Geoplex's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Submerged]

Pretty perfect title.

This is very visually evocative of an underwater landscape, and something about it feels... big; despite how soft the song itself is. I really like the diversity and how the song flows; it feels very organic. It's also somewhat soundtrack-ish, though that might just be because a lot of it is fairly epic, for lack of a better description :P

I'm not that familiar with the genre in a technical sense so I don't really know what else to say, other than well done :3

stunkel responds:

Thanks for the review sir :3 Glad to hear from you after a while.
And I agree with you, I wasn't sure what to put the song under. Some parts felt like a soundtrack, but others just felt like a relaxing song, and it wasn't really classified as anything in my opinion.
And I would just say the genre is orchestral I guess :P leave it as simple as that. Thanks for the review again sir :D

[Turbulence]

Man, this is different :P

I'm not entirely sure what to think of this, partially because it's so unique. I really haven't heard anything like it at all, at least not in the DnB spectrum.
The bass sounds quite electro-y, and I kinda like that in some ways. I do think the piece is perhaps a little minimalistic, though; it's certainly not atmospheric, but I know that was intentional. I just feel like it's a bit empty at some points, at 1:30ish especially. It would be a detrimental aspect, but that bit sounds really cool. So it's not an issue, really :P

On the whole point that it's not liquid, I do agree - but it certainly has some liquid elements, no doubt. The plucks and piano are certainly liquid-sounding, and i thought it would be a liquid song similar to imprison at the intro.

That said, it certainly bears some similarity to imprison. I don't know if it's the piano or the bass, but it's there. I kinda like that.

I also like your general composition a fair bit, actually. While it's not as interesting as it might be, you did an excellent job with a relatively small selection of melodies (reusing that pluck pattern actually hugely turned in your favor, because they're such a staple of the song.) I like the way it's put together.

Mixing wise, this one's pretty solid too - but i feel that there's a general trend toward mid-high frequencies that deprives me of a bit of bass. The bass is certainly there in the neat FM thing you have going, but it's not consistent and overall it makes the piece feel a bit dry. A sub might clear it up, but at the same time subs are generally fairly atmospheric and I gather that really wasn't the intention with this piece.

Either way, this sounded pretty great. Enjoyed it :D

ChasingPresence responds:

Again thanks for the well thought out review man. Yeah the sub could have been a bit louder, but if this song is played on speakers it is brought a lot more. To be completely honest I feel like I made this an electro song with a DnB tempo and beat, even though I wasn't intending to at all. I guess that's how the cookie crumbles.

[Karmafield]

Simple, but very enjoyable.

I always say that I love your intros, and this isn't an exception. It's very similar to previous pieces in the way it's structured, and I'm alright with that. I like the chord progression a lot too.

I mentioned that it's simple, and it really is. You're using a lot of basic arpeggio melodies, the percussion isn't hugely variant. If I'm making that sound like a negative quality, I really shouldn't be :P I'm actually very fond of the simplicity. It keeps it clean and it's still very engaging.

Mastering-wise I think this is pretty solid, but I can't give you a hugely in-depth perspective as my headphones died a few days ago and I'm stuck with earbuds - my sound quality's not what it should be if I'm going to comment on that. From what i can hear at least, your mix sounds quite good. The kick's quite prominent, and it sounds fairly punchy - I really like your hats, too. They mesh extremely well with the clap/snare thang.

The mix is also pretty well balanced in a spectrum-sense, your frequencies are all pretty well covered and the leads are appropriately audible. Production-wise, this one is definitely a winner.

Despite the simplicity, I really like this one. Was pleasantly surprised to see it pop up in my Youtube Sub-box thingy :P

Alloud responds:

Thanks for the review!

I wanted to "test the waters" in this genre first before I go and spend a huge amount of time on something, which might explain the simplicity. I didn't want to make something I'd end up hating in the end because nothing turned out how I planned. So I'm glad you still enjoyed it. If I ever revisit house I'l probably try something more complex or a different sub-genre.

Sorry to hear about your headphones; I know how that feels. D:
I was a little more careful with my mixing this time so I'm glad that payed off.

Cheers. :3

[Old Skool(DJ M4C Remix)]

Haha, oh man. This sounds pro.

I really love the intro on this, and the clean percussion as usual. I've never heard the original (unsure if that makes me uncultured or not) but I'm enjoying this.

I don't have time for a lengthy review unfortunately, but I really like the cellos too :P

Keep it up!

ChasingPresence responds:

Always great to hear from you, thanks!

[Dawning]

Been away for a few days, so I didn't get a chance to review this! :P

I like the intro a lot, man - 'specially the sliding synth (of course!) I think the drop was good, but if I'm being honest it still sounded like it wasn't a full chorus relative to the intro. On its own, it sounds really good, but relative to the previous buildup it felt like it could have been more powerful.

I Love the following piano bit, especially the panned plucks. The plucks themselves are a bit generic, but you use them really well. I also really like the bass on this; the sliding funky bass. It's definitely my favorite thing about this track :P

The chorus following the piano breakdown sounded better in terms of power, and i also enjoyed the variation on the original melody - you kept the continuity and yet kept it interesting, something I can't seem to do anymore.

Mixing wise this track is also pretty ace, the kick's punchy and the snare is pretty well done. I can always tell you put a lot of effort into mixing your kicks, and it really shows :3

As always, keep it up! :D

ChasingPresence responds:

thanks for the long review as always man :) yea I agree the first drop could have been better, but I guess ya can't do everything :(

[Resolve (DJM4C Remix)]

Liking this :D

Those chords at 00:32 are introduced really well, and the sliding lead at 00:48 is awesome. I love it ^^
The percussion is clean and pretty powerful, and despite its simplicity, the chord progression you're using works excellently. Also, that pluck guitar thing around 02:08 is awesome. I like that breakdown a lot in general, actually.

I think (as usual, lol) my favorite thing about this is the sliding lead, but I also really love the screamy LFO bass you're using, it's very well done in terms of power and completes the song.

I'm a bit out of it today, so if there was anything to criticize I probably missed it :P

ChasingPresence responds:

Thanks man! Can't wait for your upload! I would say the only thing bad about it was my reluctance to add more to the ending bit, which was a result of the deadline being tomorrow for the remix competition. Great review!

[Final Battle]

How did I miss this?

This is your best, imo - it's overall awesome. I love the melodies, the percussion is clean, and it has your signature guitar thingy.

This seems to happen a lot with loops, but I ended up listening to this like 4-5 times without realizing it'd looped :P That's always a good sign.

I actually love this one ^.^

K-Pone responds:

I'd rather say that organ-like synth is my signature (it's in here as well ;) ), but yes, you could be right, the guitar is also quite often there in my songs. By the way I discovered that awesome guitar preset by applying random guitar presets to the guitar track of the MIDI version of the Final Fantasy 6 battle theme. Sounds almost like here. Thanks for the review.

[Origin (DJ M4C Remix)]

Liking the variation ^.^

I was really excited to see what you'd do with this, and I certainly wasn't disappointed. As I've said, my favorite parts are typically where you're changing stuff up (that might be because I'm a bit sick of the original, but still :P)

I also really like what you did with the final crescendo before the last chorus, it's a bit boring in the original and you made it a lot more interesting. Plus, I like the restraint on the percussion once said chorus starts, it's always a technique I've approved of.

Overall awesome job man, best of luck in the contest! :D

ChasingPresence responds:

Thanks to the original creator, I mean how would I make this without the stellar original! Thanks for the review man :)

[Not From Realground]

Really improved percussion.

I'm noticing the quality of the drums is a lot higher than in your other songs here - not necessarily mixing-wise (as they're a bit muffled) but they're so much more powerful. I think the kick could be punchier, but it's pretty good as it is. The hats also aren't all scratchy like mine usually are, so there's that too :P

Obviously as you said, it isn't very melodically diverse - but it doesn't sound bad, and I still quite like it. I'm mostly enjoying this for its power, because seriously - it's by far the most powerful thing I've heard from you. The sliding lead later in is also really cool - I'm not sure why you think the melody is weak, because I really like it. Loving the piano bits too; they're great.

I was a little disappointed by how generic the supersaw arp-thing is, it's a kind of basic 3xosc-sounding thing. It doesn't sound bad, I just feel like I've heard the sound a billion times before. Love the gritty background saw a lot, though. It subtly drives the song.

I felt a little disappointed by the ending, as it kinda faded off into a whimper. It felt appropriate, but not very satisfying.

Minor flaws and repetition aside, I like this one a lot. I know what it's like to feel unsatisfied with a track - praise feels undeserved - but you shouldn't be surprised when this one does well :P

I like it a lot :3

Alloud responds:

Yeah, I generally don't do things with any oomph, but I was inspired to do so. As for that melody... well I still don't really like it, I had something way better in mind at one point but by the time I got home I'd forgotten it. Dx

Also lol, it really is just a basic saw made in Zeta, I didn't think I'd need anything more complex. I just needed it to stand out from when I saw-gated it in the quieter bits. I was going to use more complex arpeggios throughout but I shifted my focus from that, for better or for worse.

Yes, the ending could have been more. I just wanted it to loop easily if I cut out the intro.

Yeah I hear you. Usually I'm still excited to put something out but with this one I just wanted to get it out of the way. Maybe that's what having multiple projects at once does to me. xD

Cheers for the feedback!

[Origin (Cover)]

Aw yeah ^.^

You know my thoughts on this already, but reviewing is always good.

I love the funky, video-game feel you put into this. It's your general style, but it makes the song sound so much happier. I'm enjoying this one more than the original by a fair margin honestly.

The bells make me think of something underwater, and I love that. It might be because they don't have that much treble I think, but they sound good. The pad is also really nice.

The percussion is really clean, also - and I love the background guitar too. I've said this, but the variation you put on the chords is fantastic, it really brightens the song ^.^

Excellent job man, hope you do well in the contest!

K-Pone responds:

Thank you so much. I'm really happy that you love the cover of your song. I'm also suprised that you like the cover version so much more than the original version.