~SW~ Annar I have no idea what to call this kind of music, but I like it. A lot.
That's really all I have to say.
5 Audio Reviews
4 w/ Responses
AmperSand - Destiny (Original Mix) Pretty damn impressive effort, this.
It has the same level of cohesion as a professional release, something I've been trying to achieve for a long time. The only issue I had with it personally is the slap bass. Not the use of it - it sounds fine when there's a lot going on in the mix. But when it's exposed and playing on its own, it sounds kind of cheap. Not in a this-is-what-the-genre-is kind of way, more of a I-couldn't-afford-a-real-slap-bass kind of way. I don't mean that as an insult at all, that's just how it comes off.
The only way the track might fail in terms of appeal is its dissonance. There were quite a few notes that sounded out of key or out of chord. This is fine if used sparingly, but it seems to carry the track here. I actually like the dissonance, personally, but it's probably not everyone's cup of tea. If it turns out that the music theory is 100% technically "correct" in your project file, I'm not sure what I'm hearing - but I'm pretty sure I'm right about this.
Anyway, great track. I'm going to download it.
AmperSSanD responds:
Wow big thanks for the awesome review
You´re probably right, I'm not a music theory expert, and i get what you mean about the bass, maybe it is too high in the mix, anyway I'm glad you liked it and thanks for downloading
Can't Be (ft. Popushi) The composition is flawless - the only issues I have with this track involve mixing.
The stereo image is a little odd. There's a lot going on in the center, and then one (or two) instruments spread out to avoid the others. This is personal taste, but I tend to prefer everything be slightly stereoized except for the kick. This includes the snare and hi-hats (the hi-hats are panned, I think there's just not enough of them - I usually have multiple in my mix panned to different placed) - if there's not a lot of percussion going on in the sides, it sounds like a mono track with coincidental stereo backing.
The kick isn't bassey enough. I know the general advice is to high pass the kick to get it out of the way of the sub, but doing that too much sucks the life out of the kick.
There's a slight muddiness that could be solved through the stereo imaging I mentioned before. If that were to not fix that, then cutting the mids a little would do the trick.
The Etherfalls I don't know why, but I'm reminded strongly of Dilbert 2. Maybe it's the really soft percussion. IMO, that's a good thing, because I like the music from that (If you have no idea what I'm on about, youtube it). Not necessarily reminding me of the Gorillaz('s?) work, though.
Production-wise, the track should be normalized. It's really soft. It doesn't ask for much compression, maybe a little bit of EQing, but above all I shouldn't have to adjust the volume unless you're going for some kind of artistic statement. If you were, it was lost on me.
I'm not sure the panning is as effective as it could be - each instrument seems like its in its own space. Maybe pan before reverb/delay?
Composition-wise, it's kind of dissonant. Mainly because of the persistent high-resonance sound effect. I'm sure it can be used to creative effect, but it kind of skews the tone of the piece a little too far away from what you're going for. Perhaps use it a little less or make it a little less obvious.
Keep up the good work!
IndustryStandard responds:
Yeah I messed with the mix I originally had a week ago and didn't listen to it again until now. The drums were a bit higher in the mix before, and the piano less muddy. In retrospect, I think I made it a bit worse than i originally had it. On the bright side, I can work on the other pointers you've given me when i go to undo my inebriated attempts at being an audio engineer! haha