september theme ... REVIEWS

[Glassback]

The 3rd ear band:

Griels: A Slice Of Moog
That upright bass is great! Great intro and I love the way it breaks into the tune proper. This really is superb stuff in every way.

Hovmod: In A Blue Moog
I really like this track as well, but the guitar sounds a bit out of place to my ears sometimes almost like it shouldn't really be there. Still a great track though in every other aspect.

Knockman: The Moog Kookbook
Every time I hear this I crack up. Love the kind of Pete and Dud speechy bits. The song's just plain mad and brilliant! Genius.

Oddbods Finger: Music For The Computer Age
[timewarp mode on]Hello and welcome to 1983.[/timewarp mode off] Who does this remind me of? Can't think. Great track though. *flashes into mind* VISAGE!! I like.

Scamme: Now you can rest
What a nice tune! I love the dubby feel to this but sometimes think that main lead could fatten up a bit. Might just be me though.

Please wait. Analysing further data...

[kovacs]

Kovacs: Bob's Funky Friday
Great bassline, nice rhythm but after a while I really wanted that lead sound to change or go away, sorry. Just that one thing kinda spoils a good track a little for me, a bit.

Busted! You didn't hear it through! The synth ends just before the 4 minute mark!

[Glassback]

Kovacs: Bob's Funky Friday
Great bassline, nice rhythm but after a while I really wanted that lead sound to change or go away, sorry. Just that one thing kinda spoils a good track a little for me, a bit.

Busted! You didn't hear it through! The synth ends just before the 4 minute mark!

Did too.
Actually, the synth lead drops out approx half way through as well for about 3 seconds, during which time I breathed a short-lived sigh of relief.
Anyway, it's not that I think it's bad - just a bit too much.

[Glassback]

Back and fourth:

You TRADE MARK : Europa And The Pirate Twins
Big Thomas Dolby fan here and I love what you've done with this ya mad sod! Banjo's and stuff. Fantastic! Really excellent cover even if I don't profess to favour covers.

Beardedone Ambient Synthesist: Mood For Bob Moog
Reminds me a bit of Cluster. Nice, spacy and dreamy.

rsmus7: Moogerrobber
This is freakin amazing! Twists and turns this way and that. Percussion's really nice on this and it's just a great tune generally.

Ezy Ryder: And Then There Was Moog
I like the drums in this. Could be a bit more upfront for me though. It's pretty kind of dark, this, innit? I like it. The lead synth sounds good and clear and the bass riff could be off a Nick Cave track or something. From when the choir and strings come in, it builds really nicely into quite the epic. Great stuff!


Oh, is that all of 'em? The silence took me by surprise there!
That was a great set of tracks people!
A fantastic standard.

[kovacs]

Kovacs: Bob's Funky Friday
Great bassline, nice rhythm but after a while I really wanted that lead sound to change or go away, sorry. Just that one thing kinda spoils a good track a little for me, a bit.

Busted! You didn't hear it through! The synth ends just before the 4 minute mark!

Did too.
Actually, the synth lead drops out approx half way through as well for about 3 seconds, during which time I breathed a short-lived sigh of relief.
Anyway, it's not that I think it's bad - just a bit too much.

Aah...yeah, see, my fingers got tired...uhm...

[AndreasE]

andreasE plucking joy from the ether, our endeavours attain a shining countenance, like a beam through which we pass, physically we block its path, but somehow it enters our hearts, we are its vessel, and a radiance issues forth.

So you would give a rating of 1/10 for this track ...



Thanks much for your poetic words, knockman.

Andreas Ehrnhardt: Moog meets Emerson
I'm liking this a lot. Nice production great little tune. Good lead and nice guitar but the percussion could be louder imo.

Many thanks for your nice comment, Glassback.

[AndreasE]

xyz

[knockman]

andreasE plucking joy from the ether, our endeavours attain a shining countenance, like a beam through which we pass, physically we block its path, but somehow it enters our hearts, we are its vessel, and a radiance issues forth.

So you would give a rating of 1/10 for this track ...

err, no. quite the opposite. i'm afraid my comments are not conventional, but this was a glowing review - i loved your track.



i often consider if i should do these reviews as we have an international community here, and living as i do in a culture where i'm not a native speaker, i'm aware of how things can so easily get misconstrued - but i gather my fellow native english speakers are as baffled by my words as anyone else, so i guess i'll persevere.

ah nonsense! the great equalizer!

[AndreasE]

andreasE plucking joy from the ether, our endeavours attain a shining countenance, like a beam through which we pass, physically we block its path, but somehow it enters our hearts, we are its vessel, and a radiance issues forth.

So you would give a rating of 1/10 for this track ...

err, no. quite the opposite. i'm afraid my comments are not conventional, but this was a glowing review - i loved your track.

Thanks much for the compliment, knockman.

[emdot_ambient]

Time for a little catch up work . . .

rsmus7 -- Moogerrobber: Lovely set of sounds and an interestingly shifting composition but somehow it feels missing a central direction; there's no discernable melody other than one oft-repeated arpeggiation, and it goes through many seemingly random change-ups. There are a lot of nice moments but ultimately I'm left wanting for some common direction . . . Okay, wait. It's much better on the second listen.

Liqh -- Funky Mooger: Play this one right after Moogerrobber and you almost won't notice where one leaves off and the other ends, except that this one has a solid direction. And, of course, it's funkier. Nice funkster groove, would have like a little more up-front P-Funk style Moog bass line but this one works fine as far as it goes. Fun little romp.

Slartibartfast -- Albinoni Adagio in Gm: Yeah, good song choice. Sounds nicely done, too. Great string sounds. My only issue is the reverb seems to be a bit too much, either that or the EQ's off enough to make things rather mushy in the low-mid ranges. Love the song, though. I know it's good when I start hearing all these new parts in my head, like analog tubular bell sounds and some improvisational variations in the bass line. That lead instrument that comes in at 2:15 is a bit piercing and unexpected. Love it all the same, thanks!

[Caco]

A few more comments:

Mystahr - Dear Mr Moog

A bit Repetitive yet still rather addictive.


Wopelka - Emoogation

I love your voice and really like the pecussive effects although initially I found the stereo spread of them a bit much on headphones but it sounds great on speakers though.


Sttjelle - I Don't Know

A really professional sounding mix. I really like the bass line and the stormy sounding drums. It has a 1980s vibe to it.


NikP2000 - A Sailor On Strange Seas

I loved the sound of the lead synth and guitars. What FX did you use on the lead guitar as it brings back happy memories of my sadly departed Korg U-Vibe pedal.

Emdot Ambient - Cybernaut

Again slightly repetitive yet still addictive. Laid back and relaxing.


Kovacs - Bob's Funky Friday

I found myself humming away to the bass line by the end of the track. I like the lead synth too but it was getting a bit much by the end. Sorry.


Scoops - The Telephone Call

Unique!! A really intersting track and the synth in the background gives it quite a dark feel throughout.


Glassback - Moog in Brogues

I really like this track, there are some fantastic sounds here and its all nicely mixed as well so that the 4/4 dance beat in the middle doesn't deafen the listener as all too often happens. Superb!!


Griels - A Slice Of Moog

A fantastic track with some really interesting sounds in it, I realy like the bassline in the opening 30 seconds.

[Diek]

Well, here comes another batch of reviews:

Scoops The Telephone Call
I like the idea of this song. A lot of freak "people" calling (one of them reminds me Joe's Garage) while the base runs ambient and straightforward. I like this song.

Sttjelle I Don't Know
Back again to electro. The base is a bit poppy but I like anyway. If it was more epic, this song could remind me Enya. The arrangement and production is quite clean. Not my preferred style but I like.

Glassback Moog In Brogues
Machines crying for the human friend. They want to be happy but they can't. Very well programed base and synth sounds. Who said machines have no feelings?

Wopelka Emoogation
Another machine lament. The ambient is obsessive and atonal. That goes with the theme this month. Hi frequencies are a bit harsh and make hard for me to listen the song.

Kovacs Bob's Funky Friday
Great bass and synth lead intro. tone change and back to tone. Right, base changed just in time for synth solo. Back to main theme but continuosly modulating. Perhaps here I would like a second theme. Second synth solo and back to main. Very well structured song. I like

More to come...

[Wopelka]

mchlwlsn - AllegroAssai

BACH is one of my oldest love in music. Generally sepaking, i don't like synth recreations of classical pieces. However, this one is very very well produced. You managed to keep a great deal of warmth in, as if each lines was really played live. The sounds are well chosen, i particularly like the bass line, which really sounds like a modern continuo - bass+harpsichord - a bit rigid, tho.

[You™]

Instead of overtly telling you which review is what, I generated a stereo sonogram of each submission and wrote the review immediately underneath. Maybe it will give you a different insight into your song and maybe you'll be encouraged to compare notes. Red is left channel, green is right - yellow is centered (G+R=Y in additive color mixing). Despite their original length, I've plotted them on 100 x 500 grids. You might be able to open the image in your favorite image synth. I used Metasynth.


Haunting and solemn with a sharp resonance etched in acid. Fairly melodic for an iterative composition but hampered by too much harmonic distortion and lack of dynamics. Might be rescued by a gentler mix and better gain staging.



You resubmitted so ignore this review. Above is what your first entry looks like.



One of these days we'll get our little unnamed project back on track. I can't help thinking of Brian Ferry when I hear you croon like this. Great words and verry funny piece, though with a sense of humor more like Godley and Creme than Weird Al. I confess that I've done my share of a capella synth stylings. Mine never sounded so polished. I like the mechanically insistent piano part in this as well as the synthetic filigree and scattershot choir parts too.



This is a very beautiful piece but that odd note every sixth measure is unsettling. I know it's intentional but I can't help but think something this close to perfection shouldn't intentionally jar the ear. Nice warm mix feels very analog, up close and personal. One of my faves.



Super quiet and contemplative, has a very 70s classic electronic krautprog feel to my ears - though some of the filter sweeps (especially in the beginning) are very aliased but that could be because you encoded at only 96 kbps. The structure is just liquid enough to slip through the pattern perception are a of my brain but it's as pleasant as it is gossamer.



Jarre inspired maybe, but there's a oversimplified clinical quality to this. It's partly the way the envelopes trigger - like they're robbing voices from each other. And it's partly the uniformly clean 48kHz mix that has little of the drift and surface noise you'd expect from hundreds of feet of patch cords and reel to reel tape that used to be required to make music like this.



I'm not sure if I grok the tribute of this other than title, but then again, one could make the case that I missed the point entirely with my entry. The beats, loops and all the dance stuff sounds fine, yet this is a bit thin for my taste - it's too perfunctory and antiseptic.

[AndreasE]

I generated a stereo sonogram of each submission and wrote the review immediately underneath.

Each one? Where are the others?