Al6200's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[.-the knowledge of rest]

Minimalism?

The more I listen to your music, the more it appears to be in a minimalist tradition. In the minimalist style, which is heavily influential in techno, the song begins with a theme, and then the theme is slowly transformed and added to do or sculpted down until it is completely different. In some minimalist songs, such as Philip Glasses's Metamorphosis 2, the theme builds on itself until the climax, when it begins to fall into its original form. This is also done is AFX's song Analogue Bubblebath.

I thoroughly enjoyed this song, and while I intuitively want to praise it for having counterpoint, I have to admit that I don't really have a technical appreciation of what counterpoint is. All I can say is that qualitatively the melodies work well together. I have to say that I don't really appreciate the noise near the end though. Creating disharmony is essential to the structure of a song, at least to my understanding, but there is a difference between controlled disharmony and noise. I think the song might have been a little bit stronger if the noise had been a bit more carefully designed and a little bit less "noisy".

On a slightly off topic note, I've always wondered why the fugue has fallen out of popularity in modern music. Does it require a concentration that one cannot give when in casual listening? Does it take too much time to appreciate (say, more than the three minutes that a music video has to win over its listener). Is it that the modern audience listens to less music and is less willing to take a risk?

johnfn responds:

> the song begins with a theme, and then the theme is slowly transformed and added to do or sculpted down until it is completely different

This is basically the only way I know how to write a song, which is a good reason why you hear it so often. The reason for this is basically because, 5 years ago, I said to myself "I'm going to master melody first, and then song structure." And then I figured out that no one has ever mastered melody. (Except maybe Sigur Ros, but I'm getting off topic!)

> I have to admit that I don't really have a technical appreciation of what counterpoint is

That's ok, neither do I.

> I have to say that I don't really appreciate the noise near the end though.

Neither do I actually! (I realized this about 2 minutes after I submitted) Conceptually though, I like the concept of blowing up a song, then pulling it all back together.

> On a slightly off topic note, I've always wondered why the fugue has fallen out of popularity in modern music.

I think all the points you gave are very valid. I like fugues, but they demand intense concentration, and they are incredibly difficult to write (I tried!). They are not really something I can put on in the background while programming or something. I think that music these days has sort of taken a backseat to other tasks, which is a big shift from how it used to be. You could probably write a paper on that topic actually... (This is how college has gotten me thinking)

> Is it that the modern audience listens to less music and is less willing to take a risk?

Maybe. I mean a few good bands these days are 'risky', but what does that really mean? That they throw a bit of distortion on the drums, or they have an awkward voice, or they use a violin? It would be cool to see a totally risky band throwing in elements of fugue, or classical music, but unfortunately rare. (Interesting to note: the band "maudlin of the well" actually has a semi fugue on the second song of their most recent album, but it stops before it actually gets full on, which is kind of a shame. Still, it's pretty cool.)

[.-Run run run]

Wow

Wow. Just wow... You're too smart for your own good.

It sounds a little bit like Kraftwerk or some of the older techno. Pretty good stuff though.

[Avril 14TH Ambient Mix]

Captures the heart of the melody

This remix in many ways, with its intricate echoes and long notes, captures the spirit of April 14th better than the original.

And while that's saying a lot, I would've wished that the remix had gone farther in its originality, adding a new form and melodic structure.

I guess there's not too much to say, other than that the instruments and the sounds of the instruments are 100% perfect, but that the form and the melody don't go beyond their copied form.

But in spite of these drawbacks, I will certainly listen to this piece in the future, great work!

[Switched On]

Not very much added to the original

This song, in my honest opinion, doesn't contribute much to the original song.

The original song isn't reorganized or restructured, and all that has been done is a beat has been moved on top of the existing song. While the beat is of quality, it makes little sense in the context of the overall piece, and quite frankly it only composes a small part of it.

While this song is technically a remix, it doesn't really seem to go the extra step that truly differentiates a remix from an original piece.

I apologize for being so negative in the review, and I am looking forward to seeing your future pursuits in music.

[Mercury_Zed]

Truely Exceptional, Would make AFX proud

The drums do need some work like the other reviewers have said, and that's why I docked the score down to a 9.

But really this song is quite exceptional, certainly one of the best songs I've heard on the Audio Portal.

The melody is catchy, and the contrast between the harsh bassline and the melody reflects Aphex Twin's style.

Perhaps along with the drums, this songs biggest problem is the form. If you look at AFX songs like Vordhosbn or Fenix Funk, the melody itself transforms through the song as new melodies are brought in. Here the introduction of new meldoies is a tad bit akward, although the melodies themselves are fantastic and complement each other.

For improvement, all I can say is look at Fenix Funk 5's first minute, and see how the first thrashing beat is replaced by a rough turning sound, and a light synth sound appears in the top octaves, gradually harmonizing with itself as it expands, and the turning sound dies down and completes, not just by quieting itself, but by turning more slowly, and more roughly, as the melody reaches its apex and begins to move through itself rapidly. At that point the main melody wears itself out and ends. The second melody than introduces itself.

There's definitly a great piece here, and it foreshadows a lot of potential.

[Toccata Per Rollins]

One of the better songs on NG

Certainly very good, but something felt a little bit off about it. A lot of times it felt like there were themes being explored that just sort of dead-ended. For example, at 57 seconds in a few notes were brought in on the high scale, and this is perhaps the best part of the song. But the shift doesn't really go anywhere. It offers an intriguing change in the melody, but just returning back to the main theme doesn't seem to do the song justice.

Also the form seemed to be somewhat lacking. A nice change would have been some imitative counterpoint and a more diverse range of harmonies. Also a long term shift in the structure of the theme would have been nice.

But alas I'm not a music student, so I can't really give a perfect expression of my ideas, but the piece is fantastic nonetheless.

Great Job.

MJTTOMB responds:

Thanks, I appreciate any and all suggestions.

[.Aspirations.]

Great

PWNAGE. This makes The Economist look like Time Magazine (LOL!!!) (no kidding, Time stinks)

johnfn responds:

Random!!

Thanks for the review anyways, haha.

[.Into The White.]

Pure Genius, Flawless

This track is so very close to flawless. There is nothing wrong with it. This is definitly competitive with even Psybot or some of the platinum artists. I think this deserves some praise and attention.

johnfn responds:

Thanks a lot, now all i need is 2000 more people to agree with you! :D

[.In the Blue.]

Destined for greatness

Good, not quite up to the standards of A New Hope, but really, this puts Adam Philips to shame. NightShift, not the good ones with the shirtless deer man and the yellow thing and the littlefoot. Thats like the best thing ever made.

But in conclusion this is very good.

johnfn responds:

Haha, thanks.

[.A New Hope.]

OMG THIS IS AWESOME!!

Its good. I like it. The melody is harmonius and the beats are symetrical or something. I know nothing about music. But it doesn't take a genius to know how good this is!

johnfn responds:

Thanks :D, now lets just see what everyone else thinks.