Gario Posted March 27, 2017 Share Posted March 27, 2017 (edited) OtaConnor Connor Boyd soundcloud.com/connor-boyd-17/ 21051 Final Fantasy X Stranger Seymour Seymour's Ambition Nobuo Uematsu http://ocremix.org/game/15/final-fantasy-x-ps2 I always loved this song, and was trying to come up with a fun way to do a new spin on it. I loved the music in Stranger Things, and was heavily inspired by it. Some deep analog with light orchestra! Edited July 17, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted March 27, 2017 Author Share Posted March 27, 2017 This is a pretty strange track, not going to lie... but stranger things have been posted before. It definitely sounds strange and alien, though, which I can see you were going for on this one. The production is sharp, and the compositional idea is definitely intriguing. The track is definitely static, and it recycles a lot of effects at various points throughout, which I admit I found distracting (like those various string tremolos and brass stings throughout). The change in synth composition of that backing arpeggio did help in keeping the track interesting throughout, so it doesn't cause too much issue, but it's something to be aware of. The static arrangement bothered me, but ultimately I think there's a whole lot more to like about this track than there is to dislike. Let's do it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 It definitely does drag, especially 1:53-2:53, which a whole minute of basically the same thing. That bass triplet plays nearly the whole time, and although the filters on it do change constantly, I found its character insufficiently changed to make it interesting. I would have loved for the changes at 3:30 to have been made at least a minute earlier. Still, there is a lot to like here. The composition is indeed interesting, and production is fine. Some more dramatic shifts would have been greatly appreciated, but I don't think it's quite enough to keep this from being a YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 5, 2017 Share Posted May 5, 2017 Really had to bump the volume way up to hear the detail work and textures here. I liked the adaptation of the Stranger Things-esque pulsing line as the foundation of the track, though the sound was noticeably drier & thinner than the style of the Stranger Things theme. While there's clear effort to changeup the instrumentation, and the SFX and brass & string swells were good, the usage of the melodic and countermelodic parts of the source felt way too straightforward. Where was the change in tone at 3:43 when it was needed earlier on? Pretty late to bring that in for a few seconds, and then just end the track without a real resolution. This felt underdeveloped to me, and I thought the static nature of the ideas added up to pull this down to a NO. The adaptation to this cover style wasn't insubstantial, but there needed to be more interpretation and development. I'd need to hear more substantial personalization/interpretation of the source's writing, or more original writing ideas integrated into this; just something to help this stand apart from the feeling of the original even more. Pretty good base here though, Connor; we'll see what the others think. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 27, 2017 Share Posted May 27, 2017 Gonna agree with Larry here that the track, while interpretive, still ends up feeling undeveloped and static overall. I think some more texture changes throughout would make a good difference here, and maybe an original section to break things up a little. It's definitely interesting overall, and there are some neat things going on. Definitely a fun, creepy, vibe. Hope you continue to work on this! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted June 21, 2017 Share Posted June 21, 2017 This track is deceptive in its nature, at first glance it seems very very static, but on further inspection there are textural changes in almost every measure, or little additions and details. However, this does not mean that the track is sufficiently dynamic. The issue is not with sound palette breadth but with the arrangement itself, which is where the staleness is found. The same arpeggio is a constant throughout the track, and if handled well, this kind of grounding technique works, if the other parts of the arrangement are evolving, but there's not much on that front. This is a good idea and you nailed the intended mood, but there needs to be more dynamism arrangement-wise for me to give it a go. For what is worth, it seems like I'll have this melody in my head for the rest of the day. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted July 10, 2017 Share Posted July 10, 2017 A very original take on the source tune. When the track starts up, things are promising, with a soundscape that fits your theme of inspiration well. However as things progress we run into a few issues. Your general progression in the arrangement here is lacking. You have a solid selection of sounds and a build up of parts that work well together, but they play similar things for too long. This wouldn't matter if the progressions were more varied and/or alternated more often, but the repeat points on the headlining parts are quite short. This is compounded by the repetitive arpeggio. The changes in background textures across the mix are largely lost due to its continuous pattern. It's quite distracting, and while I don't hate the pattern, it would be nice if it changed across bars, or at the very least, had some parameter tweaks to make it evolve over time. It's also quite dry compared to the other parts which exposes it further. You have a good overall sound here, production feels mostly solid with nothing (aside from the arpeggio) really standing out as a major problem, but it feels like you're only at the starting point of a good groove to springboard off. The content alone IMO is not enough to sustain duration. I would really like to hear you take this further. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted July 17, 2017 Share Posted July 17, 2017 What a concept! And I do love that Stranger Things track (who doesn't?). I have to agree with the others though, even with the cool elements here, the track feels dealbreakingly repetitive and underdeveloped. To do this concept justice is going to require some next-level arrangement and production, tons of automation and reverb tricks and filtering and morphing soundscapes/pads. But did I say wow, what a concept. Hope to hear it again! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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