*NO* Kirby's Block Ball 'Breakout'

[Liontamer]

ReMixer: Hollidayrain
Name: Sreyas Krishnan
E-mail: sreyaskr@msn.com
Website: www.soundclick.com/hollidayrain

ReMix title: "Breakout" ( <---Mp3 can be downloaded from this location)
Game: Kirby's Block Ball
Song: Level 1 Theme ()
Platform: Gameboy

First of all, I have to say that Kirby's Block Ball was such an unbelievably addicting game. I remember playing this for hours on end about seven or so years ago (good times...). Not to mention, the soundtrack was just as addicting as the game! The game, on the whole, was like Breakout on steroids.
That leads me to the remix. One day, I incidentally found myself humming the tune to the level one theme. Then it hit me, why not do something with it? So I decided to re-write the whole thing in a minor key to see what it would sound like; and sure enough, it sounded pretty good. After this, I just went ahead and did my club trance thang, as it were, and after quite a bit of work, I finished it up. The title Breakout seemed appropriate both because of the game and the way I felt after listening to this track for the first time (like going for a 10 mile run hahaha).

Thanks in advance for any feedback you all can give me!

-H.R

Oh, and btw, I had to pull the plug on that Wario Land 3 project. At the time I was making it, I only had the demo version of FL Studio, so I couldn't save the project file :\. Maybe someday I'll get back at that one....

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http://snesmusic.org/hoot/kingshriek/KirbysBlockBall_v2.7z - Track 5

You should try developing backing instrumentation that's a little more substantive than that basic clap groove at :30; it's bread-and-butter dance/trance stuff, but it didn't fill out the track well at all.

Decent stuff at :43 adapting the source well for the genre, but as far as the melodic interpretation, that was basically it for the long haul. It's not inherently bad to just arrange a limited section of the source, but I think you've gotta take it in one or two more directions to provide some more arrangement substance.

There were some dropoffs and buildups, but the fullest sections (e.g. :43, 4:04) were only barely above 2nd gear when they needed to be in 3rd, IMO. You've got to give the track some more dynamic energy.

The potential's there for something strong, but it hasn't been realized yet. Keep working on it, Sreyas, this was a good start!

NO (resubmit)

[Palpable]

I had this game too but I found it infuriatingly hard. I don't think I even got past level 1. Nevertheless, the music holds up.

Your arrangement is easy to listen to. I like the new chords, the new melodies you've added (especially the piano stuff), the general mood. The use of the same melody in the same way so many times was a little disappointing, and I wouldn't have minded seeing it applied to some different instruments, or bringing in the b-section melody.

Production had its problems. The leads are thin even in the "3rd gear" sections. Beef up those leads with some fatter leads, and you might want to bring up the backing parts as well. A few of the instruments felt too muffled, like the piano and the cymbals, possibly from your reverb settings. Allow more of the dry signal through, or if it comes down to the sample, try finding a higher quality sample.

This is the best I've heard from you yet, Sreyas, and if you keep improving like this, we'll definitely be seeing you on the front page soon. Fix this one up and it could be the one that gets you there.

NO (resubmit)

[anosou]

My main issues with the production is how muffled and "weak" some parts were, namely the lead and some of the backing arps. The kick and bass are very loud compared to the rest of the track but still feels a bit thin. Scaling back on some reverb, checking the levels and some slight compression might help you here. Otherwise most sounds had a good quality to them and there's no need to switch.

The arrangement could've varied the theme a bit more. The break with piano and synth lead was pretty and is a good start for personalization. Much because of the rather flimsy sound of some of the synths a lot of dynamics are lost in the arrangement, be sure to automate volume if nessecary to create good builds. Also, it's kinda boring that you use the same snare fill every time you need a build-up ;P

Overall this shows a lot of promise but needs some fleshing out. Variation in the arrangement is key and production needs to be brought up another step. Keep at it though because this is quite an enjoyable track!

NO