Aalasteir's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[big blue love]

Thank you for creating your music! You have a unique and personal style, with an atmosphere that is rich and very personal to you.

@FreakFormal, what skills do you feel are unnecessary for songwriting, and what songwriting techniques do you utilize in your productions?

@FreakFormal, I would say one of your biggest skills is the ability to listen to and appreciate music. What amazes me is how many skills you combine in your work, including songwriting, production, playing instruments, and vocals!

FreakFormal responds:

I don't know if there's unnecessary things for songwriting, I like utilizing whatever I can, and every song has a different approach. But I always do the usual hum melody and try to come with lyrics later, gravitating to words that come naturally and building from there.
Thank you for your kind words again!

[Misconnection]

I enjoy your song, and I can fully confirm that the mix is good. Your vocals are great; you are a skilled musician!

@AveragePhoe, what is your story behind getting interested in creating music, especially in the alternative pop genre? How do you define your process as a songwriter, and in what ways has it evolved over time?

@AveragePhoe, do you consider creating music therapeutic?

@AveragePhoe, from your perspective, what are some common pitfalls that musicians make in songs, and how can they avoid them?

AveragePhoe responds:

1: I've always loved music, even if I didn't always have the desire to create it. At some point, I picked up the guitar and that was it. I made Instrumental music at first, but my pivot to Alternative Pop was a rather incidental one. It's just what came natural to me when writing lyrics. As for that process, it really depends from song to song. Sometimes an idea will pop into my head, sometimes a melody or a phrase, and I'll work on it till it turns into something more. I think, over time, I've learned to better visualize what it is that I want to make, so the whole process is a lot smoother for sure.

2: Most definitely! Even if it's a song that never comes out, just the making of it brings me peace (and rage, from time to time).

3: I think it's easy to let yourself get lost in the idea of what you want a song to be, as opposed to what it could be. Sometimes your first idea sucks, and you gotta to let go of it to create what you really want to create.

[empty walls]

Your song is interesting! I like the balance of instruments; it is well thought out and planned, which gives it a lot of immersion. The synth and drums have a somewhat dark, synthwave-like tone. Great variation.

@trevor8, what is your approach to structuring a composition?

trevor8 responds:

thank you so much! i don't really have much of a stucture or premeditation on most songs; i just play around with sounds and chords i like and let it unfurl

[Visions of What's Above]

The vibe is super dope; the drums have an interesting cadence, and your vocals are very personal.

@CheemMan, how did you discover Newgrounds?

CheemMan responds:

Hey! So glad you enjoyed the song! If you wish why not check out the rest of the album as I release it?

And this to answer your question, I've known about Newgrounds for awhile but only started to upload to it in 2021 when my friend introduced me to making music (literally first song ever made). So yeah.

Have a good day!

[Trumpet Guys becomes an anime villain]

Awesome energy! You have a great voice!

@Nerostratos, how did you get interested in voice acting?

Nerostratos responds:

Thank you! Pretty sure It started in highschool when I realized I could do a pretty decent Carl Wheezer impression and my friends at lunch would die laughing whenever I said the most unhinged things imaginable XD

[Purple Earth]

Great and atmospheric, and thank you for releasing your song royalty-free.

I'll be excited to see the animated project!

@TheJayJay, what was the inspiration for your song?

TheJayJay responds:

Pretty much everything I make is royalty-free.

Actually, MetalSlayer gave a playlist of songs for me to take inspiration from. If I recall correctly there was a Beatles song, Jimi Hendrix song and others that I can't fully remember. But most notably one of the songs included was 'Echoes' by Pink Floyd, which was the main inspiration. I pretty much went "What if this song had a structure that was more similar to a pop song?"

So uh...yeah. thanq yuo

[Dystopiatech - The Reskinner]

It’s such a bummer when creatures escape and start harming people.

@Durinde, what is your writing process for creating skits?

Durinde responds:

Usually a concept of an idea will come to me while I'm away from the studio. I'll tend to play around with it in my head and script it out quickly when I get to the studio prior to recording. Usually there's a key phrase or idea that I latch onto, in this case I think I was watching a video about game development where they were talking about reskinning character models and I thought it would be a neat horror type concept if "reskinning" happened "for real"

[I's on me]

Your song makes me very happy! It has such a rich atmosphere and positivity. Wow, I am amazed by how much depth there is in your composition.

@FreakFormal, how did you get interesting creating music?

@FreakFormal, what is your approach to creating songs?

@FreakFormal, what VSTs do you use?

@FreakFormal, what does being an musician mean to you?

FreakFormal responds:

oh wow I'm not used to getting reactions thank you so much 😭 as far as your questions um lemme think

For reference I just turned 20, but I've been actively playing and creating music since I was around 12, my dad is a musician who plays and record for his church so I would always check what he does and ask questions, but for the longest time I would record on garage band with my phone, often using the mic, holding it out to my physical piano, Drum set or guitar I had. Alot are actually on my YouTube, always gone by Freak Formal, I don't even think their half bad for what they are lol

I usually make a beat or a variety of instrumentals and take a walk with my note's app, listening for like an hour brainstorming ideas, usually with a theme already in my head. For "I's on me" it was actually melody first, where I came up with the first passage and chord progression and built momentum straight from there it took me a day to fully write it, it was exciting I loved it

I use a TON of free software and vst's, CakeWalk is my main daw with synth1 being my bestfriend, thanks to seeing ninja muffin use it, I did recently get PolyMax synth, one of the only vst's I have that cost money which is riddled all throughout these new sets of songs I'm pushing out soon

This one is a tough one... I think for me it's creating emotionally raw art that's as honest as you can make it. While maintaining a sonic sound you like. But I've always been more interested in Songwriting than technical performance, but I've put a TON of music theory hours I definitely know what I'm doing in that department, it really does make writing songs easier, at least for what I like to make, very indie pop

Thank you for your interest I have like 9 songs I'm putting out soon for an album so there's more if you're interested! Very excited I'm trying to experiment with tons of sounds.

[Sea of Troubles - Sleeper Build]

Wow, excellent track! Really like the background; hey hey hey.

@many-monkeys, how did you become interested in creating punk music? And why do you think you've gravitate towards punk music?

@many-monkeys, are there any musicians whose work inspires you? Why are you inspired by them, and what qualities do you enjoy in their work?

@many-monkeys, what is your favourite advice on creating music?

many-monkeys responds:

Call me A.R.,

I grew up in a rural city in Ontario as a Jamaican immigrant, I didn't really relate to country music that much. Grew up at the height of pop-punk with green day and blink182 ruling the airwaves. I was a skate-punk and hung around with that community, so it was the soundtrack to my youth.
idk, its just my fav thing to hear, i like honesty. I liked that politics was important, in the music bc that was/ is an interest of mine.

I love Death From Above 1979. They are local to Toronto, their music is uh, funky, lust driven.
I love the Dead Kennedy's. Their music is catchy and powerful, brash and groovy.
I love Single Mothers, from London Ontario. Drew is an excellent story teller/poet. I like that he makes fun of intellectuals, while being a sophisticated poet. Contradictions and Irony is lovely. the old records are so raw and charged. I like anger.

My advice with creating music is, challenge yourself to make music that makes YOU EXCITED. Search in yourself the kinda of sounds and ideas that would make you intrigued. Personal. Then. Then...
Listen to music that everyone likes, stuff that is universal...
Take the time to see what you can learn from both of these disparate ideas to make the most unique and accessible music possible...


Thanks for the interview i suppose :3

-A.R.

[Siberg - 80085]

Yes, yes! Great bass, and I’m a massive fan of background atmosphere, which adds so much to compositions, especially when done well. Your house track has an excellent bounce.

@Siberg, how did you get interested in house music?

@Siberg, what is your opinion on mixing bass?

Siberg responds:

i like a lot of different genres of music but house is a good viberson my dude.
and idk what my opinion is on that but i'd say mixing bass is important.
yeah nah yeah gotta do that.