Eino Keskitalo

So the proverbial ball is rolling. Great news! --Eino

Funstuffs!

I agree - guitar shreddery is amoral, wrong, and just plain bad behaviour. --Eino

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

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

I agree - props for the fresh angle on the piece! --Eino

Yah, sounding pretty good. I'm not a fan of the tuning at the beginning, but wouldn't say you need to scratch that. --Eino

Nice shiny pictures! --Eino

This mix is a fountain of fun. --Eino

I'll quickly say 1.9 sounds much more pleasant than 1.5 - the fixed high ends and clip elimination probably did that. I'm enjoying this! Looking forward to the next iteration.. --Eino

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

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

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

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

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

Consider he's a Crimso fan, I doubt it'll be smooth jazz. :> --Eino

What is an extremely cool, haunting track in it's heart is marred for me by some problems in the writing (review in the feedback thread here.) Fortunately it doesn't ruin the fun completely, but it does keep the piece from becoming a true favourite of mine. --Eino (nice name drop, djp!)

And good morning again.. 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. 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. 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. You're welcome! I'm very happy if you've found my ramblings useful, so thanks for the feedback on the feedback. --Eino

short comments; this kicks ass. By the sound of this, the source material must be downright dangerous. Expel the fart cushion from the intro. --Eino

Here's a bunch o'more! Disc 1, track 10: Momentary I'd love to love this one. I really like the, don't know, (curiously) dry sound of the piano, and this really reminds me a lot of Tori Amos' playing (this is a high compliment from me). The arrangement falls somewhat short, though. It lacks structure. There's many cool ideas, including a lot of brave deviations from the original key (some are frankly real bad), but I'd love if it they were really elaborated on. I get the impression of the artist tweaking individual notes rather than considering the whole. On the other hand, there's a kind of an improv quality going on, where the improviser deviates just a little around the track without really taking command of the tune. Either way it's somewhat weak.. but there's still some honestly musical quality that shines through, and as I listen on repeat to the track while writing this, I just start liking it more and more. Mind that I still think it's seriously flawed. Okay, let's see what happens if we take a tour: 00:00-00:17 goes through the theme twice in a moderate pace, establishing it. I love the sound, perfect reverb too. 00:18-00:25 going through it once a little less cautiously, playing with it a little. I'm quite expecting it to go through it once again, but it then sort of sticks to the first chord of initial chord progression, and is then left hanging in some middle ground. 00:34 it feels anchored again, but it seems it always pulls back to the first chord of the first theme, and that gives a static feel, the feeling that it's going nowhere. 00:57 there's a note that sounds totally wrong. 01:01-01:03 it - quite suddenly - goes into minor scale (I think) - and I LOVE HOW THAT SOUNDS. Of course, the structure should really set up this change somehow, it feels very random.. and whoosh, we are out of it just a few seconds after. This is exactly what should be elaborated. (I guess you could argue that this bit foreshadows the later minor sections, but I don't really agree it does so substantially enough. Hehe, look, I'm arguing with myself.) 01:05 sounds sort of bad, but it also sort of resolves to the next chord. It one of those bits that would make more sense if it had more context to it. Elaboration, elaboration.. 01:12 another bit in minor that sounds good in itself, but, hmm.. the whole 01:09-01:17 sounds like such a bunch of randomness.. and like suddenly drawn by a magnet, we're back on the first chord. The rhythmically refreshing, riff-like figure at 01:09 really promises a lot, but it's not enought the break away from gravity.. Then that riff-magnet cycle sort of happens again. I just.. this is really frustrating to listen to, really. 01:22-01:24, really nice little figure, an image of swordplay flashed in my mind. 01:23-01:27 the driving little riff again, 01:27-01:29 the sound of the batmobile very nearly driving off the road. Please, drive carefully! (sorry, I'm going a bit crazy here) 01:31-01:32, back on track, a nice sort of a continuation of the riff. 01:33-01:35, almost a really gripping transition to a minor chord up on the scale, but then we're stuck on that. damn. chord. like. glue. ARRRRRRGHGHGHHHH 01:37 is a weird chord. After 01:41 things actually get pretty decent and consistent. It could be improved, but I'm not so confused anymore. There's a definite change of mood and a change of rhythm, especially after 02:02, and here we endeed enter a minor feel in a consistent and good-sounding manner. There still is a feel of overplaying, cluttering the whole with notes (around 02:00 there's a definite stray), and I certainly feel the right hand should play minor at 02:23-02:24, but the track finishes up really beautifully. It unwinds. Nice touch. Ghuh, let me listen to it once through completely without analyzing. Hmmh, yes, I like it. No problems. Sticking to that chord in the middle makes it seem static, there are a couple of inexcusable "wrong" notes (but not too many), I am wishing for a less-is-more approach - just the right, beautiful notes without the clutter, letting go of that. chord. - but I guess I can listen to this as it is and appreciate it. (I hope this wasn't too incoherent. If my attempts at humour felt offensive, I deeply apologize. I can clarify as necessary.) Disc 1, track 11: Gentry is a Five Letter Word Intriguing, playful track that's very likeable from the start. I like the bass, and the part with the organ playing the chords - I guess it's the chorus, first starts at 00:53 - is really nice. I have production gripes though - it's way too soft for it's own good, and the drums seriously lack power. This drains the energy the piece really would have. I feel like I'm listening through a soft blanket. Flutey leads aren't great either, but passable. The organ that was mentioned is alright. Ending is a bit of a cop-out, it just stops. The instruments could have signaled the oncoming end, e.g. going into it with a strong(er) drum fill, that sorta stuff. Otherwise the structure is good, there's a lot of varying, very melodic material, there's a lot to like! (..the chorus just came on again, I love it!) Disc 1, track 12: Wind Dry My Tears Bluesy/lamenting guitar effort. Timing and tuning are not perfect, but nothing I couldn't live with. The use of voice in this track is one of it's key features. It's quite good. I like the variety of guitars used, all are very consistent. I love that chord staying where it was for a while at 03:10. Low strings at 03:29 sound very nice. I like the dramatic chord changes, and they're handled very well. Again, personal appeal to me isn't huge, but I can appreciate a lot of things here. Disc 2, track 1: Beyond Absentminded A very strong opener. Hale-Bopp's lead voice is a bit too boybandish for me to totally appreciate, but holy cow those harmonies sound great, great, great. And part of the time his leads sound more like the 60s, which is totally fine with me. :> Cool backing track too. Apart from the weak-sounding solo (it's pretty lifeless - the melody is good though!), the guitars are very nice, the rest I actually pay no attention to at all, in good or bad, so they probably serve their purpose. Disc 2, track 2: Summoned Without Reason I actually like this one much better than The Unholy Wars. Probably because it's not constant in-your-face guitar lead wailery. I love the guitar solos here, though. I'm not a huge fan of thousand-notes-a-minute (unless it's Robert Fripp), but the first two sections of the solo part are very cool, and the restraint there makes the later flurry sound good even to me. And the it turns into a violin - nice! My main gripe is with the lifeless synth lead - some legato would be nice, I don't like how with each new note trigger it's the same filter envelope again and again. This is tiring especially during where the notes are longer - curiously, it's ok when they're closer together. The intro is very effective. I really like the material, so this made me check out the original as well. There's this, er.. "ganbatte!" feel to the track, don't you agree? Disc 2, track 3: Middle-Aselia Biology Begins very nicely. The bells remind me of the soundtrack to a game called Zeliard. This gives me happiness! I like the writing, a lot. I have the same production gripes as with "Gentry...", and the lack of power in the drums is even more unfortunate - especially since the percussion writing is often pretty cool! That ride cymbal in the intro! (Although the most quiet notes on it are a bit too quiet, disappearing and creating a gap in the rhythm.) I like the sound of those bells. I like also the electric piano after 02:21, although it's very quiet. The flute sample is rather subpar, bothers me more than the same/similar patch in "Gentry..." Don't like that off-key note at 02:56. Hmm. Can't decide if the lead writing from there to the part at 03:18 is strong enough, it sounds a bit like it's running out of steam. I'd really like if the lead that starts around 03:45 was handled by a different sound than the flute.. it's getting a bit shrill on my ears. It could switch back at 04:16. Cool mood, production is a bit weak, I tire of the flute, feels a bit long. Yeah. To sleep now. Take care. --Eino

Good to hear you're working on this. Sounded great again. I agree with AkumajoB about the humanizing thing on the strings. --Eino

That would be kind of fun, yeah. I thought Fishy's comments (along the lines of "WHAT?! I was on this project?!") were pretty funny in the announcement thread. --Eino

Thanks for bumping the review thread ChaosPlayer.. this one's really good! --Eino

Hehe, I used to read a lot of Marvel comics that were translated and published here in Finland in the beginning of '90s. My "this all going to hell" period was when X-Men went all Darker and Edgier, characters started to get killed off one by one (except.. not really!) which for me coincided with Jim Lee illustrating, which for me was like all pin-ups and no action.. that was what, 17 years ago? Good grief I feel old. :] (Also.. I was nine when reading those?) Anyway, when you consider how the timeline stretches in a series that just keeps going and going and you can't really let the characters age and all that shit (pretty much what zircon said), there's bound to be a moment when you feel that it's ruined. Yeah, it makes no sense as a linear story and stuff. Reading Wikipedia biographies of Marvel characters is quite ridiculous. I'd link a tvtropes page here if I could remember the name of the trope. :> I think DC presses a universal reset button every now and the to start over, and Marvel has some sort of side-universe alternate stories going since I've stopped reading.. I just started re-reading Watchmen. Yay! --Eino

Took a closer look at the cover art folder. It's very beautiful. CD labels are neat too. I'd love to have this printed (the DVD case would be my choice). All the ornament stuff is good too. I think the weakest link - while not too bad - is the pastel-like picture on the front page of the site. It's kind of unfortunate, as it sort of the first impression one gets when you go to the site, and the actual front cover art is much much better. edit: I had time for a few more. Disc 1, track 7: Setting Sail I love the sound of this. I in no way feel that I'm listening to a set of orchestral samples, it's just music. I get a very floaty feel, like it was a huge ball of mist. Err, cloud-like, yes. Perfectly evocative with the title. Every section is well defined and each one brings something new. I like the voices, for instance. Top-notch job. Disc 1, track 8: Mirror Image Another track that's both flawed and lovely. Let's focus on the lovely first, since this surely is one sweet track for me. I love the instrumentation and sound choices. It's very pleasant to listen to, without lacking edge. The bass guitar sounds excellent, kind of.. dreamy. Ehh. What a way to describe a bass guitar sound, but there it is. I love how it has a lot of room, and it uses it. It's like it's the lead here before the (very good) guitar lead, and the (thin, but still adorable) organ in the middle. There's a number of production issues. I don't really mind, but I'll point them out anyway. First off, the whole track begins like it cuts in from nowhere. There might even be a pop. The acoustic guitar is obviously sampled and the same sections are re-used. This is fine in itself, it's just very noticeable. It might be the room atmosphere/miking/EQ is not entirely consistent between the separate takes. Also, there's a very prominent glitch in the first chord of the section that plays e.g. at 00:08. Hearing it repeat is kind of funny. I feel the rhythm electric guitar on the rocking part isn't the tightest. Instead of ringing out the full chords completely all the time, an approach that incorporated e.g. palm muting to it would have improved it a lot - some rhythmic and sound variation, stuff like that. It doesn't change at all according to the rest of the arrangement. It is also clearly sampled and reused again, which hilights the flaws. The stereo effect the little gaps have sound uncomfortable with headphones. The sound is perhaps too full, as it stands out of the mix a bit too prominently. I probably make it sound worse than it is, on the whole the part doesn't really bother me that much, just pointing out where there's room for improvement. Again, there's a certain chord choice that I don't quite agree with; the one that first sounds at 00:24 (I think). But repeated listenings seem to have worn the resistance off.. it doesn't sound so bad anymore. Well, on 00:56 it does a bit. And at 03:03. Maybe it's something that doesn't quite suck, but could still have been handled a bit better, though I can't say how right now. Perhaps it's in the other instruments, as 03:36 doesn't sound as bad again. I kinda like it. Yeah. Disc 1, track 9: Frozen Heart Another well done track that doesn't really have a lot of appeal to me. I'm picky when it comes to trance although I have started to enjoy it recently-ish (partially thanks to OCR - bLiNd's Jenova track on VotL was sort of a turning point). The piano doesn't work for me here, and it generally doesn't in trance tracks (again I stress - for me). The title fits, the soundscape is quite cold. --Eino edit #3: I seem unable to count the track numbers properly..