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Eino Keskitalo   Members

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Posts posted by Eino Keskitalo

    Final Fantasy IX - Freya's Theme / Burmecian Kingdom

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Just a quick listen. I like this very very much. I don't really recognize it - I just played and enjoyed FFIX in January, but seems I either can't remember Freya's theme (although she was pretty much my favourite charachter).. or this is really interpretive. :)

    I like the rigid piano. I like the "coldness".

    After around 01:00 until about 02:20 the pumping feel becomes a bit too much, I feel a little nauseated. I guess the same goes for the when the string chords come back in later (chorus?).

    Yeah, good stuff. The pumping is a huge issue (I get that it's intended, it's just too much, just tone it down in the chorus), but otherwise this sounds extremely good, so I'm not worried.

    Thanks for sharing!

    --Eino

    OCRA-0013 - Tales: Summoning of Spirits

    in Album Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    So nice sequencing thus far. I might do a track-by-track review in this thread when I'm done.

    I've mostly done track-by-track listening, but from the couple of complete listens, the sequencing seems pretty succesful despite the many different styles. Cold Memory, it seems then, may have been a victim in the process though!

    --Eino

    OCRA-0013 - Tales: Summoning of Spirits

    in Album Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    After a short break, here are more comments. Thanks for the feedback on feedback people, it's really great to know that you appreciate it, especially as it probably isn't exactly flattering all the way. :] I do my best to be constructive!

    Disc 2, track 4: Cold Memory

    Very cool atmosphere here in this song.. (yes, that was a lame pun). I like this track, but I'd like to like it more. Initially I didn't - the bad had me not hear the good in the song, before I started listening more closely.

    The fade-in, with the choir, is sort of choppy/grainy, but I really like that effect - I wish there was more of that throughout the piece!

    The high strings and the piano are way too forte from the start. I think the feel of this songs would be absolutely amazing if there was more dynamic "playing" on those instruments. It should grow, not start at 9 or 10. I don't like the piano chord at 00:39. It just doesn't fit with the other instruments. Otherwise the writing is good, but the lack of dynamics and that one chord makes it sound worse than it is. I like the harp in the background, with the high notes on the piano there's the icicly feel.

    00:53-01:16 sounds absolutely gorgeous. Wouldn't change a thing. The change at 01:12, beautiful. I don't like how the same strings figure repeats the next two bars, but that's more because it's the same velocity than that it's the same notes - the same figure played more lightly might sound quite cool - slightly varying the melody might still be better. I like the change underneath. I also like the low strings playing that continuous pulse in the background.

    The next section that begins has a problem: it goes fuller, louder - but the instruments are already playing with pretty loud touch, so when more is added, it gets crowded. While I say that I must also say I like the overall sound here. Alas, there are note choices that don't sound good to me. Around 01:26 the low strings, now playing longer notes (and sounding mighty good) touch a note out of scale I think. 01:30 something is again garbled in the lower register.. hmm, I think that's it actually, but again just those two points, and the lack of dynamics make it sound worse than it was.

    Starting at 01:46 there are some cymbal runs (and water sounds?), they sound really good and evoke an image of chlling, icy water. A fantastic effect. 01:48 the low strings stay in place.. the dissonance is interesting, I like how it anchors itself around that one note. 01:53 sounds bad to me though, but overall 01:42-02:23, while dissonant and dense, works, especially as it sort of unwinds towards the end. It reminds me of some expressionistic string pieces I've heard.

    Still I'd love more use of dynamics here. 02:24-02:36 is good in the arrangement side, but again and throughout the forte feel on the instruments in the major gripe. 02:35 there's a high piano note that sounds totally out of the picture. I really like how the strings and piano support each other at 02:36-02:42. I like the icy tuned percussion -like synth sound towards the end. The fadeout feels pretty shoddy - overall the writing on the ending sounds loose, although there's strong hinting at a corgeous melody on the piano at 03:09-03:14 - there's all the potential of a solid ending based on that.

    I think playing orchestral samples at a continuous forte can work, but I really feel this style would benefit from a different approach with them - it's definitely worth investigating!

    Disc 2, track 5: Simplified Design

    Change of pace, yeah. The intro's quite tasty. I like how the drums and rhythm guitars/bass sound. The drums sound dry and acoustic, but there's this electronic edge on the guitars. I'm surely not far off the mark if I say I'm reminded of System of a Down.

    01:50 piano is quite out of tune, I don't like the effect. Love the cowbell and horns at 02:47.. Hmm, no wonder the bass sounded electronic! :) I quite like the fake sound. I don't enjoy the choppy strings. They sound tacked on. Similarly with the harp, it sounds so separate from the backing. The harp blends in in the next section though, starting at 03:15, this section is quite nice!

    Overall, I can't help but think that there's some problems with the pacing of the piece - it feels long, which is something even a long piece shouldn't feel like. There are bits that just plain don't work for me - the piano, and the choppy strings. I think this one could lose a minute or so and work much better. There's a lot of good in this track, but it doesn't make me want to play it again immediately even though the potential is clearly there with all the delicious riffing going on.

    cheers!

    --Eino

    MM3 Sparkman - 'cause MM3 doesn't get enough love here...

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    Boy this is a high energy track! The writing Works for me.

    I'm no production expert, and hence a bit hesistant to post, but I think this could still use some tweaking. I listened to some of recent trance/electronic mixes posted on the site (ABG's Purity, Jewbei's Pretension, bLiNd's Jade Catacombs and Roz's Eat Your Own Dust), and their production notch more pleasing to the ears than most of your track. It's close, though, so should be fixable! Something about it is somewhat tiring to the ears in comparison.. it's very dense. There's a sense of space in all of those other tracks. I've always liked that Rozovian suggestion where you're to take a backup of your project, and mix it again from start. Maybe you could try doing that, aiming for that sense of space - assuming my feedback made sense to you of course.

    All in all, pretty good work, not quite there yet but very very close. Remember, the final 5% may be the hardest part of any work..

    --Eino

    Secret of Mana - Me and my Dragon

    in Post Your Game ReMixes!

    Posted

    I listened to the tune pretty soon after writing my last post, but I've been neglecting posting here. Here's the remedy to that. The track is as good as I hoped it would be. Much different than I thought it would be, it's much more mellow than I expected. It works, it gives contrast how humorous the lyrics actually are.

    Dunno if I'm qualified to say "just submit this already", but there it is. Your concern about the source usage I understand, though. I'm not actually sure if I hear the relation! That's maybe just my rusty ears though. Don't really hear any production flaws in this either.

    --Eino

    PRC141 - It's A Me in the Stardust Road (Super Mario Galaxy)

    in Competitions

    Posted

    So people don't want to pick the next song?

    Ahh, I managed to leave that bit out. The prize is *very* cool - like stated, you hopefully get to hear some nice interpretations of a tune you like. This happened for me with Showroom Dummy's Syreen mix, which I enjoyed quite a lot. *And* I still got to participate because it was a shared first place. :>

    I always do my best with the time I have. I'm a little sad you seem so upset. I think ultimately our viewpoints into this don't really make a huge difference in the results.. all it will ultimately change for me for example is that I personally will always try to make a piece that aims to please me, rather than the voters. But I still try my best to make it as good as I can, so others could enjoy it too. If I win, that's great!

    edit #1:

    I must thank you for your viewpoint. I appreciate and respect your opinion, especially as you vote regularly and often post on the prc threads. This discussion is making me understand your viewpoint as well, and I'll admit I haven't really thought much about listeners when doing PRC. I don't really think either way is right or wrong, but if I don't think about people who actually listen to the songs at all (except myself, and I admit it's pretty hard for me to listen to my own stuff from a listener viewpoint), it's bound to be a wasted opportunity.

    edit #2:

    I guess I'll just add here, rather than double-post.

    Ookay, I half-promised a bit more thorough reviewing, so here's some.

    jmr - Meteorites and Rabbits

    An absolutely gorgeous track. I find the blend of electronics and orchestra nearly masteful. It's lush, it's floaty.. the concept, theremin and all, is good, and it's deployed succesfully. To me this is one of the best sounding game remixes that go to the orchestral territory - this sort of sound has a lot of appeal, and it's very well done too. The lead violin sounds a bit fake when exposed towards the end - that's about all I find I'm able to criticize here! Good work, a definite keeper.

    CN - When Will I See You Again

    You really took the material and made your own interpretation, and it sounds both completely different, and completely recognizable at the same time. Quirky, quirky stuff that reminds me of a lot of proggy stuff, Gentle Giant was already mentioned, and I'll add Peter Gabriel, Thinking Plague and Kate Bush into the comparison pool. Those are all huge compliments. The production is sort of crude with the mechanical piano and all, but I'm not sure if I'd really change that much - it fits! Binweasel has a good point about the hiss in the vocals, though. The singing is great - I'd buy it if I was told this was a demo track of a recording prog group from the 70s. For an album cut I'm sure the producer would want you to warm up the voice a little more. Nice effects on the vocals (the ending), the vocal harmony is a very nice touch, actually a hilight.

    Ok, maybe a real piano in the chorus to make it stand out a bit and give it a little warmth, and with the guitar, especially that final trill would sound much better if it was real.

    It's kind of it's own hilight that some voters didn't like the vocals at all.. Love it or hate it, I guess! Now you can definitely say your singing provokes a strong reaction. :)

    setokaibarocket - Italian Hardstyle on Mescalin

    One thing especially great about this round was that all the entries were in completely different styles. Well, this is a style I definitely don't listen that much, but I enjoy this all the same. It's quite short, though, it sounds like it warms up but then collapses before making it to the starting line.. maybe it's all those drugs.

    OneUp - Pill to Lala Land

    There's indeed very little source in this, and it sounds rather accidental, it doesn't feel like it informs the rest of the piece at all. It could be any melody on top of the track, really. The track also lacks energy, probably has to do with that lazy on the drums business. I like the weirded-out atmosphere in any case, the beginning is promising.

    Rexy - We Form in Star Bits

    Quite a comeback, eh! Good performance - I take you played this all live? It's less soft than some of your earlier tracks I've been listening recently ;), so that's good. I especially like how I can hear the tone of the piano clearly. I still have a bunch of crits - the piano should be more prominently in the front of the mix, they compete with the strings too much while the latter are definitely in a secondary role. I guess the piano should also be louder in relation to the drums. You're doing a piano mix, showcase it! The majority of expression and variation in this piece is in how you play the piano, and it's a pity it's (relatively) so buried. Bringing it up would make the whole piece seem a bit more dynamic.

    I also wish the snare had a bit more "ring" to it, a little sharper sound, maybe a touch of reverb as well. I really like that ride cymbal + percussion thing that starts at 01:15, and the ride alone before that has a very nice rhythm as well.

    The piece obviously lends itself to this style very well, and it's definitely quite pleasant to listen to. I wasn't as wowed with this piece as I was with my top two picks, they really surprised me and their style has more appeal to me. But it's definitely a deserved win!

    cheers!

    --Eino

    PRC141 - It's A Me in the Stardust Road (Super Mario Galaxy)

    in Competitions

    Posted

    I thought the point of the contest was to win.

    Not really.. The best thing about this contest is that it provides a challenge and especially a deadline - the challenge provides a creative spark, and the deadline ensures I get at least *something* done. The voting means that I get some sort of feedback, both through (a lack of) points and the actual text comments.

    Of course, winning a round with lots of good entries and votes would indicate that something went right, that I succeeded creating an enjoyable tune. Otoh genres and so on of course affect the outcome very much and music is enjoyed subjectively - If I did a really good experimental noise tune, it probably wouldn't do well in the contest, at least if there were good entries in more accessible genres. I would still feel that I had succeeded.

    All in all, for me this this is competition is not a serious contest, but just a way of having fun that helps me be productive. The contest-like framing is what helps the productivity, so it is good that it's shaped like a competition.

    --Eino

    BadAss: Boss Themes: Volume I - History

    in Projects

    Posted

    I'm available to the project for quality control, as a provider of critique (I'd be happy to leave the actual gatekeeping to others, though). You guys seemed to be impressed of my crits on the Tales feedback thread, and seeing as this is a project that's going to have a fresh re-start, it would be exciting to be able to provide crits from the beginning. I'd sure love to remix as well, but I can commit to QC.

    --Eino

    OCRA-0013 - Tales: Summoning of Spirits

    in Album Reviews & Comments

    Posted

    And good morning again..

    Anyway, thank you very much for your feedback on my Phantasia tracks, 'talo. (lol don't know what else to refer to you as!)

    Heh, 'talo is fine. =) My handle is actually my initials ("evk") with the last half of my surname tacked on. "Talo" means house. Not that you actually asked. But I did think just a week ago or so how incomprehensible the handle must be for non-Finns especially.

    Concerning patches and stuff, both tracks were made in completely different production settings. "Middle-Aselia Bilogy" was forged in a music tech classroom some cold December of 2006, and "Gentry" was cleared with my current home setup as per April 2008, with what was then seen to be one of the most powerful keyboards in the UK market. None of the tracks have any patches in common at all, so I wouldn't see them directly affecting each other at all.

    D'oh, now that I've read this and am listening to them side by side, this is really obvious. The flute isn't the same at all. I also do note that "Gentry"'s overall sound is a notch better, which probably has to do both improved equipment and skill. The way "Biology" begins with such a cool sound made this more difficult to notice, which means it was good work on the intro. ;)

    I can tell that you like soft production, and I think it yields some great things, as the bass in "Gentry". Overall though, these two mixes would benefit from having more crips aspects in the mix (the drums). This helps the softer aspects shine. I'm no fan of soft pop or new-age or so, where an overall soft sound might be the genre-appropriate thing.

    Of course, for the lead-writing in the aforementioned Treant work, I somehow ended up taking a few tips from some of Yoko Shimomura's tracks for Live-A-Live and layered different instruments on doing similar motifs. You may not notice it, but there's also a string patch underneath the flute that plays more of a straight conversion of the melody, and I thought that would help try and soften the tone a bit here.

    Ah yeah, I notice it now. That is indeed a nice touch that does soften up the sound. (The flute is still quite shrill). I also forgot to mention that I definitely like those little trills on the flute.

    It still kinda irks me that you have a long way to go to reach my other two tracks for the project (which I think are both heads and tails above what i managed to do on the Phantasia side IMO) but for now, I'd have to say thanks very much for the informative feedback :)

    You're welcome! I'm very happy if you've found my ramblings useful, so thanks for the feedback on the feedback. :)

    --Eino

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