This is song is fantastic and so fits in with the 80s! Awesome job dude!
Author Comments
I made it (maniacal laugh)!
My submission for group K in the first round of NGADM '14. Listen, like it, hate it, judge it, do what you wish, this is my piece.
The inspiration for the song: I wanted to make some 80's music. And I'm surprised that I was able to make something better than my latest stuff without really trying to tell a story.
I guess I don't have much to say about this song other than I hope you enjoy it.
Made in FL Studio
Took only 14 hours and about 20 minutes.
Utilized cowbell.
Be awesome, be more awesome, repeat.
-Spadezer-
Spadezer responds:
Thanks!
This is a NGADM Round 1 Review.
First, let's break down your score:
Production: 27/30
Composition: 26/30
Instrumentation: 12.5/15
Originality: 8/10
Interest: 14/15
Total: 87.5/100 or 8.75/10 or 4.5 stars.
======
The Good:
- GREAT composition and production! This piece was really great sounding and feeling. As step said, everything just kinda fit.
- Makes me want to train like Rocky.
- It made me tap my foot so hard my roommate had to tell me to stop.
- DEM ARPS BRO.
- Super well organized with the melody, transitions, variations, etc. The flow of the song was natural and very clear.
- COWBELL REPRESENT!
The Not-So-Good:
- Although this song is AMAZING on the first play, after the fifth time, it starts to get less enjoyable. Not sure if that's just me or what, dunno. It's still good, just not as awesome was it is when it first starts.
- Despite the diversity in textures, the song never really backs off for a long enough stretch. It would be nice to have a longer chill section in the middle to give the listener a chance to recalibrate than what is in there right now.
Keep da musik flowin, bro!
Spadezer responds:
I'm flattered. I'm happy to get such a good response from you. The good that you liked seemed to outweigh the not-so-good. I'm glad you think this is worth 8.75. I feel silly for not having enough volume dynamics in this song since I know better than that, but I do agree with you on every point.
I can't wait to see what you think about Time to Fly :)
-Spadezer-
nice combination of dance, breakbeat, 80s and 90s influences with the usual video-game themed melodies and small beats.
its defo something ive not come across yet until now ;)
judging from my perspective as ive listened to a couple of your other songs from beginning till this song, i can say you improved tenfold with this one :)
Its difficult for me to tell what you could improve. or how as this is totally out of my league.
so my only advice for a future project like this is to balance everything out, till the finest tweaks are perfect!
Keep rocking, because you have just earned a new follower!
Spadezer responds:
Thanks. I wasn't able to spend a really good amount of time fine tuning the details on this one, but I'm glad it turned out as good as it did.
And I'm happy to expand my following. Lols
Those arpeggios are delicious. --0:40 EVERYONE--
The 80's vibes are wicked. Great job!
Only problem I have is I think it's all a bit overcompressed. The volumes are balanced overall but the song is lacking some breathing.
Also, that final major chord is wonderful!
Keep it up!
Spadezer responds:
You're the only one to have brought this to attention. I may have gone a little overboard on the compression but it didn't seem to hurt it for my ears. I'll have to play around with the next song or listen to this one a few times over again to see if I can pick up what you're hearing.
And I'm glad you loved it ;)
*After listening to it*
I think I see what you mean by overcompressed. You have a good ear sir.
This is an NGADM Round 1 Review.
--
Oh man, this track! It has so much charm that it really is hard not to like it. The retro VGM boss music vibe is so addictive, and represented charmingly by an instrument arrangement that sounds like it came from the 80's, what with the sawtooth lead chords and tonnes of cheesy tom fills. There's nothing that sounds out of place. Everything just works. As if your memorable arrangement wasn't enough, you even have some pretty brilliant composition, starting from the motif you first introduced on its own at 0:12. It's such an earworm, and you use it in various parts of the track to tie a bow over everything very neatly. You have other classic nods to video game music such as the arpeggios at 0:37, the gliassando at 2:35 and the understated ending that makes this actually work to an extent if it were to be looped. These are all really nice touches!
Despite how fun this is to listen to, I can't deny that it gets extremely tiring to listen to after a while. It's fine at the start and I couldn't help but smile while hearing you introducing your elements and setting the mood, but after around 2 minutes the insistently energetic pace and blaring high synths really do take a toll. Even taking a look at your waveform shows that you're not giving the mix much room to breathe and that you've got some pretty heavy compression going on. If I were you I'd add some more dynamic contrasts like the one at 2:17, and also make the mix more balanced so it isn't focused on sounding loud, and instead sounds a bit more manageable to listen to in long stretches.
That should be about it. Great job, loved it, but work on that mix!
SCORE: 8.5/10
Spadezer responds:
Thanks very much for the encouraging review. I wish I could have had more time to add in some dynamic changes before you judged, but I could still do it and send you a link to the more finished product. Hopefully this doesn't stop me from continuing on to the next round.
I'm glad you loved it that much though. I feel silly for not picking up on the dynamic mixing but I can take an 8.5
-Spadezer-
Credits & Info
Heard in 1 Entry!
View All
You might also enjoy…
Spadezer 
Licensing Terms
Please contact me if you would like to use this in a project. We can discuss the details.
