GrapheneKid's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Kids in the sky]

I'm gonna be completely honest here--I don't remember how this tab got opened at all. I'm searching through all the songs with the tag "jamuary2024" but since yours doesn't have that tag I never would have found it. I can only assume you are some kind of noncorporeal deity who hijacks computers.

This is a really pretty song. The piano is relaxing and the drums establish a solid structure without drawing attention to themselves.

DaxCamdaxian responds:

Now I understand what you said on the discord server, it's funny, I'm glad it happened tho, thanks for listening to my song :)

[JAMUARY2024 3: Sky Base]

The percussion's not too bad! The kick is nice and punchy. The only things that stuck out to me were the cymbals which they could probably be much quieter, and your bass gets kinda drowned out when the song gets busy (0:30 to 1:20 for example). The progression is pretty interesting here, the guitar chords have this muted aspect melody-wise, and they give an ethereal tinge to the music. I love the pad that kicks in about 1/4 of the way into the song. Using this "Ogun" thing as your sole source of melody is a really neat restriction and I think you manage to make the song sound fresh and complex even with just the one source.

MyrtleMist responds:

Thank you for the feedback! Yeah I can agree that the hi hats and cymbals could use a bit of toning down, I still feel like bass is fine the way it is, I didn't really want it to stand out much but just be in background complimenting the main sound, but it won't hurt to see if I can make similar stuff but better.

I am thinking of trying to stick to more minimal music for a bit once I recover from my mild burnout from jamuary. I want to try and improve my basics so to speak, easier to focus on the whole when it isn't made out of way too many fancy sounds.

[The Lounge Room]

I mean the challenge is a little flexible, so if you miss a day here or there we promise not to attack you. I myself have attempted Jamuary twice and failed exactly twice to run a 30-day streak. What's important is that you're experimenting and having fun and not trying to overexert yourself.

Nice beat too! Wouldn't mind if it was a little longer. Percussion felt a little loud to me. Love how the piano tone wobbles just slightly.

Casper responds:

I did the challenge in 2022 and wasn't happy with some of the stuff i made so I was hoping this year i could maintain some level of quality, even if I end up with shorter songs like these

[Rushing to the Dancefloor]

Not bad! I dig those chords. I was head bobbing the whole time.

[Cosmic Jam From Far Away]

Not really a whole lot going on here. I do like the percussion loop though, I feel like if you filled it out a bit you could have a solid foundation for something outside of Jamuary.

[Flame of Passion]

Got kinda nervous when the waveform loaded and it was an entire wall of sound, though it's not as overwhelming as I expected. The hip-hop percussion at 1:40 is so dirty, I love it. Transitions between the different sections are fairly smooth.

I feel like this song paints a good picture of intense passion and the sense of restlessness you feel when you're not able to perform what you love most. I feel like everything pre-drop is that "Jayden waiting to get out of class" part of your story piece, while everything following the drop is the "rush to get home" so he could do some more drawing.

[Emerald Timber (Jamuary 2)]

This kicks ass dude. The rhythm, the instrument samples, the chords...I can't pick a favorite part of it!

[Jamuary 3rd - Sleeping The Night Away]

This is a pretty cool lullaby. What's PMD2? I'd say this bears a passing resemblance to Mother 3 or Doki Doki Literature Club in some spots

GlaceonDash responds:

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon 2 :)

There are official titles, but I just call it that since I keep on forgetting

[BRKNBT (Day - 2)]

Duuuuude. This is such a mesmerizing beat. More please

[Vanilla Bean]

This is a sick DnB beat. Nice energy but not overwhelming. The decision to use bright melodies is very interesting, reminds me of early Enigma. The drop is great too, perfect transitions all around. Nice work!

vividlance responds:

Ayye good to see you again! The comparison to Enigma is interesting, I haven't thought about him in a while. Glad you liked the track! Your stuff for Jamuary's been super cool too, I'll try to make some comments of my own soon, I'm very on-and-off in terms of business.