ApproachingNirvana's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Automatic Dreamer]

Delish

Ambient intro was epic. Panning was delish as someone mentioned below and the subtle glitches were win. Only had a few suggestions :)

I personally wanted some more variation/glitching in the drums because after awhile it became a tad bit repetitive (I know that this takes forever, but it does wonders in terms of direction for a song).

In addition, I wanted to have a "main" instrument. Either some nasty epic bass (might not fit w/ the direction of the song - or better yet, it might contrast well enough to fit in very well) or some main lead. This song is actually ripe for vocals and perfect for it. If you're planning on adding those or something, then forget what i just said haha.

In the end the song just feels a little incomplete. So a main "something" whether it be a bass, a lead (epic or ambient, w/evs), vocals or even varying up the drums so much that the listener gets to focus on those, I think it would make the song completesauce!

Shweet track tho man, can't wait to hear more on your new account :3

S0LUS responds:

Haha, gotta love multiband compressors. I put a lot more variation in the drums than I normally would have, so... I got tired. I'll try to vary it more next time I guess. xD
And, as always, I intend to add vocals to it eventually. ^^

[Last Breath on Earth]

Epic indeed.

I'm having issues here trying to suggest a direction for you to take...

One side of me feels that the song is incomplete and agrees with the person below that it needs some more variation. Buuuuuut, at the same time... it almost feels like if this song had vocals on top of it, it would already be complete. It feels ripe for some vocals w/ fx. Almost Nine Inch Nails crossed w/ Daft Punk Vox or something. In this sense, every element of the song would be tied together and it would feel awesomely complete. Even a vocoder w/ FX would do.

You have got a decent structure set out for a vocal version. The only thing I could really suggest is adding some sort of bridge to break up the continues music. You do that towards the end before the last "chorus" but I think if it were longer and had more of a build into the final chorus it would feel more complete. The mixing sounds good, nothing special though. As a final mix, you may want to bring out the kick more or bass. Accentuating portions of the song so that the listener is really drawn in (Hurray EQ cuts!).

So with all that being said, the instrumental is pretty good by itself, it's just a little repetitive. So the way to solve this without adding vocals would be to add some sort of lead that basically does the same function as vocals. This lead should not be repetitive and even each chorus it should be slightly different. You want the parts to reflect the same feeling but in a different way. An almost flute-like lead here (well sorta - you already have one) would be epic. That or some sine-wave type lead. Maybe a badass distorted lead would fit, but it could overpower. I'd say experiment with sounds til you find something you really, really like. But remember that you really have to vary it throughout the song so it feels to the listener like it's going somewhere. I find the best way to do that is to find your synth patch or sound and once you have it, put the song on loop and just play around with ideas on your keyboard as it plays. After awhile, you'll get something you like and it'll develop.

So all in all, epic song for me to keep on loop like it has been last ten minutes :D - Also, this gave me the same feeling that Matrix song (red dress girl one) did when I listened to it :D

N3XUZ responds:

Yeah, it definitely needs something more lead-y and vocal-y. I plan to do vox eventually, but I've no adequate mic at the moment. xD

[Nothing Machine]

Dirty and Nasty :P

Sounds delish. Love the notes and melodies - very dark and dirty :D

Mixing is definitely getting better - I did want the drums to be a bit heavier (the kick mostly). I loved that wobble bass, but after awhile, I wanted some of the high harmonics in on the patch. It brings out the bass a bit more as an element of the song and also dirties up the bass track.

That being sad, this has badass written all over it. NICE!!

want. moar.

N3XUZ responds:

I definitely plan to keep fucking with dubstep. It's fun as hell. And I'll keep it in mind to add more harmonics and whatnot. xD

[Bit Thresher]

Yay!!

TUNE!!!

Shweet track you've got here. Loved the new sounds you have going here :D

I think for me, it could have used some drum samples that were a bit more unique. Granted, this is coming from a guy who has to listen to all the samples Sam comes up with lols so I may be nitpicking. The mixing was pretty good (watch your peaks - it sounds like it's close to clipping on the kicks) and I could tell the amount of dynamics you put into this. It was awesomesauce, so it's a small complaint about the samples and potential peaking.

I also think it got a tad repetitive - while you switched it up at the end, I think you could have either condensed the song into about 3 minutes (shortening intro and reducing the amount of bars per pattern) or you could have introduced some elements. The parts at the end were pretty shweet :)

In terms of introducing new elements, maybe a shweet pad to add BG ambience or a more defined lead. The Square lead you have in there could have been made either dirtier or have been paced a bit faster to make it vary a bit.

The song feels like it grows throughout. If that's what you were going for it works, but there's no ups and downs here (chorus/verse or lull/climaxes etc). So that may be one of the issues for me.

So the song's definitely epic man! Once again can tell the improvements you're making :D Looking forward to your next track!!

~ Andrew

N3XUZ responds:

Heh, I always have a bit of trouble with my mixing. ^^;

And yeah, it's s'posed to be video game inspired- somewhat repetitive, no real major ups and downs. But thanks a million! :D Much love!

[Aphasia [N3]]

Nice Track!

Hardhitting intro - Awesome. I have to agree w/ the reviewer below me - a tiny boost on the high freq (don't go crazy - then your track will become too tinny). Also the drumtrack to me was a tad boring. I felt like you need something more than just kick, snare, and ride. A high hat pattern would have been perfect. Even some random miscellaneous perc (bongos, or random percussive sounds) would have been cool. In fact, I can hear the bongos in my mind now.

Mixing sounded pretty solid other than a boost in the high freq. However, the pattern became a bit repetitive to me by the end. The pad/lead sound may have been a bit too overbearing for me to tell the difference in portions. So maybe a bridge type part where that's taken out or you bring down the cut off on it. Need a breakdown, I think. I feel like the song would be better if you started it around 0:30 and had your chorus part and used the intro breakdown part as a bridge or sorts. Then you could bring the energy up for last chorus.

All in all, great track. I'm not sure this belongs in hosue, but then again - I have no idea what else to classify it as lol... Keep em coming!

N3XUZ responds:

Haha, I had a bitch of a time just naming it, I have absolutely no idea where it would be better classified. Yes, the drumtrack needs work, I still need to practice that area a bit more... I like your suggestion for bongos, too. I'll keep it in mind as I work on a better version :D

Thanks tons!

[NG Ep #2 Demo]

Nice

Nal, we've been waiting to hear this since Lira told us she was working with you on the second EP, she is great to work with, and GJ utilizing her vox. I love the synths u made for this. Look forward to the 2nd EP.

Later friend,

-Sam
Approaching Nirvana

nal1200 responds:

Thanks!

I really was lucky to get to work with her live for the recording in this clip. It will most likely change (if it's picked) due to more recording being needed. :/

[The Rusted Ship Finally Sinks]

great intro (piano riff)

Your melody composing is great. We just gotta work on your percussion, structure, and mixing.

Having everything speed up was pretty cool.

Um, the best advice i can give you is to play with your percussion samples ALOT, use every known tool at your disposal, spend alot of time on percussion. Research on youtube and ww.tweakheadz.com on tutorials how to mix. And that will help you tons on your perc. Your other mixing outside of percussion is pretty good.

I'll review one more song. :D

PizzaBox responds:

Thank you so much for the review!

I'll be sure to spend more time with percussion in the future... believe it or not, this is the first time I've done anything with percussion besides doing cliche half-beat hi-hats.

Makes since that it didn't seem as good as the rest, but thanks. I'll keep working on it ;]

[Solus + SBB- Switchback]

So soothing

Great job guys!

This was like ambience, break beat, oldschool, newschool, and i could go on.

Good production. Synths are clear, that lead is so beastly, and you still made room for other instruments. The only thing i would do to the mix is try get the perc to get more clear, and sharp. But how it is now, is great, so dont get me wrong.

Great work, this better get good attention.

Thanks for your review on our latest song too. You've always been the man! Errr i mean girl.lol.

SolusLunes responds:

It is definitely an awesome mix of a lot of elements :D

[]}a{[Imagin. Revolution [prev]]

Revolution

Awesome job on everything here man.

You've got a great catchy lead in the beginning. I love the melody you came up with it and it really flows throughout the song. On the other hand, since there's not much variation, it does tend to get a bit boring after awhile. Take some notes and shift em around. Or even screw around with the timing on it to keep the listener interested in it. Or if you don't want that you can play around with the automation of filter cuts and other parameters of the synth to make it come alive.

The bass is decent but not as driving as I felt it should be when compared to the lead. You can make it pop outta the song more and dirty up the synth for the bass a bit to make it hit harder. It's a decent bassline I just wanted something heavier (might have been personal taste).

The percussion, I felt, was what lacked. The clap sounds a bit cliche and I can't even really hear a snare (if there is one) in there. Try layering claps/snares and playing w/ a bit of reverb and possibly echo to tweak to your personal taste. I also want the kick to hit harder and you'll end up getting that with a whole lot of EQing and Compressing. With something like this, the song should punch me in the face with energy, but it just doesn't get there.

Also, the big transition you have in the middle is AWESOME; however, you need to watch the clipping because the sound gets a bit busy.

Drum compression and EQing will take you a lot of ways. This song is pretty sweet already, I hope I've laid down some good things for you to try.

alertG responds:

thanks a lot for the review!

i can see how the percussion could make the track a bit better and 'll definately work on it. i agree i could change the melody a tiny bit to add some varient. also, a little more on the bassline could improve it a little more too.

yeah, i don't think there is snare... so, ill be sure to work a little bit on all of those. your advice really helped thanks!

[star flight]

Ambient Dreams

Wow, this ambient soundscape you painted is awesome. You have some great riffs going and you've laid a good foundation for this song. Nothing really stands out to me as being annoying to the ears. Although I think that your transition at 1:30ish can use a little work (also your transition back in). It was a sudden stop in sound down to the bridge. This sometimes works, but I think it would be better to let your reverb tails play out a bit as you transition into the bridge. Likewise when you transition back.

I really liked the strings and the bongos. On the other hand, I really think you could had a decent drumkit in there to really get the groove going. Now, this foundation could grow into a great piece. The progression you've going is lovely, but you need something that is the focus of the songs.

Vocals would be nice, but I understand not everyone has the equipment or even likes vocals haha. I would think a decent guitar doing lead or maybe an ambient piano. You need something that isn't as repetitive to sort of carry on the feel of the song throughout.

The song's great on its own, but I definitely think you can add a lot to this one. Awesome song!

(A->N)

clone3872 responds:

THANK YOU!! i am so glad you like it.