xxxZigZagxxx's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[The Heartwarming Harlot]

0:00 That kick is very bassy.
0:10 Not sure if I'm a huge fan of that melody line...
0:18 It sounds a bit like a horse galloping beat.
0:30 It sounds unique for sure.
0:35 OK let's see where this goes.
0:43 I do like the drum programming here but generally all the intricacies get lost under all dat bass.
0:57 That strings hovering under. It's quite passive aggressive.
1:08 Ooh. Strange. Interesting.
1:23 OK
1:28 The riff is quite repetitious though
1:35 Yeah it's getting stuck in my head though and that previous statement wasn't to say things weren't progressing because they are only ever so slowly
1:55 OK change soon pls this is getting annoying
2:01 OK that sidechained strings. Brings an interesting thing to it.
2:15 Yep you're right it's getting a bit more solemn. Hopefully it goes full solemn soon
2:27 It is pretty solemn. Still harsh and quick, but solemnity creeps in.
2:40 Yeah i like the strings by themselves sorry, the kick is too overwhelming
2:51 done

OK it was nice and interesting but perhaps your kick is too bassy. But I do like the sidechaining in the strings and other instruments. It's unique and original, but I don't really like the melody that much and it gets repetitive and even annoying just when it gets to the end. Perhaps change it up a little. Otherwise good, mostly well produced. The bass sometimes drowns all the other frequencies out. But it's inventive and new and cool anyway.

Thanks for letting me listen.

MelkorMorgoth responds:

Wow...um...that was pretty obsessive of you. Thank you very much indeed! I recommend you to turn your speakers or headphones up, as this was put together on quite loud headphones. In short words: This is meant to be played loudly.
About your opinion on melodies: Well, melodies are percieved very individually.
About the repetetive nature of the song: It's techno. Go figure. I took repetition as a stylistic measure to let people hear the individual lines and voices and better let them hear the timbres. Also it becomes kind of meditative. Just think of the bassdrum as a strong heartbeat which is kind of the purpose of a 4 on the floor bass.
Now, thanks for your honest opinion of neatly ordered epic length. I appreciate it and thank you, dear ZigZag, for listening.

[Cobicistat]

I think ciba43 was trying to say that this track gives him a feeling that something is following him.

I'm going to stop googling these drugs because they take the attention off the quality of the track.

0:17 I like the interesting little riffs you've got.
0:33 I can see the influence of the prime numbers. I think you like that "rhythmically weirder shi*" don't you lol. I feel bad that I had to *star* that out because I don't feel comfortable with swearing always. It's just me.
1:13 Taking the drums out... still sounds nice. And then when the come back in at 1:25 <3

I think I'm going to go up the road and buy some fried chicken now. Will review more when I have time!!! <33333

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Yeah I started having trouble coming up with names for tracks, so I'd go to, say, ATC code N06 substances (or whatever) and grab whichever one looked cool. Cobicistat's used for treating HIV I think?

I'm really happy with the drums turned out on this track. They sound really good to me. The part at the end where you hear just the drums -- I had some other kicks I stacked on top of the main kick, but they didn't sound good together, so I took the kicks and routed them into the snare track, which was sidechained for some reason. So when the kick hits, that breathy sound coming off it is the reject kicks reverberating out.

I had my triangle flute wav file (can't remember what synth plug-in it was, I just recorded a note of something off the soundcard) playing these two melodies on 2 tracks sidechained with each other. The delayed one would play some echo-y notes, and when it would fade out, the quick arpeggio thing would shoot in at the end of the barline until it was kicked out again by the main synth. Put reverb on top of it, post limiter, to smooth over the transition.

And that rhythmical weirdness. New trick I'm messing around with. Thanks for the feedback, dude!

[Bernzomad]

Lol i tried to google this drug and your submission was the first one that came up. So either this drug was made up or it's a nickname or shortening for something else.

0:38 Either way this is good.
0:43 I like the way your progressions kind of go up up up up
0:48 Does that say "hurts so bad"? awwww :( or maybe
0:58 Never play again?

I want lyrics lol......... I might have it wrong..

Much love <3

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Lyrics:
Bernz (a person) so mad,
Bernz so mad,
Adrien Peterson will never play again.

(he's holding on to him for his fantasy team -- wishful thinking.)

[Trifluoperazine]

"Trifluoperazine (Eskazinyl, Eskazine, Jatroneural, Modalina, Stelazine, Terfluzine, Trifluoperaz, Triftazin) is a typical antipsychotic of the phenothiazine chemical class."

These melodies. These feels. These chords.

0:24 OO I like that little transition.
0:32 Back to the minor... or rather the slightly more "sad" portion. Not sure how these chords work actually because nothing is ever straightforward with you.
0:54 OO I LIKE. thanks for gifting me with this ending. pity it only lasts a few seconds.

<3

phosphorusprocedure responds:

This one, I just got lucky. Dragging notes in random spots and that first vamp popped out. I'll probably send you the midi file so you can look at it, maybe mess around with it or whatever.

[Quetiapine]

0:00 I like this loop a lot better. It's nicer and more happier than a lot of your other loops, and I like happiness!!!!!
0:20 OH BEAUTIFUL LOVE IT LOVE THIS PROGRESSION
0:30 This is very earthboundy i think. I've never played earthbound but I've seen people pointing out their influences.
0:43 I lied I played about 5-10 minutes of the first but got bored because traditional JRPG battles. sorry if you're an earthbound fan i think earthbound music is amazing. I have actually listened to earthbound music by itself and it's great.
1:12 Yes but this is actually going well
1:15 I LOVE the melody and progression which you are clearly focussing on. Anyway now time to google your drug.

Quetiapine (/kwɨˈtaɪ.əpiːn/ kwi-ty-ə-peen) (branded as Seroquel, Xeroquel, Ketipinor; Hedonin by G.L. Pharma) is a short-acting atypical antipsychotic approved for the treatment of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and along with an antidepressant to treat major depressive disorder.

Aw.... a lot of depression related and antipsychotic drugs... these drugs. They can either be good or bad for you, depending on whether they are prescribed lol.

Have a good time! MUCH LOVE

<33

phosphorusprocedure responds:

That's the thing that bugs me about those old school JRPGs: the music is freaking amazing, but the game is (for me) a bit of a chore to get through. I played through a big chunk (what I thought was a big chunk) of final fantasy 3 or 6 (3 in america) and stopped at some jungle or something. Go to my friend who says I'm at like 2 percent of the whole game. Jesus. I do keep the soundtracks in my itunes, though. A lot of times I try to just do that: a 30-45 second loop that sounds good. Maybe throw a bridge in there or something. Easier than trying to make a whole 9th symphony kind of thing that goes on for 55 minutes or 2 hours or whatever.

[Lamotrigine]

Lamictal /ləˈmɪktəl/ by GlaxoSmithKline, is an anticonvulsant drug used in the treatment of epilepsy and bipolar disorder.

0:15 Lol... slurp? Hoping you not doing too many of these drugs if they're unprescribed... hehe. you might go crazy like me
0:38 BOULLIE is right, this is pretty funky
0:42 Those snares. Like the snares. More snare rolls. As you might already know, I have a <3 for the snare.
1:05 And I realize you have a <3 for the bass with a bit of that crunchy ATTACK on it. one that sneaks up behind you with a little warning but not too much warning because now suddenly ITS UPON U. that kind of bass.

That loop as well. Interesting loops you're making.

Word.

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Uh actually I was kind of iffy about how loud (and suddenly loud) the bass would get. I was going to "fix" it, but I said fuck it and wanted to get the track out the door to work on the next one, but that part with just the bass still kinda bugs me. I think it's just the triangle flute wav file in a low register, with Camel Crusher on it. And sidechaining. Everything in here was sidechained.
So much bloody sidechaining, lol.

[80s Love Theme]

0:00 Lol that keys.
0:12 It sounds Rhodes-y but I don't exactly like the melody/progression
0:21 But this part of the chord progression soudns nice.

"Bremelanotide Listeni/ˌbrɛmɨˈlænətaɪd/ (formerly PT-141) is a compound under drug development by Palatin Technologies as a treatment for female sexual dysfunction, hemorrhagic shock and reperfusion injury."

wowww interesting. :/

1:07 I like this part of the progression. Now to make it into a song with other instruments.

0:00 LOL IT LOOPED

KK cool. It's not very 80's though imo, it would need to be slower and have more delay and more cheesy reverbed-out drums. But the progression is slightly 80's, because of its sound musicality combined with interesting little interludes that don't necessarily push for the epic. What am I saying lol

Love you <3

phosphorusprocedure responds:

I came across Bremelanotide by googling love potions. I thought it was an aphrodisiac kind of thing, but I guess it's used for that other stuff too. Lel, this is the only one so far that looped successfully. I don't know if I'm messing up the FL export part or if it's just the ng player.

I think I took the DirectWave Suitcase keyboard and put flanger and delay (time way down, like under 10 ms) until it sounded Rhodes-y. It could definitely use more 80s instrumentation to get that vibe going though.

My friend said it reminded him of Dire Dire Docks, that keyboard sound? That's a great keyboard sound right there.

[Cosmic]

0:07 Lol nice. This sine-y main synth. Everything seems together and organic.
0:17 Even if that kick seems a bit overwhelming at a certain frequency.
0:28 OK these chords kind of helped bring it together.
0:35 That bass work. I get the feeling you're working a lot in that really low range recently.
0:51 Part of me does want to see timbre though.
0:56 That change in pace.
1:08 Not sure where this is going... it's a bit weird how it suddenly changes mood.
1:20 But this part is nice. Almost Twin Peaks-y jazz with a low pass filter on it.
1:42 Not sure about that riff. Seems a bit off kilter at the end. But I guess you like off kilter since that's part of your brand. lol.
2:01 This is nice though. Especially those strings in the back. I wish they came through a bit more.
2:16 Nice ending.

Overall the structure is very her and there, meandering between ideas without a certain direction, which is good and bad. It's kind of like, jazzy, but at the same time schizo. I couldn't see how you ripped off Aphex Twin, but that's probably maybe because I don't really know his full catalogue. But I could hear it maybe very very slightly near the intro with his latest album Syro, but even then it wasn't nearly as poppy and generic to be Syro copying. I don't even know what I'm saying because Syro isn't generic but it does sound somewhat like those generic techno backings to old YouTube videos where the audio was pulled because of a copyright claim. Or elevator music by Kraftwerk made modern, but in the best kind of way. Yeah, that's similar to how the first quarter of this song sounded.

Word.

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Oh I just said I was ripping him off because the snares and the synth sounded a lot like Alberto Balsalm. That track had mainly low frequency stuff going on except for the interlude where it sounded like a kid was dragging a metal stick along a chainlink fence. I didn't have any of that high pitched stuff going on, and I guess the first part of the track could've benefitted from that. 2nd part was totally tacked on -- didn't feel like making it its own track.

[Still Can't House]

0:00 Bass is nice.
0:10 I feel that sidechain.
0:20 This is groovy. You got those little "chain" sounds going on.
0:30 This is really nice.
0:40 A little bit silent here, loses energy.
0:45 But that clap and that bass bring it back more. You got that groove goin on.
1:05 Nice if you had a kick or something going on here maybe to ground the track and make it seem less like you muted certain channels that were holding the track together. If that makes sense.
1:27 Ends a bit abruptly.

Overall, I think it's most important that you've got the grooooove. Sounds like some of Sam Gellaitry's house-ish stuff with nice sidechain that melds the track together. It's a bit bassy and some of the things pull out so that the momentum is lost. But overall the groove is the most important thing and this got it.

Thx!

phosphorusprocedure responds:

Yeah I think this track dragged on a little too long. The parts where stuff drops out is me saying, how can I pad this out without adding stuff? Can't have a 35 second long house track, who would do that? And that last part was supposed to be integrated more but I couldn't get it to fit, nor could I just throw it away so I tacked it on there. It's kinda background music. No cool melodies or anything. Just random noises sidechained with each other. I do like the way the bass sounds throughout, though. Thanks for the review!

[Don't Be Someone Else]

This is reall reall reall good i like it you make your beats hahehehehehee

Yup this is real good and please make it longer haha more verse pls

CHiLEDAWG responds:

thank you zigzag, always love your reviews, send me a beat you think i'd sound good on!