StaticNomad

Some nice stuff here.

A subdued beginning and I like that simple kick, small clap and timbale/bongo drum setup.

0:18 good keys sound but maybe its a little too loud/powerful.

Chilled drums are very laidback but that instrument's overpowering them too much.

1:12 not keen on that far right panned fizzy string pad. Sounds too distant and too bright and fizzy. Could be filtered to be warmer (less fizz).

There's a good, lazy Sunday vibe here but I think you can make it more chilled out and smoother by turning some elements down, especially around 2:00. Otherwise, the simple movement of the keys is pleasant and inviting.

Hi.

This all works rather well and is quite upbeat for a chillout piece. Busy, energetic drums but the rest is indeed chillout.

Good, spinning ride cymbal work and sometimes no snare provides an interesting feel.

But why the abrupt, chopped off ending?

I might leave some other thoughts when I have the time.

Regreetings.

"simply strummed the strings whilst muting them and then compressed, distorted, delayed and reverbed it"

Yes - I do stuff like that quite often on various instruments. I sometimes try slightly unusual playing techniques that are more like effects eg just doing some sort of funk strumming on muted/harmonics on the guitar or bowing harmonics beyond the fingerboard (and behind the bridge) on the cello. This is often hit and miss and I'm generally not playing any obvious tune or riff. It's usually more of rythmic thing going on. Then I edit the takes and apply effects and something cool comes out. Your version here is a good example of this sort of approach.

"I love cymbal swells"

I need to use them more rather than my usual, regular cymbal hits. They're very effective in sparse, chillout tracks.

Thanks you for promising to comply with my Nomadic commands. You could even have a go at using Paulstretch here on some vocals. Or guitar parts. Or some of those piano notes to make really huge, lengthy ones. Evisma has had some success with the software so you should try too. I still haven't got round to putting my cello through it, which is very lazy. I must also try piano.

"9/10 isn't so bad"

That's generally considered good where I come from.

Best of luck with your lengthening.

Static StretchMad

Hi. This is some pretty chilled, cool hip hop.

Short length but that's OK though a bit longer would be better.

Drums are very tight and very funky, as is the rap. A good voice that's laidback and easy on the ear.

0:45 nice new, stringed instrument adding some melodic flourishes. Harp maybe.

1:10 something like a violin?

Good stuff.

Yo.

"Working on my acoustic recording quality!

Haha - your acoustic recording quality is always excellent. At least to my humble ears.

0:42 that's a cool rhythmic sound. Is it guitar?

0:47 sounds a little like low cello. Perhaps low string pad?

Good shaker there too.

0:59 nice, distant piano notes.

1:13 cymbal swell is good.

Damn you as this is too short. I command you to extend it and make it something bigger and better.

The Nomad has spoken so you must comply!

I'd give this 10/10 if it were longer so it's a 9 for now...

Hi.

I'm going to have to disagree and say that I'm not keen on the vocal style. She can certainly sing, I'm just not keen on the pop style of singing but have trouble explaining why. I understand that lots of people will love it.

Anyway, the music is really good. Double bass is very strong and the gentle beat (dry drums) works well. Then I can hear some relaxed keys and subtle guitar parts.

2:08 guitar solo is good but seems a little too distant. Perhaps just turn up the volume.

Drums get stronger at certain points, which provides some good contrast.

Really chilled stuff.

Congrats.

Yo again.

Sure, I really listened. I almost always do - especially if I'm going to write a review.

Yes, I forgot to say that one way to help the track might be to just reduce the length. I don't often suggest this to people, partly because I tend to make long to very long tracks. However, I try to pack them with action throughout.

So, you don't have to reduce the length. Instead, you can inject more variety so that things don't feel so samey (especially the drums). In that way, the track will justify its length. I've done loads of long tracks that could have been quite a bit longer but I've decided to leave some stuff out (sometimes turning that material into a new track) just so that there aren't too many ideas going on, as that can be exhausting for a listener and make it harder to remember how the track goes (information overload).

What I try to do is go through every section and see if I get bored at all while listening. If so, I try hard to add more variation, which doesn't have to be adding new elements - it could be removing some. If that doesn't work then I get rid of reduce the length of that section. I've done this loads of times to various section in a track. Sometimes I find myself getting rid of 10 secs here, 30 secs there and end up with knocking off a couple of mins from the running time.

Have a play around as I'm sure you can improve this.

Good luck.

Hi. Your music definitely doesn't suck.

Not based on what I'm hearing in this track, which sounds quite accomplished and well produced.

Lots of ideas, even though quite a few are fairly derivative (not necessarily a bad thing).

Second half is probably my favourite, when things open up a lot more and the stringy pad sounds nice and spacious.

I'm not much of a fan of dubstep (often I can't stand it) but I'll try to remember to return and give this a better review. I'm a bit busy right now to get into a lot of detail, which is what I like to do.

Congrats.

Yo, Mr Yert.

I love a good shuffle groove though I've hardly ever done it in a dance track. More shuffle blues and jazz and stuff.

This is pretty far out and creative.

Damn solid bassline that enters on 0:13.

0:19 makes me think of very tight guitar. Is it? Perhaps a sample.

Then some nice, dreamy keys. This is like jazz fusion funk stuff but much more electronic.

1:20 may well be out of time with everything else. Unless that's what you're going for. Is it?

By 2.5 mins, I'm feeling that the drums should change a bit more. That hat's been a bit too incessant so maybe switch to ride.

2:55 that's one dirty, distorted, low bit of riffage. Really takes the track somewhere more powerful.

The drums are good - they just feel a bit too incessant. Then again, I like lots of drum variation. Some people will be absolutely fine with these drums and not feel they're overly repetitive.

4:43 aha here's a significant drum change and it's good. I'd get it in earlier. Good, crazy, new sound around 4:44.

Drum track also seems to lack fills and cymbals but, again, maybe that's just what you favour. Too many fills can be annoying.

Overall: good track.

I hope my thoughts help and I may have more...

Hi again.

Thanks for the apologies.

What I wrote before is something I've felt many times when reviewing people's tracks but I never really bring it up. Instead, I usually just give up commenting on their work as I've felt that I've wasted my time and provided too much detail that was not of interest to them.

I've often had questions I've asked when doing a track review ignored, which is annoying. Don't people want interesting feedback and something a bit more intelligent than "nice track bro"?

I'm not quite sure what you mean when you speak of a "vitriolic remark".

Anyway, it's a really good piece of music and I enjoyed listening again.

Yo.

This is some big, powerful stuff. Loads of reverb and busy synth arps and fat kick and a solid, bouncing groove. Definitely good for a dancefloor.

1:06 I like that percussive hit at the end of that little break. And then the synths come back a bit bigger and stronger.

Tight production and I like the look of the waveform.

My only real criticism is that maybe the track is a bit samey. It seems to be kind of one idea that you work for 5 mins. More variety and a more distinctive change might help make it deeper and less predictable. Or just adding some good vocals (but you already know that).

Overall: good work.

Hi.

This is good stuff and I think her vocals are great and really professional.

Those strings sitting behind are very nice and then some warm sub bass enters to make things deeper and more soulful. I don't think the vocals are out of time. They seem to fit just fine.

Well produced, soulful music with lots of beauty and depth.

I would write more but you never seem to reply saying much so I won't bother typing much. That's got to be my new policy for people who don't have much to say back.

Congrats.

Yo.

This is really good, groovy stuff.

0:21 is a killer simple hip hop, ride-driven drum groove. Extra bongos/toms (?) percussion fills are good. Deeply chilled but also upbeat vibe here.

1:04 drum change is good and a smooth move away from the ride.

1:09 weird but cool lead. Very psychedelic.

2:05 things get more spacious as that lead disappears. Good space, after much busier sections.

Bass is deep and heavy.

All really well produced so no real criticisms from me. Except for the too abrupt ending but I've said that many times to you and you always say that you like doing that. Maybe there's no point me even mentioning it.

This might be your best track and it's a favourite for me.

And so I return to this rather nice, chillout version of AIC's excellent song Nutshell.

"Weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee chase misprinted lies"

It just goes to show that any good piece of music can be rearranged into a different style. Yet you retain the same vibe as the original, which is cool.

Criticism: just as the vocal enters at 1:03 I can hear the opening of the mouth (your mouth?) You could remove that with a little volume fade, just to make things smoother. Same thing at 2:03 and worse at 2:08. Maybe you need to use a pop shield to stop the plosives being recorded.

Minor criticism: the final piano playing after the vocal has stopped could perhaps work better. Maybe you could bring in a gentle beat (eg brush snare and pedal hat) or some strings or something. Just to make it stand out from the rest of the song. People will disagree with me but I know it could work really well.

My challenge to you is to make a piano-based version of Rotten Apple, which is an even better piece of music and from the same album/EP (track 1).

Congrats again on this excellent effort.

Yo.

I'm a massive AIC fan and was very pleasantly surprised by this rather good cover of their classic song.

I'm in a rush now but will look forward to reviewing it in detail later.

I thought it was just going to be a pure piano instrumental so was surprised when the vocals entered.

Great stuff!

Greetings, Mr Bradobro.

This song is totally not worth it. No, just joking. It is worth listening to and should be a strong contender in your little competition. Maybe it'll play on TV or something.

Yes, I guess going for a fun, jaunty pop vibe is a bit unexpected with a warning video. Almost sounds like distracted driving is great fun (from the song's vibe).

Maybe you can put it through a filter that switches it all to minor keys and get some dark, low ominous notes in there to give it some menacing gravitas. No, just joking again. I'm just trying to think what sort of music you get on those sorts of TV ads. I guess that music always contains some elements of danger and discomfort and no doubt minor keys.

This is all very direct and breezy. No hanging about with the verse and chorus switches (your usual style).

Congrats.

Hi again.

Well, it sure doesn't sound like you haven't made any world music in a long time as this is a classy production that flows very easily and smoothly.

I must remember to check out some of your other stuff. I wonder what your main sort of style is.

If you'd like me to check out anything in particular, suggest away...

Hi.

This has a really professional sound, good grooves, beauty and intelligence and much more.

Nice wide sound and the initial vocal is great. 0:43 one is even better. Very beautiful, laidback, deep and spiritual.

1:04 haha that's a cool, low male vocal! Then another new vocal, different sort of processing. Then some added wide percussion. You're building all of this up very skilfully.

"both Android apps from Single Cell Software"

Are you saying this was made on a phone, not a desktop/laptop computer?

I thought apps were only for phones though I could be wrong.

This has a good length and I like and make long tracks that are a deep journey. That suits this deep, spiritual style.

3:18 some massive delay on that vocal and twinkly percussion plus other synth work fading in. Nice little bassline. This is now the big, ambient, drumless section.

4:18 subtle beginning of the return of the drums (steady kick).

5:02 a welcome return to the fatter beat and those lovely female vocals. No criticisms so far from me.

6:48 nice abrupt stop of the beat and a twinkly fadeout ending.

Excellent work and a definite favourite.

If you want to hear some Eastern stuff by me, check this out:

Navigating The Neversphere

https://www.looperman.com/tracks/detail/177970

It's nothing like your track but might interest you.

Take care.

Yo.

This has a cool, dark, grooving vibe. You're really bringing the stoner and beats together. Probably in a way no one else is.

It sounds like there is something like a high violin in there (panned right). What's that? It really comes out at 1:13. Good breakdown there.

Good riffage and driving beats. I'll say more another time when I have more time but it's simple congratulations for now from me.

Hi.

This has really quite a minimal sound and I like your plucked instrument. Could be a harp. It provides more of a constant groove than the minimal drum work.

Very lazy, drifting stuff that really does just sit. Feels like anything could be brought in and be made to work, even if only once.

2:40 key changes and things get weirder and more psychedelic. Also jazzier for a bit and then there's a return to the minimal drum groove.

This gets better the more you listen. It's got a powerful (and professional) sound but isn't too loud, unlike quite a few of your other tracks. You're getting better at this music making lark.

Big congrats!

Hi. I like the chilled vibe of this one right from the first notes.

Very nice the way the bass fades in as things build up and you distract us with those vocal snippets. This is a bit trancey but it's also sort of hip hop. 0:56-1:08 straight kick definitely makes it more like trance.

Good ambient synth sounds and just overall a good melodic feel. I don't really have any criticisms except to say that it should be longer.

I only want to hear vocals on it if they're really good - not just some average rapper spoiling a classy piece of music.

Consider yourself alliteratively regreeted.

"fairly far flung foreign fellow" is good and accurate.

I like your rant about the land of ill gotten gains. Depressing but not necessarily untrue.

"a 40 year old nerd playing Pokemon Go, walking while staring at a smartphone."

In the week since you wrote that, I've heard a lot more about this bullshit. I wasn't really sure what you were talking about before but I met a nice lady out the other night who was into it and she explained it a little to me. I've also seen lots of news reports on people having fights over this stuff and big crowds gathering "looking for a Pokemon", which is pretty damn weird.

Phone starers also annoy the hell out of me, for various reasons. One is just practical: as a cyclist they're always walking blindly across the road and into my path whilst busily tapping away or scrolling. To be fair, some people do the same without the excuse of phone distraction. I don't even have a smartphone.

"Programing is not enjoyable for me. I rush. Seems to be your strong suit"

Yes and no. I cheat a lot because I take great advantage of the many quality MIDI files that come with each Superior/EZ additional drum kit (played by real drummers). I never start off by programming up a pattern. I always audition a load of MIDI files in Superior in real time. It's great as you don't have to waste your time importing separate MIDI files to the timeline and then getting them to play. No, you have your chosen kit selected and then click on any MIDI file and it will play and you can control things in more detail from there (eg loop playback at double or half tempo). So, I like to audition drum parts that might not obviously work to see if things get more interesting. And they often do. After that, it's an ongoing process of layering those parts and sculpting all my fills and individual hits to make sure that the groove is almost always strong and nothing interferes with anything else. And that the drum fills aren't too repetitive.

Don't worry about my "decent yet unspectacular" conclusion. I'd say the same about quite a few of my tracks. It seems that some people here disagree with me so there you go. Maybe I know your stuff too well so am harder to impress. You do still need better drum samples.

Nomad, feigning all the trials and the tribulations

Hola, hermano muerto.

There's some pretty impressive guit fiddlin' here.

Nice Spanish intro. I have no idea why I never end up playing Spanish stuff but I just don't (eastern comes out quite easily).

There's a bit of Nothing Else Matters in that chord around 0:16.

Then drums and bass enter plus dirtier guitar, playing some quite melodic, slightly dark stuff.

Drums sound much better than in other tracks of yours. Why is that?

1:06 you kick into a cooler drum groove and then things get a bit crazier, in terms of riffage and busy drumming.

1:27 a little reverse cymbal, I suspect.

1:57 I like it here when things come down and we hear more of the chug of the bass g.

2:45 a return to your dark rock intro.

3:03-3:12 low end bass really stands out.

3:18 fuck me that gave me a nasty shock! That percussive shakery thing is way too loud. Good but too shocking for me.

4:06 a wah solo begins. Decent but not spectacular.

4:35 good drum fills.

4:59 that's a fuckin mental laughing scream. Would be cool to have got that in earlier. Nice panning on it.

And an abrupt ending that feels just right.

Good stuff!

Yo.

I dislike most things described as 'trap' but I like this. Probably because it's more intelligent and psychedelic than most trap.

Intro long tones remind me a little of Eastern sounds, and especially around 0:09 with those extra notes.

0:24 fat warm simple low bass and distinctive lead synth.

0:54 nice little break. Then the next section is more melodic and chilled. This is good stuff.

1:24 cool little sample that continues into the new section.

1:55 here's your new sample for the next section fading in and it's good. Some nice string work. I like this arrangement structure of bringing in the new samples for the next section when you have a little break.

3:04 return to earlier crazy high lead for the next two sections.

End was too abrupt but I think you said before that you like that kind of ending.

Congratulations and good luck with this.

Yo.

You have gotten yourself another review. I will try to make it an ill one.

Great title. I wonder where this land you speak of is. Perhaps located between Canada and Mexico?

Stretchy 25 sec intro is good, hymn-like, slightly church organesque stuff. I very much recognise the Paul sound there.

You signature palm muting appears and the ambience swells into the bass+drums arrival. Then loads more clean, straight note slave lead g work. It's pleasant but I'd like to hear some vibrato, pitch bends etc - just more vibe and emphasis on certain notes.

Snare is not a great one and may perhaps always be at the same velocity.

1:50 lead g work is nicer now, with some delay and panning and stuff. This has some sadness and emotion to it. Kind of chill out music. Also quite cinematic.

2:39 lead bass g takes over. Some nice drum work here eg 2:59 and the same, repeated idea various times later.

3:27 very nice, warm bass g tone. Slightly like it's being rubbed. I think this section to the end should occur much earlier eg after the ambient intro. It's stronger than all of 0:39-3:27.

Steady bass drum drives that bass g along in a good, minimalist way and the music box is good too. Sort of bell-like.

3:59 hats make this a bit like chillout dance music. Palm muted guitar is better here and then we get a decent, slightly distorted lead. Some useful cymbal fills eg on the bell of the cymbal.
Fadeout intro is good, aided by that low, sustained synth note.

Overall: decent yet unspectacular. Does sound quite a bit like various bits of your other tracks but that's no bad thing.

Nomad, up to his neck soon to drown