*NO* Sonic the Hedgehog 'Marble Heart'

[djpretzel]

Akumajobelmont - Sonic 1 remix of Marble Zone i've entitled 'Marble Heart'.

i don't think i need to send the source material:P

Hey, it's Akumajobelmont here again.

It's with great sadness that i present this latest arrangement... see, i had plans of doing an instrumental version of this track AND a vocal version of this track... but not 2 minutes ago did i accidently lose half of my data for the song, and therefore I'm unable to carry through with the vocal version as i had planned, which has broken my heart.
Almost ironically now, do i present this original istrumental version of the track for submission. Sorry to all who were awaiting the vocal version... i'm just as heartbroken:(

Well, onto my remix i guess.

The Marble Zone theme has always struck me as unusually sad. Even moreso now. And when I decided to arrange the theme, i was in a pretty lonely place...
it's easy to tell every one your fine, and even easier to flat out deny that there's anything wrong. So this mix comes from deep down.

It's been arranged in the form of a melancholy chill mix. But the first thing i wanted to do with this mix was make everything sound odd. I wanted instruments such as the piano, for example, to definetly sound like it's intended instrument, but with a twist. To make it sound odd and slightly unnatural. I applied this method to all the instrumentation. Example again, the strings in the last section... i wanted to keep that beautiful String ensemble sound, but at the same time, i've worked them in a way so they sound otherwordly. So natural, yet slightly unnerving at the same time. The entire mix comes in waves... soft, to dramatic, a pause in the action, to a wave of sound, then back out again...

The vocal clips in the intro and outro are taken from the original radio broadcast of War of the Worlds.
Orsen Welles' delivery of these lines is immaculate and get right into the core of me, and i felt were a perfect fit with the track. Intro-ing with the piano (which i HEAVILY compressed to start the track off with an immediate feeling of oppression) and the quotes worked perfectly... and i am very proud of how well i handled the intro- to me, it's another thing i have yet improved on.

Oh, and on the use of the quotes, I don't believe that any copyright's have been breached or anything, as i've used only a few lines, and even then they have been used sparingly. They are general lines and don't refer to anything specific.

So yeah, i'm *very* happy with the way this mix turned out. It's a mix to cry to... i mastered it so it sounds like its all going on within your own head, and it's something different from my usual cheese-laden material. It was a healing experience creating this mix, so i can only hope it'll be just as moving to all who listen to it:D

Thanks guys and i hope this gets onto the site.

Cheers

-Robbie (akumajobelmont)

[The wingless]

I'll be the first to shout, "I don't judge sample quality! I'm the judge with a kind heart, and ample genetalia!"

But upon the first few moments of listening to this, I might have to switch-up my position on that campaign. The introduction samples are pretty rancid. Particularly the piano, which is synethic to a siliconian degree. But such matters are forgiveable.

It's the arrangement that gives me pause. The twinkly-high lead synth tends to wear out it's welcome in the middle. The wizzzy-paper-on-comb synth is also a little grating, particularly on high notes.

But I can appreciate the depth and breadth of what is being attempted here. I like the sound samples (a rare occurance, to be sure), and I like the atmosphere.

And, as we all know, the quickest way to Wingless' heart is through sentiment. Though the other judges are all about grim, draconian objectivism.

YES

[Vig]

hyperdramatic from the outset. it's not bad, and there are lots of cool things going on. but frankly, by the middle of the song my heartstrings can simply be pulled no further. you need to mix it up a bit. the song is dramatic but it's always hyperdramatic leaving it flat overall. you need comparison to know something is big.

cool ideas, please rework and provide a RANGE of dynamics.

NO

[Liontamer]

http://www.zophar.net/gym/sonic.rar - "Marble Zone"

Nice, Orson Wells sounds like Robbie from Jazz Jackrabbit "Have You Ever? (Down in Medivo)" (http://www.vgmix.com/song_view.php?song_id=4189). The tapering-off SFX cuts out abrupty in the right channel at :07. I liked the idea of the samples myself. The piano was delayed but kind of sparse, so I was glad to hear some pad-like stuff help fill things out at :29. The beats there were flat/plain, so I was still waiting for something good to take hold. Melody came in at :55, but the drums and beatwork is still rather plodding. The melody could be louder, but it's still pretty audible and has a good ethereal quality to it.

Later though, the melody really beefs up nicely at 1:51, though the beatwork is still the same and really needs more going on with it to retain my attention. The soundfield also started getting a bit cluttered underneath the melody. Wing's right though about some of the synths occasionally being shrill/grating in this section (e.g. 1:55, 2:05-2:13, 2:18-2:23, 2:32-2:36). It's not awful, but it is all detrimental, IMO, and I'd like to hear better separation of sounds and sound balance from then until 2:46.

2:45 dropped out the beats and featured the chorus with some nice supporting instrumentation ideas. One thing I didn't like there was that stuttering transition at 2:58, since it rather Fs around with the flow and seems like a one-off idea, but oh well. Regardless, I liked the FL Slayer-like synth under the chorus, as well as the second, quieter piano providing additional accompaniment.

The boring beats returned at 3:00. I go bleh on the same patterns being stuck to so doggedly. Needs some subtle changes to keep the foundation interesting. Wasn't liking the way the melody was arranged from 3:00-3:07 for some reason. Just sounds like it doesn't fit well. The soundfield was cluttered again from 3:00-3:44, so I wouldn't mind another J explaning what the situation was there.

Last section at 3:42 was decent, but still the same tempo and basic structure for the whole 4+ minutes. Track dragged along without changing the flow much. Vig's right in that the track really needs dynamics. Work on varying the beat patterns ever-so-often and seeing what else can be done to prevent the track from dragging so much. It's already decent, and I understand the attempt at dramatic chillout, but this needs a bit of refinement for me to pass it. I'm always a fan, Robbie, so definitely work on this one further. Should be a genuinely easy resubmission for you if this doesn't make it.

NO (resubmit)

[Harmony]

I’m real a fan of the approach Robbie. I don’t think I’ve heard this awesome theme taken so far down epic-melodrama lane with any level of success. I’m loving the mood setup by the intro sample but the piano hurts. The compression is cool but if the poor EQ is part of your effort to make the instruments more other-worldly, I don’t think that it was the most effective way to accomplish it. I’d like to hear a less muffled sound there and in other spots when the piano is exposed (e.g. 2:46). Nice job on the intro in general though.

When things get moving at 0:57 (after a simple but slick effect at 0:53) I don’t particularly enjoy the washed out nature of the soundfield. It was fine for the amorphous intro but from 0:57-1:50 with everything so heavily reverbed, the atmosphere is too indistinct even for the melancholy vibe that you are after. The lead synth is too wispy and reverbed to provide the kind of melodic anchor that is required there.

The layered lead synth that comes in at 1:50 is hot though and does a much better job of contrasting with the supporting elements. It cuts through the drama like a good guitar solo which makes everything seem to work together more effectively during 1:50-2:45. Still, there’s the issue of clutter and sound separation that has been mentioned. I think that can easily be affected by toning down the tail on the reverb and bringing some wider panning to the game.

Interesting thought with the quarter-note piano stutters but IMO the tempo is too low for that to work effectively. I think making the stutters eighth notes and staggering the velocity up and down between each would work a little better to keep the flow.

Again, even with the prominent piano/synth lead, 3:00-3:40 feels washed-out and cluttered. Centering the wooshes (3:14 and 3:28) and their aftermath only adds to the problem. I love the effects and the layered melodies in this climactic section but they feel jumbled together.

Very nice concept and decent execution. The major hangup for me though is the lack of clarity in the soundfield which I think primarily stems from the generous helping of reverb on just about everything. A vocal version definitely would have been cool, but I hope your data loss doesn’t prevent you from cleaning this up if it doesn’t make it this time around. Enjoyable but...

NO (Please Resubmit)

[analoq]

i neglected to vote on this last time i was hitting the queue but my mind has still not changed about this one.
this mix causes fatigue in a number of ways.
robbie must be mixing his stuff on PC/gaming speakers. it always sounds a little off.
too much high freqs, and overcompressed. (and i'm not talking about the deliberate overcompression)
there's a wall of sound that is lacking dynamics and is tiring on my ears.

i like the concept, but the arrangement itself is lethargic and just drones on.
everything feels tightly quantized and lacking human dynamics.

not bad, but not quite over the bar.
no