VEGANGELICA

Thanks, Freebase, mr dave, and AwwSugar, of course, for the feedback. Once I'm back from vacation at my computer with everyone's songs downloaded, I will give my feedback.

In reply to yours...

What?! Only the deer? I thought I had the chipmunks, skunks, and foxes funneled through that sucker, too!!

I actually haven't played around at all with separate vocal parts for each channel, but that's a good idea to break them up when I make a word-dense song, mr dave. Banjo, I wish! I just used a keyboard on a banjo-like setting. I liked that sound. I'm glad you noticed.

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Freebase Dali

With that many deer, I don't see how much else could fit.

Antonio

well i know it's a bit late for me, but here's a bit of a write up for my songs

Funkology-this was actually both the first official song i made and the first one i recorded. i used Cakewalk Guitar Tracks on my old computer 3 years ago to make this. as you can probably discern from the title it's a funk styled song that i made with a big improv solo section i put in the middle.

House of Dead-yeah, an electronic song, the last one i made a few weeks ago. if you heard any of my other forays into FL Studio, you may notice that this song is more ambience and less drums involved. I was making more of a theme for a horror type deal, hence the title.

Warhead/Weapon of Mass Destruction-made this on FL after a binge on some dubstep that i checked out, and here was the result

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Antonio

1. DF - Saving and Enslaving the World (from Mr. Dave)
- really drifting type of song, but at the same time a fierce and direct one with the effects you guys have. A bit wonky on the quality side of things, but still pretty good.

2. Dave, Evan and Jef - sail to the sun (from Mr. Dave)
- fairly similar to the last one but not as sinister or dark sounding. also, BASS IN YOUR FACE.

3. Panda Go Panda - Rather Warm, But Wet (from Mr. Dave)
- pretty chill interlude with a smooth bassline. like said before this does sound like a good inbetween song on an album.

4. Unchained Ballad - Somber Ways
- OOOOooOOOOHHHH, pretty creepy and mysterious. i'd expect this in the beginning of one of those horror movies about ghost towns. bit of an abrupt end, though :\

5. Unchained Ballad - The Wanderer
- you've got the title pinned on this one, echoey and mysterious sounding but with a gentle ambience that is like a wandering man who no one knows.

6. Unchained Ballad - Whale
- some more ambience with a bit of an underwater feel. almost magical

7. Vatos Locos Guitarristas - Los Caballeros del san Mondell (from Tore)
- liking the guitar intro and how fresh it sounds on the recording. the clip clops are a fine addition too.

8. Mette Marit - Flammenes Regent (from Tore)
- woah, that threw me off, but in a good way. like the whole feel of the song from heavy and looming to just danceable. good job.

9. Milo - Going Home (from Tore)
- like said before, really a good flash game intro, probably why i like it so much. just so cheerful and bubbly.

10. Space is the Place - Life Metal (from +81)
-liked the Troll 2 samples, haha. like the fuzzy guitar/bass rock instrumentation and i like the drums too.

11. Space is the Place - The Coral Sea (from +81)
- pretty nice electronic arrangement that's reminiscent of the Unicorns. only thing though is the timing at some parts, unless that's what you intended, of course.

12. Space is the Place - Blood & Milk (from +81)
-still in the vein of indie, but i like the variation from the last two songs to this. very folky and i really like the instrumentation

13. Stone Birds - A Breeze On the Sea
- well i have to hand it to you, Stone Birds, this is a VAST improvement from your first EP. the electronic sounds go well with your vocals and the ocean samples add some nice depth to this. well done.

14. Stone Birds - Flying Machines
- my favorite part of this song is the bowed guitar, like that your using extra instrumentation for your songs and i'm digging the ideas you have for them.

15. Stone Birds - Saviour
- pretty smooth sample in the beginning, only thing that i would say needs a little more fine tuning are the vocals which could use a bit of strengthening

16. Krill-Whale-Human - Boardroom (from Janszoon)
- wow, this is really a mix of all sorts of things! the samples and beats are their own thing and the vocals are really interesting with the changes and pacing. like the bass you added in too, pretty sweet groove.

17. Krill-Whale-Human - Mega-Awesome Dragon (from Janszoon)
- dig the effect on the keyboard and the time signature you've got here. the beats are well done too and i really like the dragging on the ground one you have.

18. Vegangelica - Evergreen
- pretty feel good song you've got here Vegangelica, even if the lyrics aren't necessarily that way. the violin is a very nice touch and your singing voice is very clear and a pleasure to listen to

19. Vegangelica - Free
- cool flange+violin intro, and how the violin goes with your vocal melody. only thing i'd suggest is to try switching to a clean guitar sound for the verses, cause while the flange is a nice touch, it can become a bit grating if used in the entire song.

20. Vegangelica - Isle
- like the drums and of course the violins and vocals, only thing that doesn't feel right for me is the effect on the guitar. distortion is a good idea for this, but this effect seems a little too boxy, if you know what i mean. still a good song.

21. The Disintegration Tapes - Identity Song [Demo] (from Rickenbacker)
- the main riff is Sabbath meets Black Flag, which i like, but the accompanying guitar sound/playing isn't too good. in fact it's actually hurting my ears. but yes, your punk voice is pretty good, demanding but not whiny like so many other punk singers tend to be.

22. The Bullet - Out 2 Haunt U (from The Bullet)
- eh, not really music, but i can see what you were going for with spirits haunting a man. kudos for trying to do that.

[skipping my songs]

26. Lawn Chronicles - Negating Expectations (from wolverinewolfweiselpigeon)
-wow, you have a very lovely voice. i like how gentle this song is, even though the lyrics are very bold and confronting. i'm really feeling a Rilo Kiley vibe here. good job.

27. Freebase Dali - 1up
- the intro and subsequent main riff is very nice and i like the ambient effects you put in for this as well as the beats which go with the song but at the same time do their own thing.

28. Freebase Dali - Caesura
- i really enjoy the piano and initial buildup for this song, especially when the rest of the electronic sounds kick in. really relaxed vibe and a lovely song to close off the MB comp.

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VEGANGELICA

The animals stack, Freebase. Under the deer is the fox, under the fox is the badger, and under the badger are the ground squirrels. That's how they all fit into the opening of a can.

Thanks, Antonio, for the comments. That was a good suggestion about not using flange the whole time, and instead switch to clean guitar for the verses. I hadn't considered that. Heh heh...distorted guitar...I just like the sound of it so much that I used it for "Isle" even though I felt it didn't match the rest of the song. Your comments are very helpful because I always go back to songs and work on them later to make changes. One of the things I want to do in two of these songs is remove or quiet down parts of the instrumental lines to add more variety, so having different guitar effects would be one good way to achieve this.

FINALLY, here is my review of everybody's songs.

1. DF - Saving and Enslaving the World (from Mr. Dave)
A mellow song with an experimental feeling. I liked the chimes especially, and felt the drums were recorded very clearly. I liked the low sound of bubbles being blown...at least, that’s what it sounded like to me! What produced that low, bubbly sound? The vocals are somewhat indistinct (probably intentionally so). It often sounded like, “Spread the word,” to me. I feel a little less distortion of the guitar would have made the guitar sit back in the mix more; sometimes the guitar felt too prominent to me.

2. Dave, Evan and Jef - sail to the sun (from Mr. Dave)
Peppier than the last song. Again, I especially like the relaxed drums. I wished the guitar would have been quieter at the times when the lyrics were sung. It felt like the singer was far, far from the mic. The guitar sometimes has a droning, low distorted sound that tends to predominate. This creates a noisy feeling, which is perhaps what was wanted? At 5:15 there were moments when the guitar was quiet so the vocals could be heard a little better, which I liked, although I still couldn’t understand many of the words. The song was on the long side, I felt, and could have been shortened to around 4 minutes without much loss of content.

3. Panda Go Panda - Rather Warm, But Wet (from Mr. Dave)
I like the burbly sounds and the low bass notes at the beginning of this song, which I felt was the most interesting of the 3 songs you included. Hey! Where’s the rest of the song?! Maybe the shortness of this song makes up for the length of the previous one!

4. Unchained Ballad - Somber Ways
Very pretty, delicate, eerie, gentle. I like the chime sound. What were you using to create that? Is this just electric guitar plus keyboard? Lovely reverb. I wished the song were longer.

5. Unchained Ballad - The Wanderer
The guitar effect is similar to the previous piece, and a similar short length. Have you considered connecting all 3 pieces together into one song somehow?

6. Unchained Ballad - Whale
Again, a very pretty, warm delicate feeling. I especially liked the warm, haunting vocals in this piece...whale-like, as the name suggests. I find the sad feeling to this song appealing.

7. Vatos Locos Guitarristas - Los Caballeros del san Mondell (from Tore)
Great, raunchy guitar in this song, complete with horse neigh and clippity-clop sound! I liked the “Heys!” and the sound of the fingers sliding on the guitar strings while changing chords. I imagine a bunch of Norwegian cowboys clanging their beer mugs together when I listen to this song. Nice twangy, “Western” solo electric guitar. And lovely whistling. I like how the song included different elements as it progressed. I liked the gun-shot and the “barbershop quartet,” too! Fun song, Tore! A nice ending, with the crickets. I guess the fire has died down, the horses are dosing, and the cowboys have fallen asleep in their sleeping bags under the starry night sky.

8. Mette Marit - Flammenes Regent (from Tore)
An ominous beginning...I love the deep bong sounds contrasting with the rapid beats. Reminds me of dubstep songs I like. Also, I like the contrast of the bell-like higher tones with the underlying rhythm, and the way you introduce and layer in new beat patterns, which keeps my interest throughout the piece. Major shifts occur at 1:54, 3:15, and 4:17, for example. The song has a lot of energy, drive, and variety, which I like, yet also has organization such that it doesn’t feel random. This was my favorite song of the three you submitted.

9. Milo - Going Home (from Tore)
A playful, light song...cute and pretty! I like the delicacy of the ding-ding line and the layering of the various little ditties in the song. Ahh...going home must be a happy feeling! The song has a very abrupt ending that startled me because it was unexpected. I’d prefer a gentler ending that involved changes in the song that make you know the ending is coming.

The rest of the review is in the next post...

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VEGANGELICA

Continuing my review of everybody's songs...

10. Space is the Place - Life Metal (from +81)
The beginning was interesting, sounding like electronic mosquitoes, with the somewhat humorous cries of “Oh my goooooooddddd!” I like the grungy sounding electric guitar chords when they come in with deep, warm, rumbly resonance, and the way the guitars quiet down when the angry vocals come in. I feel the spoken words need to be louder...I can’t make out many of the words. I enjoyed the drums throughout the piece and also wished they were a little louder.

11. Space is the Place - The Coral Sea (from +81)
The higher notes remind me of Pac Man sounds, which were fun to hear. I wish the bass notes in the song were louder, especially when opposite the memorable C-G-C-G synth solo repeated line. I like the way the song plays with polyrhythms, something I’ve been wanting to do. Interesting whistling at the end! I’m curious how you made that.

12. Space is the Place - Blood & Milk (from +81)
I didn’t expect an acoustic guitar song. I like the combination of acoustic and electric guitar. Was there a particular reason for having the vocals panning left, rather than being in stereo? The song has a light, lilting feeling. I wasn’t wild about the synthetic warbly sound that kind of sounds like violin with vibrato. I didn’t know why there was the vocal clip near the end (“the beat goes on” etc.). I couldn’t tell if this clip was supposed to relate to the earlier vocals. One change I’d recommend is in the beginning vocals: sometimes they were slightly out of tune, and they faded away...became quieter...a little too soon, I felt.

13. Stone Birds - A Breeze On the Sea
I enjoyed the beginning chime-like notes and the keyboard, plus the layering of sounds, including the vocals. I also liked the gentle feeling of the song...such as the light drums, and the sound of waves. At 1:30 I felt the higher harmony was out of tune, which became distracting to me, so I recommend re-recording that portion of the vocals.

14. Stone Birds - Flying Machines
Again, I like the layering of the vocal harmonies. Sometimes it is hard for me to understand the words, as if the ends of the words disappear (such as “bline” instead of “blind”). I felt the violin line got repetitive, since it played the same 4 notes again and again throughout the whole piece. Around 1:40 a very high bell-like series of notes came in, which I enjoyed, since they add variety...and they also showed up at the end, too, which was nice.

15. Stone Birds - Saviour
I liked the excitement of the fast-paced notes at the beginning, contrasting with the slower sweetness of the guitars. Very lovely vocal line at the beginning. This is my favorite piece of the 3 you submitted. I like the instrumentals and the simple, calm vocal line very much. The song has a sweetness and energetic feeling to it that I like. I felt the vocal line was out of tune sometimes, and improving the intonation in a few spots would help. I like how you stop the instruments at the end to just have your voice.

16. Krill-Whale-Human - Boardroom (from Janszoon)
I like the solemn, simple beginning, with the snap clap clap snap, the playful electronic sounds and vocal line, sounding like a robot. The combination of human sounds, the screaming contrasting with the clean instrumentals, was interesting. Is that a sound of someone making “raspberry” sounds with the lips? I liked that sound a lot! I wish I could hear more of the screamed lyrics better...I’ll listen again...they are screaming about the tediousness of a boardroom meeting...eating bagels, etc. Ah... “the meeting grinds on.” I love the pent-up anger of sitting in some boring boardroom meeting coming out in this song, especially the screamed line about getting the food and the screamed “Thank you.”

My one recommendation for the song would be to make the vocals just a little clearer...because, as you may know, I love words and really want to understand every one so I can squeeze out every bit of meaning from a song, Janszoon.

17. Krill-Whale-Human - Mega-Awesome Dragon (from Janszoon)
I like the funky rhythm, in which the silences become important. I also enjoyed the amusing flute plus other sounds, like the knocking rasping one. Around 1:15 the beat picks up. I can’t hear what the screamer is screaming. Is that you fake-opera singing? Oh! A trumpet! That was unexpected. I want to learn to play the trumpet, so the unpretty sounds of this trumpet interested me. It sounded very elephant-like. The layering of different beat patterns was my favorite part of this playful song.

21. The Disintegration Tapes - Identity Song [Demo] (from Rickenbacker)
Nice distorted guitar...rhythm and solo...at the beginning and throughout the vocals. I kept expecting drums to come in, or the lower notes to get stronger. Around 2:13 I think the solo guitar could be louder, to make it more of a focus. I hear drums, but very faintly...so I’d recommend those be louder, too. Around 2:40 acoustic guitar comes in, right? I liked that. Around 4:00 I like when the distorted electric guitar gets a little quieter (just playing held chords, so that the vocals are easier to hear). I expected the song to end around 4:30, so was surprised it went on so much longer. In this song, the electric guitars seem to have center stage, so if there was bass or drums, I recommend they be louder. At the end I picked out some bass notes, I think., which I liked, since they give more of a feeling of balance to the song, I feel.

22. The Bullet - Out 2 Haunt U (from The Bullet)
Rapid breathing, like a dog panting, on top of spacey instrumentals and someone dropping coins in a piggy bank. Oh! I remember this song from the songwriting section! You play a lot with your voice and the different sounds you can get, as well as “environmental” sounds...pitter pats, ruffling papers, sounds like someone is rummaging in a messy refrigerator, and beating a cookie rack, grunting at the same time. You have many interesting sounds in the song, which I feel would benefit from being shorter, condensing the sounds. Or, I can imagine the song being broken into shorter ones. You introduce many new sounds, which are clever and interesting (such as right before 12:00), but I feel they would stand out better if they were organized into separate songs or performances that each has a more unified theme. I’m on 5:10 right now in the song. Here you actually have a rhythm with fun squeaks, like squeaky shoes or faucet. I was curious how you would end the song, and you used your electric guitar. Yes, I did survive.

23. AFDEX16 - Funkology (from Antonio)
Very accomplished guitar and bass playing, which I expected! I like whatever effect is used for the electric guitar to give it that wah wah human sound. I assume the guitar soloist is improvising the tune while playing? During the song I found myself missing some drums or vocals.

24. AFDEX16 - House of Dead (from Antonio)
Sounds like an experimental synth-pop song...a very short one. I can imagine the song exploding into something with a strong dance beat.

25. AFDEX16 - Warhead_Weapon of Mass Destruction (from Antonio)
This was my favorite of the three you submitted. I like the layering and especially the low “woh woh woh woh wah wah woh woh” sound, and the way the song got quieter briefly around 1:30 to add variety.

26. Lawn Chronicles - Negating Expectations (from wolverinewolfweiselpigeon)
Lovely harmonica and light, warm guitar strumming. Your voice is very pretty and sweet, and the harmony is nice. I enjoyed the story you tell with your lyrics. I remember the original version of the song from the songwriting section, and I like the addition of the harmony in the lyrics and of course the great harmonica playing! I like how the song has a simple, airy feel...the instrumentals are light so the song feels like it has breathing room within it.

27. Freebase Dali - 1up
This is my favorite of the two you submitted. It starts with a lovely, sweet bell-like refrain and then the beat and the low notes come in. I like the contrast between the understory and the canopy (thinking of your song as a forest). Of course, I’d ditch the little vocal bit taken from some other person’s recording...the one about “space” and “three dimensions”–but you already know my preference in all your songs is to get rid of other people’s voices and just have YOU sing . This is a nice, compact song containing emotion, delicacy, and power.

28. Freebase Dali - Caesura
A more solemn song. I do like your piano playing, which has a modern feel to the chord progression. I like the eerie ambiance and the ticking clock that enter around 0:40. There is one sound you use that is hard on my ears...the high-pitched whine with a slight rasp to it? I’m not sure what it is, but I can hear it and wish it were not there...you can hear it right before 2:00. Maybe I’m part dog and it sounds a little like a dog whistle to me. As usual with your songs, I like the changes you introduce during them, such as the resonant high notes at 2:49. The balance in your song sounds just right. I can hear all the various lines well: piano, drums, higher notes, etc. I like the arrangement, too...such as at 4:20 when the original refrain of piano playing repeats. A very professional, beautiful song, once again!

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Stone Birds

For those of you who liked my songs

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Guybrush

Thanks for the comment and also the compliments and also the fitting imagery Possibly, I wrote this already, but the clippety clops are actually two coconut halves that I'm banging together. Thank you Monty Python!

Ooh, thanks again for the nice comments I'm sorry the ending for the Going Home song startled you. The truth is the song doesn't end at all - it just keeps going and going, but in it's original format it does so by skipping back to a previous point in the song. As an mp3, that doesn't happen and so it's just cut off. A bit of a bummer, I know!

The reason I made it this way, to just keep going without ending, is it's part of a set of almost 20-something songs I made for a platform game and I didn't feel that songs in a game which form a sort of backdrop to the going-ons should have defined endings. They should just keep going until the player does something that changes the game to a part where another song plays.

It does come at a cost though .. These abrupt endings as mp3 files bother me as well!

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Something Completely Different

mr dave

thanks for the comments i'll try to hit all your salient points hehe

again no elements of any of my recordings were done separately. it's just chance that the drums are clear in that first one, that and the fact that there's no bass player. the chimes / bubbles / underwater / bass sounds are all coming from a Nintendo DS using the Elektroplankton 'game'. lyrically 'spread the word' is actually 'save the world', or perhaps 'enslave the world'. Jef would purposely slur his words to cover up the fact that he normally never had any clue what his mouth was going on about while his body drummed.

for the 2nd track i did think about cutting it around the 4 minute mark but that would have meant chopping the 2nd solo and the lyrical 'conclusion'. it's not that he was really far from the mic so much as there was so much volume in the room that it was a constant struggle to come through clearly. one guy just couldn't ever stop cranking any knob that could be turned up which ended up getting me in the habit of setting up way louder than i ever needed to be just so i could be heard over him. while we were all big fans of lush wall of sound type music i can understand why obscured vocals could be annoying. so... here's as much as I can make out hahaha

and then, he sailed to the sun
unsure of what he could find
and together they make believe until they try

and they would teach him the lay of the land
and he would teach them the knowledge at hand
and then together they would thrive

until the coming of another
one that would decide to conquer
and they would stand up, against his lies

and they would band together
and they would join hands
and together they survived

and the usurper wasn't getting over it
he concocted another scheme
he cleaved the group
and they were thrown down
proof
is like
death

as he proves this earth round
he turns to her
for the insight, you need a wench

when she grabs it splits him apart
turn it around
as she played the sounds

and they were unaware
they were unaware of the travesty being committed

too late did they realize their mistake
when he had already taken all there was to take
but still he gathered up the countrymen
and they banded together as they once had

and it was
one lies to shine

and we go
they were all for real
and there were no trolls to lose their way

but they bind together
and they live together
they would make two

in truth
rebellion is not a thing
they killed the usurper

so now that poor island
is devoid of any life
it rots out, out in the sea

and if you ever happen to be in a seaworthy vessel
look for the ruins of the isle from you





it took some serious interpretation / guessing skills to get some of those lines, and still... hope you appreciate it hehe

as for the last 'song' that's all there was. just a funky throwaway riff while we were setting up. pretty sure there was a smokeable making its way around the room which is why i'm asking for water at the end hehe. the low burbly sounds are most likely from an old Korg synth.

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i am the universe

VEGANGELICA

Oh yes...now I remember you wrote about the looped song earlier, but I had forgotten! And those were indeed nice coconut clippety clops.

Ahh! Elektroplankton! That explains the sounds, then. I'm impressed your drummer is also the singer. I think singing while drumming would be hard, because drumming is so physical! Forgive me, because I probably should know this, mr. dave, but are you the guitarist? Are you singing, too?

Thanks for typing out the approximate lyrics!

Hey, I thought people were supposed to get the munchies, not get thirsty!

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