DragonAvenger

ReMixer name : Thunder Thouin real name : Yan Thouin website : https://www.youtube.com/user/ThunderThouin userid : 11481 Name of game arranged : Shadowrun (SNES) Name of arrangement : Reborn Name of the original composer : Marshall Parker Name of individual song(s) arranged : Morgue Link to the original song : Contribution : Marc-André Tremblay for the electric guitar at 2:29 Hi! So here's a remix of the morgue theme from Shadowrun on the SNES. I love that game because it introduced me to the cyberpunk universe back when I was a kid. The soundtrack was not very conventional compared to other snes titles but it fitted with the mood perfectly. I always told myself I should cover one just to pay my respect to the game ! At first, I wanted to do something like "Rites" from Jan Garbarek but I moved away from it since I couldn't properly emulate the different articulations of the sax on my current setup. You can still hear some similarities in my arrangement (flutes) but it's really thin. I mixed a lot of stuff in there.. electronic with orchestral, middle eastern voices with distorted percussions.. and even a banjo! It was intensional. I wanted to represent the blending of different cultures and styles that occurs in a world like shadowrun. I decided never to use synthetized electric guitars again in my mixes so my friend Marc-André Tremblay did the part (with the echo) for the crescendo that lead to the ending segment. It's subtle but it really adds up. All my thanks goes out to him for his help. So here it is, I hope you guys will like it! Cheers!

I am definitely not a fan personally of the stiff writing of a lot of the parts, but if that were the only issue I had I'd be OK with it. The arrangement is a bit straight forward, but there is a lot of extra stuff that is going on that I think is good, so props on the personalization. 1:51 and on stuck out as the strongest sections to me in terms of the personalization, but I felt like there wasn't a strong enough soundscape to really drive this home. Andrew has some good tips for that, so I suggest you look into that. Spending some TLC on the soundscape will really put this over the edge for me, though I wouldn't mind the stiff piano and strings getting a bit of a change as well. I'd say your call on the latter, though. NO (resubmit)

Glad you pointed out the other source you used here, but I am going to stick with my vote from before in terms of the production. I feel like the track needs a bit more fullness to give a better impact and will make the groove feel better. A little more volume, especially in the bass will be a good start, and some adjustments to fill out the soundscape. Good luck!

Feeling on the same page as Joel and Andrew here. Lots of really fun parts, and I like the choice of instruments overall. The jazzy feel is pretty sweet as well, though I wasn't feeling the looseness of some of the parts. I think the transitions between the songs is definitely not as smooth as they could be, and the Lavender section feels a bit too left field compared to the rest of the mix. The gents and lady are also correct that there could be some stronger panning to give all the parts more breathing space. I think this is a pretty unique take on any of these tracks, but honestly I'd love to hear you focus on just one or two and really expand out on the arrangement and have more tie-ins to the melodies and harmonies. I don't think the medley idea is a bad one, but I think the focus is stretched a bit thin for the length of the arrangement. Hope you smooth this out a bit, definitely a fun listen! NO (resubmit)

Starting work on my gifts! Excited!

Wind Scene is this 600 AD OCReMix arrangement by kLuTz. Sounds cool, just wanted to point that out.

Signed up!

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NOOOOOOOOOOOOOoooooooooo........

Slightly biased...

Agreed with the opinions on things being a bit crowded overall. I think that while you could go and clean things up a bit it's at a point right now that is above the bar, though it's close. The vocals have a lot of emotion in them, but I kinda wish they'd been a bit stronger. I feel like they don't cut very well into the mix, and using some multi-layers would have made a difference in their presence. That being said, I know full well that it isn't easy to do that, and the vocals work pretty decently as-is. I think this is a very close call, and I'm willing to give it a pass. It's a fun track, and really expands well on the original in terms of style. Hope to hear more vocals from you! YES (borderline)

I have to admit I wasn't feeling the intro up through around 1:23, but after that things really started to pick up energy-wise. The arrangement is somewhat borderline in terms of interpretation at times, but there is a good deal of personalization you've added, so I think you're good there. I'm a bit more on the fence in terms of the soundscape you've got going here. I feel like a lot of the track feels a bit too thin, and part of it lies from the samples themselves, and the other part arises from the balance. A stronger lower-end would help the track feel more full and help things groove a bit more. Similarly, the kick drum could use a bit more oomph to it to drive the beat a touch more. I think I'd like to see this adjusted a bit before I am completely sold on it, but I could see myself being the odd one out. Good luck on the rest of the vote! NO (resubmit, please)

Kris and Brent nailed this, so I'll sweep in for the final vote. I'd really look into not overdoing the production and making this too mechanical. The arrangement overall is not 'simple' exactly, but really needs the emotive playing to sell it fully, and right now it's not quite where it needs to be. I'd say the piano sound itself feels just a bit thin, but I'd suggest getting a few more opinions on that first. Kris's suggestion of mastering both hands separate may fix that issue as well. Really on the right track, but needs some more work. Hit up the WIP forums to get some more advice, and really take Kris's and Brent's words to heart here, you're close NO (resubmit, please)

Jooooooj-flesh, we has it

I agree with Justin a ton, I think he really mentions all the parts that really need some work here. I'm just on the other side of the fence with the decision, though. I really think the spit-shine on the balance especially will really benefit this mix and bring it to the next level, and it's not quite making it as-is. Would really love for you to clean this up, the arrangement is really solid. NO (resubmit, please!)

Kris nailed this, and the other gents backed it up well. I'd like to note that the backing piano part sounds pretty mechanical, and some humanization there, or even a little bit of rhythmic variation might help out. This is a bit true to some of the other synth sections, as well. The balance and mixing on the drums and such are the bigger issue, though, and definitely should be addressed. Good start going on here, but I think it needs a spit-shine. NO (resubmit)

Love the grooviness! I would have never thought of this track being arranged this way, so kudos on the creativeness and all the additive parts here. The brass is sounding pretty good, and I think that really added a nice touch. I'm diggin' YES

The other judges have some great critique for you, and you should definitely heed their advice. The parts that I felt were in most need of fixing were the overall repetitive nature of the remix without a lot of variation, and the super mechanical feel of the parts. In terms of arrangement, I don't mind so much that it is repetitive as much as the fact that it's nearly copy-pasted in sections. Adding little variations, changing a few notes or rhythms, adding n some other parts will really add a lot more spice to the mix and keep the listener engaged. As Kris mentioned, the mechanical feel is probably intentional, but I agree that it goes a bit too far to the point of me losing a bit of interest. I'd do some fine adjustments, maybe have one section be more mechanical to showcase it, but have other parts and sections have more humanization. As a side note, I wasn't personally feeling all of the quoting, but I didn't feel like it was a huge detraction for the mix. Might be more personal taste, but I tended to zone them out more than anything else. There's a good start here, and it will really be little adjustments throughout that will get the track to where it needs to be to pass. I hope you add a little polish to this and send it back to us! NO (resubmit)

Birthdayyyyy!!!

Not much to add what the others have already mentioned. I do think a little more personalization in the beginning will really help give the track an edge over the original and draw listeners in sooner to your work rather than waiting until further in. There's a lot of good production advice from the other judges, and I'd definitely like you to fix up that hat and snare. Aside from that, I think you're really on the right track here, and some tweaking will do this a lot of good. Good luck! NO (resubmit)

Yeah, in the end I can jump on the DaVinnie bandwagon here. The high end especially just needs to b cleaned up a bit and I personally wouldn't mind you changing a bit of the organ around . I do want to mention that the mix overall felt a bit like it was rushing, but that may have come from listening to the source first. I think dropping even like 5 BPM might make a difference here, but I wouldn't start over just to do so. I think you're closer than you think, but it will need some good finessing. NO (resubmit)

Super high energy in this mix! There's quite a lot going on at times, and while it does get a little cluttered in some of the busiest sections, I don't feel like it's a huge detractor to the overall piece. Love the fake-out ending there, nice touch. If I had to critique something that hasn't been mentioned, I might say that the soloing feels a little stiff at first, and could be humanized a little more. Nice work! YES

Will echo this as well. 1:12 in particular shows off that the lead guitar is missing a little bit of body. Aside from re-pointing that critique, I'm in harmony with the rest of the votes here. The later soloing works out really well, and the arrangement is a solid personalized upgrade from the original. Very cool. YES

Had to listen to this one over a few days, actually. Overall agreed that the sounds aren't super unique, and maybe a touch repetitive, but I think that when you listen through a few times you can appreciate the different layers that are being added on. Similarly, even if the 8-bit section is a bit 'generic', I think it suits the song very well and makes for a good change of pace. I could easily see this going either way, but as-is I think it is above the bar and would be a solid addition to the front page. YES

Birthdayyyyy!!!