, it's awesome that you liked it!

[Paianni]

Please, even though this is not my thread, stick to the intended structure of it, otherwise its going to descend into a complete mess quicker then you think it will.

I haven't got anything to contribute right now, but can the next post be audio content and not another review. Thank you.

[LoreRD]

DEEEERRRP! Forgot the structure of the thread... sorry about that >_<

Have another track (how about something different, eh?):



yeah, yeah, another Luna track.... It's just coincidence, I swear :S

[Freewave]

Please, even though this is not my thread, stick to the intended structure of it, otherwise its going to descend into a complete mess quicker then you think it will.

I haven't got anything to contribute right now, but can the next post be audio content and not another review. Thank you.

Well i don't mind if someone wants to review a track above and not drop off a track of their own, although that WILL slow down to how many tracks can get looked at. I've already posted two of mine and don't want to keep spamming this thread with my own if I'm just trying to review other people. I'd like to not have people post tracks back to back if possible tho (best to wait for someone to review and post). People can skip over reviews and review 1-3 tracks above them as was initally stated so look for those youtubes and not those paragraphs of text.

[Anonagon]

While I don't really think I can critique the long piano piece, I'll review the next one above it, Walk Among the Stars. (It's not that piano is bad, its just not my cup of tea.)

While it does seem slow at first, I like that song. It sounds nice all around and it gets its concept of space and stars down really well. My only complaint would be the kinda boring beginning. Its at about a minute before it starts getting interesting.

I guess I'll post a track now. This a remix I'm working on of Fluttershy's Tears by CyberpunkColt. I guess its sort of Trance-House. Its not done yet, but this is most of it:
https://soundcloud.com/anonagon/fluttershysv2

[Lyonize]

Fluttershys Tears:

This song could be good if a few things were fixed. First, the static sound at the beginning should probably be changed to a reverse cymbal sound. I hear that sound several times throughout the song so just go ahead and replace those with a reverse cymbal. Also, it feels a little empty. Try filling up that empty space by putting some reverb on say, the piano or some of the synths.

This is a remix of an acoustic track by Black Electric. It was hard to make the chord progression sound similar at all but I think it turned out pretty good anyway.

[v.lossity]

@Freewave Ahh thank you for making this thread! Wonderful idea! Im surprised there arent more posts here.

@LoreRD For a second I thought you were going to play moonlight sonata xD. I enjoyed this improv. I have been doing improv for years but only recently have I tried my hand at it on piano. Having done so gives me a ton of appreciation for anyone who can do it and sound good at all. I liked that the mood of it really seemed to shift as it went on, moving from mellow and relaxing to a darker, tenser feel and back again. Good stuff. The one thing I would like to see different is that I would like to see some chord movement a bit more often. It seemed that at times you would linger too long on a particular chord, and despite the nice arpeggations and things on that one chord, my ear wants to move on and hear some change there. This is all from a novice pianist's perspective of course, so grain of salt and all that, but I think this is some good improv. Keep at it. Sorry for writing a novel about it >.<

@Anonagon I really like this track. Its got a great "old-school" (for lack of a better word) feel to it. I love how much you do with very few voices. It reminds me of songs like Kavinsky's "Drive" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MV_3Dpw-BRY not 100% sure what does it though haha. The only thing I would change is that I might perhaps keep some of that white noise in instead of completely fading it out. It would kinda add to the analog-y old-school feel in my opinion. Love it and would like to hear more in this style!

@Lyonize This is cool, I always love a Pinkie Pie track Towards the beginning, around 25 seconds, the bass drops to a really low note that due to your filter or something seems way too low. I might take it up an octave if it was me, not sure. Also, the chord progression does seem a bit odd, though not unpleasant to the ear. I'm amazed though by how much you were able to do with just the bass. Also, I love it around 2:25 when the pad comes in, this sound really complements the bass very well IMO. I dont think I can really find much to improve here, its a good track.

Here is my track. I recently started producing on the computer and this is the first track that I liked enough to actually finish. I started it about a week ago after finishing watching the season 3 premiere for the first time. Hope you like it

Escape to the Crystal Empire https://soundcloud.com/v-lossity/escape-to-the-crystal-empire

[Stars In Autumn]

Alright, I'll post a WIP here.

@v.lossity:

This is a really good song for a first one!

The kick needs more compression, more punch in the 80-100 freq range.

The snare is kind of weak as well, could use more compression.

The bass could be a bit more aggressive, imo. Would serve as a nice contrast to the rest of the song.

The ducking pad could be toned down a bit near the end.

The song could use more synth variety. The arp synth is pretty much used through the whole thing with no break.
---

https://soundcloud.com/starsinautumn/her-sunlight-celestias-theme

[v.lossity]

Alright, I'll post a WIP here.

@v.lossity:

This is a really good song for a first one!

...

The song could use more synth variety. The arp synth is pretty much used through the whole thing with no break.
---

...

Perfect feedback, thanks! Amazing how its hard to spot these things when you are neck deep in a track. I might need to PM you about some of it xD

It was hard for me to find anything wrong in your track, however I would like to hear a bit more cello, and it might be cool to work in some counter point between the different strings instruments. I really like the contrasting rhythms between the strings and brass toward the end. Very nice track.

[the4thImpulse]

Couldn't find anything worth mentioning in Stars' track, there's nothing wrong with it and I don't know the genre enough to give any advice on improvement.

As I listen:
- Into synth bit could use a bit more modulation in the synthesis to keep it attention grabbing.
- The 'drop' needs a loud, sustained, cymbal crash to emphasize its existence, it just sounds awkward without one after the buildup, if its intentional to not have one then your doing a good job I guess (but I highly recommend putting something there to give it the presence its asking for).
- Bass synthesis initially fits well with the song but could use more modulation over the course of the song. Something like a filter envelope growing or collapsing in an opposite fashion to the lead synth playing right after the drop (the same one as the intro sequence)
- 1:33 its great you changed it up but again I think a cymbal crash to 'show that change up off' could be helpful.
- The kick is pretty good, it fits decently with the mix but I think it should be beefed up some. Layering a kick with a more 'natural' high end is what I would try first, a quick hit hat tick sound could also work just to accent it a bit.
- Snare, I personally don't think it fits in well. The reverb tail is great but the initial sample just doesn't sit right in my ears.
- 2:00 that sustained, sidechained synth is too loud, needs to fall back in the fix.
- As a whole the track needs more high end shimmer to stand out, even putting an EQ on the master bus and turning everything above 15kHz up a couple dB could help a lot.


My track!
I am not looking for anything specific, its some kind of EDM house music for those that would rather know before listening. And its called Cloud Swimming because who wouldn't want to be a pegasus if only to swim in clouds all day.

[Dr. Plague]

- The 'drop' needs a loud, sustained, cymbal crash to emphasize its existence, it just sounds awkward without one after the buildup, if its intentional to not have one then your doing a good job I guess (but I highly recommend putting something there to give it the presence its asking for).

Specifically pointing this out and agreeing with it. This is such a basic but great "technique" that I overlooked for way too long, and it explains some of the emptiness I didn't know how to fill in my music. This this THIS.

- The kick is pretty good, it fits decently with the mix but I think it should be beefed up some. Layering a kick with a more 'natural' high end is what I would try first, a quick hit hat tick sound could also work just to accent it a bit.

Agreed with this, too. It also definitely needs to be a little louder, imo. The snare sounds louder than the kick, and the kick should generally be the loudest mixed part of your song (hope that's not wrong advice lol).

- Snare, I personally don't think it fits in well. The reverb tail is great but the initial sample just doesn't sit right in my ears.

I swear you're from the future and you stole parts of my original reply or something. ;) Quoting this 'cause I agree.

Overall, though, I really enjoyed the song as a whole!

My track!
I am not looking for anything specific, its some kind of EDM house music for those that would rather know before listening. And its called Cloud Swimming because who wouldn't want to be a pegasus if only to swim in clouds all day.

Just curious, do you have some kind of intro planned for those 7 seconds of silence at the start, or is that just there 'cause blah?
... And now that I've finished the song, the loads of silence there probably answers my question. :P

Anyway, not sure how I feel about that synth that gets introduced around 1:05... maybe it's just a little too loud, or maybe I've been wearing my headphones a little too long, but it's a little... jarring, I guess? Maybe just a slight tone down in volume is all it needs, or maybe it's nothing. ;P

I really like the change-up you did around 2:20. It's so simple, yet for whatever reason it really struck me. I like your use of white noise as a stab, too. :P

I wish the riser synth you'd used around 3:25 (and had sidechained after drums kicked (badum-tsh) back in) stuck around more. That's a "technique" or whatever that I absolutely love (and love to see abused). :D

Anyway, here's a track of mine I finished recently (not a few hours ago or anything). It has the same problem I think all of my tracks do, and that's that they're just missing something. I don't know if I need to learn to write better music, if I need to make better synths, if I'm just missing some layers of music at places, etc. etc. etc.

https://soundcloud.com/plaguedr/kairo-pulse

Don't really know what to label the genre as better than the BS I already put in.

[v.lossity]

@The4thImpulse Thank you, I love this kind of feedback Unfortunately I can't do the same. After a half dozen listens I can't find anything I dislike about this track xD It's great. Even though I'm not really in the mood for something this chill, it was still nice to listen to. Nice work.

@Dr.Plague Thanks for the feedback! I really wish I could write drum rhythms like you do, yours are great! On the other hand though, I wasn't a huge fan of the whole atonal feel of the track in general. Also, Id like to see a bass that wasn't just a huge sine wave but these are just personal preference.

[randomblockfilms]

wow so many songs already and they have already been reviewed so nicely! :D i would give feedback on all songs but i fell that the big points have already been covered. soo ill give feedbacks to the ones wif less feedback if thats ok

@Stars In Autumn sounds really good already! though it kinda sounds a bit empty through out the song. like every instrument is out in front and equally loud. not a lot of background sounds to fill in the gaps. like the number of instruments and melodic tracks you have at 2:15 is perfect for a break, but using that many instruments for a main part at 1:29, is a bit bland and empty. i feel there should be more subtle things in there to complete the package. this i feel is the biggiest problem. the notes and chords you used are mighty fine. so don't go changing that. unless ya wana. :P hope this helps! :D :P

@the4thimpulse wow the synths ya got here are amazin'! :D the only major problem i have with this is the chords at 0:37 it sounds all happy in the beginning of like the 4 bar loop but the last 2 measures dosen't really fit. like it is being all smooth and flying then it just drops off. it sounds like its going to the I chord to the vii then to V. which kinda sounds crammed and incomplete. to me at least. and maybe a background pad in the song could help it glue it together because at like 1:49-2:18 it sounds really empty. then from 2:18 to 2:48 it also sounds empty. the synths are great but i feel like they arent being used to their maximum potential. and at 2:52-3:23 that sounds really awesome :D and 3:30 and onward is like the same as the begining. very nice mixing especially with the kick. :D

@Dr. Plauge whoa dem percussions is a thumpin' mighty fine. :D its a very interesting song. kinda reminds me of machinarium soundtrack. i do agree though that it is missing a melody. because right now i see it as a sort of background song to play at a carnival dance floor thing. :P its kinda like a funky robotic steampunk dubstep sort of thing. which i think is rather cool in itself. and now that i think of it, it sounds like a percussion bassed song rather than pitch and notes. that might be what is missing from your song. but i know that same feeling you have. i feel that a lot of my songs are just missing something important.
and lol i see you also disable smilies. :P them things are creepy when they are turned on. lol

@TheBronyChip oooooo very fast passed this is. sounds really good and like some kind of arcade adventure game. i don't know what else to say other than it sounds rather solid! hard to find somethin to change in this. but then again 8bit type music isn't my forte. :P

ok so here is a track i finished after working on it on and off for like 5 months. preferibly i would like some mixing and mastering feedback but really anything you feel that should be changed, just tell me :D
and it is quite a cheezy song so be prepared. lol

[Freewave]

@randomblockfilms: I really like the synths you used and the melodies were very pretty. Good use of vocal clips. Reminds me of Moby a bit (good thing). Great use of delay. Probably like the first half a little better than second half although i appreciate a melody change and the return to initial one. Nice tempo change!

Only thing i could encourage to make it better would maybe some longer sung vocal melodies, either by a vocalist or maybe some of the vocal clips paulstretched to add to it. Was just so pretty and could have been maybe that more epic with some additional vocals as one more additional layer. Really nice job tho.

---
Well I published this last week but it appears it got passed over by EQD even for MOD which makes me a sad pony. After all is it not funky? Is it not saxy? Is it not punny?! Is it not swagalicious?



Ah well it was still fun to do and make even if no one got the joke but me and 5 other adults....Thoughts?