[Liontamer]

Greetings djp/judges,

Well, it's certainly been a while since I last submitted anything (http://www.ocremix.org/remix/OCR01210/, way back in 07/2004). In order to get back into practice, I thought I'd finish off this Earthbound mix I had started some time ago before being sidetracked by a few hardware failures and a certain MMO which shall not be named. The most time probably went into some of the details, like the sequencing on the hi-hat line near the end, which I'm pretty happy about. Stylistically, it's pretty much all over the place (as usual).

Anyway, here's the relevant info:

Original track..: "Tessie!" from Earthbound
Remix title.....: Brainshock
Remixer.........: aluminum
File............: MP3 192kbps CBR, 4.71MB, 3m25s

Links:

Primary:
Secondary:

Here's a reference to the original:
http://www.blurringline.net/files/au...sie%21.spc

Thanks!

--
aluminum

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http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=mo2 - "Tessie!" (mo2-067.spc)

Man, dat shit is loud. The intro here is supposed to be based off the 9-second intro of the source. Stuff kicks in at :40, also based off the chords of the original's intro (see :04-:08 of "Tessie!"). While not derived from the melodic components of the track, those arrangement ideas are frequently the foundation of the track.

Loud-as-hell strings from :50-1:08 (referencing :09 of the source) had some awkward note-to-note movements, but the energy was good. Felt like the claps first used at :41 should have had more meat of 'em; they were pretty flimsy as is and didn't fill out the track well or blend with the other sounds.

Probably the third mix in this batch where I felt the drums used here (1:08-1:31) didn't click with the rest of the instrumentation. Caught the liberal referencing of :20 from the original with the lead writing from 1:08-1:26. 1:31-1:49 (referencing :20 of the source) was a bit weak with those bleh brass and string samples, but at the end of the day you acclimate to them and the arrangement stands up.

The e-piano from 1:54-2:39 was even more liberal inspired by the :20 section of Tessie!; it's original enough where I'm essentially regarding it as a wholly original idea. Good job bringing the arrangement full circle at 2:39 while still introducing some subtle new ideas into the picture.

I'm a fan of liberal mixes as long as the connections are apparent to me, but even then we seem to be going into pretty liberal territory. When you don't analyze these tracks when judging them, it's VERY easy to go "well this sounds well put together, so I've gotta assume the arrangement is fine". Regardless, once I spent the time to make the connections to "Tessie!", I was solid on the arrangement side. Volume could definitely stand to be toned down, but otherwise some solid craftsmanship. Great to have you back, alum.

YES

[Malcos]

Yeah this is loud! This mix sounds good though, and the liberal arrangement (I only really recognised the intro on the first listen) is very liberal indeed. I do think this is borderline too liberal, this is just inside guidelines imo. However, this mix has a lot going for it. It sounds original, has some good arrangement and so the interest level for me was high.

YES

[zircon]

Wow, some really neat sound design things going on in this mix. I liked aluminum's other stuff and it seems to me that he has only improved. Neat rhythmic gating and stuttering effects, nice non-traditional pads, what sounds like vocoding or formant filtering... man, just props all around on the creative production end. Goes without saying that the arrangement is strong too. I don't think it's liberal at all. The chord progression primarily locks it in, comparing the two side by side I don't think anyone would have trouble figuring it out. Certainly once the melody is showed off, it's not hard. E.Piano is a little harsh but hey, RHODES baby, RHODES!!!

Anyway... yesh, thwomp likes mix.

YES

[pixietricks]

Woah, Nellie! That electric piano is mixed waaaaaay too loud. Other than that (and the somewhat awkward fade into the strings again at the very end), this is a no brainer.

YES