*NO* Xenogears 'October Rain'

Remixers:

Avaris - Everything Else

Nutritious - Arrangement and Sequencing of Strings

OA - Live Guitars

Sausage Ninja - Percussion, Sequenced Guitars

Game: Xenogears

Composer: Yasunori Mitsuda

Source Tune: June Mermaid

Title of Remix: October Rain

This track is for the Xenogears Remix Project.

Aighty so I originally wrote the chords and arpeggio for this track in October 2007. There were plenty of cloudy and rainy days in Rhode Island at the time which set the perfect mood for the piece. I thought June Mermaid had some incredibly sad backing chords and arpegs. It was like a hidden part of the source tune that was juxtaposed to the melody. I really wanted to build the piece around these elements and not the melody in order to create something that showed the darker side of the source tune. I ran into many troubles along the way BUT I enlisted the skills of certain remixers who had the right expertise to help the mix reach it's full potential. THANKS DUDES! I used Kontakt 3's VSL, Sculpture, ES2, Albino3, Roland D50 Samples, a free piano soundfont, and Massive and lots of automation.

Thanks for listening!

~Shaun

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Letter says Sausage Ninja, tags say Skrypnyk; sounds like the former.

http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Xenogears_psf.rar - (204) "October Mermaid" (aka "June Mermaid")

Awkward intro. The piano/string combination wasn't very melodious, but we'll see where it goes. Also sounded rather liberal with the source.

:33 picks up a bit. The countermelodic piano sequencing was extremely mechanical, Shaun; kind of surprised y'all let this slide. I know the pacing is supposed to be very deliberate, but that's no reason the piano performance should sound so fake and lifeless. Also wasn't feeling that sound handling the melody at :34 at all; wasn't right for this texture, IMO.

Guitar joined in at 1:06-1:42 and didn't quite mesh with the other instrumentation, but that's more the fault of the other instrumentation. It did fill out the back nicely. Didn't really recognize the theme from 1:43-2:55, but the source is subtle enough that it's hard for me to pick up on anything besides the main melody. I definitely need another J to corroborate what connections they hear, though it wouldn't hurt to throw some more elements of the source in this.

Really though, the piano dragged this way down. The writing used one rhythmic style the entire time during the verses, which got boring, plus the positioning of it in the soundfield didn't do this any favors, since the piano sounded robotic as all get out. Provided the source connections check out, you rework the piano and you're golden.

NO (resubmit)

I'm not familiar with Xenogears, but I couldn't hear the source at all in this. It sounds a lot like an inspired by kind of thing - similar mood, similar writing, but nothing that directly points me to the melody or arpeggios (the piano was close as it got). Anyone who wants to point out the connections to me, I'd be happen to listen, but right now, it sounds too liberal. I did like the sound of the song and your writing, and the guitar was kickin', a great addition.

I would have liked the main melody a little louder, and the piano less stiff and dry, but production was pretty solid. Not much needs to change there. Arrangement is the big problem here, Shaun, but we'll see if anyone else has something to change my mind.

NO

I'm sorry guys but I really can't hear enough June Mermaid here. Some of the piano arpeggios have a couple of notes identical to the melody but it's never more than that so the direct connection to the source is lost. Chords, while similar, aren't the same either. Even though it's a good, atmospheric track it's not primarily an arrangement of June Mermaid.

Production was good most of the time. The piano was a weak point mainly because it didn't really fit in the mix, seemed a bit too loud and with a different reverb (or lack of reverb). Otherwise the melodic synth could be a bit louder.

Honestly though, this falls shot on the arrangement. Even if someone came along and pointed out direct connections it's too disjointed for me to pass, it's most definitely more an original track than an arrangement. Sorry man.

NO