Eino Keskitalo

So good to see the first post updated, thanks Jaka! My UNATCO remix came back from the panel with some really good feedback. I've already worked on it a bit, and once I feel got a decent update done I'll update my WIP thread. Gogogo! --Eino

Sounds like Eye of the Beholder games, or Dungeon Master? --Eino

Well, personally I thought FFXII had a pretty good soundtrack, and this is indeed a really good piece. Hnngh, I wonder if I could squeeze together some time for doing this. Not before I update my Gunstar Heroes project track.. that's extra motivation then --Eino

This sounds like a cool project. The original doesn't run well on my Linux laptop so that's one reason for me to keep an eye out on this, so I'll be following you on Github. Also the original's music is good stuff! I can't commit to do music at this stage, but I will play the game! Good luck! --Eino

Got to this finally. Really really nice work combining the sources. I enjoyed the slowdown/changeup/source change thing 1/3 in. The atmosphere in the slowed down bit is deliciously desolate. The energetic parts are pretty powerful and driving, and work really well, and the sound is good there. Some of the parts felt a bit underdeveloped/-detailed: the very beginning up to 0:11 and 01:20-01:42 of the slower section I just complimented. With both of these parts I was thinking that the bass instrument sounded kind of simplistic, especially when it goes up. I think the problem is that I perceive that the bass is carrying these sections, but the sound in itself doesn't seem interesting enough. There's also a note in the bass line in the slow section - 01:41 and 02:03 - that sounds really off-key to me. The change-up at 02:35 was a bit surprising, it could have been set up or foreshadowed. In itself as a part it's very good, and the part that begins at 02:58 follows very logically from the 02:35-> part and the writing that precedes it. I feel a bit like if the part before 02:35 had been longer, it would've followed more naturally. Anyway, apart from the off-key bass note those are pretty minor nitpicks for me. Good stuff! --Eino

Some lead loudness was the only thing that made this feel not a 100% polished piece for me. Solid, groovy, lushy, lots of detail in there. Nice nice work. --Eino

Good work on addressing the issues! When I listened to this earlier today I thought the piece was just really, really together. All the polish you've put to the piece has paid off. It's still the same piece as a couple of iterations ago, where I was already enjoying it, but it works so much better now. I'm particularly impressed how you made the stiff percussion work - it's still stiff, but now it sounds right. And that piano, it sounds like it's the piano sound I've used myself ten, fifteen years ago in crappy tracker modules I made, where it sounds really cheap, it's still the same piano sound but now you've made it work, I think the sound really works for the song. --Eino

I got a comment about how static the bass is in the beginning, and I tried to address it by EQ:ing it down a bit more early on so it's not as prominent on bass-heavy systems. Let me know if it sounds strange. here --Eino

Bumpupdate, some additional bass filtering. Tried to make the long bass notes less intense. Final candidate 2 here --Eino

Happy birthday to DusK! --Eino

Happy to see this edging towards conclusion.. looking forward to the finished album as always! --Eino

I'd never thought of that myself. I tweaked the overall middle EQ a bit and it seems it balanced the mixing quite amazingly. Thank you! Apart from re-renaming the piece, I've given it round of polish, most notably the stereo image, and I think I'm finished. Which probably means it needs a tweak or two, but a mod review should help spotting those. Here we go! Kningjan Swordstyle final candidate 1 --Eino

I'm glad to see an update! It's fun to listen to this one after a while, it's really enjoyable. It evokes flying, gliding - would be at home in a Pilotwings game really. Only real crit would be that the tuned percussion around the 2/3 mark is still markedly loud. The structure seemed all right to me. --Eino

I concur with both points! I feel kind of like I have enough music for the next couple of years with all the bundles and what not.. --Eino

It'd be fun to be able to type that in as my DAW, yeah. One thing I've thought it might help with was to find collab partners when you're using one of the rarer musical tools. Such as a tracker. --Eino

Here's something I scraped together, it's a list of claims/expressions of interest & links to wip threads (come on, post more of those - it's kind of the point isn't it) since Archangel last updated the first post: Dj Mokram - Deus Ex medley Amphibious - ??? (Warcraft 2) Lasmush - (Unreal Tournament) mix: http://www.newgrounds.com/audio/listen/358119 original: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOH7PhF16f4 Groboclown - The Village (Little Big Adventure/Relentless) wip: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?p=861732 original: Groboclown + evktalo (eventually) - Ur-Quan theme *2 (Star Control 2) wips: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=38825 original: IsolinearMoogle - SuvwI' van bom (Star Trek: Klingon) evktalo - UNATCO theme (Deus Ex) Finished [submitted: 12th October 2012] mix: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?p=872011 original: Mykah - ??? (Ultima Online) XPRTNovice - ??? (Quest For Glory 2) Flexstyle - ??? (Starcraft) Esperado - ??? (Might and Magic: World/Dark Side of Xeen) Argle - Main Menu theme (Hocus Pocus) original: Magellanic - Tyrian Level Theme (Tyrian) [submitted, but WIP thread still ongoing?] wip: http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37013 original: LET'S GO! I'll take a look at the couple WIP threads I've not checked properly. It's been a while since they were updated, but hopefully it'll inspire the remixers to continue their work. Let's see some more wip threads, shall we? --Eino

Great to see an update (two in fact!) The bass harmony remains problematic, I have a little more in-depth analysis/feedback below as it's killing this gorgeous piece for me. If I got it right, the bass 0:33 goes: F# F# C F# F# | F# F# C F# F# | E E B E E | E E B G# G# | I love how having F# as the first root note of the chord sounds unexpected (at least to me), but the C should really be C# in the first two bars of the bassline. It's hard to hear that it's wrong, but it is off-key and sounds awkward. (If you really want to keep the C, you could resolve it by playing C C# in sixteenth notes instead of C in an eight note, that would sound good I think). The bass from 02:29 goes: G G D G G | G G D G G G# | E E C E E | E E C G# G# G# | G sounds really off-key in this section, and C as well, although not as obviously. Changing them to F# and C# respectively would make the harmony work and, I think preserve what you were going for. I think the small change in the bassline from earlier you've done here works incredibly well (rising the notes) It's a really effective move! Just fix the harmony - the root notes remain in place in my suggestion, but after playing with it for a while I really think it has the same effect/impression on the listener. Again, you might get those C's and G's in there by quickly resolving them to C# and F#. Other thoughts: You could intro with the clock + synth string alone for a bit longer (it's completely fine as it is though). Adding more vibrato (or perhaps tremolo, or just life in general) to the sine wave instrument's long notes would do a lot. Phrasing, like timaeus said. Snare could stand to be a bit brighter. The sax sounds absolutely beautiful. I love the soundscape and stereo image change at 01:23. The exposed piano sounds a bit on the cheap side, especially playing chords. I really like how the clock starts ticking when we're exiting the middle lull section. The percussion loop in the middle still sounds stiff and bare. Applying more FX/filtering/stuff might still help. Not much longer to go! Good luck! --Eino

I've worked more on levels, EQ and mixing in general. Now I don't know what to do to the thing anymore, so I'd really appreciate some feedback. Current WIP here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/ayajmfkfdz3y5jk/eino_keskitalo-kningjan_style_swordplay-20130209.mp3 When comparing to other pieces, it seems to lack impact. On the other hand, it is fairly ambientsy, so I'm not sure if I should be concerned with that. --Eino

I personally use Renoise on Linux and I'm very happy with it. That said, the concern about lack of third-party support is spot on. Apart from lack of direct plugin support, I also as an example have a hardware synth that of course doesn't do anything in Linux is I plug it in via USB. It's not that I can't do lots of music and have fun while doing so with my setup, but there's certainly less tools available than on Windows. --Eino

First WIP sent! Hope all you others are hard at work on your trrrracks! :> Also, yay for official status! --Eino

, an excellent homebrew C64 game from last year has amazing tunage. It's also recently available for free as a download.--Eino

Of course we care! Also, yay for first mixpost from the initiative! Let's hope for more activity. I still haven't given feedback to all the WIPs posted in this thread, so I could start with activating myself! --Eino

I really like the idea of allowing the same track twice, but with the requirement of being in different style. It'll be interesting to hear the same source interpreted in another way. --Eino

Yeah, just start doing stuff with whatever without worrying if it's exactly what you need. You'll only know with some experience anyway. --Eino

Really good stuff. All my crits are some very minor things that could make an already enjoyable piece just a little more polished and together. I agree the leads starting at 00:45 (until it starts harmonizing), the first few seconds of 01:15, and the lead starting at 02:39 (and the next lead, continuing to 03:30) felt a little separate from the rest of the mix. Yeah, they're kind of disruptive. Cool in every other way, but attention-hoggers. It kind of sounds like a bassist trying just a little too hard and could keep it just a little bit simpler.. not sure if it was "wrong" harmonically, but it didn't sound like it was benefiting the piece as a whole. I do have to say I love the bass part overall, really good writing, busy and creative while keeping the groove tight. Good sound too! I thought the drums could blend in a bit more with the rest of the track, here and there they seem to pop out of the mix a little. Love love love the bass groove. Great title too! (: --Eino