Aalasteir's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Chase Bernard Character Demo Reel 2024]

00:44 - This one is my favorite because it sounds the most natural and true to the character. With a lot of voice acting, I often feel there’s too much of a flat performance, which adds a level of inauthenticity that doesn’t feel like it was done in the moment. Imagine you’re speaking as the character; picture looking into their eyes and try to feel the same emotions they feel. Instead of just reciting the words and mimicking, actually embody the emotion.

You are a skilled voice actor.

@CutToTheChase, when did your interest in voice acting begin? and why?

CutToTheChase responds:

Oh wow thank you! I really appreciate it :) I totally get what you mean, it can sometimes be hard to bridge the gap when performing between yourself and what the character is experiencing, especially in voice acting where you have very little to go off of.

I've actually been an actor for most of my life, doing a lot of theatre and more recently film, and started in the voice acting realm when anime fandubs/abridged series were popular on YouTube in the early 2000s. Branched into Newgrounds for a bit with a few animated shorts back in the day. I have just on and off been doing voice acting projects when I can, and my goal is to grow to have this as well as the rest of my acting turn into hopefully a full blown career.

I love what I do and as an actor I'm always trying to find bigger and better ways to bring characters and stories to life! Thanks for taking the time to post a comment!

[MonoCronic - Corners (Full Album)]

@MonoCronic, what do you like about music?

This is a super good album! You have an interesting synth vibe, and the synth sounds are rich in depth and tone. The drums are good, and I like the sense of progression. Your songs are varied while still following an overall theme, and I also like your album cover.

@MonoCronic, when did your story with music began?

@MonoCronic, what techniques and pieces of wisdom do you have on creating? Also, thank you for making your album exclusive to Newgrounds for a month—that's super cool of you!

@MonoCronic, where do you feel musicians tend to go wrong, and why? What are some bad habits they develop?

MonoCronic responds:

What do I like about music? Complete freedom and versatility, first and foremost. Second, the fact that just with couple of sounds, and several notes, you could set up and absolute mood for the song, and express yourself not only through the lyrics, but through the sound itself as well!

When did my story begin? It was early 2010, February, to be exact. I bought my first bass guitar with the money I had from New Year's Eve, and since then I started practicing with bass, drums, and singing. Since 2010 I've been constantly intertwined with music in one way, or another. I used to play metal gigs from 2010 till 2015, in 2015 I switched to rap, and was dedicated to it until early 2020. And since 2020 I've started the MonoCronic project, still rocking with it along, not planning to stop any time soon!

Techniques and wisdom? To be honest... I consider myself a novice, despite the over a decade long experience. I'd say just trust your heart. Don't make music with your brain only, being smart about it isn't gonna be enough. You gotta put your heart and soul into it, otherwise you'll get a technically flawless, yet lifeless song, that sounds good only from the technical aspect. I am glad to make the album exclusive to NG for that time, since I owe my career to RyuuAkito, Cheshyre, and NewGrounds itself!

And about making wrong turns in music, hm... I'd say that many of musicians tend to become the prisoners of their own "skills/genre". Musicians should NEVER try to absolutely dedicate themselves to one thing and one thing only. Because that will lock them in one place, where all they will be able to do, is stamp the similar sounding songs over and over again, until they completely run out of any inspiration and will to continue composing. Always experiment, and try something new! Oh, and, don't be afraid of failure, don't let it narrate your future! Failure is just a step towards the success!!!

[the director sings]

The start is very beautiful, with a great melody. I'm a big fan of the sound and the nice drums; they contrast well with the instruments and the synthy sound.

At 1:03, the vocals cut out to a bar, which felt out of place in the experience because the change isn’t different enough to warrant it. It doesn’t contribute to the story in a way that helps the narrative.

Your song has interesting lyrics, and overall, your vocals are good.

@viewersessions, where do the lyrics come from?

viewersessions responds:

Thank you so much! I was trying to create a weird contrast at 1:03 but you’re right that it doesn’t really fit the rest of the song.

The lyrics are kind of an amalgamation of a story i’ve had in my head for a while, some of them appear in other songs too. i’m trying to work on songs about a variety of characters and how they interact with other people, or visualize people in their dreams

[Pain Girl Theme ft. Chi-Chi]

The lyrics are good; they have a strong punch to them.

@Kettako, what is your process for creating lyrics?

@Kettako, how did you get interested in creating music?

Kettako responds:

Thanks <3
Process for lyrics. For this project, I did the chord progression and strumming pattern first, Came up with a rough of lyrics away from the song itself...Then adjusted them to fit the sections....Then sang over how I could, if there were problems, I'd refine from there.

How'd I get interested in making music? My dad was in a band when he was younger so I liked music pretty early. Played a lot growing up. Then I liked animation/games a lot and decided I wanted to write music too!

[Canario]

Your jam is amazing because of the rhythm, the mixing, and how uplifting the sound is.

@fr0gpr0, you create a very unique type of music that I have not heard frequently on Newgrounds. Where does this interest come from, and how do you create your music?

fr0gpr0 responds:

Ey Aalasteir thanks for your feedback and for listening! I really appreciate that u like this vibes!
I usually compose a fun melody with the melódica, then guitars, bass and percs do the rest. The melodies come to me by imagining videogames scenarios or different sequences, the process Is really fun xD

[Sinister]

That's a really good technique you've used—starting your song as a piano concept and then further building it into an orchestral piece.

@chipsqueek, what's your advice for creating spooky music?

chipsqueek responds:

thanks, this is actually one of the few songs i've started as a piano concept. i usually wing it for things.

also whats my advice for creating spooky music? i'd say focus on minor chord and scales, changing root notes and scales to keep things uneasy, and use a ton of notes close to each other, like C and C#.
and for a more complex theory thing, use a lot of 3rd or 7th chords (3 or 7 notes up from the root note)

[Mach 1 // DEMO OST]

The stereo panning is very professional, with a strong separation of the musical elements that is done in a well-defined and constructive manner. You've built your song well. The "Ice Track" theme is also my favorite; it has amazing energy!

@TeffyD, which one is your favourite song?

TeffyD responds:

Thank you! Probably either the City Track or the Ice Track theme

[illustration60]

The bass is dope. There's an interesting choice in blending natural sounds with electronic elements, and the way they are processed with effects is creatively done. What I find most intriguing is how unique the overall sound is.

The build-up to when the bass hits is the best part. The use of long bass notes, with pauses of silence to emphasize each hit, creates an engaging listening experience. I would say the low end is the focal point, with the melodies supporting the bass. The song could still function with just the low end, though I don’t think it would be the same without it. There's also a very strong melody in the middle section around 1:45.

@Natedawgg64, how do you structure your songs?

@Natedawgg64, what vsts do you use and how do you know one of these t is good and usable for your workflow what are the defining qualities that it should have

There's an interesting blend of clean and distorted sounds in your music. I'm particularly curious about the type of distortion unit you're using. It also feels like there's one main, consistent reverb type used throughout the song.

@Natedawgg64, what do you personally enjoy in music?

Natedawgg64 responds:

first of all, thank you for taking the time to leave such an in depth reply.

for the first question i usually start with an idea for a song, like a chord progression or a melody, and then just go with the flow from there. i dont usually have a pre-planned structure before going into a song.

for this song i actually tried to work with a bunch of default fl studio plugins. i started with the chords wich use a flex preset, the melody thing uses an autogun preset. i use serum for most of my synths. the one in this one was a preset i made that was supposed to mimmick an 808. for distortion i mostly use the default serum distortion or fruity limiter. i dont really have a way of knowing when a vst will fit.

and lastly i dont think theres rly anything specific i personally enjoy in music.

[Elexiel & Xianei - S0UL T4K3R]

The auditory progression is well-defined, and I appreciate the balance between the louder and quieter parts, ensuring it isn’t just one continuous "sausage" waveform. The mixing and mastering are solid, and both the vocals and drops are well-executed.

@iLX29 & @Xianei, how did you get interested in music?

@iLX29 & @Xianei, I'm not very familiar with the environment of SoundCloud. How would you describe your experiences from SoundCloud, YouTube and Newgrounds?

iLX29 responds:

1. Maybe while studying I was able to listen some EDM music, so prolly that's the reason why I'm making music today :3
2. Sometimes you can get a strike on SC and NG, even if you're song is completely original, that's a bit annoying, but not a big problem tbh.

[Tunetober24 #20]

Super bouncy beat! The way the soundscape has space is very well thought out. Keep up the excellent work!

larrynachos responds:

Thank you <3