Aminet 22

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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 131KB | 2,300 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #15]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on February 24, 1997) (last updated 10.20.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "End Meets End" by J. Devlin (16ch S3M, 04:03) (endrmx.zip [138K/191K]) [Light Breakbeat Techno] "End Meets End wasn't written for any reason. It's a moody sort of thing, inspired by video game music, techno, and long hours spent in one room during a pretty dark and quiet winter. It uses breakbeats, and some natural and electronic sounds to achieve its effect. I've always been a big fan of the undulating sound (see '80s industrial dance music), as well as more atmospheric music, and I'm sure these things have found their way here." [J. Devlin] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== MING 80+ 95 60 68 40 JazzMidi 78+ 84 75 80 75 CCerberus 78+ 60 56 82 55 Klaws 77+ 75 75 80 70 Rebriffer 74+ 75 60 70 60 Mansooj 74+ 65 -- 67 58 Peraphon 73= -- -- -- -- Red Death 61= -- 45 60 35 Zaigamor 54= 51 54 61 54 Quasar 36= 40 30 60 40 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Quite a nice sounding tune here from J. Devlin. Its basic premise is a hiphop-ish/dance style percussion loop which is itself quite standard, but seemed perfectly fitting here. Joining this foundation is a very airy panflute backfill which is actually so airy it almost loses its identity as a panflute, as well as a minor selection of synth/techno bleeps and bloops. Together, this simple structure yields quite a nice sound; one that is fairly relaxing and mildly upbeat despite the rather heavy percussion track. This selection comprises the first half of the tune, which is punctuated here and there by simple, but adequately effective breakdowns. Within a minute and a half, the airy panflute backfill is replaced by something similar, but which sounds more like an airy synth-voice, and things continue pretty much the same until what would have to be termed the main breakdown occurs less than two minutes later. It is a slightly wider, slightly more complex break that removes the synth backfills and modifies the synth-bleeps somewhat. It barely filled the need for -some- noticeable variation, but I think it actually sounded very nice on its own. Once this break is finished, it re-enters the same flow it left some seconds before, and continues on that course for a short while before hitting a very disappointing and simplistic conclusion through a fading, and noisily (heavily seamed) looping bass string. I happen to really like the basic sound of this piece of music, but it is admittedly a bit too repetitious, without any major changes. The main and few minor breakdowns would have been much more effective if the tenor of the music had changed somewhat after each break. I realize that most composers seem to like to take a single idea, stretch it out, and dress it up a little, but this does not a masterpiece make. Perhaps it's because composers don't have thousands of really nice ideas floating around in their heads, and think that merging several into one song cuts down on their ability to release more modules. Well, this may be a practical solution, but it generally means all their modules will be fairly repetitious and lacking in individual character. Now, again, this song has a nice sound overall, and I would indeed recommend it, but it could stand an injection of at least a couple of changes of style, tempo (for more than ten seconds), instruments, or something to round out the presentation. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Here's a very quick release (finished Jan. 16, 1997 it says [initial review date was Jan. 20. -Boris]). Where most composers tend to live with a track for a while to see if any less obvious flaws come to light, J. Devlin casts his fate to the winds and even invites the ravening hordes of WMR in for a good savaging. Does this sound like a victim to you? ;) I would have to admit, though, that the track more than holds its end up, so another unwitting composer can watch me put away the blood soaked fangs. Technically the track doesn't show a lot of coding polish, but what coding there is is used well *and* intelligently. The track starts off nice and housey, which is never a bad thing, and this is aided by a very competent drum track which shuffles well behind the other boys in the band. The lead synth (if that is a synth) tends to distort the track forcing you to turn the sound down, which, in my opinion, is never a good thing. Overall then, a very decent track and one that does stand up under sustained playing. A couple of minor gripes: the sounds, all told, seemed to be a bit dull which actually may just be a result of the samples themselves rather than any fault on the composer's part. Almost anyone can have brilliant samples these days; scratchy, noisy samples usually come from other songs which have ripped the samples themselves, and so on, back to their original sources. So, I ask, why use a sound that has been heard a million times before when it isn't necessary? A little more thought towards the possibilities of stereo coding may have helped as well since the track did just sit in the middle throughout...but as I said, minor niggles.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is an interesting song, wrought with its very own collection of obvious strengths and subtle weaknesses. It reminded me somewhat of one of my favorite old 4-channel MODs, Freudian Dream. That's a neat MOD, and if a song is going to remind me of another song, then Freudian Dream is a good choice. :) Interestingly, the same strengths and weaknesses that I perceive in that classic old MOD are the ones I noticed in End Meets End. There is something about the song that seems too unclear...a pervasive, underlying continuum of static, but from no distinct source. I believe it is primarily coming from the drum loop, but it may also be the result of the "whooshy" sound of the synth flute used in the background. On the upside, though, good orchestration and some cool use of echo make this a fun song to listen to. It's one of those songs that you can just sort of chill out and groove to, without feeling like a fool. :) I do think that the song could have been improved a bit by adding more structural variety. That is, instead of simply adding variation to the melody, perhaps actually changing the entire texture of the song briefly. For example, the drum loop continues through pretty much the entire song. A change in that could have been very effective, I think. --- References --- Freudian Dream by U4ia ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song has a little bit of guitar rock and a little bit of synth-pop in it; the distortion on some of the samples (which I suspect is intentional) lends more of a guitar feel to it. However, other samples are noisy and/or unclear; the bass drum and looping guitar note come to mind. This song tends to get a bit repetitive with the same drum loop (be it a sampled or tracked loop) playing almost the entire time; the parts around patterns 10 and 20, where the lead stops, make for a nice change. The choir sample that is played at the same note through much of the song doesn't really add anything and also gets annoying. The leads in this song are very good, though; they do sound good with the bass and percussion tracks (save for the repetition). The ending, with just the poorly-looping chords, doesn't sound good to me at all; it ends a fairly upbeat song in a rather slow and boring way. I suspect it's meant to mirror the intro, but the intro has drums too and the chords sound better. This is a decent song, and there are a couple of changes of pace which are nice, but it really needs a better finish and accompaniment to the melody. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ After a first listen: delightful breakbeats and a soaring melody on light synths are what first come to mind. Second, the extremely fuzzy noise level. The samples are noisy and poorly looped, but all are well chosen. Looking at the various musical aspects I can simply say one thing: they are many, and they are high quality. This piece has a certain flow, which is achieved either by hard work or natural talent, and since no work has been put into making decent samples (or can they intentionally be that fuzzy?), I lean towards the talent theory. After a second listen: man, this is really addictive. If it weren't for that chorus/strings-pad that drowns it all occasionally, and the general fuzziness, I'd really like this. It may not have a great deal of variety or originality, but that theme still makes my toes curl. After a third listen: hey, this is really growing on me. When I get into it, the sample fuzziness seems to fit in in some strange way; and the song itself...the melodies and patterns are just getting better and better. After the fifty-seventh listen: one more time...just one more time, I promise! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I guess J. Devlin is a newcomer and that this is his first serious track. The style of the track itself is some sort of dance, but I find it hard to define exactly. As is the case with direct composer submissions, we were asked to go more into depth with this track, but I find that difficult, because there is just not a lot of depth in this track. The synth sample used at the beginning is noisy. Same goes for the prominent drumloop. The melody doesn't stand out very well and is repetitive. Overall the track sounds a bit nasal. The ending, with the fading synth, is sloppy. This track is just too average to keep it on my (much too small) hard disk. Of course, there are some good things in this track and if Devlin really is a newcomer, than I advise him to keep practising. It just takes a lot of time and dedication to become as good as, for example, Skaven, Necros or any other composer whose music you like. (Even Necros' first tune sucked, believe me!) /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I like that noisy chip line, and I like this style. The noise underneath that weird sustained sample is a bit distracting (just a tiny bit too much noise...), but I really do like that noisy chip line. I need a subwoofer to listen to this, because there's this one pattern just beyond the one minute mark where there's a bass solo, but it's not loud enough. Here's how this song might be improved (I'm not going to try it, it's up to J. Devlin): get a slightly cleaner strings sample. Since the noise is part of the tone, I don't say *clean* strings, just clean-er. Secondly, write a better ending. As it is, the fade is just too dull after hearing all the other neat things that went on earlier in the tune. Unfortunately, I have no specific suggestions on how to work up a better ending. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ JazzMidi ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ End Meets End by Devlin was nicely done. The beginning starts you off deep in the ground then lifts you up with some light and sweet-soft synthesizers. Both the funky percussion and the samples used are a perfect match for the style. I got into the various musical changes which kept my mind in "flight mode," and I think yours will be too. The song's ending guides you back in for a soft landing, in a way that only the good composers know how to do. My only complaint is that when the song ended, I wanted to keep flying. This one's a keeper! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ First impressions are very important, but this module makes a horrible first impression with a severely overmodulated bass line and a high stacatto tick which comprises the module's basic rhythm. The module fails to develop its melody fully and relies on a single basic sequence, which the composer varies little. There is little technical merit in this module and little use of advanced composition techniques. In the end, this is an overly unimpressive module which wouldn't survive most people's hard drive purge. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Initially this song seems to have a dark ambience about it, which is brought about mainly by the background synth. The drums offset this to a small extent, as they give a quick-ish hiphop beat to the song. The background synth sounds very much like several sine-wave octaves superimposed on top of each other. This song is a little different, but definitely not bad. The samples used in this song appear to be of a good quality. This is not a bad song, but it is not really outstanding. -----================================================================----- "Daylight" by Daft (12ch XM, 02:25) (daylight.zip [182K/330K]) [Ballad/Light Jazz] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Quasar 96+ 95 95 90 100 Klaws 93+ 75 90 82 75 Peraphon 92+ -- -- -- -- Mansooj 86+ 88 -- 70 80 Rebriffer 79- 85 75 75 80 Zaigamor 71+ 62 73 70 75 MING 71= 88 70 70 90 Red Death 71= -- 75 50 60 CCerberus 67+ 67 74 60 79 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Emotion just exudes from this lovely piece composed mainly of piano, synth and sax. At 2:25 it is really far too short, however, it may be better that it is this short if Daft had no further ideas for this one. He disclaims in his sampletexts that this is an extremely boring song with a nice melody. Well, he's half right. It is definitely a beautiful melody, but it wasn't given a chance to become boring. The tune fades in quickly with all instruments present throughout, other than the sax. That comes in within 40 seconds and actually only sticks around through a span of a minute or so, delivering its simple, but nicely understated support in two brief riffs. Besides the focal samples, there is something that sounds quite like a cello which really underscores the emotion of the sweet piano melody; and additionally, a bit beyond the halfway part, Daft slips in a sound similar to a synth-guitar...briefly, but given the basic sedate structure, it's quite appropriate to keep the focus on the main melody, and only interject with supporting instruments. It's really a beautiful, sophisticated piece of work. The few samples used were completely sufficient to transfer the intended emotions to the listener; no percussion needed here. This illustrates the power of minimalism in the hands of a skilled composer, where the sheer quality of the composition overcomes the need for a great deal of variation on the basic theme. Get it if you have a heart beating in your chest. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A man stands on the street corner, just out of reach of the shadows. He has just left a party, still in full swing. He remembers her face, her eyes...her sparkling eyes, but he was too shy to talk to her, and tried to distract himself by taking a walk. When he returned, he saw that she was with another. The pain in his heart was so fierce that he knew he had to leave. With one last glimpse behind him, he left the building. Now he stares sullenly at his feet, and reluctantly leaves the glare of the streetlamp for home. I really, REALLY like this song. I like the saxophone riff in there, and the only thing I think would improve this would be to find a way to make this longer - even just a minute. The somber, depressing tone to this song is just absolutely absorbing. Of course, in *reality* you can't get portamento-to-note on a saxophone, but who am I to complain? :) Ville says this tune is an extremely boring one; I don't think so, it's wonderful. Unless he means that it's not *memorable* (it's *so* mellow and *so* laidback that I don't remember that much about it - even though I've listened to it 5 times in a row and I'm writing this just about 10 seconds after it finished.) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ As the track opened the first time I heard it, I thought I was going to hate it, and then the sun came out.... One of the areas of composition that always interests me are the variety of sounds we can use, and I am particularly responsive to composers who show a little initiative when tracking. Despite my initial misgivings about this track, the truth of the musical thought and care that went into this track are blindingly obvious. Let me be clear on this: I cannot *abide* soppy, syrupy tracks. I'd rather go out and kill Bambi, thank you very much - that's much more my speed. ;) This is, unfortunately, such a track (crowd draws a nervous breath). Fortunately, Daft saved himself from a fate worse than Monday mornings by delivering a ballad that has all the right ingredients to make such a track. Clear samples, a good knowledge of FT2, and an absolutely *gorgeous* sax-y-synth-y sound that has to be heard to be believed. As Daft says, the melody makes the track and I'd agree and go further by saying the melody *played* by that incredible sax sound really does it to it. If you like your tracks gentle and melodic, this Daft's for you.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a fairly nice piano piece, with some lead guitar and horn parts added on top. It's a pleasant melody, and nice to listen to. However, it seemed to me that it was too simple. There were no real melodic variations, though that was somewhat compensated for by the song's short duration. Still, there could have been a LOT more done here. I got the impression that the musician came up with one melody and decided to "stick to it" without trying to branch out and get anything new going. This is unfortunate, since a lot of emotional strength can be achieved in music through carefully executed, sparingly used variations of high intensity. This isn't a bad piece of music by any stretch, and shows a good grasp of some technical aspects of tracking. However, there just wasn't enough substance for it to truly impress me. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is some very, very nice music indeed. It is an incredibly smooth piano/saxophone ballad that is incredibly relaxing and well put together. The main feature is a fantastic sounding piano that is complemented by a non-intrusive saxophone, but there are also some very nice low strings in the background, perhaps a cello. The coming together of these common instruments has produced a song of uncommon feeling and strength. One sensation that I get from this song is that of lingering, perhaps as someone may linger and bask in the daylight sun. The samples used are of a very high quality, though there seems to be a very small amount of crackle in a couple of the samples. These samples are an almost perfect match for this song. Overall, this is a brilliant song with an excellent sound! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A standard piano tune with a bit of string thrown in, and some saxophones. This is an extra-mellow song; it's slow and sounds a little sad, especially the sax. It sounds very clean; I can't detect any tracking errors and everything harmonizes nicely. I like the syncopation between the piano and saxophone; it shows a little creativity and tracking sophistication. This is definitely a relaxing song, and not because it's boring. The saxophone and the string samples definitely sound like they were sampled off a keyboard or something, but they don't sound bad (just "electronic"); that's about the only point I can pick on. This is hardly the first song in the genre, but it's a good example. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Daft says it well in his comments on this module - it's boring, but what a great melody. This melody is a slow, deep one with an excellent sax and outstanding percussion. This module has some of the greatest samples I've heard in a long time - the sax is great and I've never heard a deeper, richer bass drum than in this module. The orchestration is perfect - there isn't a single technical flaw in the module. The composition flows naturally and seamlessly. If you like a good, relaxing melody with CD quality samples, download this module and listen to it over and over again. This module definately ranks in my top ten. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Nice enough. I guess it's both exremely beautiful and superbly tracked, but its moodiness fails to reach me. Clinically, I can state that the samples are crystal clear, the harmonies are correct and the melody is created by the book. Hence, it is probably a good mod. But emotionally I just sits there, picking my nose, waiting for action and wondering why the obviously wonderful theme doesn't make my knees shake. Normally, I'm easily engaged in the music I hear, so when I now point out the opposite it is to be considered as abnormal for such a good tune. However fantastic this composion is, I don't enjoy it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This ballad by Daft starts with a nice piano melody, followed by a wonderful sax-solo. The first minute of this track is really enjoyable, but after that it just becomes more of the same. The building up is also a bit weird. The entire track consists of several pieces of a few patterns and every piece sounds almost the same. The only thing that changes is the instrument that plays the lead melody. A promising intro, but no variation thereafter. Too bad, could have been a potential hit. -----================================================================----- "Scorpion Winter" (version 1.0) by Electric Lucidity (14ch XM, 03:50) (el-scorp.zip [385K/591K]) [Light Techno] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Peraphon 76+ -- -- -- -- CCerberus 72+ 74 75 82 73 Klaws 71+ 68 63 73 68 Rebriffer 68+ 63 68 63 68 Quasar 61= 50 70 50 75 DRift 57- -- -- -- -- Mansooj 54+ 65 -- 60 58 Zaigamor 49= 30 55 55 60 Skullsaw 40+ 40 55 20 60 MING 25+ 8 65 30 30 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ It's not often I point the finger of blame towards a module's main instrument. Being that it is an obvious focus of any listener it is expected that the composer would pay special attention to picking just the right one. Well, I don't believe EL accomplished this. This lead is a high-tone, overly loud, echoed, synth-organ which, given the rest of the feel of the song, just seems out of place, and at times somewhat annoying. Scorpion Winter opens with a sound effect that seems like a blending of sea waves and a slow rail train in the near distance. How this connects with the title and the rest of the song is wholly beyond me. After three patterns the percussion and a supporting acid-style bass sound come in. Once this is established a synth sample that is quite common to music with an Arabic flair, enters and does a fairly standard "Arabic riff" maneuver (which is repeated here and there). On a side note, this sample exhibits noticeable seaming which is not a good thing(tm). A bit of this and then the culprit synth-organ drops in and takes the tone of the song in a different direction -- one that I didn't care for. That synth-organ seemed to sit there atop everything else instead of weaving itself in. When it finally drops out, a panflute comes in and plays another, more or less, recognizable "Arabic riff." Note that I happen to like the Arabic flavor, I'm just pointing out that the method of delivery is recognizable and unoriginal (I'm not sure if it's fair to blame the composer on this, as ethnic styles are basically defined -by- certain recognizable riffs, so I'd consider these comments as factoids rather than down points). The panflute, done doing its job, gives way to the synth-organ once again, via a nifty "wave-effect 'n' snare roll." At this point the song is effectively over, but as with the melodramatic death scenes in early cinema, it is drawn out unnecessarily, and shows itself to be a weak, copout of an ending. Obviously I had a problem with the lead sample, but there was also the question of the basic percussion and acid-bass mix that, once it came in, never left and never changed. There were a few little tidbits thrown in here and there, but they were so brief, they amounted to nothing significant. An invariance of the percussion track usually spells out repetition, and in turn that reduces the satisfaction level of the listener. In total, I think with a more appropriate lead sample and a couple of diversions in percussion and direction (even if it eventually returns to the main line), this would have been quite a nifty song. As it is, it's interesting while it's tapping your eardrums, but ultimately forgettable. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Here's a strange one. It begins with what appear to be 3 or 4 silent patterns (except they are not *silenced*) patterns. Therefore you get this weird sound for a while before the track starts. S'okay if you know about it, a little offputting if ya don't. Yeah, yeah, blah blah, but what about the track eh? It's another synth driven thingy which goes through its steps competently enough, but there certainly wasn't anything like enough variety in it to keep me going back for more, and that is what counts. The track has a very decent rhythm (a kind of machine-ish bass hammering away) and a couple of real good samples (the flute one in particular) but overall, I would listen to it a few times (but only if it was on my playlist already). /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ It's difficult to describe all of the details of this song, so I would rather give you an impression: this is the sort of song that one might imagine hearing in the background of a Kung Fu movie during a fight scene, or perhaps in some kind of futuristic movie (like Bladerunner) during a chase scene of some sort. In general, the song is very intense, and it doesn't let up...EVER. It's pretty nicely-done. The main improvement I would suggest for it is a little more musical complexity. As it stands, it uses a moderate amount of variation and repetition to maintain coherence, but I feel that a few more segments of equally-intense music (perhaps a "suspense-oriented" segment?) could really add to the quality. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module might best be characterized as something in between a spacey tune and a soft techno module. It's not easy to describe the style of this module, as its percussion beat is slow and vaguely reminiscent of techno, but the high ethereal melody is definitely something one might find in a spacey tune. The module itself varies little from its basic rhythm and melody and, while well composed, lacks an evolution of the melody that marks better songs. The samples are clear, but not overly impressive and the module is technically superior, even though it relies mainly on relatively few sequences. Had the module a more involved and evolved melody, it would have scored much higher. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Ohmigod, what an uninspired piece of junk. Edgy, repetitive riffs, bland drumming, boring samples, and unimaginative melodies so totally without appeal I don't know what to say. The only good thing I can say about it, though, is that I actually favor the style it dishonors. If you make the mistake of downloading this, do yourself the favor of Wipe-Deleting it, or reformatting the drive you downloaded it to. I have to pull back my opinion where it comes to the technical part, though, because that's actually really good. Unfortunately, the overall composition isn't saved by it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ What a disappointment. After an ambient intro and the introduction of a very nice synced oscillator synth, Scorpion Winter degenerates into movie credit music. A very simple boom-cha boom-cha drum track and repetitive rolling bassline play beneath a synth melody that's mixed way too high. A breathy synth solo does a turn, all the while the unmodulating bassline chugs along. There's a bit of coding antics towards the end that stutters the bass, but it should've been used earlier to break things up. There just isn't a whole lotta meat in this mod. All it is is a beat, a bassline and a couple of melodies. Ho hum. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The sounds of the seashore at the beginning of this song are a little deceptive, as this song turns into a soft metal type piece that has plenty of guitar, rock drums and synths. The high-pitched synth also lends a small degree of spaciness to the song. The samples used are of a high quality, although there is the odd click here and there; aside from that, they sound just right for this song and others like it. Overall, this one is a little different, a little strange, but it does sound pretty good and I think the difference is refreshing. I like it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The bass riff alternates on the fourth time - which is slightly peculiar, and throws off the rhythm a bit once that midrange synth comes in. The breathy flute also feels a bit out of place given the very synthy feel in the rest of the song. This song would be a bit better if the composer had held the melody through to the end of the song; as it is, when he's got these powerful leads it really catches your attention (regardless of whether he uses the synth or even the flute) - but at the end, there's nothing to keep your attention and it just sort of falls apart. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ DRift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The electronic bass in the background makes this song feel evil and forboding. The bass and drums combined with the wavy high-pitched melody create a great effect. However, this song has some problems. First of all, the drums hardly change at all throughout the song. Second, there are long sections where nothing is playing but the background (and the background isn't changing). Third, there is no ending, the song just stops. So, although there are parts I like, I don't like this song as a whole. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The same bassline is used throughout the song, which becomes boring after a while and hampers a nice progression or variation in melody throughout the track. The leads are much too loud and too harsh. The melody and use of the airflute (ripped from Persian Starfall) is just plain insulting! Some transitions are really awkward and sound like the composer just forgot to place a sample or something somewhere. Skip this track. --- References --- Persian Starfall by Scirocco ([download]) -----================================================================----- "Floating Bricks" by Rama (12ch XM, 03:31) (floabric.zip [204K/283K]) [Other] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Peraphon 82= -- -- -- -- Rebriffer 69- 70 50 60 60 CCerberus 68+ 79 78 70 25 Mansooj 64+ 70 -- 80 50 Klaws 63+ 73 73 68 68 MING 62= 65 50 75 70 Quasar 60+ 75 30 75 75 Zaigamor 52+ 62 32 60 64 Parallax 48+ 55 55 70 70 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This little ditty is very reminiscent of old seafaring songs, but ones which have gone modern with synth-flutes and some extra orchestration. It opens with a very sparse, high-pitched synth soon joined by very mild percussion in the form of very simplistic b-hh-bb-hh-etc. rhythm (b=bassdrum/oh=open hihat) with hihat rolls in between; this is followed by the arrival of an equally simplistic bass-guitar support, and then the song quickly opens up as snare and flutes are added. At this point, the flutes are playful and upbeat, but shortly give way to a more sedate, downbeat tone as they follow the backing synths. I think the change from a more playful tone (which was picked up again later near the end) to a lower key, removed some of the listener involvement. I was enjoying the fresh, joyful attitude, and then basically lost interest during the majority of the tune while that tone was muted. The fact that it returned near the end was nice, but, as the saying goes, too little too late. I will say that the synths and the flutes during that central part worked fine together, so it isn't a question of poor orchestration, just questionable judgment in the area of mood transitions and timing of those transitions. Essentially, a bright tune marred by its own organization, and a lack of depth. This is mostly due to the fact that there simply isn't enough supporting sound to round out the high-pitched flutes. Consider that you have a a synth at the middle, atop which are the flutes, beneath which are a very scrawny percussion track, an extremely simple bass guitar, and nothing else. Structurally, the end result is very stratified, and I would say that the main disappointment is that this is, at its heart, a nice tune, which could have been significantly better without a great deal of modification (and an infusion of higher quality samples). According to the sampletexts, this is Rama's sixth production, and one thing I find promising is that he has already struck out into new territory. He isn't relying, as so many newer composers seem to, on the safe, standard styles. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Those flutes really bring up some strange recollections, none of which the composer intended; but pushing old memories back, I find a rather well composed piece where the melodies and drums are correct, but something that is quite thin overall, in a minimal way. It lacks dynamics and variation, but the style itself managed to create something enjoyable. What strikes me, though, is the total lack of any emotion. It really tries hard to avoid being either happy nor moody, and unfortunately it also succeeds. The end result is that the only feelings I came away with were that I was annoyed that the composer didn't even seem to try to convey any emotion. Normally, a tune does try to involve the listener, to tell a story, describe something, indicate a mood, or something, but this one is just soulless notes in a pile. Nice notes indeed, but still not engaging in any way. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This, friends, is a classic example of a good piece of music which is destroyed by pathetic samples. The orchestration here is smart -- good variety, good awareness of harmony and transition, and what WOULD be a really //KILLER// chorus segment. Alas, the samples are some of the most pitiful I've heard in a while. They aren't fuzzy or quiet, they're CHEAP. They sound like a lousy keyboard! I was thinking "FM Synth Music" the whole time I was listening to this. The drums are absolutely atrocious samples (we're talking tom drums that sound...well...they sure as hell don't sound like drums!). It bothers me a lot to have to trash on this song, because I think it was compositionally very good! The samples are just so bad that they ruined the experience for me. If you can tolerate cheesy samples from hell, do give this one a download. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I really don't know what style this song could be classed as, but whatever it is, it sounds pretty good. The song seems to rely on an orchestral background which is present throughout the whole song. The main foreground instrument seems to be a flute of some sort, maybe a piccolo? Also prominent is an electric piano of some description. It sounds to me that many of the riffs played by this electric piano would be suitable to renaissance times if it were to be played by a harpsichord instead. There is also some very nice bass work throughout the song. The samples used are of a very good quality, but there does seem to be a little bit of clicking every now and then. Overall, this is a very nice sounding piece of music that has a fairly light tone. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Another very simple track with virtually no coding at all short of volume settings. Doesn't particularly hurt the track, but once it really gets going the composer's lack of FT2 knowledge does let it down a bit. The samples clip all over the place, making it extremely difficult to listen to the track without getting irritated. S'funny, whenever I get a track like this, my first reaction is to clean it up and then give it another listen and that wouldn't be right so I have to take measures. There are a couple of tasty bits in there though, there's a very nice South American Pan Pipes feel, which helps lift the track a lot. It may be a simple enough MOD, but does it work. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module is a fairly relaxed, almost spacey, tune which seems to follow in the footsteps of Space Debris and other module classics. The composition is rich, and continuously introduces new material to the basic melody. The samples are above average and the composition is great. However, there is little evidence of advanced composition techniques to help the notes flow more smoothly and the song hurts because of this. This module is worth listening to, but it lacks that spark which would prompt me to keep it on my hard drive. --- References --- Space Debris by Captain ([download]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Rama starts his demomusic tune with chorded strings; but those chords don't blend smoothly into each other. The volume of the strings is brought to 00 (zero) before the other chord of strings starts and that gives an unpolished sound. The melody of the flutes and synths is nice, but too loud and too harsh. The percussion sounds very fake, computerish and outdated, and they don't really create a nice beat or rhythm as they should. Compositionally it isn't bad, but technically it is quite poor. All in all a very average track. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Parallax ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The usual beginner song. Such songs fall into two categories: horrible and average. This one is average, letting me believe that Rama might release better songs once he has more experience. The tune itself is a little dull and the drums are too shy. Nevertheless, all us composers have made such songs in our life and I'm confident that this composer will be able to release some better stuff. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Interesting thing about the hihat line is that it sounds sort of like a helicopter...although it later gets covered by all the other instruments. All the slow attacks - especially on the strings - makes you think just a bit too much about the title. I think I saw my 'puter levitating a bit while I listened to this song. :) Essentially, the song is fairly nondescript. -----================================================================----- "Dark Promise" by Hunz (18ch XM, 04:00) (g_darkp.zip [301K/909K]) [Easy-Listening] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== MING 97+ 98 100 95 93 Mansooj 96+ 95 -- 66 98 Rebriffer 96- 90 95 80 80 JazzMidi 91+ 90 95 90 90 Parallax 89+ 90 92 85 90 Zaigamor 87+ 85 90 87 85 CCerberus 84= 85 90 90 86 Quasar 83= 75 90 75 90 DRift 81= -- -- 90 -- Peraphon 76+ -- -- -- -- Klaws 71+ 68 50 63 68 Red Death 55= -- 50 55 55 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Can you say easy-listening? I knew you could! Hunz can say it better than the both of us combined, as can be evidenced by this silky smooth example of relaxation incarnate. The beginning (and one other little spot) could have given this tune the title, "The Flight of the Synthetic Seagull," due to the sound effects used. However, these are only brief segments, and the main body of the tune is something just a little off to the left of the sort of thing you might see advertised late at night on those obnoxious commercials pushing compilation CDs. In this case, the ones where you see the 1970's-style couple walking, arm in arm, along a sandy shore at dusk, the whole scene in muted tones of bronze and blue. Leading the instrumental parade is a gorgeously clear acoustic guitar underscored by creamy synths. These are garnished by a perfect selection of supporting instruments, such as a more demo-ish synth, triangle, a wood scrape (like two dense wood sticks, one with ridges, the other scraped over it...rather common in such songs actually), a xylophone, and wood taps. Lastly, the percussion track: it is simple, understated and absolutely perfectly woven into the fabric of the song. Well, I just can't find any faults here. The composition is flawless, the samples are perfectly chosen and crystal clear. The song is somewhat monodimensional in that it knows where it's going and stays its course, but this is an example of those rare cases where it just doesn't matter. There's more than enough internal variety without ever needing a change of tempo or style, and I think some of the ability to ignore what is often a problem with most songs comes from the fact that Hunz was able to lull the listener -into- the music as a participant, rather than as just an observer. You can get away with a lot if you can do that--and Hunz had to get away with virtually nothing anyway. There's nothing but pure satisfaction to be found in this collection of bytes if the style itself is appealing. If that's the case, walk, no...run and grab this one immediately! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ HAHAHAH! I can't believe it! A Musak module! I never thought I'd see the day...I'm not kidding, this is totally Musak. You could fire this up during a Weather Channel Local Forecast and nobody would ever notice the difference! It's got all of the key elements of good Musak: percussion interlaced with little congos and periodic hits of a triangle, TOTALLY chilled-out synths, and even a mellow acoustic guitar. This is theme music for watching the sun go down at the beach. Here's something funny: I think the title Dark Promise refers to making a deal with Satan...I believe I've heard it called the "dark promise" before in my reading; but that title is so TOTALLY opposed to the tone of this song! I found that quite amusing. Does the WMR even HAVE a category for Musak? I guess this will count as soft rock, but that's not really accurate.... [Nope, but I did add a new category for "easy listening" which is what this sort of stuff is usually referred to on radio stations. -Boris] The really interesting thing about Musak is that there is a lot of complexity to the harmonic structures used, but when you're listening to it, you flat out DO NOT CARE. You're not SUPPOSED to care. You just kinda start looking around the room. It's hilarious and brilliant at the same time. You've got to hear this, just to get your hands on a Musak XM! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a pretty mellow tune, although not what I'd describe as "extra- mellow" (is that a real term? :-)). Piano, light snare and crash cymbal, some chords, and a little bass make up this tune. The "squeaky" samples early on remind me of seagulls, although this song doesn't sound like it's supposed to evoke the image of a beach scene. The electric-guitar-ish sample doesn't quite sound right in a couple places, possibly because it's too loud. As Hunz mentions in the sampletext, this song does lean to the ambient, a bit too much for my tastes. I like patterns 24-32; there's more of a melody to the song there which makes it a lot more interesting. In the early-to-middle section of the song there are some chords that sound strange given the rest of the song; I think it's mostly from a mistimed portamento. This song isn't too bad, but there's a few little tracking bugs, and the song is missing a bit of variety. This tune is similar in genre (although more ambient by far) but not as good as Daylight by Daft; it seems a bit more original, though. --- References --- Daylight by Daft ([download]/[reviews]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very smooth and relaxing piece of ambience that uses a lot of acoustic guitar, a little bit of synth, a little glockenspiel(?), and strings in the background. There is also what sounds like some bird calls, which also adds a little new age nature to the song. There is a variety of percussion sounds going on besides the drums, including wood blocks, a tambourine and others which I don't quite recognise; they definitely add to the overall tone. The samples used are of a very high quality, with no audible faults. There are a few in this song that I believe could have been successfully cut down with some judicious loop setting and pruning (especially the 120k one in slot 09h). This is a very clean and well done piece that has a good sound, but gets a little monotonous after awhile. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ When the intro started, I was convinced that this was going to be another one of those over-produced synthie mods with little content and lots of effects. What met my ears was something totally different. It was a light rock tune like I've never heard before. Highly atmospheric, laidback and oh so groovy. A mild guitar and synth organ melody upon an airy string and mildly cool drums 'n' percussions, deliciously put together by a skilled musician who knows what he wants to do and how to do it. What would have made this song perfect would have been at least one powerful passage somewhere, just for the variation, but it's still brilliant, and well worth every second of downloading time and every byte it takes on your drive. I love this song! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This track by Hunz leads me to a tropical island: a white beach, blue water with little white crests on the waves, a cocktail in my hand, coconut within reach.... A very, very atmospheric tune. The chosen samples fit the context very well and add to the atmosphere. The guitar sample is well used, some well placed portamentos make it sound very natural; the soft strings are like a cool breeze; and the drums have exactly the right volume and give it just that little bit of rhythm the track needs. Every little piece of this well written track fits perfectly into the overall puzzle. The picture that it eventually shows is just marvelous. Bravos to Hunz! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Master touch. Great, great, great...is what I wrote when I first listened to this track and no amount of playing since then has changed my mind. A track whose musical style you may hate (it's a slow rocky thing), but you would have to bow to the sheer *quality* on display here. Hunz definitely possesses both musical and tracking chops in spades. Although the track in my opinion is a little slow, very, very laidback and sparsely populated, the little coding touches and the use of what sounds there are show a real talent at work. I've never heard of Hunz prior to hearing this track but I'll be watching for more stuff from this composer. Excellent! /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song is so very mellow and peaceful that it's difficult to stay awake long enough to review it. ;) I think the composer should have lengthened some sections; for example, after each line with the guitar, he has a synth line take about 1 or 2 measures of a solo - which feels fairly incomplete. This feels a lot like some old 4-channel mods - which makes me wonder if the 18 channels that this song occupies is too much. (Answer: Yes. He could have easily fit it down into 14 without any significant loss, and if he packed up the chords into individual samples, easily down to 8 channels.) Despite this, I still wish it was longer! /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ JazzMidi ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Wow, excellent composition by Hunz! Dark Promise is a wonderful melody that starts you off at the sea listening to seagulls flying around you. Sit back, close your eyes and enjoy the ride as Hunz uses an acoustic guitar and a sensual synthesizer to take you on a journey like you've never experienced before. I wish more composers would write more often in this style of music. This mod has good balance and a nice tempo. I give Hunz a top rating for a job well done. If you like melodies you will not be disappointed, that's a promise...or is it a dark promise? /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I was immediately impressed with the composer's use of samples which add a sense of openness to the module. I was immediately struck with an image of a seashore as I heard gulls over a softly crashing surf. While this may not be the particular image the composer was attempting to convey, the module does ellicit vivid imagery. The melody itself is soft and relaxing with original composition and technically flawless orchestration. The samples are outstanding and the module is one of the better ones I've heard in a while. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Parallax ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Nice samples. Nice effects. Nice panning. Nice song, then. Nothing negative to say since this song rocks, period. Its samples can kick the butt of many songs out there while the ambient style makes it quite enjoyable to my ears. This guy knew what he was doing while tracking this song and he made something really good. Definitely worth downloading and keeping. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ DRift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This tune is comprised of a quiet guitar and lots of very nice percussion. Hunz has managed to blend all the sounds together in a very unique way, but for some reason, although there are lots of tracks playing at once, it sounds like much fewer. One particular thing I liked was the way the guitar jumped around unpredictably. This bit kept me listening closely. -----================================================================----- "Fade to Blue" by Procyon of Promera (16ch S3M, 10:14) (fadetobl.zip [389K/620K]) [Techno/Fast Trance] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Mansooj 87+ 83 -- 70 85 CCerberus 82= 84 85 73 75 Parallax 79+ 85 77 77 77 Rebriffer 70+ 60 70 60 70 Zaigamor 66- 70 66 68 73 Peraphon 57- -- -- -- -- Red Death 56= -- -- -- -- MING 55= 55 55 40 30 Klaws 41= 68 41 -- 68 Quasar 38+ 30 40 40 45 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Where're the melodies?? There certainly aren't any in this module...but, we don't need no steenking melodies! This is techno, with some trance, a bit of rave, and even a little ambient thrown in, but whatever these pieces can be called when taken together, it is fast and furious. It grabs you by the heels and drags you around at breakneck speed, and I for one, love the abuse. There's over ten minutes of this stuff, and despite the fact that the tempo remains, more or less, constant throughout, Procyon injected so many minor changes it doesn't even come close to getting boring. There are points where some very nice, yet simple, synths swing in in a more ambient mode to back things up; percussion that is so lively and so often pulled in and out and juxtaposed, it ends up being very cool instead of static; a smorgasbord of samples, 48 of 'em, many of which are tiny (less than 4k), and despite this, the sound was quite rich and dense. There's really so much internal variety in this thing that it'd take much more space than is necessary to deliver the point that it is quite a worthy ride. I've listened now for the third time, and I'm finding it hard to concentrate. The tension this music instills is so pervasive, it's hard to ignore, short of turning the thing off...but I don'wanna. If you are a techno-head, or even a head of some other similar style (clever wording, huh?), get your peds in gear and go get this one. It is tres cool. For the folks that need to relax, stay away for your own good...I may need some tranquilizers to come down off this myself. I will go on record saying that I love this inherently simplistic, but oh so engaging music! As a side note, stuff like this often makes me wonder if it's at all fair to give low ratings to the songs of composers that have failed. to some degree or another, to create something more complex, while rewarding people like Procyon for doing something much simpler, but coming significantly closer to accomplishing the goal. Since the overall score capsulizes, by definition, the entire effect of the module, I guess the answer is yes. It's a difficult task balancing so many different things on one scale, so keep this in mind as you consider the various ratings and commentary of all reviewers. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Ten minutes of music and certainly not in my favorite style. The life of a reviewer can be hard sometimes...onward.... There are various problems such as the echoing bleeps in the first part which don't continue when a new pattern begins; some samples that are cut off too abruptly; panning which is a bit excessive here and there. No great flaws, but they all constitute minus points to the technical part of the track. Strings that come in a little before the halfway point, bring with them a very bad melodic line. Later in the song the strings are used in a better way, but still not amazingly so. I suggest to all you rave and hardcore boys not to use strings until you know something more about music theory. What is left is a well above average dance track. The building up is ok and there's enough variation to make your way through the ten minutes. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Some of the samples found in this module would be better suited to a chip tune than to an improvisational techno such as this. The sample quality is below average and the module itself seems to be a forced techno mix with little original merit and monotonous repetition which, while common to the style, detracts greatly from the module. Although the composer introduces some interesting and fairly original sequences in the latter quarter of the module, it is, by that point, too little too late. The module's patterns vary only slightly and each sequence is basically a rehash of the main patterns. There is little evidence of advanced composition techniques and the module appears to be a quick and dirty conglomeration of techno samples into yet another generic and unremarkable techno tune. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ It's a great shame this module was reviewed immediately after Hunz' Dark Promise, because I don't think it helped Procyon's case any. This is fast, bleepy trance which although being written at 125bpm charges along at twice that speed. So fast you would have to be on elephant tranquilisers to dance to it, or maybe I'm just an old fart - in which case tear up this review and download the track. None of these things should detract from this being a downloadable track for those folks who want to give themselves a hernia or two for fun. Most of us, however, do tend to listen to MODs chiefly on headphones or through CDs and tapes. It's very rare to hear MOD type material in dance clubs unless it's a local place - the music business still rules there. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very fast-paced acidy dance track from start to finish. While this song isn't bad, it became a little annoying at times. It makes a definite dark change somewhere in the middle, and this sounded great, but then it went back to the same old stuff. There is a LOT of repetition throughout this piece, but I think it is a trademark of this particular genre of music. The percussion routine seems to vary with the different song parts, which is a good thing because the percussion is very audible throughout the tune, and the changes do help. The samples used are of a very high standard, with no obvious faults. They are also very well matched to this type of music. This one is ok, but doesn't really stand out to me. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Parallax ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a must have for any techno freak; it'll really make your friends dance if you play it at a techno party. Be advised, though, that playing it in an average Whigfield-and-Corona dance bar will definitely *not* please the audience since this song has a really fast beat. It's hard to evaluate the "composition" aspect with this one, unless you replace the term with "ability to make you boogie," or something like that; then it would get a very good rating (and it did). Even if the song itself is nearly ten minutes long, I found there to be enough diversity in it to hold my interest for the duration. Of special notice were the clear, crisp samples and the last part of the song where the strings kick in. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Nothing very impressive here. Just an endless loop of sample rotation along with bom-a-bom-a-bom-a-bom and standard hectic percussion. The archetype for this kind of music. Furthermore, this is sometimes non-rhythmic, and a computer game like sound somewhere in the middle erases my last desire to take this tune seriously. Maybe that's the key, because once I stopped taking it seriously I kinda enjoyed this fast and sometimes hysterical song. At times I can almost picture some scene from one of the Alien films, some hectic and claustrophobic chasing-down-tunnels scene. However, that image is held only temporarily because the overall sound is still too much lika a computer game. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ First of all, let me warn you that this is one long ass song. It's a little over 10 minutes according to my player...but that's okay! Despite my usual confusion at music of this sort, I was highly impressed by the GIGANTIC amount of variety which was employed here, the clever musical techniques used, and the overall enjoyability of the tune. I must admit, I found myself bouncing around in my chair after a couple of minutes of listening. :) I can't say a whole lot, because I still feel like an outsider to this style of music. I will say, however, that I enjoyed listening to this, and I feel comfortable saying that this is the best piece of techno music I've yet reviewed. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm not sure which variety of techno this falls under, but I'm sure it's one of them. This has got to be one of the fastest-paced songs I've ever heard, for certain. For as long as it is, it doesn't seem to be too repetitive, one complaint I have with harder-core techno. I can't help but think how much better this would be with a melody, but it's actually not too bad; I like the part from about pattern 44 on with the more "lead-ish" instrument, and it's pretty cool around pattern 78-85. This isn't a bad song, but not being a techno-freak I don't think I'd keep it for my permanent collection. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The thing is, marathon pieces (10 minutes plus) are normally supposed to be either melodic or trance, yet this song (just over 10 minutes) does not have much of a melody, has only slightly more harmony, and is much too vicious to be trance. The acid riff gets annoying...(actually, the entire song does...)--and not until 4 minutes have passed is there any harmony at all! This disappears quickly, of course, half a minute later, then reappears another minute down the road. This really moves too slowly; Procyon repeats almost every pattern - if he were to instead, *not* repeat patterns, he could cut it down to 7 minutes with no loss. Even the *ending* was too far drawn out. -----================================================================----- "Centauri Grey" by Gentle (16ch S3M, 07:47) (g_gcntri.zip [132K/219K]) [Demo] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Peraphon 89+ -- -- -- -- MING 71+ 80 70 65 55 Rebriffer 67+ 67 76 57 48 Klaws 67+ 63 59 -- 68 Mansooj 63= 65 -- 60 48 CCerberus 46+ 45 63 50 70 Zaigamor 44= 50 54 54 65 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A nice new-age style intro welcomes us into Centauri Grey. Most of the opening is driven by synths and piano, and is punctuated by some crashing percussion. The main percussion bass enters only after a bit less than two minutes have wandered past our ears, but the surrounding melodies don't change appreciably until about a full minute later when the tone veers towards a definite demo influence with twisting synths common to many modules of that style. This bit is joined by some decent house piano rather quickly, which carries the module for another three minutes (we're at stardate 5:30, by this point). During this time, there is a fair amount of variety in the supporting layers of music, with synths coming and going, and the basic percussion changing a little, but none of this is really enough. From that point onward, the overall tone is a bit more tame, with a never-changing piano (which has actually existed somewhere or other, throughout the song) and some drifting synths being about the only things happening. To make matters a little worse, the ending is not exactly impressive, as the song just rolls away inauspiciously. The structure of this module is quite good, the main problem is that the three similar parts are stretched out almost to their breaking points, each getting somewhat boring about halfway through. I got the distinct impression that the length of this song was forced, and that the repetition within each stage was more gratuitous than necessary. As mentioned, there was a reasonable amount of internal variety, but it wasn't comprehensive enough to get rid of the notion that you're still hearing the same thing you've been hearing for the last couple minutes. In my opinion, if this song had been compressed to about four minutes, it would have been much better. This would have allowed for faster transitions, and would have meant that instead of having to introduce minor change elements one after another, single-file, Gentle could have taken two or three or more of the minor changes, and grouped them into a smaller number of distinct and more powerful transitions. I strongly think this would have done wonders for the continuity -- once the listener's mind begins to want to wander, you've got to do something to pull them back into the music. As to the samples, everything sounded fairly clean for the most part. However, Gentle only chose to use a small palette of eleven samples, seven of which are percussion or cymbal samples. This leaves a total of four samples to handle everything else needed to fill out those nearly eight minutes of playing time. Now, consider that two of those seven are pianos, and we have a single synth and a single bass-slap left for anything above the basic rhythm and the supporting piano that plays almost constantly throughout. This simply is not enough to supply the variety needed in a song this long. Gentle did not go overboard on the compositional variety, as noted earlier, and since his samples were not filling in for that lack, the only thing left were the melodic elements. Fortunately, some of them were quite nice. Unfortunately, taken together, the result is only above average. All that, and it is still somewhat impressive that Gentle managed to create a song that was as good as it is. I hope to hear more from him, and certainly hope that he doesn't make a habit of gratuitous play-time extension and stingy sample selection. Without that.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Variation. It seems to be the key to a successful tune. Variation to make an interesting melody, variation in mood, variation in tempo, volume, whatever. Anything to keep the listener's attention. This song is a classic example of that, or should I say, a lack of it? It had an intriguing melody that was a bit different, and was interesting through the first, second and almost through the third time the same melody looped in. Then it started to get ridiculous. A more interesting passage around the middle saved the day with some neat synthwork. The rhythm section was in the background most of the time, which helped to create a kind of fantasy feeling, but I think it would have been better had it been more dominant in some cases. Most of all, the progress of the variations is way too slow. Technically, there isn't much to complain about. No major bloopers. All samples are fairly good, and the looped samples are quite smooth, but the composer hasn't put much effort into the area of effects, which leaves the module to rely only on the pure sound of the instruments themselves. Ok, now what does all this amount to? We've got a sloping kinda song with quite an adequate theme, improper timing, and bland production; and I actually quite like it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song is intended to sound like a Purple Motion or Skavenesque demo style tune, but I feel that it falls short of the mark. The edges are a little too sharp, and the orchestration is not quite precise enough. Actually, that's putting it pretty mildly. More honestly, the melody borders on random notes at times, only loosely being held together by a fundamental structure. It sounds a lot like the tune wasn't "heard" in the composer's head first, but rather, he pecked out some notes, replayed the pattern, and then made small adjustments until it "sounded okay." It doesn't have any kind of "soul" if you know what I'm getting at. There's a fair degree of complexity here, though, despite the weak melodic construction. The first several patterns seemed somewhat repetitious, but around pattern 34 the song comes SO CLOSE to getting a bit of emotional strength. I'm sad to say that, to me, it failed to achieve that goal as well. This song is highly unremarkable in ingenuity or orchestration. It's hard for me to find many good points about it, other than the fact that it was complex. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a demoish, ballad-like track which never really gets going. The synthpiano, with which the track starts, keeps on playing the same melody throughout the whole first part. The synthlead plays a melody that really needs some polishing, and this questionable melody continues for a little over two and a half minutes. At that point, the track abruptly breaks down and a new theme starts. Same story, but now it's a synthy sample playing one unchanging melody for a long while, coupled with a chorded piano playing another melody. At a certain point the track breaks down again and restarts with yet another new theme. Same story. Now...can you guess?? Part three is just as interesting as parts one and two. The building up of the song is much, much too slow, eventually resulting in a song that simply never gets going. My advice to Gentle: make this tune three times shorter and use it as an intro for the body of another song. As it is now, it isn't an interesting track. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Sort of a peculiar one. There's this really mellow song, which goes along for about 1 3/4 minutes, and then in comes...a dance bassdrum? Then a breakdown into just the bassdrum and a portamento lead. Gentle seems to be trying a style that's heavier than he's accustomed to, and the slow re-fade in of the instruments shows this, as does the selection of acoustic instruments. If Gentle was trying for something mellower than this, he needs to bring down the volume of the percussion a bit; if he was trying for something more vicious, he needs to choose more synthy or more biting instruments. The ending chord is a bit peculiar; throughout the entire song, he alternates between A-minor and D-major, but ends on D-major, which is irregular. E-major or A-minor would have been a more regular termination chord, and the last note on the lead fits fine with D-major but not with E-major or A-minor, so the ending is a bit rough. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A very spacey piece, (kinda demo-ish, compo style stuff) which takes a while to get its butt off the ground and even when it does there are a couple of drawbacks to this being the track it could have been. The kick drum is so low down in the mix that the whole track tends to feel very bright - almost to the point of shrill. If you discount the meandering synth, it's actually not a bad track and one I may have listened to a lot longer if it hadn't have been so awkwardly mixed. Not for those who like hefty chunks of beat, although that's exactly what this track should be delivering. The main culprit, however, has to be the samples the composer is using because in the slower end section most instruments can't be heard. It's the heavier samples that are supplying the "bottom" to the song, not the bass and kickdrum. Nice try.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This one is pretty good! Whatever effort the composer has put into this song seems to have paid off. This is a demo style song that I think would go very well with the floating balls, swirls and pictures of your average demo. It runs for about 8 minutes, which is a pretty good length for a demo tune and a demo. Considering that the composer has only used a total of 11 samples in this song, I think it is excellent the way an interest is sustained and the different ways the samples are used. Those samples are of a very good quality, and are all appropriate for this style of music. I think the piano sample could have been better, though...maybe the use of multiple piano samples would have been best. This is a great song, it's definitely worth listening to. -----================================================================----- "Erilaisia Nelikulmioita" by Croaker of Halcyon (12ch S3M, 02:46) (h_4kulm.zip [362K/528K]) [Dance/Ballad] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== MING 89+100 50 65 70 Rebriffer 89+ 86 81 86 76 Parallax 84+ 90 85 85 80 Peraphon 83+ -- -- -- -- Red Death 83= -- 82 77 82 Quasar 82+ 80 75 80 90 Klaws 81+ 75 75 69 75 CCerberus 73+ 79 73 87 85 JazzMidi 71+ 75 70 70 70 Mansooj 71= 76 -- 72 77 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Rather a difficult piece of music to categorize accurately. The song is diced up into seven subsections plus the intro. The intro begins with congas that sound a bit like they were being played inside a thousand gallon barrel, and a brief sound that could be described as a warped bell. The subsections run from a piano ballad with synth backing, to a dance-beat coupled with backing and bell-tone synths, and pianos, all ushered in by a cymbal ride. From there, a short techno flavored phrase repeats four times before being replaced by pianos, synths, a conga-only percussion and a brief techno-bloop sample; then a quick reprise of the dancey part, and we head into a finale populated only by the piano and synths. Most of the transitions are fairly abrupt, but flow quite well, and serve to create a fairly well textured end product. Despite this, I didn't find myself getting into it. This could be, in part, because of the short duration of each segment -- after all, it takes less than three minutes to cover all those subsections. To me, this is one of those rare cases where the variety diminishes the overall presentation. Double the length of each segment, and add a little bit of internal variety to each, and I think this would be quite a bit more likely to fully captivate the listener. The structure aside, the composition appeared skilled, although there didn't seem to be anything strikingly complex happening; and the majority of samples were clean and appropriate for their uses. I would recommend it willingly, despite my personal reservations, because of its slickness and overall sound, and because I think it may be quite a bit more appealing to others. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I can't really find it in my heart to call what I just heard a melodic song (a song with a distinct melody), but it is definitely harmonic. Piano, clear synths and pads does a great job in making exactly the right sequence of notes to make me kick back, pump up the volume and let the soft, brisk sound flow over me. This is, without using any special samples or effects, or even caring about little technical mistakes, at times stunningly beautiful. This is the archetype for good melodic work. And then the drums kick in, topping it all with a captivating rhythm. As with the melodic piece, the technical aspects are better left uncommented. It's just too obvious at times that it is a tracked song. This is, finally, in pure composition, a perfect song. It gets less perfect the more I count in the technical score though. But since this is a MOD review I guess I have to consider everything for the overall score. What a pity. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ You know, I could hardly understand a word of the sampletexts, and I have no idea what the title means, but this is a cool piece, nevertheless! :) Some beautiful use of panning gives the song a very realistic "roundness," lending to it an almost commercial quality. The orchestration is pleasant, even if simple, and there are some nice tribal-sounding bass thumps in there too. I'm no expert on exotic instruments, but I can say that it's nice to hear some non-Western drums here and there. The only real complaint I have regarding this tune is the fact that it didn't seem to completely develop. It seemed to want to go farther, but just didn't make it. Not that it doesn't already sound fine! It just seems like it could have been more.... /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Red Death ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is an excellent tune; quick and light, but with a little bit of edge to keep it from getting too sappy, as ballads like this can tend to be. I like the hard techno samples tossed in for just that one period (patterns 15-19), it helps keep the song interesting. The drum track, when it's playing, isn't really stagnant either. I like the mix of instruments chosen for this tune, especially the chimes(?) (sample 4). I have to admit, though, that the very beginning sets the stage for a song quite unlike what we've got here. This is a very good song with no obvious flaws, and I have to commend Croaker on the variety this song displays. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song seems to be a combination of a couple of different things. On one hand, it is a very smooth and relaxing ambient piano piece that uses a variety of different instruments to obtain a specific effect. On the other hand, there seem to be undertones of a techno/trance piece in places, through the use of related instruments and a fast-ish drum routine. The song always seems to maintain its direction, never wandering aimlessly. The samples used are of a very good quality, but there seems to be a little bit of "ringing" in some of the higher pitched samples. Overall, there is some very nice music here and it is worth a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Don't be put off by the title folks, this one's a beauty. Coming once again from somewhere in the Northern European countries (Finland, I think) where some of the best trackers in the world live, this has all the hallmarks of the breed. Great mixing, wonderfully clear and unusual sounds, some throat clenchingly beautiful voice samples and even a reasonably nice melody. :) In short, there's not a lot I can find wrong in this track and it's worth downloading just to see how atmosphere really works on the human emotions. Terrific stuff and one for my obese (and insatiable) hard drive. Finland - 10 points! /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Mellow demotune style, or maybe, 1996 demomusic? This is a reason for the slightly lower originality score. I like this collection of sounds; the weird echoed flute(?) that takes about 3-note echoes in there is a style touch that I really like. The acoustic piano also maintains the mellow feel; the synth-style strings are interesting too. The thing is, I could *swear* that this song was ripped (or released) from some demo - I can even *see* effects bouncing around on my screen (and no, there is no demo running. Just my editor.) /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ JazzMidi ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Good composition by Croaker. Congas start off the rhythm as the piano kicks off the melody. The percussion pops in and out as it takes you to a place only Croaker knows how to find. The piano work is nice and the samples are fairly good, but in the end, I feel that this piece has potential to grow. Perhaps if the tune were a bit longer, and wasn't longer due to repetition, there would have been a lot more to praise. Still, I think this is well worthy of a download. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Parallax ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ If you liked Hunz' Dark Promise (reviewed elsewhere), you'll like this one. This is another new age song with quite a beat. It would fit perfectly in a demo displaying relaxing effects such as voxels and landscapes. A must have for any new age freaks, especially Tangerine Dream fans since there's quite a similarity between the two. Croaker really did some good work, too bad the samples are not as crisp as they could be. --- References --- Dark Promise by Hunz ([download]/[reviews]) /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I can't place this module in any specific category - it incorporates several diverse styles. This serves to make the module quite interesting. I can only say that the module has clear, deep samples and a fine, complex orchestration. It is technically flawless and highly original, but words can't fully describe it - you really have to listen to it. -----================================================================----- "Streetbeat" by Mortimer Twang (4ch MOD, 03:15) (m_stree.zip [477K/666K]) [HipHop] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Skullsaw 90- 90 90 90 90 Rebriffer 89+ 95 90 100 50 MING 75= 60 88 85 75 TheKid 70= 70 70 70 40 Peraphon 58- -- -- -- -- Mansooj 43= 24 -- 20 45 CCerberus 43- 25 70 66 85 Zaigamor 33- 27 41 68 50 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Well, I am so glad that Mortimer Twang is "going 2 learn de real thing" when it comes to record scratching; this according to his sampletexts. However, as far as I'm concerned, he can feel free to leave them -out- of his modules. In defiance of their presence, some of the rest of this thing was pretty nifty. The cool bits being a Jimi Hendrixoid acid-trip wawa guitar, two other supporting funkish guitars, brass cuts, and a well-used siren. And heck, even a few of the rap clips were sharp, but the overall presentation was disjointed, repetitive and fairly dull. It isn't original; how original can something that's been done by probably every DJ on Earth be? Record scratching is old hat, stolen rap clips and drumloops are simply null articles. Given that the only tracked part of this thing is the deep bass riff, all that's left to examine is the quality of the organization of the samples--what more commonly would be termed composition, but in this case is inapplicable. To me, it'd be like comparing a Rembrandt to a paint-by-numbers crying clown...in other words: there is no comparison. So, this being essentially a bunch of sample cuts strung together, and done so in a rather disjointed fashion, there's really very little worthy of compliment. For myself, the basic style is one I can take or leave depending on various circumstances, but I'm sure this sort of stuff appeals greatly to a certain niche. Regardless, it certainly doesn't deserve the praise of music sporting actual composition and careful tracking. My personal recommendation is to leave this one on the shelf, but, if you like rap and heavy hiphop type stuff, you might find it enjoyable. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Woooooaaahhh...woooooaaaahhh, time warp, time warp.... Ok, I'm fine now...but what a rush! I don't honestly *know* what exactly I feel about this track. I'm very intrigued by it...I'm very attracted to it...it's weird...it's brilliant...but I don't know why.... See! It's making me babble!! Kiddies, you just *have* to hear this one.... I've listened to it at least 10 times already and I'm having enormous difficulties getting it to hold still for critical analysis for more than a second or two. It starts like some 70's Jimi Hendrix cutups gone haywire on Brainbuster, Drug of Drugs and then runs headlong into a brick wall of scratching, rapping, cutting and mixing that knocks my puny earholes for six. It reminds me in some ways of De La Soul mixed with some of the densest bass and drums heard this side of the 'net. It's a very, very tuff track and clever as all hell. A couple of major problems however that prevent me giving this track the full marks I obviously feel it's worth. The first thing is the obviously badly distorted samples used throughout the entire track. While I understand technically that "live" mixing and scratching into a MOD track is extremely difficult, a lot more care on the samples would have made the difference between a merely great (nay brilliant) track and an all time classic. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ TheKid ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This module is in dire need of being cleaned up! It was so close to being an absolute classic. It was inches from being a Hip-Hop/Breakbeat dream or a DJ's nightmare! This song is BAD! (In the good sense!) Chunky and fierce. But the sample quality just killed it! It hurts me just to bring up the point about how something that made my head bob and my toes tap is plagued by clicks and sample static. Man! I shudder with the thought of what Mortimer Twang could have done here at my studio. That is, if he created the samples himself. In the realm of computer music modules, this module is relatively simple.... What is a module but sequenced samples anyway? So I can't hand out high 'music' quality marks for...uhum...stealing parts of other people's music. (Gonna get hate mail for that one!) I hope everyone that reads this review understands that I have had many arguments on the legitimacy of sampled...ahh, let's face it RAP...as an actual artistic creation. I am one of those that sit in the middle. I agree that if it is cohesive, pleasing and progressive, it is music. But is it truly artistic? A real representation of music creation? (Oh no, more hate mail!) This module is planned, pleasing to the ear and progressive...this module is cool. You know what I liked most about it? It was different! Not your typical module; that impresses me more than anything. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Oh yeah, this is art. Seriously. I've heard a lot of freeform hip-hop but I've never heard it done in a module, at least not with this much expertise. There is so much meat in this module, enough to make me come back to it again and again. The only thing I don't like about rap and hiphop is the rap, I love the actual instrumental tracks, though, and that's what Streetbeat is, nothing but fine scratching, boiling breakbeats and assorted noise mutations. There are some vocal snatches, but they are used for accents and as a part of the instrumentation. All of the samples are clear and manipulated with precision. Standout samples are the drum loops, transformed guitar, siren, vocal snatches--hell I like'm all. If you like Public Enemy's instrumental tracks, then you will love this. Note that this is a style that I am negatively inclined towards as far as modules go because I've never heard one done well, but this is masterful. Also note that though hiphop has been beaten to death, this is freeform and it spews originality. Please sir, may I have some more. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ If you like old-school beatboxing and record scratching, you will probably love this. I am not a person who loves those things. I actually despise them. It's hard for me to listen to this objectively, but I gave it a shot.... A lot of this song is "realtime scratches" made by the composer, the point of which eludes me. Why not just use the facilities provided for you in the module format to achieve the same sort of effects? I mean, okay, it won't be "genuine" scratching, but this is a new form of music! Why try to translate an old type of music into this new format? Basically, you end up with a lot of large samples of pre-recorded scratching. There's not a lot of musical structure here. Mostly, it's rhythmic games being played by cutting and pasting together the aforementioned scratch samples. I didn't like it. Some people might. )shrug( /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I think this type of stuff is an acquired taste...and I definitely haven't acquired that taste. I've never been a fan of this sort of funky hip stuff, although there are a couple of aspects of this song that I liked and found very pleasing. There are a couple of guitar riffs in there that sound great, but they get repeated to death. There is some great drum work in there also, that uses a variety of samples and techniques. The vocal samples and the work done with the record turntable give a definite "real" feel to this piece. The samples used are of a high quality, and I can't hear any faults except the odd click here and there. These samples sound perfect for what the composer was obviously shooting for. This is not a "bad" song as such, but it is just not my bag. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Ok, where's the music? Hey, that was unfair. In fact, the music is just about everywhere, flying away in all possible directions. This is not as much a composition as it is a classical DJ session, complete with scratching and everything. A bunch of old hiphop stuff has been dug up, carefully removed of all dust and cobwebs, sampled, and shoved into a mod. This is all just a lot of beats, rap fragments, riffs and such slopped together in a massive sounding soup held together by a cool, deep bassline. But there is little ORIGINAL music in here...which is what I meant. A little edgy now and then, and from time to time, not that well mixed together, but it really swings. And that's what is important here. A major show in the art of mixing cool song fragments into a cool, cool, cool song. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ The style of this track is hip-hop, rap or something similar. It is very disorderly, generally a potpourri of seemingly random samples. Most of the samples are scratched or heavily tremored, something I just don't like since it tends to make a song sound very incoherent. The discordance is increased by echoing these samples, and it makes me wonder what Mortimer Twang was trying to achieve by doing this. I cannot find a consistent line in this track. A drumline could provide some continuity, but the drums in this track just break down at random places, with the bass seeming to play a melody that is separated from the rest. Overall, a disorderly, untidy and generally unpleasant track to listen to. -----================================================================----- "Stingray" by Hollywood of Axis/Valhalla/KFMF (4ch MOD, 05:51) (k_sting.zip [249K/378K]) [Demo] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== CCerberus 94+ 97 90 86 83 Peraphon 84= -- -- -- -- JuiCe 79+ 85 85 -- 65 Rebriffer 77+ 77 82 68 64 Mansooj 77+ 70 -- 52 70 MING 71- 68 85 60 80 Klaws 68= 73 63 63 68 Zaigamor 49+ 55 51 35 52 Parallax 46= 69 76 69 76 Quasar 39= 30 60 40 80 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Mansooj ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A tasty, if not blindingly original piece from the current curator of MONO. This one dates back about 14 months, and is of a style made popular much earlier in the Amiga demo scene. It comes across as a stretched out oldskool demo-style tune with some light techno influences added here and there; and due to this stretching it has gained something of an ambient feel for most of its duration. The arrangement has the module split into 4 distinct parts, most connected by short silent breaks. Opening things is a kind of science-fiction movie sound effect which strangely leads into a hiphopish voice sample that pans from one side to the other. This leads into a very demoish first segment with bleepy-bloopy pseudo-techno sounds, simple percussion, synth lead and synth backing, lasting for a bit less than two and a half minutes. The second segment is dropped into rather abruptly at that point, changing the tone markedly into a much slower tempo and overall, a much more subdued sound. This would be well described as a long ambient transition which, after a minute or so, leads back into another sequence similar to, if not exactly the same as, the first. A couple of minutes after the second segment commences, the main difference between this and the first segment comes in in the form of a low-tone synthetic instrument very reminiscent of that used in chiptunes. This bit, although rather minor, lent a nice extra dimension to the sound. The last segment seems to be something of a mixture of the first three, and though it brings in percussion that is a little bit livelier, the overall tone is more sedate than the first and third demo-ish segments. This also happens to be an infinitely looping segment, so there is no end to this module, technically speaking. Throughout most of the playtime at least one of the four tracks is devoted to some form of techno bleepy-bloopy sequence composed of quick successive note changes, but even though there's a moderate amount of internal variety to each segment, in truth, there isn't a strong sensation of variety overall. This technique of clear breaks in style/tone/tempo is often used in demo and diskmag music, and indeed, this tune was earmarked for a Party V demo, but went unused. Given this I can't fault the design in this case. I've liked this sort of style for a long while now, and I happen to think this is a creditable example...this also means I'm saying it isn't original in any meaningful aspect. For me, it's much akin to liking potatoes and not minding eating them in dozens of different ways -- I know I've heard it before, but I like it, so the starting point is high enough to leave this tune with a decent overall rating even without anything spectacular being added (and this premise holds true for all my overall ratings). P.S.: An attendant doc file claims this to be a "4 channel trance" module. From my own impressions of demo, trance and ambient styles, trance is the third one down the list, if there at all. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ CCerberus ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is beautiful musical mastery at its best. It is only extremely rarely that I hear a module in which I can actually 'feel' the way the chord progressions are going to go. In order for that to happen, I have to somehow be emotionally "in sync" with the song, and that happened for me with this piece of art. This is a truly beautiful composition, illustrating knowledge of both the MOD format and the emotional force which can be achieved through certain types of melodic and harmonic progressions. Let me go ahead and get my complaints out of the way, because they are minor and very short. I thought the bass kick near the beginning was a little too high-pitched, but I believe this may have been intentional to achieve a very specific sound texture. Also, I really didn't care for the high-pitched electronic synth tom drums in that same section, but they were used sparingly so the effect was miniscule. That's it as far as complaints go. In a song with 67 patterns, those two things are the only things I wanted changed. Pretty nifty. Now on to the praise. The fact that this was done in 4-channel MOD format both astounds me and makes me wonder what it would have been like with more channels. Don't misunderstand me, the song does not suffer, in ANY WAY that I can detect, from using 4-channels. I just suspect that with more channels, the orchestration could have been even MORE beautiful. Many times during listening to this song, I was able to hum along lead parts that I thought would have sounded cool, and much to my surprise, the chord progessions almost always fit perfectly with what I was humming! That is VERY unusual, and it means that the musician has a sense of what is melodically "correct" which is similar to my own -- and THAT, friends, is a good way to score points with this reviewer! The emotional strength of some of these segments actually gave me that gut feeling where you want to just kinda grin and clench your fists and say, "Yes! That RULES!" Good. Very good. To cap it all off, OH MY, this was so brilliant...at the end of the song, a more groovin' but still very chilled-out and musically impressive portion of the song kicks in, and then the entire SECTION loops ad infinitum from there on out. That's GREAT! I think there were 7 patterns that looped at the end, which is a long enough section to maintain variety, but short enough to hold itself together. This is something that I have only very rarely seen done in modules, and I have never seen it done this well. Plenty of songs loop the whole song, or a vast majority of it, and plenty of songs loop 1 or 2 patterns at the end, but few loop a mid-sized section like this. It's really well-done and intelligent. Download this. Please. You need this song. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ JuiCe ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Some ethereal atmospheric sweeping effects open up this tune, and they will catch the listener's interest for sure. Then there is a somewhat oddly chosen voice sample saying "After this, there's no turning back"--and the song kicks in. It is a Jarresque demo-style song. When I say 'Jarre' I don't mean the early stuff, or the newly released Oxygene 7-13, it sounds more like his work in between. A pulsing electronic bassline and a tight beat provide backing for straightforward string-chord harmonies, and simplistic but very catchy synth melodies. The playback time is a whopping 7:42, and this got me worried, since most mods of this style become boring and repetitive somewhere around the 2 minute mark, but Hollywood manages to keep the interest by interchanging two faster, tighter sections with two slower, more relaxed sections in an ABAB fashion. And even in the sections themselves, there are subtle, and not so subtle variations to keep things moving. This is surely one of better examples of this type of music, well-inspired and skillfully executed. The only down points are the somewhat weak samples, and the transitions between the different parts, which could use some more polish. Nevertheless, if you're into this kind of stuff, this one is a definite must for your collection. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ An old-school piece of demo-electro-technobeat music. It has all those classically distinctive marks to prove it, like chiptune-esque drums, the usual cute-platform-game lead tooting with echoes, and just the right vibrato to make it sound slightly drunk. But there is also in this tune a more interesting side, some standard trancevibes and a spacey intro, which raises this from a bland 50 rating to something a little higher. Overall it is a good tune. It's simply just not a great one. The themes are too uninspiring and common for that, although I must admit that some parts are hugely enjoyable. Without falling into sampling tunecuts, a 4 channel song can't be much more fullfeatured than this, and the skill of tracking is not to be disregarded. Samples are clean and fit quite well into the image, and when put all together, considering artistic and technical judgment, I'd give it a mild recommendation, but nothing more. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Half expecting to see a mad scientist's laboratory complete with bubbling vials and arching electrical bolts, I am quickly shocked back into reality with an entirely gratuitous, and wholly unnecessary, vocal. The module then launches into a fast ethereal melody with a decidedly breakneck beat. A couple of minutes into the module, the tempo changes and a slower, softer tempo emerges and struggles for another minute before transitioning again into the same, relentless, monotonous beat. At this point, the module is lost to me and the File:Delete button is only a click away. After all, only more of the same is to follow. The module has clear samples and decent technical orchestration, but is hopelessly limited by its four channels. The composer relies heavily on one main sequence and varies little from it throughout the song, presenting the listener with another monotonous and uninspired module. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song sounds, at the beginning, as though it is going to be some kind of electronic piece. In a heartbeat this changes to sounding like a synth piece with a very ambient background. This song is described in an accompanying text file as being trance, but this doesn't sound like trance to me; styles can vary so much, so who can be sure? Regardless, this song sounds great! It is very smooth, aurally pleasing and appears to be well thought out. The ambience in the background makes for some great relaxation, while the synth makes a pleasant melody in the foreground. The drum loop is consistently invariant with regular fills, but this is negligible and not too noticeable. The samples used are of a high quality, though there is a very small amount of white noise in a couple of them, and they seem to match very well with this song. Overall, this is a great song that should not be missed. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A good atmospheric start leads into a neat little techno toon that rattles along well, in a classic MOD feel. As such this is essentially synth driven with some quite interesting leads wandering here and there, where it finally falls down is in a slow middle section that just didn't cut it for me, and I felt there was a huge drop in energy. Once it picks up again, you find yourself nodding away. Towards the end the track takes another slow turn which leads into some very familiar territory - a land where many "classic" MOD tracks come from.... This track was made in 1995 but could have been made in 1992, meant in the best possible way. Good, discreet coding, well thought out loops...things that've gotta make it at least worth a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Klaws ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This song was previously recommended to me by my friend Kismet, saying that this song has probably done the best job (at least with the least amount of presampled loops) of overcoming the 4-channel barrier. Basically, it has three parts, of which the first two are oldschool Amiga/demotune style, and the last part is more laidback and mellow. Sorta like some of Lizardking's stuff. At one point he uses an industrial pounding in two (identical) patterns, which is somewhat disorienting, as well as too fleeting. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very basic oldschool demo tune. Some descriptive words would be: simple, nice, long, repetitive. There's just nothing special about it. The samples are very average, the composition isn't outstanding, technically it's pretty basic, and it certainly isn't original. There is one nice little recurring melody, but that's about it. A pretty pointless track, really. You can find tons of other demotunes that are worth downloading and listening. This one isn't one of them. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Parallax ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Remember what KLF (now Kosmic) started with? This song is not really different from what they did back then. It sounds like a techno song at the beginning, but at a point not far into the song, some strings come in and try to drag a tune out of it. In 1992, it might have been good, but not in late 1995 when the music scene had a selection of respectable music styles. -----================================================================----- "