Eino Keskitalo

Are my headphones broken, or does a fart cushion feature prominently on this track? --Eino

Along with Tackle's Ball of Balos, this is my favourite track from the CS remix project. It perfectly channels Cave Story (the intro makes the hair on my arms stand!), but the whole flute-rocking vibe is completely original, fantastic playing! Like someone said before, for all the length the piece has, it never gets boring. I love it when the bass drops out for extended periods of time - like djp said, it adds a floating quality to the track. And when it kicks back in, whoa! --Eino

Uuuh, uuh, uuh, one of my favourite source soundtracks. Even though you asked for arrangement comments only, the bass is so overpowering as it is it's a bit hard (for me) to hear past it. But you'll fix the muddiness, and I like the bass in general. Ok, arrangement comments. I really like the drums, love those little rolls (or what are they?) on the snare. It's quite slow, which gives a very tense/anticipatory feel to the track. The organ is a bit.. light for that. It's also so quiet it's hard to notice. Which isn't necessarily a bad effect, it works great in the support role in the b-part (1:05 starting). I also *love* how the bass goes there. I think in general you could add some tense soundscapes, sfx-style things to the mix, there's quite a bit of room there and it sounds a bit sparse, like there could be more stuff happening in there. I'm just absolutely, absolutely ENVIOUS about the variations on the theme you start throwing in at 2:50. That's awesome, amazing stuff, hair-rising, back-of-arm-tingling! Wow. This makes me happy. --Eino

Weird harmonies at the start (once again a piece I don't know as the original), but the only thing that actually sounds bad is the piano chord at 00:14. Or possibly how the string instrument goes up till 0:14. Something there doesn't mesh for me, although what (I think) you're going for is good. I like how this sounds, although it has trouble catching my complete attention. I get the feeling it's lacking a centre, something which to follow throughout. I don't feel it "resolves" to anything. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy it, but it has potential for more. --Eino

One Must Fall rules! That vocal could be tighter, but it was fun to hear. Sexy Loch meshes rhythmically better and sounds really, really, really, spooky. --Eino

Whoa, the bass does chord changes! Yes, that livens it up a lot. Maybe it also loses some of the "intensity" that comes with keeping the bass at one chord. (I personally like the effect a lot.) So you might want to consider doing that somewhere in the more melodic parts. Doing it in one spot might be very cool. I think you've also reduced the amount of sounds going on. I kinda liked it that busy. With the bass moving around more and less audioshrapnel flying through the air it does sound less energified than the previous one. On the other hand, I think the audio quality in general has improved a step - don't know if you actually did any mixing/mastering changes apart from the bass and removing stuff. Overall I think this was very much an improvement. Great going! --Eino

Sounds pretty good to me. Good energy, drives forward. Lots of attention to detail, especially the continuously changing percussion. Lot of it to me sounds like not-the-greatest-samples or whatever but the end result is pretty good. I like the synth textures, especially the intro bit. Hmm. Intrestingly despite all the detail this piece sounds pretty static to me.. but in any case, I've listened to it half a dozen times quite happily, so there might not be anything wrong with that. I'm not head over heels, but I do enjoy listening to this. --Eino

That's DEFINITELY a happy accident that should be written into the arrangement proper, repeated a couple of times and what not. Just in my humble opinion of course, but there's potential right there! --Eino

I like the general sound of this one. Synths mesh into the rock band sound quite nicely. Overall the arrangement is quite intresting, apart from the ending - I agree with Roz's feedback on that. This baby deserves a blast after the build-up! I don't like the piano much, somehow that note sequence doesn't sound good at all to me, even though it's the same as the guitar before, isn't it.. strange that! Some of the guitar playing needs to be a lot more fluid. That's my major beef with this track. Namely, the acoustic strumming in the intro, the acoustic "leads"/picking in the intro, and the electric lead. They need to sound more fluid, natural and lively. The lead is a major feature and simply has to sound better (it even sounds a little off key to me), and the guitar at the intro is right there from start making a first impression, so it should be better as well. I'm not quite sure if the sound of the acoustic guitar is good in the intro. I don't know if it's too lofi or not lofi enough! It might be that the playing just needs to be tighter so it'll sound good. I really like the synths there. There are some wtf chords in the distorted backing at 01:07-01:09, 01:45-01:47, 02:11-02:13 and 02:24-02:25 - it sounds like you make a mistake. Of course, you do it consistently four times so it's not a mistake, but a bad part. Change it. Overall though, the distorted backing works well and sounds good, as do a couple of other guitars: the figure that starts at 01:47, and the low distorted/flangered guitar at the end. Also, bass guitar works good. You've got a bit dirty sound on it, I think? That works well for the track. Overall a very promising track, and a creative arrangement (I trust - I don't know the originals) so it's very much worth working on! Keep up the good work! --Eino

With left hand, you mean the melody (first just the same note) you start at 01:35? That's a wonderful bit, indeed. (Also, the second part, where it moves to those minor chords?) I have to admit, this has started to grow on me as it is. And I usually do like this sort of stuff, it has the kind of mood I like, good bass/chord changes, good texture on the piano, so I should like it. Now I've started thinking it ends where it should really take off.. but when a piece is "too short", I usually think you should just listen to it again. I don't know, maybe I'm just getting overcritical.. I'm eager for that finished version. --Eino

I like what you've got here. But in my humble opinion it's crying out for some foreground action. It sounds like the piano part from a duet with another instrument. It's pleasant as it is, but a bit bgm:ish. If you want to keep it solo, you'll need more variation/soloing style stuff (precise musical therms here..). I might change my mind with a better recorded version (although this one has it's own charms). Heh, I really dig your Leafcutter mix too! --Eino

Hehe, hope I'll still like it. Good call, it was quite drenched in reverb. Moderate reverb should be good. That's probably part of the problem - now it really sounds that at places you just add some notes with the sole aim to be more liberal with the source! Of course you have to be interpretative.. I don't know CT soundtrack through and through, so what are the originals in this one? I have the rip from Zophar; the first theme you have is "The Day the World Revived" and the second is "At the Bottom of the Night".. did I get them right? I could do side-by-side comparison and comment on your creative choices on the arrangement. Give a bit more detailed feedback where I think your interpretative choices work and don't work (all in my humble opinion of course). If it's mostly those two tracks, it sounds to me you're already doing pretty well making this your own piece, with just the instrumentation, pacing, dynamics et cetera. cheers! --Eino

This is deliciously sparse at points. 00:15 for instance sounds pretty good, with only the wobbling lead, bass and drums playing. That wobbly synth is a good sound. I'm reminded of Yellow Magic Orchestra's more somber tracks. I think the sparseness works. Minimalistic feel with really good sounds/production (not over-prodution!) could well be the raison d'etre of this track. I'm not familiar with the original so I can't comment on if it's too much like it. You say it's verbatim (I guess?) so definitely mess around with it. --Eino

I second evfan's tips. Good ideas with the drums/beat, add more variation and dynamics there. --Eino

I love the sound you have going on in here. As it is. Raw, noisy and distorted. Great groove! Or I don't know if that should be called a groove, but the rhythmic feel is great. You can feel the rhthym being pulled viscerally out of the bass and guitar. I don't want this one polished, at least not too much! I think even the drums are pretty fitting, while I can understand people consider them weak. --Eino

Glad to hear I've been of help! Man, this pair of ears can't tell which one sounds better anymore. 34 has kind of a rounder feel to it, and the instruments mesh together better.. maybe.. or maybe 33 is clearer, and less tiring to the ear? I can't tell anymore! They definitely sound different, though. No pumping in either, too! Still on the lead - no, it definitely doesn't need more complexity, it's a pretty complex part. What I meant to say is it needs life - it's a good part, but as it's complex any mechanical or wooden feel to it is magnified, and it does stand out - it's the bit in this mix that I don't like. I wonder if using a filter with key follow, so it changes according to highness of the notes, would help there. I repeat, the stops at around 02:20 sound great. I noticed another bit I like, the beat, especially the bass drum in the final part.. cheers, --Eino

I kinda like the "lofi" vibe on the beginning strings. It's probably not the best string sample in the world, but I just like how that sounds. You're somewhat too busy with the arrangement-wise, if you know what I mean. Try to keep it simpler and focus on finding *the* phrase/melody you want. It's a bit too much like laying notes on top of one another. You don't have to sound a new note every eight note or so. When the piano first comes in, it sounds pretty nice. I like that. I like the emotional resonance I get from this. I also like the voice-sound that comes in later. You add instruments/sounds slowly along the way, I like that. It gives the piece pace. Pace, dynamics and instrument/timbre choices show very good promise in my opinion. --Eino

My measly 2c.. Overall, sounding good. Lighthearted and fun. Not familiar with the original so I can't comment if this sticks to it too much or not. Harp fading out is weird. What's the effect you want? Do it with the arrangement, not with a mixing desk fader. The harp could pluck out some quiet chords at that point for instance. edit: Oh yeah, the "appetizer" idea works out for me. I have to say I really, really like how it sounds, but it's true, it sounds kind of lonely being the only synthy thing out there. Is it dry or does it have the same reverb the orchestra has? I don't know if it would help, but you could try to make it sound it's played through a speaker in the same room that the orchestra plays in. You can always put a synth player in the orchestra (and someone playing electric drums with NES sounds in the kit - heh, I'd love that). But you might ultimately be have an easier time with just the traditional instruments. --Eino

I gots me an Ibanez RG270G, is that good to rock out with? I have liked using "medium" or thinner picks when I want to do some flimsy strumming. I've started using thicker picks because I read Jerry Garcia liked them for a more round, warm and sustained sound.. I'm not a Grateful Dead fan, though. Heh. I can't play lead to save my life, but I like to think a thicker pick gives more of a sound I like there. I've only really tried plastic picks, I have to admit. Listen to the differences in sound with different picks, record yourself and compare.. ugh, that sounds complicated. Just try different picks out and go with what feels best for you. It is worth it to experiment. --Eino

Intresting source tune. I get the feeling you're going for a fun blues-rock styled arrangement. There are some good bits in the arrangement, but on the whole it's tad repetitive, and feels like it's not tight enough. I'd just want it to go faster and tighter, now it sounds somehwat plodding. On the good side, I think you got the intro down pretty good. Also the second theme with the strings comes on quite well. Later on the break with only bass and drums also sounds good arrangement-wise, but then it just starts repeating. The strings only at 02:27 is a good idea! You need better variation or some more material perhaps, to overcome the repetition. The samples sound like classic tracker music samples, used pretty much like they would be used in a classic (or just old) tracker mods apart from reverb. The samples are not good enough. You can do intresting stuff with "fake" or dated-sounding samples, but it's not happening here and I don't think you were trying that, either. If you were, the guitar intro would be spot on. It could be augmented with a real rock guitar/a real sounding rock guitar sample. But I digress. Part of the plodding feeling probably comes from the samples. Drums sound weak, the bass sounds muddy, somewhat mechanical and has no punch. You need better samples, and also pay a lot of attention to the sequencing to make the bass and drums sound dynamic and tight. The fadeout is too long and it feels like it doesn't resolve the song. A fadeout might be ok for this track, but overall the track needs to be tighter. I used the new checklist for this, here's my ticks: PRODUCTION [X] Low-quality samples [X] Unrealistic sequencing (bass is a major offender) [X] Drums have no energy STRUCTURE [X] Pace too plodding [X] Too repetitive You have an intresting source tune and a good take on it, with some good ideas for arrangement. You have to get it tighter and work a lot on the production. You have to work *a lot* until your piece is up to the OCR standard, though. Please don't be discouraged, aim at making the best music you can and don't worry about having to pass the bar. Your track shows promise! --Eino

[version 12] First of all, this is a great first effort in my opinion. About passing to OCR, I'd say working on your craft and making the track as good as you can and learning would be a good focus, not getting to OCR. OCR is a good long-time aim, as getting posted marks your arrangement and production is up to certain, pretty high-standards. But no reason to worry about it. That's just my two cents, for whatever it's worth. I like the general mood of this track. It feels like a chillout electronica track to me. Some of the leads are indeed a bit harsh/hard sounding for that. The beeping lead in the beginning sounds like it's in the right alley. The one that first sounds at 0:23 is less fitting. Some lowpass filtering might soften it - I don't know if FL Studio faciliates that, but if it does, experiement with it. (hmm, lots of instruments seem to have some sort of filtering on them, so I guess it does) There's a lot of nice background detail going on, which I like. The filtered, gated, panning "hard" sounding synthy thing, for example. I kinda like that snare sound you have there, but that's probably just me. If you really don't know how you'd approach doing a drum track for this, you could always try to get someone to collaborate with you. I've personally always found collabs the most inspiring way of doing music. I hope you keep working on this one! --Eino

I don't hear any pumping anymore, so that's good! Comparing the sound on versions 23 & 25, the compressed one sounds beefier and fuller. It sounds to me the bass is more pronounced in the earlier version, and that - with my headphones feels more right to the song. Now the brasses overshadow the rhythm+basses at :40-01:03 for instance. This could and probably should first be addressed by mixing. The pumping however (the bass instruments do it) is an unforgivable issue. I don't have much experience with compression and mastering, so I can't unfortunately give you tips with compression.. One thing that comes to mind, is that you should try to achieve the same sound by EQ and mixing, maybe compressing individual tracks, rather than using compression on the master track. Again, I'm no expert so you should consult someone with proper experience, but I think I'd try mixing it to match what that compression gave you. The trumpet/synth lead does sound better now. I'd still apply my suggestion to use filters, pauses etc to liven it up. I like the fadeout, I think it's a fitting ending for this track. Usually I'm not hot on fadeouts, but here it feels like serves a musical purpose. (I felt so also with Zircon's Dirt Devil FF6 mix for example, but a lot of people would have wanted the track to go on, so that's just my opinion.) Kudos to you for working so hard on the track! It pays off, it's going forwards a lot. Btw a sound that works great, so great I only now realized it, is the flanging constant synth that starts when the intro ends, with the rocking drums and pans around.. that, and the similar sounds/parts are very good. cheers, --Eino

Yeah, very good work. Camera & lights I too thought were excellent, and everything seemed very professional. I could imagine seeing this on TV. I subscribed, too. --Eino

I definitely like what you have here, but it's true, it's quite repetitive. The bass line sounds really great at first, but the repetition makes it grating. It might be that the filtering makes it so distinctive it gets all the attention.You could try filtering the higher frequencies out occassionally, or even using staccato/plucking notes to differentiate between parts. Or just dropping it for a while and going forward completely on the strength of percussion. That indian horn (or somesuch) sounds really wicked. --Eino

Ok, here's another couple of listens from me. You've added reverb to the percussion - good call! It meshes much better with the rest. Even though I though the dry sound was very cool, this is a better choice for the overall track, and that's what matters. The attack on the horns/strings/whatnot is much better now. You could afford to have them be a bit more agressive still, probably not by decreasing attack but triggering them a bit eariler. (I can't tell if you already did that). But I don't get that sense of lagging anymore. Overall, it feels more together than the previous version I listened, has more punch and drive. I'm not sure what has changed, but it feels obvious that the piece has improved. Or maybe it's grown on me a lot. Intro is very, very effective. The use of space is great. The pause at :22-:25, a bit from the horns again and booom, off we go - good stuff! Compression is still pumping, although much less so. You still definitely need to get rid of that completely. It's ugly on the headphones. I think you can best hear it when the organ is playing. I think bass drum hits corresponds to the pumping. The trumpet sound that plays the "dissonant" lead around the middle should be fleshed out. For a trumpet it sounds too fake, but you could play with filters, effects, volume and pauses (you have some at 02:19, those are great) to liven it up (it of course doesn't have to sound real). I'll add that I really like that bass thing at the conclusion of the middle "quiet" bit. Nice little detail! It's a bit different from the rest of the sound, but I think that's cool. Drumming is also good throughout. --Eino