Score: 9

"Activeka"

submission: The Nature Of Things

date: January 18, 2009

It feels a bit too active and foregroundish in my opinion to be ambient in my opinion, but a neat piece nevertheless (kinda reminds me of Kraftwerk at parts, even). It seems to to do quite a bit with minimal elements, and kept me engaged as a listener throughout. Really liked that panning synth thing around 1:00, and the neat swells that occur throughout. I probably would've given this a 10 if the main riff thing was a bit more enjoyable to me (as it is used quite a bit), but overall, very nice piece of work. GJ.

Score: 8

"Ove"

submission: Emergenct Room

date: January 18, 2009

Ahh, the art of the hip-hop, what can I say :P. Anyhow, nice beat ya got here, and those fills are pretty well done too - though can't say I'm personally a big fan of the 808 ;P. I also like some of the short melodic segments you've used, such as string and choir melodies; my favorite part is probably that porta synth thing you got going on near the end, with the glock chords playing a neat counter melody. I'm not diggin that repeating bass-note so much though - just sounds too mechanical to me (maybe try playing with the velocities to humanize it some more?). SOlid stuff overall, though. GJ mayne.

Score: 7

"A lion does what? R--R"

submission: MH16: Piano Song (Remake)

date: January 18, 2009

Interesting piece - but the constant clipping is turning me off a lot. Please try to fix this by cutting the piano levels or something. Anyhow, I'll try to review the rest as best as I can.

The overal progression and structure of the piece is simple but works well enough. Some of the parts could use some tweaking though. The piano part sounded kind of stiff to me - I'd try humanizing it to some degree, especially since it's a pretty simple part to begin with.

The drums were a bit unexpected, but they work alright. The only thing is that after it stops, it doesn't play again until that final splash in the end, a good 40 or seconds later. I think you should try to keep it throughout, if only intermittenly, to give a better sense of balance.

The strings and flute parts were well done, though. They nicely punctuate the harmony and melody, respectively.

All in all, probably a nice effort, but it's hard to remain completely unbiased in light of the distorted audio.

Score: 9

"Really A WondeR"

submission: Reminiscence =HFX=

date: January 18, 2009

I think I'll have to agree with you in terms of this being your best-est piece so far - there's a nice variety of themes combined with wide range of expression (which are often lacking in "electronic performances"). The music definitely has that taste of innocent nostalgia, though parts of it feel forward-looking (such as that stately, more "heroic" sounding part around 2:45) to me, as if in hope for future. The squeaking didn't bother me too much at all: before I read the description, I thought it was an intentional sound effect, as if to paint a picture of that lonely swing set swaying with the wind or something :P.

The main criticism I have is probably the somewhat static figures in the left-hand. It'd be nice if it could get some more important parts occasionally, taking a break from the typical accompaniment patterns for a bit (maybe even pass bits of the melody to it here and there). But given that this piece has a somewhat spontenous feel to it (and that it's generally harder to improvise left-hand stuff), it's understandable as is.

G.J.

Score: 9

"M-m"

submission: Sonata of Pursuit (remastered)

date: January 18, 2009

I don't have much to say as I was just passively listening to this piece, but overall it was quite enjoyable. You've taken the piece into various different directions throughout, but manage to keep it still relatively coherent. I really liked that pitch bend transition you did sometime in the latter half, and the triple time section that closes out the piece - though I'm assuming you are going to be developing from this some more. The only thing that sounds off is the intro segment - it works better as an ending blurb if it's only going to be that long (or at least that's the impression I got when the piece looped around). Overall, good stuff though - looking forward to more of this hu.

Score: 8

"RWAR"

submission: .:Trahir:. (looped)

date: January 18, 2009

I like the overall mood of the piece, but it feels a bit too "straight" - all the rhythms are pretty consistent and all the chords fall on-beat, which can get tiring after a while. I hope in the final version that there will be a less static elements.

Also, stereo enhancement works very well for a solo piece or small scale piece, but with an organ and choir, it sounds kind of weird to me (especially when the choir itself sounds pretty sonically compacted compared to the guitar).

Score: 9

"MAD (RAWR)"

submission: Franswa - Ssme as before

date: January 18, 2009

Haha, I'm really enjoying this piece. I don't think it's repetitive at all given the genre - in fact, this sounds less repetitive than the norm for hip-hop tracks. And those horns riffs are quite nice, with that classic sort of soul feel. The only thing is the horns part sounded a bit too clean to me - I know you probably haven't sampled them (at least from a live performance), but you are sort of using the in a way that suggest that. I'd try to get them a bit more vinyl-like - dirty them up a little bit more - or try something else that makes them a bit more realistic. That's just my take, though. It'll probably be a lot less noticeable if someone actually spits verses on this.
Good stuff, good stuff.

Score: 9

"D-m"

submission: Delirium.

date: January 18, 2009

The title is quite appropriate for the sound you have - abruptness, confusion, and anxiety all feel like good adjectives to describe the music here and there. You seem to use a somewhat limited number of sounds throughout the piece, but the arrangement and processing of these sounds is done quite well, in my opinion - my favorite probably being the more ambient sounding instrument that comes around 1:00. The only thing that kind of bothered me was the clicking sounds that occur during the beginning, and subsequent repeats of that hit - but as you mentioned before, you've had some mastering problems. All and all, a very interesting listen - good job.

Score: 8

"Pastoral"

submission: Piano Collab in A Minor =HFX=

date: January 7, 2009

Not bad at all - it has a rather calm and tranquil feel, even though it's in minor and also somewhat upbeat. I rather like the melody too - it's simple but effective, especially for a short segment. The balance feels kind of off to me, though - I think you should make your right hand notes somewhat louder than the left hand ones; the bass is kind of dominating in the mix right now. Also, the attack on the piano sounded a bit weird, as if it's not really striking or it's somewhat muted. Just minor points, though - nice piece of work!

Score: 8

"Strange, but neat"

submission: The Summer She Died

date: December 26, 2008

This music does rather give me a sense of a warped mind or whatnot, though I'm not sure about the gaining new insights part haha. The main riff is kind of repetitive, but I did like the variation that goes around it, especially the drum parts, which changed texture quite frequently. It starts to stagnant a bit after 1:30 or so though; I was really expecting something different due to the "gaining new insights" thing you've mentioned, but it was just a gradual cutaway of the old theme. Still, a very solid and engaging piece of work. Keep up the good work!