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Castlevania - Vampire Killer(80s remix)


Just Coffee
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Track has been submitted

Original Post:

"Yeah, it's another Vampire Killer remix. But I can't help it." :(

Finally pushed through the block I had and got this out of it. It's another retrowave remix. This time I've take ideas from 80s cop movie themes and a bit of Michael Jackson. The initial idea was to essentially recreate the prologue as an old horror movie trailer and then Vampire Killer as a pop-ish/dance-ish cop theme. And then "Thriller" got mixed in there. It's the cheesy chip sfx break.

The toms, I might redo a few parts. It doesn't sound like it's intrusive I think so I might not. But let me know if you think it is. I've made the hand-off synth during the chorus to be a more whispy/flute-like sound because I felt like was clashing with the main synth a lot. I might change it again. Let me know what you guys think. Feedback away! :)

v2
-lowered sample levels so they just sort of sit in the background instead of being prominent during the break
-replaced hand-off synth
-took away some highs from main synth for warmness

v3
I felt that the track needed some escalation of some kind during the second pass. Just a little to give it more variation. So I added a keytar to just play around on the side and I think I might have given the song a slightly different flavor now. I mean, I like it. But I'm not entirely sure about how to mix it in place too so I'm on the fence about whether I should keep it or not. Thoughts anyone?

unmastered v1 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6MyiCdTp6ojN0MzdjZlNVRnNGs
unmastered v2 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6MyiCdTp6ojUF9LRkJfUEM1b28
unmastered v3 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6MyiCdTp6ojQTAyMHJSUEtKcE0

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Edited by Just Coffee
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You had me with the cowbell lol =D A bit too much sampling going on for my tastes but otherwise I enjoyed the warm electronic soundscape that clearly harks back to 80's analog gear, but still comes across as modern so if you were going for more authenticity, you might need to de-modernize it a bit. Not that it's needed though, the song's pretty charming as is, even if it doesn't have huge amounts of dynamics. 

ps. are you actually the mastermind behind ayssntittays? :-D that video is a work of genius. 

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10 hours ago, RiverSound said:

You had me with the cowbell lol =D A bit too much sampling going on for my tastes but otherwise I enjoyed the warm electronic soundscape that clearly harks back to 80's analog gear, but still comes across as modern so if you were going for more authenticity, you might need to de-modernize it a bit. Not that it's needed though, the song's pretty charming as is, even if it doesn't have huge amounts of dynamics. 

ps. are you actually the mastermind behind ayssntittays? :-D that video is a work of genius. 

The sampling was my way of making it feel cheesy. I might de-modernize a bit more but I'm not really going for full authenticity. When you say "doesn't have huge amounts of dynamics", what do you mean?

PS. Yeah, I am. Thank you! I wouldn't say I'm particularly proud of that one but people seem to like it a lot. Haha!

6 hours ago, AngelCityOutlaw said:

Your 80s remixes are absolutely the best

Thank you! Would you say this one is a bit too fast for it's style? I'm thinking of slowing it down just a tad.

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I really like the arrangement, but it almost sounds more deconstructed than the original. It's almost like you wrote the source tune for the source tune, if that makes sense. If you want to give it a real 80s feel, I would suggest using realistic samples for instruments like bass, guitar, and some drums (toms, snare), because those were certainly available then, but keeping the 80s synth and sound effects. I find it's that wacky contrast of organic and artificial that  defines 80s music, especially pop like MJ. The lead synths at 1:00 and 1:30 seem a little off, though. Not sure if that has anything to do with what RiverSound said about being too modern (and it might be one of the synths you meant to change anyway).

Are you sure you can't reference the Super Mario World castle theme at about 0:20?

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On 4/30/2016 at 11:11 AM, glasfen said:

I really like the arrangement, but it almost sounds more deconstructed than the original. It's almost like you wrote the source tune for the source tune, if that makes sense. If you want to give it a real 80s feel, I would suggest using realistic samples for instruments like bass, guitar, and some drums (toms, snare), because those were certainly available then, but keeping the 80s synth and sound effects. I find it's that wacky contrast of organic and artificial that  defines 80s music, especially pop like MJ. The lead synths at 1:00 and 1:30 seem a little off, though. Not sure if that has anything to do with what RiverSound said about being too modern (and it might be one of the synths you meant to change anyway).

Are you sure you can't reference the Super Mario World castle theme at about 0:20?

Thanks! If you mean it's not as close to the source, then that's fine. I'm not really aiming for full 80s authenticity. It's more like I'm trying to capture the feel of 80s music if they had been recorded in the quality that we have now.

That's actually the prologue theme before stage 1 slowed down to half. I probably should add that to the post.

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5 hours ago, Just Coffee said:

Thanks! If you mean it's not as close to the source, then that's fine. I'm not really aiming for full 80s authenticity. It's more like I'm trying to capture the feel of 80s music if they had been recorded in the quality that we have now.

That's actually the prologue theme before stage 1 slowed down to half. I probably should add that to the post.

Ah, now I understand the vision. Sort of like a Castlevania Redux. Reminds me of what they did with the Ducktales re-release: same aesthetic, but modern resolution and samples.

The second version sounds much more cohesive (sweeping synth "whooshes" help with this) and balanced. I love the Konami pause sound halfway through, by the way. Punchy percussion near the end is excellent. You could submit this now and be a shoe-in. Great work!

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1 hour ago, BorgMan said:

I'm loving the 80's vibe.

I'm having this here banner in my sig? /shamelessplug

They're very nice banners. And the timing is uncanny. I'm just about finished with this one and was looking for my next project. Just an hour ago, I was listening to a Sonic track of a game that I've never played before.

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Yea I figured right off the bat you weren't trying to make it sound like it was made in the 80's, just imitate the style&analog sound. And it works =) This track is just great fun. I first listened to it with a bad pair of headphones so the song felt a little flat, hence the unnecessary comment about dynamics... The new version sounds really really good, you took it in exactly the right direction with added warmth and the samples sat better in the background. The evil chortle that closes the song out is awesome and embodies the wacky spirit of the song nicely. Take it to mastering and... maybe submit? The production is solid as hell so no problem there but I'm not sure whether the old geezers of the panel have gripes with overt sound effect sampling. 

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Added version 3

5 hours ago, RiverSound said:

Yea I figured right off the bat you weren't trying to make it sound like it was made in the 80's, just imitate the style&analog sound. And it works =) This track is just great fun. I first listened to it with a bad pair of headphones so the song felt a little flat, hence the unnecessary comment about dynamics... The new version sounds really really good, you took it in exactly the right direction with added warmth and the samples sat better in the background. The evil chortle that closes the song out is awesome and embodies the wacky spirit of the song nicely. Take it to mastering and... maybe submit? The production is solid as hell so no problem there but I'm not sure whether the old geezers of the panel have gripes with overt sound effect sampling. 

I think the sampled phrase is short enough and in a good spot to make the transition. So I'm not too worried about that. I am on the fence on whether I should go with v2 or v3.

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By the Count's pointy dentures! Please, please keep the second half of v3! Everything after the Konami pause sound is gold. Before that, I prefer v2 (v3 seems a little more crowded and... technical? = less fun). Adding the guitar and additional sfx after 2:18 was genius. IMO, blend the two and submit this bloodthirsty masterpiece!

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