Chimpazilla Posted May 2, 2015 Share Posted May 2, 2015 (edited) J warning: LOUD track Contact Information Composer Alias: Kyle Highwind Nik Kovitz WEBSITE (may not work): https://soundcloud.com/i-am-kyle-highwind YOUTUBE: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvUrLT0R5sc ID: 53850 Submission Information Video Game: Child of Light Remix Title: I Will Destroy This Heartbreak! Original Score: Dark Creatures (Battle Theme) COMPOSER: Coeur de Pirate, SYSTEM: PS4, PS3, PC Link to the original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=btKf2zVQP7E ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~COMMENTS (this crap is detailed): ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ TL;DR… TURN UP THE BASS!“Darkness like this will never leave. Darkness is eternal in the places abandoned by angels. But I’m still breathing. My heart still beats. Therefore, I can either choose to lie down and suffer, or to fight on and live one more day to attempt conquer the impossible. Observe. Watch as I embrace this darkness and create something beautiful with it.” –Kyle HighwindThe score I’ve remixed, “Dark Creatures” by the genius Coeur de Pirate, was featured as the main battle theme in the game Child of Light. The music aside, the game as a whole is an impacting piece of artwork in and of itself, as every aspect of the game was generated by some intricate sense of “art” (visual, musical, logical, systematic, etc). The music in particular did a fantastic job of evolving a sad, dismal outlook into a yet extremely hopeful attitude throughout the gameplay. This concept has impacted me personally as I have found a unique parallel [as addressed further below] between the game’s musical theming and my heartbreak.For my interpretation of “Dark Creatures,” I have used inspiration from many other musicians to convert this “epic/ensemble music” piece into an electronic-based score, including Seven Lions, Linsdey Stirling (aka my future wife), Danny Baranowsky’s “Clubbed Baby VVVVVVeal,” Two Steps From Hell, Engel, and the Fez remix “Pressure” by bignic. As I consider the song a translation of “my story,” I see the song in a matter of phases, as described musically and symbolically below. Phase 1: Using equalizer gimmicks, the song intros with a sense of brokenness and confusion, (radio static, distant sounding / broken instruments, detuned drumsets); the phase transitions with a sense of chordal progression that is symbolic for way my heart (the ensemble) was trying to survive the flooding darkness (the static / gimmick equalizer).Phase 2: Musically, this phase is the obvious “drop” in dubstep terms; however, I see it deeper as a representation of the moment JUST after Phase 1: my heart finally surfaces above the dismal darkness (static/equalizer) to only be beaten down by a more aggressive, evil, livid spiritual being (the “Rawr” synthesizer).Phase 3: This phase change is extremely obvious as the electronic instruments back down, and the orchestral instruments are introduced. This parallels to my heart’s struggle at the end of Phase 2, having been lain wasted by the monster of despair (the Rawr synth). With the creature of darkness finished with its destruction (Phase 2’s transition), my heart (the ensemble) lies weak on the ground struggling to pick myself back up. This parallel is awesome to me, as the ensemble (my heart) grows from extremely simple/weak (a piano playing the 1sts and 5ths of a G chord with minimal accompaniment) to more complex/robust (violins, a flute, and piano lead all working together to find the perfect chordal compliment).Phase 4: Then the battle begins. The strings that course across my heart begin to sound as a powerful violin ensemble while the creature of darkness tries to render my body inoperable. The massive down-beats that occur every 2 seconds represent the collisions between my heart and the darkness.Phase 5: The presence of the darkness grows stronger. But so do I. This phase, the Rawr synth and the violins accompany each other simultaneously, symbolic for the moment I grasped the thought that I have quoted at the beginning of the song description.Phase 6: This phase actually has two parts. The first being the seclusion of the violin ensemble from the rest of the percussion and synths, and the second being the 8 measures where I go mad with the Rawr synth. The symbolism there shows the [ideal but not-so-true] scenario where my heart triumphs, leaving the dark creature mortally wounded.Phase 7: A small tune taken from Coeur de Pirate’s “Pilgrims on a Long Journey.” This was actually added in after the song was completely finished. I didn’t originally plan on making the song any longer, I assumed that by the time I was done with this song, my heartbreak would be gone. This piano represents the lingering scars that will burn inside me for years to come I hope this remix can mean something to you. I pray that you can listen to it, and know that someone out there like you can sympathize with your heartbreak. I certainly sympathize. This song is a direct translation of my personal struggle with panic attacks, endless nights of crying myself to sleep, and unending darkness over the last few weeks. And while I know many people may not like the taste of music I have used, I consider this piece to be invaluable, as writing this score has helped me conquer the darkest heartbreak I've ever encountered. I hope you find value in this score as I did. Edited June 15, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted May 2, 2015 Author Share Posted May 2, 2015 J warning: LOUD. ---------------------------------- What an interesting and bold way to approach remixing this source! I like some of the raw synth choices to contrast the orchestral bits. Lots of cool glitching and effects. The gated synth has a little bit too much midrange. But holy hell... this is the most overcompressed track I've come across yet. SPAN is giving me a reading of -5.4db RMS. That's the loudest track I've ever encountered. There are zero dynamics throughout the piece as everything is the same volume. TURN. IT. DOWN. PLEASE. That said, I like the track so far. The sounds get repetitive and the writing is the same in the second half as in the first. Some writing variation is needed to distinguish the sections from each other. Really there should be some different sounds in the second half as well, as this is too repetitive. But I think this is a great start and I hear a lot of creativity in this arrangement. Source use is evident throughout. So yeah, please drop your limiter gain, and give us just a bit of writing and/or timbre variation in the second half, and this will be golden. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 14, 2015 Share Posted June 14, 2015 Holy shit, Chimpa's not lying on the volume, yeesh. Why's it done like that, Nik, it sounds horrible. String articulations at :42 were pretty rigid, though serviceable given their placement once other parts joined in. Arrangement's not bad, but it feels pretty droning and underdeveloped. From :56-1:38 &1:54-2:35, it's just the string pattern, the countermelody, the beats, and not much else; this is nearly half of the track. If there is more going on, it's difficult to tell given how loud & cluttered this is. Promising arrangement concept, but de-WTF the production, and make the writing of :56-1:38 & 1:54-2:35 more varied and interesting. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted June 15, 2015 Share Posted June 15, 2015 Not gonna beat the dead volume horse. I will say, though, it's difficult to evaluate other production elements when the whole song is so squashed together. Gonna co-sign on the repetitive nature of the arrangement here. Really is more room for expansion on the original motifs. Good start, but pull back those levels by probably a good 10dB or so and then work from there on the production side. NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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