This is ideal as a background track during a conversation; it's not too busy, but it's not boring and plain either. Swint and Buoy really hit the nail on the head when they mentioned the wind chimes, however. I might suggest removing one of them and lowering the volume of the other. It's the brightest and most noticeable sound in the mix, so toning it down to try and compensate would be the first thing I would attempt.
Love that choir :)
Nice stuff!
P.S. Bonus question: Kind of personal, but are you fluent in Maltese? I was just thinking, "Man, this guy knows perfect English", and sure enough, when I looked it up, English is an official language in Malta (sorry, I'm not very culturally aware). It would be neat if you knew both of the official languages of your country, as not many people here in Canada know English and French.
That's awesome. I haven't made a proper loop from scratch in ages, and I rarely do them (I'm more into making full songs).
"This is ideal as a background track during a conversation; it's not too busy, but it's not boring and plain either."
Good, good :3.
"Swint and Buoy really hit the nail on the head when they mentioned the wind chimes, however. I might suggest removing one of them and lowering the volume of the other. It's the brightest and most noticeable sound in the mix, so toning it down to try and compensate would be the first thing I would attempt."
Well I took away one of the wind chimes so it doesn't play as much in one play-through. Hopefully it's better now!
I also added a very subtle detail to the track. I wonder if you'll be able to notice it!
"Love that choir :)"
Yeah that choir was one of the first things I added to the song. East/West Symphonic Orchestra's choir really nails the mystical sound I was aiming for.
"Nice stuff!"
Thanks a lot, glad you liked it!
"P.S. Bonus question: Kind of personal, but are you fluent in Maltese? I was just thinking, "Man, this guy knows perfect English", and sure enough, when I looked it up, English is an official language in Malta (sorry, I'm not very culturally aware). It would be neat if you knew both of the official languages of your country, as not many people here in Canada know English and French."
Man, I know English, Maltese, French and Italian. Here they hammer languages into us like there's no tomorrow :P.
But I speak English most fluently (probably due to the fact that I was born in England and half my family is English). Maltese is naturally the national language and everyone around me speaks it though, so I can understand Maltese flawlessly, write it considerably well and can speak it fairly well. I hate Maltese though, haha.
As for French and Italian, I can't speak them that well, I can understand them fairly decently and I can write them with a few grammatical mistakes.
Okay, seriously, the length of the song shouldn't really be an aspect to find negative or positive. If it's structured well, which in this case, it IS, then how long it lasts doesn't matter. If you like it, then just put it on loop!
Anyway, hey look, more cool stuff from SuperSte-- uh, I mean, Step. Man, I am so inclined to call you SuperSTEP now. Is that a problem?
The varying rhythms in the first 10 seconds are cool. The clarinet (I think) at 0:13 sounds so calm and pleasant -- really nice. The wavering didgeridoo at 0:07 and again at 0:16 is a great choice.
Transition at 0:27 is so natural, and the beat that follows is so groovy. Lots of good auxiliary percussion here.
0:40 -- the extra kick or two you put here varies up the rhythm just enough to keep me going. Smart move.
At 0:44, there is an absolute fraction of a second that is pure silence, and it kind of bugs me. You should keep some more reverb in there to fill up just a little bit.
This track builds, peaks, and falls all in the right places. It helps the looping to be less obvious, and this allows me to listen to it for longer without getting bored (as in for about 25 minutes while I type this). You've got some pretty addicting music here, sir.
Oh thanks for reviewing dude! Nice to do some original music now and again after a lot of Metroid remixing :3.
"Okay, seriously, the length of the song shouldn't really be an aspect to find negative or positive. If it's structured well, which in this case, it IS, then how long it lasts doesn't matter. If you like it, then just put it on loop!"
Well, length can be a factor. If the song feels short and has potential to be longer, then it IS a kinda negative factor. Problem here is that I couldn't really make it any longer since this is just intended for a short dance.
"Anyway, hey look, more cool stuff from SuperSte-- uh, I mean, Step. Man, I am so inclined to call you SuperSTEP now. Is that a problem?"
Don't even think about it!
"The varying rhythms in the first 10 seconds are cool."
Awesome. Like I said to SkyeWintrest I tried to make those rhythms pretty jumbled up.
"The clarinet (I think) at 0:13 sounds so calm and pleasant -- really nice."
That's a duduk! I really love its sound. I remember hearing it in Avatar: The Legend of Aang's soundtrack without knowing what it was called and when I bought East/West Ra I was desperately hoping that it would have the same sound that was used in Avatar. After a bit of searching, I was elated to find three amazing duduk instruments.
"The wavering didgeridoo at 0:07 and again at 0:16 is a great choice."
My mum says she thinks it sounds too aboriginal with that didgeridoo in there but I just think it fits so well...
"Transition at 0:27 is so natural, and the beat that follows is so groovy. Lots of good auxiliary percussion here."
Heh awesome! In all, in that part there are big hits/cymbal and gongs, bongos, shakers, cymbals and the kick/snare combo playing as percussion, with the odd woodblock here and there.
"0:40 -- the extra kick or two you put here varies up the rhythm just enough to keep me going. Smart move."
I like adding a few subtle variations in my percussion. I'm glad you noticed!
"At 0:44, there is an absolute fraction of a second that is pure silence, and it kind of bugs me. You should keep some more reverb in there to fill up just a little bit."
Aw man that silence was intentional. I actually went and automated the master volume to go down in that part so that the reverberation would be cancelled. I know it sounds pretty abrupt but I personally like that effect so I don't think I'll be changing it :P.
"This track builds, peaks, and falls all in the right places. It helps the looping to be less obvious, and this allows me to listen to it for longer without getting bored (as in for about 25 minutes while I type this). You've got some pretty addicting music here, sir."
That's great to hear. This track is totally out of my style so knowing that it's addictive is a good relief.
"Nice job as usual. I guess I'll see you around...
...SUPERSTEPH54.
*runs away quickly*"
Don't you mean "flies away quickly"...
...BIRDINATOR99
Yeah I'm impressed with NG's loop function although it does some other things instead that irks me after like the second time.
BASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSs thank you sir
"This is intense -- first place goes to Steph and his OCD."
Lol, I wish. There are people at least 17 times better than me at orchestral taking part in this competition!
"Anything orchestrated is really not up my alley, so I won't leave a detailed review this time, but...wow...
BRO!!!"
Haha, thanks!
"This is at a very high level of music production. Why don't you write movie scores?!?! Please tell me you've at least looked into it?!?!"
Well, I do score some flashes here and there (currently planning on scoring a flash for the guy whose review is below this one). Other than that, while I think film scoring is AWESOME, I'd probably suck at it and anyway, programming is probably the way to go for me :P.
None directly, but it would be nice if that's what people used it for =)
I agree there is too much bass, I need to mess with the bass a bit. I didn't really notice it since I mostly hear my stuff through my laptop, and it doesn't produce much bass. Didn't really notice it until I played it in my car, then it was like... whoa bass!
Anyway, thanks for the review, I'll see what I can do.
So, I soon as I started listening to this, I was like "Whoa, that sounds like that Metroid Prime song. Oh snap, where's that from...", and I was going to mention its resemblance to you in this review, but I saw your description and was like, oh.
Oh my.
YAY!
I have to tell you, the Metroid Prime games are my favourite games of all time, so this is a really big treat for me to get to hear this. Seriously, there's some great music in that series, and you did it justice for sure.
Now then...
Cool pad right at the beginning there. It blends with the piano, and the strings that follow are so smooth. Great brass work; really expressive and powerful.
What is that percussive sound at 0:48 (that's where I first hear it)? It sounds a cymbal hit that gets cut off...strange...
Increasing intensity at 1:01; fantastic guitar here. Good thing you got SBB to do that, eh? Good drums, too. Toms sound a little cheesy, though.
Good subtle use of bells (actually, I think you mentioned it was a glockenspiel) at 1:34.
Those background low horns that come in at 1:36 are a great driving force behind the main melody. More guitar. Cool.
This piece moves along at a great pace; the hi-hat keeps it going for me.
Tense breakdown and smooth transition at 1:53. Great stuff. Sounds like a flute?
Excellent sound choices throughout here.
I wish you had incorporated some electronic components with the Sanctuary Fortress part. Would have been a nice tie-in with the original; maybe just a small synth section or something like that. Still sounds great, though.
Another good transition at 3:16. Love the piano noodling at 3:36. Everything blends so well together, it's hard to find something disagreeable.
The last few seconds of the track is great, with that guitar wailing sound. The fade out comes a little too fast, though.
Yeah, you're great at this orchestral-rock genre. If there's one thing to improve, it's those cheesy toms. Probably just a matter of sample selection. Good mixing, good flow, blahblahblah, Steph's really good, blahblahblah...
And it's only going to get better from here, isn't it?
Oh yeah, and just another special thanks from me for interpreting some of my favourite game music ever!
______________
I'm extending the length of my review here to give the illusion of quality.
"So, I soon as I started listening to this, I was like "Whoa, that sounds like that Metroid Prime song. Oh snap, where's that from...", and I was going to mention its resemblance to you in this review, but I saw your description and was like, oh.
Oh my.
YAY!"
Haha. Don't worry, my descriptions usually tell you everything you need and don't need to know about the submission :D.
"I have to tell you, the Metroid Prime games are my favourite games of all time, so this is a really big treat for me to get to hear this."
OH MAN if you like Metroid music, then DOWNLOAD THIS ALBUM.
It's a compilation of different Metroid songs to celebrate Metroid's 25th anniversary. Trust me, I've never even played Metroid before and the remixes in there have suddenly made me obsessed with the music. Be sure to listen to any of Darkesword's or Sam Dillard's tracks. Darkesword's song "Path of Ruin" is what inspired this remix.
"Cool pad right at the beginning there. It blends with the piano, and the strings that follow are so smooth."
Awesome! That pad is a mixture of different strings, namely a cello or two and a viola.
"Great brass work; really expressive and powerful."
Glad you liked the brass! I was a bit unsure about it because someone else didn't like the sound of the brass.
"What is that percussive sound at 0:48 (that's where I first hear it)? It sounds a cymbal hit that gets cut off...strange..."
It's one of the sounds in the 'Big Hits' samples of Stormdrum. If you heard it on its own, it sounds exactly like a cymbal hit that gets cut off :P.
"Increasing intensity at 1:01; fantastic guitar here. Good thing you got SBB to do that, eh?"
No kidding! The guitar I was using before SBB came along sounded so MIDI.
"Good drums, too. Toms sound a little cheesy, though."
You might be right. I don't usually use toms, so I'm not that good with them.
"Good subtle use of bells (actually, I think you mentioned it was a glockenspiel) at 1:34."
Lol thanks! I was quite proud of that patten :P.
"Those background low horns that come in at 1:36 are a great driving force behind the main melody. More guitar. Cool."
I used that part at 1:44 as an excuse to use more of SBB's guitars, haha. He made so many different versions of the two melodies I asked him to play and I wanted to use every single one. But we all know too much of one thing is rarely good :P.
"This piece moves along at a great pace; the hi-hat keeps it going for me."
Good to hear that! Song progression was never my strong point so keeping the song at a good pace isn't easy for me.
"Tense breakdown and smooth transition at 1:53. Great stuff. Sounds like a flute?
Excellent sound choices throughout here."
Thanks! That is indeed a flute (a staccato flute, actually). I used it throughout nearly the whole song, but it's pretty subtle.
"I wish you had incorporated some electronic components with the Sanctuary Fortress part."
That is an awesome idea. I wish I had thought of it before, but alas I lost the project file.
"Another good transition at 3:16. Love the piano noodling at 3:36. Everything blends so well together, it's hard to find something disagreeable."
Thank you!
"The last few seconds of the track is great, with that guitar wailing sound. The fade out comes a little too fast, though."
I noticed that before and you're not the first one to mention it either, so I agree.
"Yeah, you're great at this orchestral-rock genre. If there's one thing to improve, it's those cheesy toms. Probably just a matter of sample selection. Good mixing, good flow, blahblahblah, Steph's really good, blahblahblah...
And it's only going to get better from here, isn't it?
Oh yeah, and just another special thanks from me for interpreting some of my favourite game music ever!"
Oh you :3.
Thanks a lot man, I love your reviews! Really appreciate it.
"I'm extending the length of my review here to give the illusion of quality.
You just won the NGADM! Congratulations! Let's dive in to this piece, shall we?
Oh man, it's all piano. You've got to be a good player AND composer to pull this off.
Good thing you totally are, hehe.
I just realized that I have no idea how to review this -- it's so unlike everything I listen to. I don't know how to fully appreciate all the dynamic contrast, tempo changes, and pure skill behind this awesome track.
The mood changes so many times; there's a great sense of emotional variety and expression all throughout the piece. The flow, energy, and power you put behind the notes really shows what a great pianist you are.
I thought that at times the low end was muddy, but then I switched to my good headphones, and it went away. I haven't been listening to a lot of stuff on NG for a while, so I guess I just need to warm up my ears again.
I suppose if I had to sum all this up in a word, I would say "feeling". It's everywhere in this song, and it separates this track from all the typical, boring, uninspiring stuff we find on this site (admittedly, lots of my songs fall in to this category).
I don't listen to classical music whatsoever, so I'd like to thank you for making it interesting for me, and hopefully others as well.
Sorry if I wasn't specific enough for you, but I don't know enough about this kind of music to be particularly helpful with my reviews.
Great job though; I honestly believe that the winner was correctly chosen.
This is a NGADM Finals song, and only 1 review?!?!
Lets change that.
Another LSDJ song, eh? The idea of using a Game Boy to make music is really interesting. Is it complicated?
I guess that as a result, I can't really comment on sound choice, since you didn't have any (only 4 channels or something like that, correct?). It's all in how you use what you have, so this style forces you to be more resourceful than normal, and you're quite good at it.
Right from the intro, you can tell this is going to be a bouncy, upbeat sort of song. No problem with that! Glad you're still putting your vocal talents to good use.
I like that key change used at 0:53 -- a little bit of tension created and then released to transition to the main part of the song.
The tempo was a good choice; it fits with all the subtle percussion bits you have going on. It took me a couple of listens to catch everything. The bass on the quarter note is the driving force behind the piece, and it's going at just the right speed to make me feel relaxed, but still have a great groove at the same time.
Solo at 1:39 -- my favourite part of the song. Some modulation here, some portamento there, and a couple of sweet licks. Nice.
The background vocals are well done -- they fill up the sides of my headphones rather satisfyingly.
I don't know much about lyrics, but you obviously put some effort into them, so good job on that.
Back to the chorus at 2:23. Notably more intensity than the previous time around. This helps the overall flow of the song and sets up the ending. Good idea!
Whatever the bass does from 2:40-2:45 is great. Always sticks out to me every time I listen.
Solid outro, and 3:28 to the end is funny to me. I can picture somebody slowly walking away from someone, and then suddenly just bolting it out of there. If you don't get it, then I'll go be crazy in that corner over there by myself :D
The drums (if you'd like to call them that) aren't as prominent as I usually like them to be in a piece, but I know that this is pretty much a given when working with the chip-tune style.
Overall, I like this track a lot, but I can't see myself listening to it very often. I'm not sure why, because it's full of great things, and it's electronically-based, so you think it'd be right up my alley. I'll try listening to it a few more times and see if something clicks.
Hmm...anyway, great job! Your experience as a producer shows here, and I hope you keep making cool stuff in the future.
At 0:31-0:47, the attack times on those delicious horn/brass instruments are surprisingly high -- kind of wrecks the solid beat that the drums have going. The melody that they play sounds like a scale; a little boring :(
I love the way it starts, though. Great cinematic entrance!
I'M GIVING YOU A 7 HOW DOES IT FEEL MWAHAHA
Seriously though, good job.
:D
Also, let me know when you upload next so I can pay you back for all those NGADM reviews, eh?
"At 0:31-0:47, the attack times on those delicious horn/brass instruments are surprisingly high -- kind of wrecks the solid beat that the drums have going."
Agreed... I think that's as low as the brass sample can go in attack time though.
"The melody that they play sounds like a scale; a little boring :("
Haha yeah I made that melody ages ago when I was making the first version of this. Therefore I can't exactly change it, but I see what you mean :P.
"I love the way it starts, though. Great cinematic entrance!"
Yeah, I'm quite proud of the intro!
"I'M GIVING YOU A 7 HOW DOES IT FEEL MWAHAHA"
Heartbreaking, man. Absolutely heartbreaking :(.
"Seriously though, good job."
Thanks! Not so proud of this one though, lol.
":D"
:D
"Also, let me know when you upload next so I can pay you back for all those NGADM reviews, eh?"
Aw thanks. You don't have to, though!
Anyway, if you really feel compelled to, then my song A New World is probably one of my best recent ones if you want to review that.
Jinn's Calling 
Dance of the Jnun ![Perseverance [NG Cut]](https://aicon.ngfiles.com/475/475468_small.png?f1364639367){kind=small}
Perseverance [NG Cut] 
Welcome to the Future 
Sanctuary 
Unwavering Assault 