Aalasteir's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[SAM GRINBERG | CREATIVE BLOCK #181]

Sean's mic is quite distorted at the beginning, and sometimes his voice distorts later on as well—there might be something wrong with the levels. It was awesome to hear about the experiences of working on The Simpsons, as well as the insights into both animation and comics. It's great to know that starting as a production assistant gives you a better overview of the production process as an artist. The advice on connecting and collaborating with other artists is invaluable—being able to collaborate is such an important skill, especially since animation is fundamentally a collaborative format.

As for the comment about stretching intestines across the planet, that’s definitely a big exaggeration! I don’t think they would reach that far, although they could stretch quite a bit. This part might sound out of place if someone reads the review out of context!

CreativeBlockPod responds:

His mc should be good for the next record. Thanks for making it through the rough audio bits.

[Euphoric [Purplerized]]

Nice! My head is bopping, and I’m fully enjoying how powerful the drums and bass are! @KittyhawkMontrose's artwork matches extremely well, very dynamic!

Dieswyx responds:

Glad you liked it!!! 💜

[PAYTON FINNEY | CREATIVE BLOCK #180]

If I were to pitch Newgrounds to people, I would say that it is a platform run by real people who genuinely care about the community. You can message the moderators, and even Tom himself, about any problems you have or issues you see. People will actively try to resolve them, which is actually terrific. It's also excellent advice to collaborate with others on creating projects. There were many great and funny conversations in the podcast episode, and it was interesting to hear about gross-out humor. I personally wish there had been a Newgrounds link to PFINNEY under Follow the guest!

[Zenology (NGADM - Round 2)]

Excellent song! Your structure is well-defined, with a variety of sounds that create a rich soundscape. You are very skilled at making music. Congratulations on making it to round 2!

@G2961 how do you start on making a song?

G2961 responds:

Thank you more! I'm so glad to see your comment and it's so nice to read it! I started making music spontaneously, I just started with the same electronic music, and then switched to Phonk, but my remixes of the song LONDON from the band SLEEPING HUMMINGBIRD, which gave me fame. Then I started making my own music and became a better.
then it took almost 2 years. I started this song by writing a piano part and continuing it. and then 3 days passed and the song is ready!

[Dew]

Jamming song! Great melody.

@Ru2Tu2 if you were to start over learning music, how would you begin?

Ru2Tu2 responds:

Thanks for enjoying this song. Well... since I've considered composing and using daw as exploring new world or playing with toys, I'm just struggling over and over to find melodies that I want to listen to and have every component make sense. I just clicked every button when I first tried to use FL Studio and FLM, and it was quite fun :)

[There's No Sunlight (Alt. Mix)]

The detuned sound is amazingly unique. Thank you for listing the instruments you use. The drums are well-mixed, and the panning is done effectively. The timbre is of high quality.

@im-leia how did you develop your style?

@im-leia how do you decide on creating your song? And why?

@im-leia how did you become interested in making music?

im-leia responds:

thank you. i do that to help folks who don't know where to go to make the music they hear in their head, like me a while ago

-10 years of fucking around in fl studio, making whatever i felt like. i listened to a lot of edm in the earlier years (2014-2015), then i listened to a ton of deadmau5 for a while (2015-2019), then i transitioned to mau5trap at large and now i'm just listening to chill house things and dnb and whatever i can get my hands on

-i made this song a while ago, around november 2019. i wanted to put out a synthwave album and that was the perfect song to remake

-blame my dad (his big huge grand piano definitely didn't hurt my musical prospects)

[Something That Lingers]

I am amazed by the intro; it is so mysterious with an aura of great magnitude. The song is very beautiful and elegant, and it reminds me of flowing rivers—very relaxing. You are clearly an immensely skilled musician, and I was truly shocked and amazed when I clicked play on your song!

@Thomaisho what is your system for organizing your workflow for music projects?

@Thomaisho what elements do you value most in music, and why?

Thomaisho responds:

@Aalasteir Oh wow thank you very much! I really appreciate the kind words :)

In terms of organizing my workflow, I typically start by finding the right chords and chord progressions that give the feel I’m looking for. I’ll build the layers and add instruments one by one, usually one section at a time. Drums and percussion are usually worked on after the meat and bones are created, and I try to find a nice melody along the way. Honestly, most of the time I just create beginning to end with little preplanning. It’s all about the emotion and texture to me, and my brain just adapts and spills it all out as I go. Sometimes I hyperfocus so much with creating that I’m up by 4am in the morning wondering where the time went! Haha

The elements I value most in music are how instruments are given a voice. I feel that each facet of a track plays an important role, and letting each part sing really gets me excited!

I value those satisfying buildups and transitions that resonate raw emotion. I love letting out a good cry or an ecstatic giggle in awe of how I felt what the artist probably intended me to.

I value harmonies in music quite a bit as well. When they all come together and flow into one another, it’s just so pleasing to the ears and gets me singing or humming along to em! I always appreciate good harmonies. They tend to display great originality and emotion to me personally. Oh! And portamentos.. pitch bending and portamentos really get me emotional when used right, and I personally love using them quite often :)

Thank you again, I hope you’re having a wonderful day/night ❤️

[Power of Connection]

Congratulations on winning the contest—Your song is very rich in atmosphere. Thank you for creating your music; you do great work. Keep up the excellent work and continue being the musician you aspire to be.

@TheChuckie how do you determine when your song is ready to be published?

@TheChuckie what advice has helped you in making your music?

TheChuckie responds:

Hey, thanks for responding!

I really had a lot of fun making this song and I'm really happy it both performed well and ended up being a favorite for many.

For me publishing music either is split whether I say "oh I will just upload to newgrounds directly" or "i will contribute this song to an album that I'm passionate about and want to distribute on streaming platforms", and as such I end up becoming pretty sloppy with how I roll out my music xd, regardless though I think there are some people who appreciate me sending out music. On the topic of when I think I'm ready to just send this out and see how it goes, oftentimes with the context of the album a lot of them have almost a concept album aspect to it where they tell a half-baked story through electronic synths is almost a fascinating concept to me, so whenever a song contributes in my mind to that aspect I end up just sending it to the album.

For any musicians who are looking for advice, the only thing I can tell them is to make music YOU want to hear and make music that comes from your soul, because I know for a lot of songs I can tell what had the passion and drive that only could come from a genuine human. Make music you are passionate about, it will let everything else fall in to place, so to speak.

[lucid dreaming over wifi]

Your song has a great beat, and the mix is professional. There’s a unique atmosphere, and your lyrics and vocals complement the song well. The guitar solo is excellent. It’s difficult for me to compare your song to others because it stands out on its own.

@BestGuess what are your creative goals? And why?

@BestGuess what have you learned from making your song?

BestGuess responds:

ty!! hmm, that's a good first question actually. i would love to play more shows and tour AND put a band together (but my job kinda prevents that).
2nd question: i struggle with perfectionism, but i was really able to let go and still make something i like this time around!

[Emotional Error 08]

Your song is awesome! Your style is awesome, especially in how you capture the spirit with a blend of old-school game sounds and piano. The amazing variation in your compositions gives them so much power.

DaxCamdaxian responds:

Thanks friend, i appreciate it, and thanks again for inviting me to the collab :)