KKSlider60's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Psyche - Unknown 1]

Simply more than interesting

Definitely worth a trip. Haha, jk bro.
It gets very interesting after the introducing vocal samples, when all the synths come in and the main theme is settled. Brings up a very... robotic-sounding, mechanical, droning atmosphere, it almost reminds me of Sudeki, you know... the Krenn Lab. ;D
This is also a nostalgia journey over the realms of 8-bit and 16-bit videogames, those lost gems buried within our deepest, dearest memories, that forever changed us to the ones we are now. Again, sounds gorgeous enough for me to say it's got once more great potential.
Keep up bro =D
KKS

PsycheOasis responds:

Thankyou! ^^

[Ironesque Valley]

Interesting

Needless to say it's spacey, droning, tempo-less and experimental, traits that are typical of what we call now "drone ambient".

The three-minutes intro sounded pretty intriguing and "metallic", in a way that makes you feel heavy in a very subtle and dark way. Something I would expect to find in a Steve Roach, Lustmord or early Tangerine Dream album.

The theme that follows soon after brings more dynamics to the track and definitely worth a listen, with its synthy and crisp electronics. Three-chords arpeggios with a minimalist approach and basic EQ, not surprising but not failing either.

Windy pads take their vengeance in the third and final theme, bringing a feeling of slight emptiness, isolation and desolation. So much images in this one, it really adapts as a soundtrack for an indie abstract film, probably dealing with depression and solitude too, or even post-apocalyptic futuristic scenarios. The background sound effects really bring life to this theme, and it's refreshing to hear something different from the bottom-heavy sounds used in this.

It's indeed a nicely structured dark journey to the realms of deep psychology, and the fact that you personally went through that makes the whole piece a little more "genuine". Many would look at this and say it's either "spam" or non-music. It's Ambient, people. Background music at its finest. This perfectly fits into the wide commercially labelled "Ambient" category, as it's a deep collage of sounds, delicately manipulated to bring vivid abstract imagery into your minds.

In conclusion, I wouldn't call this a "masterpiece" (hence the droning and monotonous nature), but it's indeed an excellent Ambient track full of layers and atmospheres, and as you even said, worth for a walk in a serene place away from frantic everyday routine.

KKS

FatKidWitAJetPak responds:

Wow, now that's a detailed review! Even though we call this sort of sound, "drone ambient", it is a rare genre that is simply not heard in todays culture, and therefore is known as "experimental". Comparing this to the famous ambient producer, Steve Roach, makes me feel warm in the heart. I only just recently discovered him when SineRider compared my track, "Breathe With Me" with Steve Roach's style. I checked him out and instantly fell in love.

Some might suggest my inspiration comes from various ambient drone producers, but in reality my inspiration comes from what i see in the world around me. Simply put, my music comes from my perspective. I think that music should replicate what's deep inside our minds, spontaneously erupting our emotions in a waterfall of noises knows as a "vivid soundscape". I love crafting together my emotions, writing them down in electronic form and converting them into music.

The windy pads you described are actually sound effects I recorded with my MacBook Pro. What better way to describe my surroundings then by recording them. I use various sounds that I hear every day to compose some of my music, in order to accurately describe my feelings during certain times.

And you are certainly right about this being "genuine", as I took everything in this track to heart. Thanks again for your lovely review and im glad you enjoyed it! :)

[pettig park [album]]

Wow

Three words to describe this album: Experimental, Diverse, Urban.

- It's experimental, and you can all notice this. It's a blend of 8bit music, modern breakbeat, Ambient and unconventional patterns, all mixed together to form a greater soundscape. Its raw atmospheres and vinyl-like quality make the whole effort a bit unique and musically refreshing.

- It's diverse, though it all flows unexpectedly well. Surreal also, especially in the middle, where the climax brought before "Ten Months Later They All Died" opens a new doorway to different soundscapes. This can be incredibly adapted to an indie movie, experimental as well, with the surreal atmospheres you've created.

- It's what I'd like to call "urban ambiance"... Being in a big city, watching life running its course, and then we have night... a peaceful repose, where a bit of dissonance attempts to hide the horrors of everyday life, unveiling the serenity of night. I enjoyed every bit of the whole track. You already have a solid style and it's pretty neat too. If there's any advice I can give, is to improve the main melodies and keep the tracks even more varied. Most of the tracks are one or two minutes long and it can be useful to change themes or put variations, to give a "refreshing" feeling to the listeners. Then it's all about how much do you care about atmospheres, how deep do they sound, what story each instrument has to tell.

Keep up the awesomeness ;D
KKS

-Review Request Club-

sontukmusic responds:

oh wow thanks

[ECHO - A Little Push [MD]

I can't compete with this...

That's it, I'm quitting.
...
Naaw. xD Did you expect me to review this masterpiece? This is stellar, cinematic production, absolutely not subpar if compared to the real soundtrack music. Maybe you can hear some parts that might sound a bit forced, maybe you can't afford a whole orchestra to perform for you, but this is just impressive and I'm speechless. There's so much to learn for me (and instruments to download, haha =P), it's all so dynamic, vibrant...
Excellent.
KKS

-Review Request Club-

Echo responds:

Haha. Don't quit cos of me, it would make me feel all guilty inside :P

Thanks for the review ;)

[Long Story Told Short]

Pretty unique

The percussive nature of this piece makes the whole track pretty dynamic, almost baroque-sounding. I can imagine myself recalling a story from the Neoclassical age. It's a varied piece, with themes and variation, though they revolve around quite the same chords over and over, this has lots of potential in my opinion. Although nothing "classic"-labelled is terribly original anymore, this manages to have its own character.
Keep it up ;)
KKS

-Review Request Club-

ErlendHL responds:

Thank you very much :D

[Syche - Lost In Time 1]

Joyful tears

I'm speechless. I'm very very glad you're back making awesome music just like the old times! :D
Just awesome.
KKS

-Review Request Club-

Insanctuary responds:

Indeed. I just keep coming back and creating something as masterful as this piece. I am scared to see how epic #2 will sound. So stay tuned my delightful friend.

[Pulsar Star Club (RDB/KKS)]

Woot

Hope you enjoy this, folks. :D
Being pretty experimental for both of us, we tried to conciliate the two styles together at best of our possibilities. It was fun and it did take quite a good while.
KKS

-Review Request Club-

RobinDB responds:

It did take a little while, but we both had business to attend to. lol. I hope they like it too. :P

[4'33 Remix: Jupiter's Children]

Hmm.

That's an interesting sound design track. It's not really about music anymore, rather, finding a good texture and drone it all the way till the supposed end. Now, it's quite ok if this is your first ambient piece. Let's face the hard reality first, so that I can explain the 10.

- This is not original/unique, as tons of drone and experimental pieces were made a few decades ago, pushing the term "music" to its outer boundaries. In the '80s, ambient music like this was almost a fashion in the underground. Some managed to introduce new elements, some just copy-n-paste'd their same 2-seconds loop over and over for half an hour, and even managed to sell a nice amount of albums.

- This is extremely repetitive. Something that Steve Reich or Steve Roach would appreciate. A quiet wall of sound seldom "colored" by sudden and brief pad chords, those same chords repeated during the whole track. Good for space-themed soundtracks, just not worthy enough as an individual track.

Now, even if this is something I would make in 5 minutes, it still has its character, and manages to be incredibly immersive and "deep". In my opinion, you fully succeeded in your goal, but next time try adding a bit more elements and textures to this piece, as I like to think of it as an intro to a greater, more complex track, and overall, I think it's a nice tribute to Cage. :D

KKS

-Review Request Club-

Psil0 responds:

I can definitely understand your reasoning. It's not entirely the most unique thing ever done (except for some very small minor, secret details). But yeah, in a sense all I really wanted to accomplish is something of a recorded/tribute version of Mr. Cage's 4'33. And yeah, it did only take me about 2 hours to completely finish this, so it wasn't that hard to pull off.

Also, thanks for the review!

[Rebirth (Film Score) RD20]

Reason *-*

So many familiar sounds this almost makes me cry from over-nostalgia.
Yes, it has very good ambiance and atmosphere, it could well be featured in a space or cyberpunk movie. You know, the birth of a new era of exploration and greatness.

My tip at this point would be, play around with presets. :) It's an awesome track but I think it could still be improved. Playing around with knobs, different sets, changing waves, adding some other effects (reverb, delay, distortion). Actually, heavy reverb would give this track an even more spacial atmosphere. This could be a very versatile track, if you use it as an intro for something.

Oh well, I'll stop my imagination now and give you a fat 10 out of 10. ^^
KKS

-Review Request Club-

MrMusicalLion responds:

Yep it could most definitely be improved, but I would prefer to revisit this piece when I have vastly improved my skill sets ^_^ So for now this is V.1 ... hopefully in a few months/years I'll come back to it and make it that much better :)

I think I could add heavy reverb to the electronic sounds, but the Strings would become very 'flooded' if I were to reverb them, I think. Perhaps the lower strings could have some reverb added on, I'll see how it sounds :)

Thanks for the tips/advice [reminders even! I used to do a lot more in Reason but I've become somewhat lazy xD ] and I will definitely bear it all in mind for future works of mine ^_^

Thanks for the 10! :D
-MrMusicalLion.

[Antiskill- Typical Number]

Awesome

Man, DnB is hard. Every time I step in, I struggle to find a decent snare sound and making an overall decent break, failing at 70%. xD
Still pretty new to me. Anyway, this track is great... awesome mixing, professional effects and from a technical view point I'd dare to say flawless.
Great stuff bro,
KKS

-Review Request Club-

YakovlevArt responds:

HAhahaha, yeah im not the best, that's why this track is not so serious or consistent.
But thanks for liking the sounds, i had a fun time making this track!