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Reviews for "Modern Day Mafia"
frootza responds:
Yes indeed! Thank you!
__--=***NGADM Review***=--__
I liked the drums and percussion, I also liked the progressive rock style outro.
Hmmmm... I have to say though… Too many notes. I think if you want something to be this busy, musically, you need to really know how to mix it to satisfy all the instruments' requirements while still maintaining subtlety. It's DEFINITELY a step up from your previous mixing though, but is it enough for this stage of the competition...? The composition was fun, I enjoyed its variety even if I found some of it a little non-sensical like 1:33 which sounded quite amateurish to me in comparison with your other work. I think this would appeal to certain other judges more (Step perhaps...) but for someone like me it didn't tickle me the right way. I can tell you put a lot of work into it though!
7.5/10
frootza responds:
Thanks dude, I wish that I did but I only spent around 2.5 hours making this one. Yep my mixing is horrid. Ran into some problems. Maybe next year. Just wanted to get out of my blippity bloop comfort zone because I got tired of making it but I'm thinking of just settling for making more of that. Thanks again man!
This is an NGADM Round 2 Review
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Oh hey, this is certainly a step up from your previous track. I'm going to start by saying that there are a LOT of fun ideas here. The intro instantly throws us into the hyperactive, defiant, and brazen mood you've created, and you keep the excitement levels high pretty much throughout the whole track, introducing neat idea after neat idea, while still remaining true to your original theme by reintroducing a highly similar version to it halfway through the track. It's a listening experience that I can't say I didn't have fun partaking in.
What I'm going to say in the criticism department is probably going to echo the thoughts of the other judges. While yes, I do enjoy the crazy and hyper melodies that effortlessly dart through jazzy scales and passages in all sorts of time signatures, there are points where the song isn't quite as amusing and verges onto the downright nonsensical, especially towards the end (and why did you leave that drum loop trailing during the ending?). To be honest, I was dying for some more sections in the track where I wasn't struggling to discern something in all the chaos.
I have a few mixing complaints. The drums get drowned out very often. You also have a muted saxophone in there (well, I think it's a muted sax anyway) which is extremely harsh on the high end and sticks out compared to all the instruments (not to mention its weird attack time). In general, this track sounds quite dry and could do with more reverb. It's also not as wide as it could be. I was hoping for some crispier highs from the cymbals and deeper lows from the bass and drums.
Despite its apparent chaotic and hyperactive nature, I still think this is a blast to listen to. Hope my criticism helped. Was nice having you in the contest.
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SCORE: 8.2/10
frootza responds:
Thanks dude. Yep that's the muted trumpet in the free kontakt player. We all wanted to track it live with everyone but the original trumpet player I had in mind flopped, really cool guy) I think you know him lol) When things went downhill I just stopped trying hence the weird out of place edm outro. All true though dude thanks for getting to the review I can't mix like I used to but hopefully I can learn again one day.
NGADM Review:
So you clearly put a lot of work into this. I can tell by the always changing melodies and the drums being very complex is really awesome. So I think what this track did for me was that the rhythmic aspect of each instrument you have don't really compliment eachother very well. You have a bunch of moving parts which is fine, but they don't quite connect so well. This results in something that is not very fluid. I would say your composition is headed in the right direction, but solidifying your rhythmic side of the music will help make everything more orderly and create a better emotional experience. I'm also not a huge fan of the instrument combination, but I think that touching on the rhythmic stuff is most important to improve on. Nice work!
7.8/10
-Ryan
frootza responds:
Thanks dude. Should have not submitted an arrangement for my live band. Maybe I will do some electronica next time or something,
This is an NGADM 2015 review.
Hey man! I have to say you really stepped it up this round! Your production is a lot better than the previous entry (like, a LOT better, so nice work on that). Your percussion is pretty punchy (though your kick and snare sound a little overpowered at times) and your guitar has some nice body to it, and I really have to praise you for all this :D
I think where this song falls a little flatter is probably related to the composition and instrumentation. The idea of a flute + electric guitar is pretty foreign to me; but there's nothing all that wrong with it given that you're were going for a specific feeling. It's more that that there's very little rhythmic variation in what the flute itself plays. A lot of this is exacerbated by the fact that for a lot of the song, the guitar is playing similar (or the same) notes as the flute. I think you'd be better off playing longer notes on the guitar, and perhaps more varied melodies on the flute, much like you did around 00:54 (this section is probably the strongest in my opinion.)
I also think the saxophone is a little incoherent - it's not the kind of instrument I'm accustomed to hearing in the background. In many ways it feels almost irrelevant and is present merely for flavor. There are definitely some sections where it works, though. I suppose I'm mostly saying that this song could be more coherent than it is - it's very hyperactive but lacks a cohesive structure and a lot of the transitions and introductions of sections feel a little arbitrary to me. One prominent example that springs to mind is the chippy percussion you introduce toward the end. It felt quite out of place for me and while it was cool, it didn't quite make sense or draw me into the track.
That said, this is definitely an improvement from your previous entry, and I think you were a much stronger contender for this round! A lot of my criticisms are arguably subjective, so you're obviously free to take them or not, because if you feel that this kind of theme is exactly what you'd want to hear in a song, then don't let me stop you. Creativity and experimentation are what we're all here for and despite some of my negative comments, this was an enjoyable listen :)
frootza responds:
LOL. It is muted trumpet but I love you guys for mentioning that.Yeah man what can I say though my mixing sucks I study composition at a reasonably high level but sometimes it just isn't enough. I am hoping we can get to recording this and serenity in a studio soon so that things make more sense. If you or any of the judges for that matter are interested in the jazz theory behind the flute guitar trumpet counterpoint I'd be happy to help out. Thanks again dude!