GrapheneKid's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Welcome Home - Jamuary Day 1]

This is a great beat! The whole thing sounds clean, everything fits so well together. You've got a good strategy, it can be quite helpful to start in a familiar corner and "branch out" as the jam goes on.

MasterHand4444 responds:

Thanks much; glad you liked it! I'm excited to see where I end up taking things as the jam moves forward.

[JAMUARY 2023 - day 1]

This beat is so smooth and clean, like good liquor.

arbelamram responds:

thank u very muchhhh♥♥♥♥

[No Service (Day 1)]

The instrumentation here is good, I'm a sucker for big city style jazz. You mentioned drums in the comments and I was hoping there'd be some kind of percussion here to guide me along the unusual time signature. The bass is a little too freeform to give me an idea of the song's progression, but the piano is absolutely excellent, it feels so natural and those keys just SING.

My advice for programming drums for stuff that isn't on a conventional time signature is to not think about it. All you have to worry about are a kick and a snare, the rest of the drumset is just for fills. Let your hands and feet guide you when placing the notes. Think of how drums can walk you through a melody that may sound complex or inaccessible. That might sound kind of strange but it's the best way I've found when programming drums for nonconventional time signatures.

SilverPoyozo responds:

Oo, glad you liked it, my friend. If you enjoy this kind of stuff, my biggest inspirations for this one are probably Hiromi Uehara and Avishai Cohen Trio.
I always go a little overboard on the bass, especially with this one piece, since I wanted to finish it in one sitting, But I guess the piano reined it back in a little.

I might give it a try on another one, percussion never really came naturally to me. But as you said, if I play with just the kick and snare more often, I could get something out of it. I might try it on another piece with simpler time signature, though.

[Sega Jammy Options]

This is pretty good! It sounds like you're going for a "swing" type of rhythm, but the kicks are just a *little* off-time, and the whole beat kind of stumbles as a result. The rest of the song is great though, definitely reminds me of something you'd hear in a Sonic game.

TwistedFW responds:

Thank you for the info, and I'm glad you liked it! ^-^

[ghost dancers]

Nice track! Parts of it definitely feel like they'd work in a video game, like if something were chasing after the player. Some of the lead instruments feel like they're a off-beat though. I don't know if this was an intentional choice or not.

flashmakeit responds:

Thank you for the feedback it means a lot to me. I do have a hard time getting the beat or notes perfect. I will do more research on that.

[Broken Dreams - Earth]

This is a really solid synthwave track. I had fun following along with the screenshot you posted. I always appreciate getting to see "behind the curtain," and observing how other people organize their projects. I'm only lightly familiar with FL Studio but you seem to have quite a handle on it.

[Jamuary - Jamuary 1]

One of the things about jams like this is the time constraint, it puts a stress on us that can lead to creative decision-making that we ordinarily may not undergo, but in our haste to complete on time, we may overlook details and feel regrets about missed potential. I think what was gained outweighs what was lost. This sounds very clean and focused. I like it!

[31 Days (JAMuary Day 1)]

Very atmospheric. You've add a somber touch in the melodies that feels all your own while still retaining a familiar sense of expanse.

MauveDash responds:

The melody was actually highly inspired by the Dead City track from Stray!

[[Day 1] It Lives]

This is great for how minimal the instrumentation is. Would love to hear more like this.

Scareev responds:

i appreciate your words bro! maybe this month there will be more of this type of stuff

[Wonders]

Very upbeat! The piano feels like it's missing something to me. I'm really digging the bass and the drumming though!

SkittleWaffle responds:

Thanks pal!