DJ-Hectic's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Rainworld]

Really soothing, title is quite appropriate. Nice musicality throughout, and tasteful use of key change like gadogry mentioned. Only complaint is the abrupt ending. Some kind of ritard or cadenza would in my opinion complete the arrangement. Awesome overall, really chilled listen!

(PS, this with rainymood on in the background at low volume is neat.)

[- Pick and Choose]

Nice knowledge of music theory AND production dude. Love dem fourth movements in the beginning and that major 5 chord at the end of the progression. Perty piano melody, well mixed, AND it loops perfectly. No complaints man, nice work!

[haus {durn}]

Holy shit this is GREAT. Love the vibe present here, and the lack of quantization definitely helped the groove. Also, that simple, syncopated bass really keeps it flowing at a chilled pace throughout. Nice instruments, great chord progressions, and overall very well mixed. One of my most pleasurable head-bobbing experiences ever, keep it up dood!

durn responds:

Haha, thanks man. I'm very appreciative of the jamming I get to do with friends, as I find it helps build groove & rhythm more than playing solo. Glad to see you noticed the extra work I put into mastering on this one. :)

[DJ Clyme - Time to Dance!]

Good dance music ending with a MODULATION? 5/5 just for that, not even including the fact that the tune is superbly solid. Love all of the instruments and how they blend together, the melodic work is spot on, also nice sampling in the beginning. Overall, this tune is awesome, with the exception being the ending (last 15 or so seconds), which felt like an afterthought to me. Besides that, great work bro!

[The Wanderer (Acoustic)]

Good start, but not quite there. Your lyrics are interesting, but the breathy style makes it sound whiney. I understand that's a personal preference thing, but this felt like too much. Also, you go out of tune sometimes, which is painful to listen to. Like, the background 2:20 is COMPLETELY out, so sharp that you're actually hitting an F instead of an E, which is the minor second of the E major chord. Probably wasn't what you were going for, just listen back to it. The guitar playing and chord progression is cool, and actually not as derivative as I expected it to be. Definitely the highlight of the song, but the vocals need work. This could all be remedied with classical training and voice lessons.

ALSO: TOO MUCH REVERB. Don't use it as a crutch in this kind of music, it sounds completely unnatural and forced. Stuff like the filtering is fine and it adds to the music, but the reverb is overbearing for the "(Acoustic)" thing.

Last thing: THANK YOU for not using auto tune, but PLEASE work on nailing pitches! This has lots of potential, a bit more work on the musicality front would make this really stand out! Keep it up, bro.

Keegs responds:

Hey!

Sorry you don't like my voice. Its subjective when it comes to texture.

I know the background harmonies were off. I'm surprised more people didn't notice. My voice was starting to go at that point so I basically grabbed the best take I had to work with. I was singing the chord progression that the guitar was playing, which was (clearly) out of my range. I tried to cover it up with distant panning and reverb, which covered most of it up. Based on your criticism so far, you would have exploded if you heard the raw take.

The weird dissonance at 2:20 was intentional, but it didn't really work xD. I was trying to make some Whitacre-esque chord stacks, but it didn't quite sound how I was hoping it would.

"This kind of music"? I'm not going for realism, I'm going for surrealism. Listen to bands like Coldplay or Moving Mountains. Ambient music calls for a decent amount of reverb. That being said, I would agree that there's a bit too much in some places.

Thanks for the review! I'll try to improve!

-Keegs

[DJ Babokon: Take the Risk]

@Ryuk3434 Incorrect. If you don't like it, then you have every right to post. This section is for REVIEWS, and everyone has an opinion. It's not a 5-star farming area.

Really enjoyed this song, up until the dubstep point, which felt forced. However, the rest of the song was very well done, and the amount of variations was pretty damn impressive. Build ups were spot on, nice FX use, and cool use of automation clips. keep writing dude!

DJ-Babokon responds:

Thanks you! Yeah, I know some people won't like the dubstep. So far, it seems to be the only "problem" with the song.

[[NAC] Party Tonight]

It's a start, certainly, and the mixing/mastering is OK, but this song is too similar to your inspiration, party rock anthem. Like, you changed the key and the melody, but the rest is there. Similar beat, exact same progression, and similar structure. Really wish you would've been more original, don't be afraid to break from the mold next time!

xxxZigZagxxx responds:

Thanks for the feedback. My mixing/mastering does need work, and it does sound a lot like the original. I'll try to improve next time.

xxxZigZagxxx

[Matrix (Loop)]

Great loop, nice job with the main melody. This has an almost cyber-punk vibe to it thanks to the reverb and FX, which I REALLY like. It gives it that downtempo feel that it needs even though it still drives with the main beat. Solid job bro!

bigbluechevy12345 responds:

CYBER-PUNK! Yes! that is the word I've been looking for to describe this style! I've heard the style before, in movies and games before, but never really knew what the style would really be called. Thanks! Also I'm glad you like the song!