zShaye's audio Reviews on Newgrounds

[Moonlight Through Misty Air]

Tjis one sounds very perky, the percussion adds a lot in terms of the feel, without that i think the rest of the sequence wouldn't feel as powerful, but throughout the whole thing it feels like it's dependant on the underlying drum sequence. Amazing piece yet again.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Dang man! Thanks for all the love in the reviews. I hope these older songs of mine have been a good listen! <3

I really do love percussion. The melodics in this pieces were more of an excuse for the drum sequencing. I still get that way sometimes. Was a heavy main focus back in the day when I was still learning how to music (not that I'm still not, haha). Appreciate the listen. This was one of my like personal "landmark" pieces back then -- after making it I felt quite the accomplishment and it reinforced my continued creation. It was one of those like pivotal, "Yeah! I think I'm finally gettin' this!" pieces. I can recall working way too long on it, haha. So this one will always hold a special place for me.

[No Love For Spartacus]

I like the fact you started with the deeper sounds, and then introduced all the higher pitched sounds afterwards, the whole combination between everything is very usique, its definitely an experimental song at the beginning, then the melody comes in and i absolutely love the way it fits perfectly amidst the rest of the higher tone sounds, it all gells together nicely.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Thank the wonderful Bill Evans for most of the beauty in this. His modal playing is wonderful. I remember this just being a little experimental tune back in the day. That said, it did shape my future playing a good bit when I stopped sampling like this. I'd love to be able to play like Evans.

[Seats To The End Of The World]

At the start, it reminds me a lot of an old horror theme I heard a long time ago, the groovey trap drums kind of ruin the atmosphere you think it has, but it helps to morph the atmosphere into something else, which I like a lot.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

This song is a bit rough. I don't remember it sounding so rough back in the day, haha. If I still had the stems to this It would be fun to go back and retool it and sharpen it up a bit, feel like some parts are a little sloppy and some parts could be shortened a bit.

[Finding Your Dorsal Fin]

The raspy feel from this piano combined with the retro phaser sound mixes really well to make a melody, the hats also make it feel full. Over all the song reminds me of an apocalyptic movie opening, like The Maze Runner, or Divergent.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

I can recall having a lot of fun with this one back in the day. Real pepped out. Still figuring out breaks and effects and stuff with this. I did end up reworking it a bit later and reuploading a new version, if you wanted to check it out:

https://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/179622

Is it better? I dunno.

[My Breath Upon Your Hand]

This one feels really perky, like it's opening for a sci-fi film. The reverse effect is used amazingly to add before the phaser, these two transition into the lead very nicely, another really well-rounded atmospheric piece.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Man, I can barely remember doing this one, hahaha. Forgot I used vocals in this way back then. Singing into a set of headphones...or maybe a laptop speaker, I can't remember. Thanks for listenin'.

[A View of Crowds]

The grand piano always conplements rain sample really well, but all the other random sounds in the background somehow also goes really well with the sad atmosphere, I don't know how to feel when listening, but I like it very much.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

Yeah, this was a study in using found sounds as textures and rhythms and stuff. Feels very nostalgic for me whenever I listen to it now. Still like the way this turned it even after all these years. Inspired heavily by two of my most favorite albums by the Japanese trio, Motoro Faam. Highly recommend you check out their second release, "...And Water Cycles". Some of the most beautiful stuff I've ever heard. Very impressive arrangements andsequencing.

I have a follow up track/remix/sequel/???:
https://lapse.bandcamp.com/track/a-view-of-subtlety

Made many years after and on my latest album release.

[Sunlight Through Dusty Air]

I like it, the revered sounding whistle thing is really cool and adds alot of atmosphere to the strings. I also really like the tearing sound at the half-way mark before the bass, it reminds me of a tazor honestly.

LLAAPPSSEE responds:

First song uploaded here! This was the song where I felt like I was really finding a style and decided to go by a musical alias. Will always have a soft spot for this one. If I remember correctly...I think that sound was a closing dishwasher/rattling plates.