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Text File | 1997-10-21 | 68KB | 1,218 lines

WMR (Reviews [week #24]) __ __ __ | \ __ ______/ |_ | | | o \ | | | / o | \ |o | | \| o| |o _/ | o\ []=======| |==| \ |=| |/ | \========[] []=======| |==| \ |=| | |\ \=======[] []=======| |==| \|=| | |=\ \======[] :: | | | \ | | | / / :: :. | | | |\ \| | /| |/ / :: : | | |/\ | \ | |/ | | / : | | / \| |\ | | | | / :. | | / \ | \ | |__| | / .: :: | |/ \| \_| | |/ : :: | /\ | | __| |\ :: []=======| / \ |=| |==| | \==========[] []=======| /| \ |=| |==| | \=========[] []=======| /=| |\ |=| |==| | \========[] |o / | | \ o| |o | | |\ o\(mansooj) |_/ | o | \_| |__/ | o | \__/ |___| |___| (Originally compiled and added on September 1, 1997) (last updated 09.14.97) -----========================================----- -----================================================================----- "Picnic For the Soul" by PanDuh! (18ch XM, 05:00) (pknk4sol.xm.zip [264K/523K]) [Dance/Pop] "Picnic for the Soul is my first module release ever. It opens with a nice little piano intro that is reminiscent of Robert Miles' Children, yet it is not at all like his song. In the end, I am not trying to convey any sort of instrumental mastery here with this piece. Just some good old fashioned fun." [PanDuh!] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Fanta C 91+ 90 88 84 89 ChroMix 90+ 87 80 89 80 Nova 78= 80 80 65 73 MING 77= 85 40 60 55 WolfSong 75+ 71 62 52 50 Rebriffer 70+ 70 75 70 75 Araneus 67+ 71 -- 59 80 Skullsaw 40+ 55 50 45 50 /-----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ Whoa!!! Hold on a second! This song is actually pretty good. Probably one of the better songs I've had the pleasure of reviewing, actually, yet the author claims this to be his SECOND song??? Wow, I must say, this song is not just pretty good, it's great, and taken in context with it being one of the composer's first releases, I'd have to say it's nothing short of amazing. Lessee.... The song starts out with what would be considered a rather nice, and shall we say, original (for a dance song) melody which becomes the base around which the rest of the song is built. Then the chords kick in, accompanied then by rhythm, later bridging into a pre-chorus sort of thing where the background synths are introduced. Then, the song explodes into the cool dance beat and bassline. Great transition. Great sound. Great job. The laying of melodies and variation of rhythms is terrific, creative, and likable, (not to mention danceable) and give the song a power that sounds (dare I say it?) ready for radio. My only complaint is that the chorus repeats a bit too often for what would be considered conventional. Still, it's not repeated to the point where it loses its power, and each time it comes back with a different variation added to it. Very well done, overall. There's nothing wrong with the piece samplewise, although PanDuh claims that the samples he used "suck." They really could have been better in places, especially with the piano sample, but the cool synth, chords, and rhythm stuff makes up for all that, I think. All told, very good. Technically speaking, he does make very fine use of a variety of effects and some panning which is used effectively and appropriately. Nothing to complain about here. Overall, I think this mod will be the ultimate cause of my quitting tracking altogether. I've been composing for well over a year now, and I haven't yet even touched this level. Good work PanDuh. I think you have a bright future as a mod composer. :) /-----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ If you read my comments for More Than a Memory you'll know that I like reviewing either truly bad or excellent MODs because they are easier than reviewing average tracks. You can see where this is leading can't you? One of two ways; either this track is total crap or PanDuh! has produced a little cracker. I have an alternative intro paragraph for this one, which'll prolong the suspense a little longer. Here we go. There are three main types of MOD authors: those that are good musicians but bad trackers, those that are bad musicians and good trakcers and finally those that are good musicians and good trackers. There are, of course, bad musicians and bad trackers, but they don't last long as nobody listens to their output and they rightfully fade away. So, now you're thinking I'm going to tell you which category PanDuh! falls into? Well, dear reader, read on and find out. Finally to the review. Is it an abomination? No. From all the waffle above you might infer that it's excellent? Yes. If you eyeball my review of One out of Infinity by the very same author, you'll see I said that whilst it was a very good track, it did need some polishing. Well, I'm pleased to report that Picnic For the Soul needs no such work. It is polished. It's also very musical and boppy. Yeah, I'm pleased to report that the author can write good music, and track it successfully as well. A priviledge to listen to. The track is essentially a fast tempo piano piece. There's not much messing about with a long winded intro (about twenty seconds worth), then a dance beat kicks in and away we go. Instruments are varied logically with the different sections (spot the nice string section) and the whole thing fits together beautifully. It's not too long, not too short, and as an added bonus, it has a decent ending; something many authors seem to struggle with. I think it's great, have put it on my daily play list and will say no more. Recommended as good general purpose listening. --- References --- More Than a Memory by Multivac ([download]/[reviews]) One out of Infinity by PanDuh! ([download]/[reviews]) /-----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ This is PanDuh's second release (according to the sample notes) and I vaguely remember reviewing his first release some weeks ago. The term 'vaguely remember' is quite important here because it obviously didn't make that good an impression on me otherwise I would have remembered it's b***** name! Actually, I probably raved about it and gave it 101 marks but with a brain like mine who can say.... Sooo, enough of the idle chatter, what's this second track like then? My immediate reaction was of surprise at the crystal clear and very bright piano samples used to introduce the track. However, when I saw the samples had come from such MOD worthies as Ng Pei Sin, Elwood and Karsten Koch, the 'duh' light came on. How wrong can you go when you use such masterly building blocks? PanDuh, to his eternal credit, doesn't put a foot wrong either (and even plows the same musical field). The execution, phrasing and mix are absolutely first class and show just how these clunky tools of ours, when in the right hands, can actually deliver the goods. Okay, you can go on to the next review now.... Hummm, very unlike me to pass by such a track without inserting a couple of 'yeah buts,' so obviously you'd better hang around a sec or two for the denouement. As I already stated, this is a superlative MOD in all respects, coding, samples and the kitchen sink...but...is this enough? I know I seem to ask this question quite often but to me it's a very relevant question. See, the reason I got into MODs in the first place was because they were a thousand times more exciting than MIDI (more generally referred to as muddy) and that is where this track really comes unstuck. It's a great tune and features all the positive points I've belaboured to death but, ultimately, it failed to fully satisfy me. /-----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ Sweet tune. One of those songs that makes you want to go out and spontaneously hug people in the streets, paint pink flowers on the pavement and wish you were a...smurf or something so it could be the soundtrack to your happy but short little smurflife. Dancetune. A tune with five-on-a-fourpace muted piano chords, soothing pads and a steady thump-thump beat. And one that really makes you want to dance. Maybe some smurf-ish discodance, I dunno. Nice tune. A song so harmless and innocent, It's almost dangerous. Just like them smurfs. Can't help it. Small, blue fellas with white pants and pointy hats invade my mind when listening to this song. The melodic theme in the intro, and later in the ending, joined with the dancebeat, is exactly what a panorama over the smurfvillage just before the evil smurfeater begins his attack could sound like. Complete with birdsong and everything. The feeling stays with me also through the dancepart, where we're on a smurfparty or so. Nuff said. Picnic For the Soul is a sweet, nice and enjoyable dancetune. The problems start cropping up on the technical side, though. PanDuh! (nick of the year, IMO :)) says in the songmessage that this is only his second module. It can't be, however, his second only composition. Because, musically, it's just as great as described above. When it comes down to how it sounds, we've get to the other side of the story. It is, in production, at some points, downright shitty. Where the music could float it comes at you in big, uncomfortable chunks. Not because the notes are wrong, but the composer doesn't appear to have a firm idea of how module dynamics work. Sounds are so noisy they almost ruin the impression at times. Not that the samples are much worse than the average, but they are not handled with care. PanDuh! has talent. No shit. PanDuh! has a container full of it. And when he learns the dynamic aspects of the art of tracking, I'm convinced he will enlighten the scene like few have. /-----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ You have to give this song a chance to get started before you can really know what's going on as the intro is a little bit deceiving. It had me thinking it was going to be a slow piano song--the chords carried enough emotion. I thought it would go on, adding such things as strings and perhaps flutes, and other emotional-song kinds of things, but boy did it have me fooled. It's actually a dance song! As dance songs go, I have to say that this one's rather typical. The chords are ones that you recognize immediately from many other songs in this style, along with your usual "thump-thump-thump." However, while the chord progressions aren't anything unusual, the *way* the chords are expressed is imaginitive. The composer uses a lot of arpeggios and I like his selection of notes. The melodies are also quite nice and rather bright sounding. There are several places where samples trip over each other and cut each other off. Noticeable, but not enough to effect the enjoyment of the song very much. There also seem to be a couple of sounds or phrases of notes that are a bit too loud for the rest of the song, though again, nothing that's not easy to look past. I enjoyed this song. It flowed nicely and was very easy to listen to. It even got me bouncing a little. PanDuh says that this is only his second module and if that's true then I believe he's going to be someone to keep an eye on. Considering this is one of his very first modules, it's very good work. /-----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ For some reason, this tune reminds me of running and flying a kite through a field with golden, waist-high grasses and sunny blue skies. Pretty interesting vision, huh? Let me walk you through how the author accomplishes this. PanDuh! starts us off with a solo piano backed by cello pitched synth. Then he adds in some chimes and violin pitched synth quickly backed by the percussion. He then starts running some high-toned synth in 32nd notes. These notes kind of float in and out, running up and down the musical scale and are enunciated with a bass that runs in 8th notes. Now, for all you non-technical people, this basically means that the song moves along pretty briskly; giving the sensation that, in this case, you are running. And over the "running undertone" is a calm, graceful synth, chime, and piano pattern that finishes off the vision with the sensation of gliding. I wish to note that if you are looking for a traditional dance tune then you are looking in the wrong place. This song is not really a dance tune but it is not really a pop tune either. I'm not really sure what it is, but if it *is* a dance tune then it's not one in the old-school sense. You may wish to label this song as a "New Wave Dance with an Intricate Melody." Even though this tune doesn't fit neatly into a category, it is a good listen nonetheless. /-----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Skullsaw ]========-----------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ Rats, tricked again by an intro. At first, I thought this was going to be some kind of psuedo-classical piece due to the traditional harmonic progression and instrumentation but, surprise! Techno pop! The basic harmonic framework that is first presented continues on with a peppy dance beat. Strings, choir and an intricate synth line give this dance tune an orchestral flavor. It sounds to me like a lot of care was taken with this module, especially in the composition and arrangement departments. It's a well orchestrated piece of music to be sure, but frankly, it comes off as sounding like an intro or demo tune. This tune just doesn't grab me in any way. Perhaps it's the all too familiar chord progressions or the overall lack of depth that I hear. The composition is all too perfect and clean, no chances are taken. The sample set is quite trite as well, no new sounds to catch my ear. All this being said, I'm sure that those that like their music on the straight and narrow will like this one. /-----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ Some of the piano songs can get really simple. It's amazing how many songs (ie. different melodies) one can compose with the same chord progression. I suppose composing a decent slow piano song is quite difficult, given the number of releases (MOD and MIDI) I've heard that sound relatively simple and unoriginal. Fortunately, Multivac realizes that piano tunes are one of the more easily created types of music, and wisely blends in the right combination of instruments (classical guitar, drums, bass guitar, and strings) to create a stronger atmosphere of pop music. -----================================================================----- "Lapsus Memoriae" by Ranger Rick (aka Phaedrus) of FTMI Studios (??ch IT, 04:25) (lapsus.zip [385K/769K]) [Ambient] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== ESP 78+ 58 70 60 68 Araneus 77+ 80 -- 76 80 Husanak 73+ 70 65 85 75 Rebriffer 70+ 65 70 65 60 Shrift 65+ 40 70 65 75 Fanta C 41+ 55 72 50 56 Nova 30+ 20 25 45 40 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This piece is let down twice. First, this song has little real motion in terms of the song as a whole. Second, this song uses almost no transitions (largely because the song goes nowhere). In spite of these things, as I will explain, this is fine mildly-ambient dance piece. To handle the first, this song shifts between three thematic forms, only one of which focuses even partially on a lead melody. This would not be so much a problem, except that the author attempts to flow these three together, and does so by fading in and out reoccuring ambient synths. Very little else changes. Quite literally, the appearance of movement in these repetitive synths is the only force which creates the Themes. This is because the peripheral melodic-rhythms do not change, at all. The same quirky synth beat you hear at the beginning follows through 'til the end. There is no transition among these background noises, except so far as occasionally one or the other drops out to be replaced by another. This, to me, is oversimplification. Assuming a song can be so simplified intentionally is to imply that this song is less a song than a moving rhythm. If this is the case, then so be it, but it would take very little to stimulate the listener to follow the piece more closely if more overt transitional elements were added. The second criticism, as related to the first, is a problem because without additional melodies to show the lead-in and movement of the song, you are left relying on the non-moving rhythmic elements to follow the song where it's going. The one great exception is the only major transition in the piece, which occurs a bit over a third of the way through (order 15). This transition was a breath of fresh air, even in its simplicity, and led into an entirely rhythmic section of the piece (which is where I feel, considering the form of the piece, that things really get moving). From then on, there is a tiny buildup towards the final melodic element, which is both subtle and uniquely textured. This melody is alluded to earlier in the piece, but we see it really develop here. The sample quality is startling, considering how pale and generic many of the samples sound by themselves. The author uses fairly obvious but skilled effects to manipulate the samples into the rhythm. The samples are well chosen and largely original (I've never heard them before). The degree to which the author applies these samples to the song is well worthy of note. Overall, this is a fine piece, albeit superbly minimalist compositionally. Had more directional-flow been given to this piece, it would have received a higher compositional rating. I appreciate this piece quite a bit, and my criticisms come out of my wish that the author had done a bit more to hold the listener by the hand. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Some noisy ol' samples at the beginning doesn't do Ranger Rick(?) any favors. The reason I question the name is because the track is credited to Phaedrus...errr....errr. Ah ah, you're thinking, he's at the ol' smokescreen effect again...there's blood ahead.... Sorry to disappoint, but this track isn't that bad after all. After the disappointing beginning, I was pleasantly surprised to discover a very decent rave/drum and bass style that motors along very nicely indeed. The main thrust of the track is definitely carried on the ample shoulders of a drum track that is so smoothly put together, it's the last thing you notice. On a more general level I found the track itself repetitive, although not in a bad way. I could certainly see myself listening to this a few more times after reviewing it. Mind you, it'll be the strings that will finally kill it for me. The central theme (provided by strings and a organ-like bleeping sound) repeats itself just that little bit too much, although it certainly manages to stick in your ears for some time after first hearing it. And that, my bug-eyed buddies, has to be the reason for downloading any tune. In summary, this is a very decent job indeed, if a trifle bland and repetitive. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'd say Ranger Rick is a bit of a Basehead fan, or if not, he's gone for Basehead's instrument set up in a big way. But hey, maybe Ranger Rick (or Phaedrus of FTMI as it is in the sampletext) has never heard of Basehead. Who knows? Anyway, in case you were wondering, this is a below average, repetitive track with low melody content, repetitive backing and competent coding. It falls back on the old standby of effects to generate interest, which is a sure way of garnering low marks from this particular reviewer. Trying to brainwash people into liking one's melody by repeating it n-thousand times in four and a half minutes is a no brainer. There are no nice bridges, no breaks, no nothing but the repeated melody which simply gets annoying. Audiowise, there are some clicks evident in the quieter sections. The main lead instrumentation sounds like Hammond keyboards, but dead Hammond keyboards--no inflection at all. Ultimately this track goes nowhere--I didn't like it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Husanak ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Well, if, by chance, you would like to listen to an original piece of work, this may be your tune. Lapsus Memoriae is a well put together piece of music which incorporates just enough curves for me to deem it exceedingly cool. In terms of composition and technical merit, this tune scores better than average. I did notice that Phaedrus used a lot of copy and paste, although usually he didn't bother with even that, just repeating the same pattern 2 or 3 times. However, just as I was starting to bore, an interesting vocal sample perked me up and kept me awake until around 3:10 when a *very* interesting synth took over. In terms of originality, this song is great...not that the whole tune is new and completely different from other tunes I've heard. Phaedrus does, however, incorporate some interesting sounds, oh, and did I mention that *VERY* interesting synth. I got the feeling this was going to sound like bad Nintendo music for the first 30 seconds, but I was pleasantly surprised once the interesting sounds started to bleed through. Samples: ( Note to Phaedrus ) You didn't use samples 4, 6, 10, 11, and 16. Otherwise the samples were good, although somewhere there's some rapper's copyright lawyer real pissed about sample #18. Well, I do believe I keep using the word interesting, and that's the word that best describes this song. It does take a minute or two to start, and Phaedrus almost lost my attention using repeated segments, however, the strength of the synth lead and the majority of the samples won me over quite easily. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-------------------------========[ ESP ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very well handled track, very subtly done. As soon as the track started, I was impressed by the quality of the samples and brief sequencing shown there, the first appearance of any form of definite beat merely cemented my favourable views. The beginning of this sparse (in tone if not in actual sound) Detroit style offering is typical of the staples of that genre; a bassline made of electronic bleeps and bloops, and an uplifting but bassy string section. These two ingredients I love, and I was desperately hoping that the author (The song texts say it was Phaedrus, but Boris of the WMR indicates it was Ranger Rick...whatever [A pseudonym, apparently. -Boris]) did not decide to drop a fat house beat into it. Thankfully, he doesn't, and a good unobtrusive beat is carefully integrated instead. The main flaw in this track is the basic lack of any action beyond the mere introduction and slight expansion of the main ideas and themes. Nothing much happens after the beginning, and it's only half a minute before the song fades out that it begins to get real direction and pace, with a decent climax of sorts. The lack of any actual large-scale variance and the short length can be forgiven in light of the great overall sound and integrity of the track. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ It is a sad day for the ambient genre. I am gonna give the benefit of the doubt to the author here, stating it was my sound card that made it sound bad, and not pan this song severely. I tried it in Cubic Player, the IT Tracker and ModPlug Player (great program) so I know it is not a player problem. Simply put the song is just awful. It sounds like a merry-go-round stuck on high speed. Chinsy little sounds of a bongo going too fast and a way out of tune organ make me cringe. Then the author throws in a synth that doesn't follow the beat of the organ or the drums. It's like three different songs all running at once. Just imagine being in the middle of a carnival. You have the ring toss stand playing one song, the merry-go-round playing another and the rollercoaster playing yet another. Nothing meshes. Everything is a mess of sound. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Araneus ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Really cool beginning, where some sort of organ sample plays with a quick beat in the background. Very catchy, and unique way of developing the song. The song changes its sounds at just the right moments, not taking too long or being too abrupt in moving to a new sound. The bridge part of the song, however, isn't as interesting. For the 12 orders that the bridge lasted, it mainly consisted of just background sounds and nothing distinguishable. I would've liked to hear something that produced the same effect for the ear as the main part of the song. -----================================================================----- "TripFlight" by Amorphis (xxch IT, 02:32) (am_trpft.zip [275K/438K]) [Pop/Dance] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Quasar 96+ 95 90 99 99 Fanta C 85+ 80 67 1 70 Peraphon 83+ -- -- -- 80 Rebriffer 75+ 80 75 70 80 Zaigamor 70+ 72 68 62 76 Husanak 59+ 60 60 60 55 WolfSong 55= 53 61 65 78 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Husanak ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ A little by-the-numbers pop dance song. Amorphis starts with a nice little piano melody that kind of lends itself to repetition. He throws in some nice sounding heavy drums, dashes up a little 303ish sounding synth work, stirs in a bad sounding vocal synth, and then serves it up. Well, I couldn't quite stomach the result. TripFlight does start off with a nice-sounding housey piano riff, however, it's the kind of piano riff you can tell is going to get repeated way to much...and it does. There are some nice sounding drums that I really liked which made me bob my head for a couple seconds. Once I started getting into the drums what caught my ear were some annoying 303-style synth samples. Generally, I really like the sound of 303-style synth, these, however, annoyed me for a reason I can't quite put my finger on. Amorphis uses a vocal sample as a lead (I believe he called it a wood flute), when it kicked in, I laughed. I don't believe that was the intende reaction. The wood flute reminded me of something you'd hear in bad 80's music, the kind that would be playing while Tom Cruise was getting the girl. The samples Amorphis uses are, as he admits, all ripped. Normally, I don't really care if samples are ripped, however, when you can't credit 'em don't use 'em. One other thing I have to say is that I really didn't like the waste of channels. Amorphis really went nuts with the New Note Actions in Impulse Tracker resulting in 15 channels of tracked music that ended up using over 32 (don't ask me how many exactly, I have a GUS). The number of active channels really seemed wasteful and wholly unnecessary. I liked this tune for the first 30 seconds or so, but after that, TripFlight got way to repetitive for my tastes. Once the laughable lead started I was, at that point, thoroughly unimpressed. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm sure Amorphis _KNOWS_ he's going to get completely shafted on this one? Surely? Now lets see, "originality".... Hmmm, minus five or lower? Well, one thing you can say for this track is that at least it's musical, that's because it uses one of the oldest chord progressions in the Western world--C, G, A & F. Everybody will instantly recognise this. It's what you do after a few piano lessons and manage to get three fingers on the keyboard simultaneously. I'm sure the author knew he would get slammed for that, so there it is, out of the way. Now then, moving on, it's put together as very "Bobby Crush," if I may be allowed. For those unfamiliar with Bobby, he was a popular English "pop" pianist of the late 70's who would play up beat and boppy party pieces at the drop of a hat. Party time? Yes, if either it's your fifth birthday or you're a thirty-something computer programmer. It goes, "Dah, da dah. Dit, di dit. Doh, do doh. Dum, du dum dum." Repeat. Geddit? You'll know it. Ok, ok, so it's music, and if I have to give one point for originality it's because it has a jet flying overhead (no really) mixed in there. But, and get this, the jet sample is 261K in size; one sample--261K! You can easily fit a whole bloody operating system into less! Two in fact. Look, I know it sounds like I'm not taking this seriously, but I am. Honest. It's music, you'll love it and it's so cheeky as to be unbelievable. Go download and flame me afterwards. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I'm trying to figure out what to call this. It has piano chords, like in popular dance music but flutes where you might usually find strings. The beat is a bit slower than most dance songs and uses bongo drums. It has acid sounding synths, like techno and demo style space-ship sound effects. I must say that whatever you'd call it, these elements were all put together without any clash, which is an accomplishment in itself. Beyond that, I really couldn't find anything that I liked or disliked about it except for the samples, which were of nice quality. There were also a couple of sterio effects that sounded good. However, the song itself was rather eventless. While it wasn't "bad," there was just nothing in it that would make me want to hear it again. It was mostly four chords that we've all heard before and little or no melody. It seemed dry, as though there wasn't much inspiration put behind it. And no matter how nicely a song is tracked or how good the samples sound, a song without inspiration is going to turn out sounding rather bland at best. Now, of course, I'm not saying that the composer wasn't inspired here. He may well have been. But if so, that doesn't come through in the song very well. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Peraphon ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This piece sounds to be a very catchy house piano tune with acidy undertones. For me, the trippy acid synth detracts from the sound, but it is probably necessary for the effect of the song as a whole. The piano used here sounds fantastic, and the melody is supported very well by the majority of the other instruments used. As I said, though, I think that the acid undertones detract from an otherwise fantastic piano piece. The samples are of a very high quality, although I think 261k for a jet flange is a bit over-the-top. I did hear some small clicks with one or two of the samples, but it is not very noticeable. The drums, although sounding fairly generic, fit into the song effortlessly and do not obstruct the song in any way. This song is a serious CPU taxer in IT, where the NNAs get a good workout (36 active channels!). Although the song plays in Cubic 1.7 with the IT loader, it doesn't sound quite as good as in ImpulseTracker itself. This is a very solid, very good sounding piece of music and is well worth a listen. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ There's a very effective jet sound which leads into the main intro, making a good start even more inviting. Once the track gets its boogie boots on, you immediately spot the great samples being used--clean, bright and well arranged in the mix. The track itself is done well with lots of attention paid to the use of stereo and spacing. I have to admit that I wasn't particularly keen on the bleepy bass sound which dominated the track, as it tended to distract from the rhythm rather than adding to it. Overall the track tends to be a bit 'toppy' with the piano sample being maybe just a little too bright. A very nice track, then, with some particularly neat touches (especially the production), but not something I would especially listen to a whole lot. Having said that, I'm sure that anyone downloading this track won't feel that it was a waste of time/money. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Zaigamor ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I hate reviewing songs like this, because there's so little to say about. There are always the same things right and wrong in these kinds of modules, and that results in me writing the same standard reviews over and over again. I will then write about the standard building up, the simple, but nice melody and the volume of the samples, which in this case, is not balanced very well. Then I'll end up saying that it's not really, so you might want to give it a try if you like this kind of melodic/demo music. As you can tell, this track doesn't exactly throw me into fits of ecstasy. It's a case of just being "there" when I listen to it. Other reviewers will no doubt have much more to say, but sometimes in the life of a reviewer, the flow just stops--the music doesn't inspire. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Quasar ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Tripflight is an amazing module of superb composition, orchestration, sampling, and originality. This module is a must-listen for any module fan. Amorphis came up with an amazingly original composition with fast-paced, rich, and full sound. Tripflight has strong elements of Jarre and a few spunky sequences reminiscent of the Pkunk theme from the game Star Control II. This is truly a module that must be heard--words can't do it justice. It's original, it's superb and it's definitely one of my most highly-recommended selections! -----================================================================----- "Fishbone" by MING of DiSC (28ch IT, 04:47) (dc-fish.zip [233K/386K]) [Jungle/Trance] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Fanta C 93+ 92 86 94 91 Rebriffer 90+ 85 90 90 70 ChroMix 84= 80 85 93 79 Husanak 80+ 55 75 86 45 Mysterium 70+ 75 75 75 50 Shrift 65+ 50 65 70 72 Nova 50= 45 50 60 45 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ One of my favorite work tactics for doing these reviews is to play a track for the very first time, then go make some coffee, and if I'm humming the track when I get back, I know it must be fairly decent. Fishbone easily passed that test, which struck as rather odd, as during the first listen I didn't take to it much at all. From this simple test I can conclude that this track must have hidden depths. So, here I am now, on my fourth listening, and yes, it does have hidden depths, nay, crevasses even! It's actually excellent--a decent "working" track even. A distinct melody is coming through, along with a high composer "work input" quotient, which I always appreciate. I do have to say, though, I'd guess MING either IS Basehead or has been highly influenced by said tracker. The style, whilst being much faster than Basehead's normal output, is arguably similar, as are some of the instruments used, this being especially noticeable at the start. So, enough of the preamble already.... The music is complex, but not manic. It has structure, classy rhythm and composition and, finally, a useful melody. My one concern for the first three minutes was that it desperately needed a "lead" focus. During this first part, it seems to me to be crying out for a decent lead break. There are lots of little plays from various instruments but they aren't brought far enough forward, in my opinion. But do read on, dear reader, for this problem is remedied in an original way! In the middle of the piece, the volume level is lowered, as is the tempo, to form an interesting bridge section that shows off the composer's overall mastery of this art. Good. The end is a reprise, with the tempo whacked up, only this time there's a lead instrument playing over the backing, in a kind of "Indian(?) style." It's at this time you realise this melody has been there all along, but masked or subdued by other events and instruments. This, I find clever, in that it satisfies precisely what I was crying out for in the first part! This is the kind of thing that distinguishes an excellent track from a very good track. Another definite plus point is that in this piece, we are presented with a fair few modern styles blended beautifully. The tempo range is wide, and the work gone into creating such a variety is obvious. Again, another factor that makes this track stand out. MING asks in his sampletexts, "what IS this style?" I'll be buggered if I know. The classification of 'jungle/trance' might be putting too fine a point on a sound like this, but regardless, I like it! I'm now onto my sixth listening, and can honestly say this is a fairly unique track. When it finishes, I'll be playing it again; it's just so interesting. Brilliant even! And I do like reviews where I don't have to "scrape" about for things to say; so thanks, MING. I look forward to reviewing more of this guy's work and hope he can keep this kind of quality flowing. Go get! Playing note: it's a twenty-eight track IT, and a complex one at that, so you'll need either an AV/PowerMac (or one of those Pentium PeeCee things ;)) to play it. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Shrift ]========------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ I really did not like the first few patterns of this song. However, it wasn't until order 5 that I suspected something about this song. After the sixth order kicked in, I began realizing how schizophrenic this song really is. After that, the song was a lot more fun to listen to, because it became clear that my normal presumptions about what kinda music I could expect were made invalid by the author's energy. But I still didn't like the first few patterns. The transitions in this song are generally ineffective at conveying the breadth of the changes, because each transition leads the song into something a bit beyond the range of the previous themes. Not to mention the song moves very quickly, and eventually picks up over 26 tracks. This is not a glaring problem, however, because it is clear after listening to the whole thing, that MING isn't really playing by anyone's rules. Also, I might note that the transitions used in this song typically consist of significant changes/additions to the prior theme, effectively rebuilding the shape of the former. I really like the scratches and vocal effects, but the cymbals are rather unimpressive, and detract from the quality of the rest. The overall sample quality is quite good, and the samples are well blended into a pretty high quality overall sound. Stylistically, this song is a bit lost, but it is definitely fun (in a not entirely goofy sense). There are aspects about the song's themes which I consider beyond neccessity, but in the scheme of things, I guess it doesn't matter. Those sections, like the bold transitions, shape the song. I'm just not very sure what the author was really going for. It is my impression that MING let the song go a bit beyond his ability to control it. Whether this was intentional or not will be left to someone else. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Mysterium ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Ah! As the tune begins, I reminisced on the good 'ol days of Lizardking and Dr. Awesome. This tune hit me as a throwback to when tracking inspired originality and music other than cliché 'techno'; and I applaud innovation. But for all the song's worthy aspects, some items stood out as unpleasant. Every song has its downsides. In Fishbone, the samples seemed quite noisy and irritated me. If MING had used clearer samples, the general effect of the song would have definitely intensified. Furthermore, while this song reminded me of MODs, at times it sounded like a MOD! We live in an age of XMs and ITs, and MOD quality just does not cut it anymore. Sure, I like MODs, but my expectations for contemporary pieces remains well beyond the threshold of MOD-dom. This quality can be easily observed in an entire run of patterns. However that does not remain the only instance where this is evident; much of the song continues in such a style. Also, often I felt as if the plethora of instruments created cacophony, diminishing the mood of the piece (as with pattern 20). Now, let's move on to the enjoyable qualities. As I have mentioned before, the innovation and the regression to the pre-16 bit era impressed me. I welcomed MING's great use of bass (I truly love well-tracked basslines) and appopriate use of drumloops. I say appropriate, because most trackers utilize drumloops "just because," and do not make the loops fit the music. MING avoids such adverse use of the loops and thusly adds to the flavor of the music. The overall effect of the tune is entertaining, and I found myself rewinding some parts of the song so that I could hear them again. So pop open Cubic Player or Impulse Tracker, hit play, and let the music sensate your body! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Husanak ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ In Fishbone's sampletext, MING asks "What is this style?" The simple answer is, well actually there isn't a simple answer. This is a fairly unique style that I have a hard time putting into words. What I do know, however, is I liked it, whatever it is. In terms of composition, Fishbone is fairly conventional. There is a nice airy introduction followed up by a couple parts comparable to a verse and a chorus; there's a breakdown and, eventually, the tune ends. That's really the only thing I didn't care for in the composition--the ending. There really isn't much of a conclusion to be heard, to my ear it seemed a little week and anti-climatic. Technically, MING is a good tracker. The tune flows nicely, the samples all work, and he uses effects and volume changes to put emphasis on what needs to be emphasized. What really makes this tune for me is its originality. MING has experimented a bit with this one. He really has forged something new; but there is, however, just enough familiarity to make the tune interesting. The main part includes a brass-type melody which really worked nicely against the controlled chaos of the percussion and backing parts. Well to sum up, it's an average tune in terms of composition and the samples are mediocre. However, if you appreciate a tune that pushes envelopes and strives to be different, then this is great music. In fact this tune reminds me of a song from my childhood, "One of these kids is doing his own thing." /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This is a very, very worthy track. I've enjoyed MING's work ever since I first came across some on Usenet's absm (alt.binaries.sounds.mods) some time ago. In the sample notes MING asks us all "what is this style," and I have to say I'm also not sure. The one thing that does stand out is what a *good* style it is. I found it a mix between rave and straight dance music, and it's still nothing than can really be pinned down. For this reviewer, I cannot offer greater praise. My favourite tracks are always tracks that sound totally different from anything else out there or tracks that do a particular thing and do that one thing extremely well. On that basis, this track scores in both departments. The arrangement and coding shows the amount of love and effort MING obviously lavished on it; the clearness and sheer power of the samples also testify to someone who knows *exactly* what they're doing--whether you like this style or not. Download this track and I promise you will not experience the usual letdown. An excellent example of tracking talent, regardless of which particular program happens to be your fave. Hey, let me put this another way. I've already added this to my own personal collection of tracks *I* happen to like, and as far as I am concerned I can give it no higher recommendation than that. Do yourself (and your ears) a favour--feed them some Fishbone! /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Very cool...this song is really different, and is, in its own little way, a lot of fun to listen to, but why the author chose the name "Fishbone," I'll never know. The song starts out with a kind of bright but weird kind of synth, and bridges into a cool rhythmic/lead section, using drum samples in ways you don't normally think of. It's all very unconventional, which is half the fun in this piece. Several lead melodies come together to form a really cool effect, although none of them actually give the listener something to focus on; it's almost as if the leads don't lead enough. The song then bridges into a softer section that focuses mainly on the bassline without too much lead layering, which gives a break to the listener before exploding back into an even more intensely polyphonic chorus, which then transitions into a proper close for the song. Overall, the song was great mainly because it was different. It departed from the norm in many ways, and gave you something to enjoy. The only major problem here is, again, that the there never appears to be any lead melody to hold everything together, which actually might have been intended to add to its unconventionality. At any rate, a very well done, nice job. /----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ Nova ]========-------------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ This may be a good mod to look at when thinking about your next creation. There are some dos and do nots to learn from MING's creation: DO: Make sure you have a great bass sample DO: Spice up the rhythm section DO: Make the song lively DO NOT: Drown out the rest of the song with bass DO NOT: Drown out the rest of the song with bass I realize that those two 'do nots' are the same thing, but it's such a major flaw that I thought it needed to be mentioned twice. Right away I noticed that, "Hey this song has some good bass samples in it." But they soon overcame the rest of the music. The hihat and crashes need to be brought out more as the bass just drowns the high end (treble) effects out. I even turned off my woofer just to try and hear the rest of the song. When I *can* hear Fishbone's rhythm section, it sounds well composed, upbeat and lively. I could definitely dig this song better if it were cleaned up a bit. This mod is definitely jungle, and probably not trance but dance. File this one under 'remix needed' or 'learning opportunity.' -----================================================================----- "Wake Up and Dance!" by Cheech the Sneech of FLiP Productions (??ch IT, xx:xx) (cs-wuad.zip [243K/330K]) "Wake Up And Dance! is my first 'Dancy-Boogidy' song. I usually write melodic piano music, as you'll be able to tell if you really listen to this, but I think this song turned out really well. It's set to loop, and has voice samples from Willy Wonka, Tron and The Mask. I think you'll like it, no matter what your favorite style is." [Cheech the Sneech] [Dance/Light Rock/Fantasy] Samples -----------------. Originality -------------. | Technical ---------. | | Composition -----. | | | Overall -. | | | | | | | | | | | | | | ==================== Rebriffer 95+100 85 90 85 MING 90+ 95 75 77 80 Fanta C 86+ 88 89 80 92 ChroMix 76+ 80 83 75 70 WolfSong 76+ 77 68 76 74 /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ ChroMix ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Strangely, this song reminds me of some of my own earlier dance experiments, or perhaps even some of the more "serious" stuff I've been doing lately. The song starts out with a pleasant melody with chords that at first made me think I was listening to Children by Robert Miles. The song then kicks in with some hats and a sort of 80's-esque bassline, which went pretty well within the rest of the song. Then, the drums move in with some odd speech samples for transition. The drum loop used here is most definitely taken from Set Adrift on Memory Bliss by PM Dawn, which isn't much of a complaint, since it's used well, but I, for one, believe it is ripped and used far too much by trackers in general. A synth-flute is used for the lead melody, and it's rather good...almost powerful in a way. On first listen (before the song loops, that is), the song is really great. The pleasant main melody is played a few times, while breaks and that sort of thing are placed in between to keep things moving. I especially liked a sub up effect brought about by a movement that starts fairly early on. Very nice. The panning job was also very good. Good panning is something I always look for in dance tunes because it's usually not something dance people worry about. After all this, the ending of the song was disappointing. Cheech's looping it only made the song seem even more repetitive, which was the last thing it needed. If the song would have just ended on one of the samples and echoed out, that would have been cool; something to give the song a sense of finality and closure. Don't get me wrong, the execution of the looping job itself was superb (I didn't even know it looped until I played it twice and checked the order list), but I just didn't think this type of ending was appropriate. Other than that, I do think the song was really good. The overall melody, bass, drums and synths were all pieced together well, but not in as energetic a way as the title would indicates ("Wake up and Dance"? How about "Dancing in My Dreams"? :-)). Not bad though, really. With a few minor changes, I think this song really could have been excellent. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ Rebriffer ]========----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Gorgeous intro here from the oddly named CTS, but what's in a name, eh? The opening piano and string arrangements were so good that I had to listen to it several times so that I could concentrate on the body of the tune. Still, I thought, if the intro is that good, the rest just can't be bad. And you know what? It's a lot better than good, even. Now ain't that a surprise? At the same time, I defy you to get past that opening without wanting to play it again, and again, and again.... I find it hard to categorise this track. In common with the bulk of decent modern composers, CTS has a depth, style and energy that can only come from the heart, and it shows. It's a kind of dancey track with a beautiful bass riff that just about punches your ribs out, and a very clear vocal sample that is used sparingly but with great taste. Although I eventually started to find the track a little same-y, it's the kind of same-y that I can definitely live with. One for my own playlist methinks. Yet another IT track that goes a long way to vindicating the case for Impulse Tracker being the logical progression from ST3 (which is now very long in the tooth). It defies description, therefore, to hear that Impulse's creator (Pulse) has discontinued work on any further versions (it's now at 2.12). When is the MOD community going to start supporting the people who give all their time, love and energy to provide us with all this amazing *FREE* stuff? Bitching and moaning at each other is never going to help either programmers or composers, working together just possibly might. Ooops, where did that soapbox come from? Okay, apologies to CTS for taking up his reviewing space with my more general moans, but good artists like CTS (and all the countless others) *depend* on the good will and generosity of tracker program makers such as Pulse. It hurts *us* as much as the programmer when people disrespect so glibly the time effort and sheer *love* for the art these people show. /-----------------------------------------------------\ )------------------------========[ MING ]========-------------------------( \-----------------------------------------------------/ Yeah. Wake up and dance. You'd better, or this reviewer will come and shoot ya. I mean, I don't think I've heard much that really made me wanna dance as much as this. It's not really a dance tune, it might have some ryhthms and occasional features from the light and shallow part of the dance music pond, but I'd classify it more like Light Rock than anything else. Pianos, wash lead guitar, melodic kinda bassline, and light, hectic drumming. Add to this a set of dance beats, occasional synths and some funny voices, and this is what you'll get. No, you need a set of killer melodies too, and funny little breaks with cool little voices. You also need a composer behind it with all the tracking knowledge you could ever wish. Not that it's technically perfect, but it's done well enough to not destroy the tune. WUaD has all that. WUaD is one fantastic little piece, radiating coolness and uncensored joy. The only real complaint I have is about the ending. Play this in Impulse Tracker (which almost every IT composer wants their work to be heard with), and it just keeps going and going. It loops from pattern something (last one) to pattern three, and you get the whole thing overandoverandoverandoverand.... Or play it in a standalone player, and it simply cuts. Not very attractive. Frankly, what I really wanted to hear when we got to the close would is anything but this. Was a nice rounding out so hard to produce? Or did Cheech the Sneech want us to dance until we passed out in miserable heaps on the floor, bleeding feet and sweat soaked garments everywhere? That, my friends, would be true sadism. 'Course, we'd probably love every minute of the torment. With a tune like this, I know I'd dance all the way to total collapse. /----------------------------------------------------\ )-----------------------========[ Fanta C ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Wake Up and Dance! is a piano piece of sorts, although I'm sure the author could easily dispute that and I wouldn't argue too hard. If it isn't a piano piece, maybe one could class it as a semi-demo job, albeit a rather short one. This track has an excellent electro-bass sound, the other instruments are fine as well (electro-flute, piano and percussion). My only gripe is about the voice samples used here. I can't make out what they're saying, and in my opinion, they add nothing but bytes to the module. Cheech the Sneech is another author that can walk and talk at the same time (compose and track) and as such this is a high quality track. Good music, good composition and good sound. The outstanding aspect of this track isn't so much the melody, which is very good, it's the work that's gone into the backing area--the bass and drums. Very busy, which I always appreciate and which garners any module a respectable rating. I liked this one and appreciated the work I was presented with. /----------------------------------------------------\ )----------------------========[ WolfSong ]========-----------------------( \----------------------------------------------------/ Hey, neat! A dance song with a melody! The composer says it's a dance/demo song, but I didn't hear the demo side of it. Then again, it isn't completely dance either. The chords and melody were too involved for most dance pieces. There is the good ol' dance song piano chords, vocal samples from various places and a really cool beat, but there is also a bass line from a rock song and a nice echoey lead guitar playing a catchy melody. I wish the composer had decided to throw in a few variations for the percussion. It's a good beat, really, but it's just so unchanging it does get a little old after awhile. I thought that the chords and melodies that the composer used were a refreshing thing to hear in this kind of song. Too often, a good beat seems to be an excuse to not actually write much of any music. Believe me, a couple of listens and you will be humming along with this song and dancing at the same time! -----================================================================----- "