ectogemia
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ENJOY THE REMIX (updated 2/16/12)
elec man source (I've been told this source is a bit hard to identify -- IT ISN'T! 1:50-3:00 is overt albeit slow Elec Man, as is the piano outro; there are elements of Elec Man in the solo near the end as well)
mega man 5, wily stage 1 source
YO. This was my entry for the Wily Castle Remix Gauntlet last week. I've had a few issues with it, namely that the final couple versions of the project file mysteriously vanished into the 12th dimension, so I just now attempted to recreate what was lost in terms of production value. I think it's about back to where it was. Let me know if the highs seem a little too bright to you.
NEWAYZ, this mix is supposed to convey an electric sleep, hence the name -- synthy dreams and mystical soundscapes and all that.
I would like to make this my first sub if and only if you think this would be passed. I'm kinda on a mission to have my first sub be unanimously YES'd. I want to feel like I've earned it.
Also, does anyone know of any good, timestamped audio hosts besides soundcloud? I miss Fireslash's wip host :[
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Oops, I just $10'd.
Would do more if it weren't federal aid money.
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As always, this is just kind of a stream of consciousness as I listen, so if there are errors, DEAL WITH IT.
Liquid Metal -- Nice tubey guitar tone here. I hate scream vocals about 90% of the time :/ That said, this is very well arranged and produced, especially the way the Wily theme carries it around 2:30. The lyrics were pretty entertaining, especially the random "fish" at the end. Cherry-on-fucking-top. What drum plugin were you using? I've been looking for an awesome one for rock/metal recently. Ecto wants to write some synth metal...
Satch Man -- Another Willrock-augmented mix! I'm down. Yep, this is the halc I know, finally having exorcised all the hatred and aggression out of his life through chill dubstep, whatever that is. I want your magical power to retexture your mixes constantly :[ Production-wise, I don't really have any complaints at all. Willrock's solo was short and sweet. The flute at the end was an awesome touch. Soooo, yeah! Very enjoyable
I'd like to see a solo halc mix in Round 3, though, frand. Cold Dreams -- ooooo sounds all time stretchy and flange-y and freezing god damn cold, so good work on the ambience there! The piano even manages to feel like icecicles somehow. That doesn't even make sense. Basically, you did a fantastic job making things seem super cold. The sound design in general was excellent, as was the production. The part at about 3:05 was very, very well done
My only complaint is that the snare was almost nonexistent. The arpeggios around 4:00ish reminded me of Bubble Man. Bonus points.I Don't Have Time to Make This Song -- The kick made me poop my pants, but in a good way. And, well... it's all very good
Shitty review, yes, but know that I probably would have voted for it had it been finished! It was coming along very nicely!Passing of the Night -- The guitar processing could use a little work, maybe some more verb and some EQing to make it mesh with the dreamy soundscape a bit better. There was some weird panning in the right channel at 0:36 with the countermelody. The drum work was really solid. Around 1:00, the blippy arp and the intensifying soundscape were pretty sweet and really pushed the mix along. I was a bit worried at the beginning that the slightly-sounding guitar belied a not-so-good mix, but I was dead wrong. I suppose my biggest complaint would be the solo at the end sounding a little rhythmically forced and almost out of time. This was really good overall, though
Electrostatic -- Bitching soundscape to start it off, especially those sweet drums. The tweety sample at 0:48 & other times needs some mixing attention, especially its panning position being pretty far left. The phase lead also needs a little blending with the rest of the sounds. The part around 2:37 didn't mesh well with the rest of the mix, just a bit forced harmonically. There were a few parts with somewhat piercing highs. Dude, you have super-mega potential, you just need work on production. Your texturing is consistently interesting and the arrangement ideas have this awesome feel of controlled chaos.
The Death of Mr. X -- The rhythm in the beginning makes me want to kick some ass. I wasn't a huge fan of the ensuing rhythm guitar breakdown, kinda sounded a little Nirvana-esque, and I've never been a fan. I wasn't really into it until around 2:30 again -- very gripping solo. The dirty acoustic after it with the neck-y guitar outro was a very fitting complement to the beginning. Much like Hylian Lemon's remix from last round, both the intro and outro gave me a desperado vibe. Overall, though, it just wasn't my thang stylistically.
Dayquil, Nyquil -- Nice name, this had better be suitably trippy. wtf, chrome does not recognize trippy as a word. Badass bass and percussion, especially the progressive left to right panning on the percussion, awesome idea and execution. Both could have used some variance, though, as the bass could have changed with the chords a little better, and the drum lick, while cool, would have sounded better with some alterations. The ensuing symphonic part kicked my ass. I thought the hat on the off-beats was a little hot. The flute-work was really engaging and interesting. The arrangement was tight, if a little conservative. Wow, looking back on the review, there's a lot of negatives, but my overall impression was that it was GREAT. Keep abusing the x-quil as long as it inspires great music like that. YOUR HEALTH IS SECONDARY TO MY ENTERTAINMENT.
I Dreamt of a Man With Two Heads -- Nice hook at the beginning (accidentally typed it as "nice gook" at first, was barely able to will myself to fix the typo). I don't envy your task having to remix Search Man
extremely difficult source. The trippy soundscape was complemented well by the chromatic descension of that slow-attack saw. Everything is great up until the outro which needs some work as far as note choices go. Yeah, so holy shit, man, this is a mind-blowing improvement over your last remix. That bass around 2:20 could have used a little more attention, and the piano needs some humanization and maybe a bit off the high end. I loved the percussion throughout with that slightly distorted kick -- nasty, yet reserved. In fact, that's kind of the vibe I got from the whole mix. VERY good work Copperhead Drumstep -- ok, teamie. I'm in love with the pulse arpeggios near the beginning. They belie a sense of urgency that's expanded on in the next section with the electro bass and even more in the Snake Man breakdown beginning around 0:55. The pizzicato strings are an excellent choice given the classical chord progression and that it starkly represents the other source theme. The call and response between the themes once that section picks up is badass. I love that backwards-sounding synth around 2:10ish. And an outro with chip drums? I'll take it. Except I can't legally vote for it. I mean, come on.
Smooth Operator -- The panning at the beginning was a bit extreme. The claps need some more presence and reverb probably. Otherwise, the harmonies are sick, as was the instrumentation and the bassline. Once the mix picked up after the intro, everything was suitably chill and awesome. The cross-panning cymbal sweep was a little sharp on the highs. I loved that rhythmic filtered noise bit throughout. The outro made me feel like I'd just had sex and was finishing off my post-coitus tobacco stick -- all in the waiting for my post-coitus sandwich that SOMEONE had better be in the kitchen making...
ZERP to DERP -- Another typo that I'll just kinda roll with. The chord progression really needs to change with the melody, especially at 0:31. The drums after that have some unusual volume issues, like at 1:01. It's loud for a measure, then quiet for a measure. I really liked the transition at 1:38 and the ensuing arrangement & BASSLINE (sweet instrument choice, although it sounds a bit midi ripped :[ ) Nice work
tightly arranged in a fun & compact package.kthx guys, this has been the best round overall so far. Voting is going to be a tossup basically between, like, 8 mixes.
1st = I Dreamt of a Man With Two Heads
2nd = Dayquil, Nyquil
3rd = Satch Man
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YEPYEPYEP, got me a nice AxiomPro61 MIDI keyboard, but I only use it for, ironically, soloing over loops I've made. I sequence everything by hand. I really don't find it to be difficult or tedious or time-consuming doing it by hand... it's much easier to ear it out to create really cool, complex music I probably wouldn't have done otherwise while improvising.
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That's really treating the symptoms and not the cause. It's a bit inefficient.
What I would do is slap an EQ on the offending instrument itself (if you're using my template this is already done for you) and cut down the offending frequencies. There are a variety of controls in Parametric EQ 2 that let you do pinpoint stuff (not just blanket curves).
Was joking
I know how to mix down my tracks pretty well. See Gario's Post of Clarity. -
If I'm not mistaken, didn't Ecto say there was another version where he mixed the instruments better? We could be circling around something that he already is aware of. Just throwing that out there.
Yep I did so days ago, and I even mentioned that again in one of my last few posts
Regardless, I still don't think it's that piercing as it was submitted, but again, I do recognize the shrillness everyone is hearing. Lesson learned: master track --> eq --> brickwall everything over 1kHz --> yeah.
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There's also a decent chance that the frequency is being suppressed by whatever your listening setup is. Maybe the headphones or speakers you're using don't reproduce that frequency very well, so in your mix you left it up high to compensate and that's what everyone else is hearing.
That's possible, but I use Sony MD-7506 headphones for monitoring, and as far as I know, those have a pretty solid frequency response across the board. It could also be that all the loud music I've listened to over the years has killed my ability to hear high frequencies
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Whaaaaa? Time stamps don't lie bitch
my post was at 9:57 and your votes at 10:03.You still owe me $20.
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Ecto I see your reviews here, but I don't believe you actually put your votes in the social group...
Ready? Magic trick. Check again.
That'll be $20 for the mind-fuck, babe.
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Acute sensitivity to high pitches, or loud bass for that matter, is a real thing.
I suppose it is. I just listened to my remix again, and although the highs are a bit shrill, I really only think they're a bit shrill. Not even close to anything that would make me turn off the music, and I listen to music at a fairly high volume. Perhaps its just a difference in perceptual intensity. Nonetheless, if several others are hearing something I'm not, it's probably an issue worth correcting.
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Sting Operation -- The snaps about 20 seconds in were very loud and distracting. The synth brass was sequenced very well, and it gave the piece an awesome sort of dire "desperado" feel. The constant retexturing was awesome and verrrry well done.
Air Man in a G String -- I'm a huge sucker for shred guitar being that I was a budding shredder myself before the first two years of college ate my free time. The guitar work was gorgeous and mixed fantastically. I enjoyed the liberal interpretation of the source tunes, and... yeah! Not a lot to complain about. I suppose the intro percussion felt a little out of time in some way?
unto dust -- Hm, so there's how I should mix those screeching synths of mine
The superb sound design stands out to me immediately, as does the constant retexturing. The chugging guitar riff around 1:00 could use a little mixing attention.Running With Scissors -- You had me at speed metal. I'll have to agree with whoever else said that this seems like a mash-up of a lot of good ideas. There's not a lot of cohesion between the sections, but the mixing and performance are both badass. This could be an epic metal anthem if you expanded each section and added elements to cohere them better.
Power Outage -- Again, I'm not a huge fan of vocals, but your performance was good considering you didn't autotune. There was a general sense of dryness as far as the synths went. The section around 1:40 and after was very disjointed (again, the dryness) but I heard a ton of potential in it. If you connected all the ideas in the section with a little processing and some more attention to how each part is related, it would be pretty damn sweet. The ending petered off a bit. Like Neko's mix, this one had a lot of good ideas, but it didn't give each one enough time to develop it fully.
Tripping Through -- I'm just now getting into trance a bit, and man, do I love it. This is no exception. Superb mixing and pulse from the get-go. The pulse lead was a bit corny, but that's just personal preference, never did much like those. The more spacious lead that comes in soon after that is excellent. I though I heard some weird harmony around 1:30, but maybe I'm just crazy. Beginning around 2:00, I thought the mix started to lose direction and cohesion a little. The lead around 3:05 got VERY quiet. Overall, this was very well written and interesting minus the bit around 2:00, but the themes were kept completely separate.
Topsy Turvy -- Would it be weird if I told you I wanted to kill you and eat your heart to gain your sound design prowess? Don't answer that. The arrangement was excellent, the soundscape got me fucking AMPED, the bass was bowel-movement-inducing, the transitions kicked my ass. Screw the haters. I liked the ending. First place.
Riding The Avalanche -- Orchestral music is another genre I'm starting to crack in to a bit. This is a good reason why I should keep exploring it
Obviously, the length is an issue, but what you have is excellent -- dramatic and very well composed. The harmonies in the last 30 or so seconds were totally badass.Electric Sleep -- was ok
Solidity -- The drop at 1:04 was sweet. I thought the detuned saw patch was a bit corny, but WHOA, the part around 1:30 was gorgeous, and once you filtered those saws, they sounded very nice. Some of the notes around 2:25 just kind of sounded wrong (artistic license, I know, but they didn't sit well with me). The transition into the more overtly Crystal Man section was well done, and although that section was extremely conservative, the great instrument choices kept it fresh. It led into the Wily theme quite naturally, too. I thought that some of the transitions lacked punch. Hooray for you for making a long remix, too. I always prefer more music to less.
Topsy-Turvy = 1st place vote without a doubt.
Air Man in a G String, Solidity, and Sting Operation are tough to choose between for 2nd or 3rd...
I have to give it to the sweet guitar performance and mixing for 2nd: Air Man in a G String
Solidity is a bit more tailored to my musical preferences these days, so I'll give that 3rd over Sting Operation, but I just want Hylian Lemon to know that it was the hardest decision I've ever made in my life... ever... in my life.
Ecto you're a fucking DICK andihateyouLove,
Pete
Pete you're a fucking Ecto andihateyou
Love,
DICK
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While I disapprove of his not listening to the whole thing before voting, I understand where he's coming from. Listening to the whole thing won't change the fact that the problem still exists.
I never said it would change anything. I realize there is a mixing issue, one I had fixed in my final project file for the track, a project file that mysteriously disappeared & forced me to submit the most recent version I had, a not-so-well produced one. I recognize that the mixing issue is preventing me from getting more votes, and that's ok with me. I'll fix the problems again, put it on the wip forum, and get further feedback.
Most of the songs have some kind of issue. You can't just not listen to any of them.Yes. To all of that. Hence why I felt short-changed.
Ehhh, looks like another ecto comment is blowing out of proportion! YAY! I'm not upset with anyone, I was just kinda throwing it out there that despite the insufficiencies of any given track, each should be listened to in its entirety to keep things fair. That's all -- nothing accusatory or whiny was intended.
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On one hand you're right, and I apologize. On the other, not only is it a blatant problem that I'm not the first to point out, but you'll remember to watch out for it now.
It's not just a volume problem, it's a spectral problem. There's a specific frequency (and possibly its overtones) that's cutting through everything else and hurting my ears. Gario and SuperiorX also brought up the issue. Lowering my listening volume isn't really a good solution anyway, as compared to the other tracks, it's not too loud - it's just too shrill. Besides, the problem would persist until I mute it.
Besides, it's a competition, not the wip board. I might relisten later. I won't change my votes, tho. The problem is a big enough issue to put the track - as a whole - in the bottom half of the round (granted, you've got some tough competition), no matter the arrangement and instrumentation after that point.
Nononono, I wasn't asking you to change your vote, nor was I intending to single you out as it's already been made apparent by others that the highs are shrill. I felt short-changed is all.
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Electric Sleep
Starts off soft and hints at being too loud once the instrumentation starts appearing. Ouch synth, what piercing highs you have. Nice backing rhythm. 5 minutes of trying to not hurt my ears? Well, no. Stopped it at 2:00. I like my ears. Pity, I like the arrangement so far, and aside from cutting into my ears the synths sounded pretty cool.
I actually find that to be a little offensive... yes, there was a mixing issue on the highs, I understand, but if it was "too loud" why didn't you just turn it down a little? It's a pity you stopped at 2:00 because that mixing issue is only present in that section and the final section of the mix. The middle half is well-mixed in my opinion and has 100% different instrumentation. I'd appreciate it if you listened to that section at least and let me know what you thought about it. I can't really improve if everyone were to critique only 30% of each of my mixes, can I?
I say this because I respect the opinions of musicians who are better than myself, and I was hoping to hear something a little more substantive than that from you.
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Yeah, after I first heard The Silver Surfer's music a month ago, I made a delusional impulse buy thinking that my $3 spent at the used games store would somehow percolate into the pockets of the Follin brothers. I think that's called the trickle-down effect.
... and yes, the music in that game is, in fact, the most complex & hardware-bending on the console. Willrock is right, however, that it's melodic content isn't as apparent as that of more iconic themes like, oh, everything from every NES MM game.
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Tobias @ 1:05.
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Fuck the turkey, I want the electric morningstar on the carpet. To slay my enemies, you see.
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a zelda game hasn't felt this close to zelda 1 since zelda 1
so much brain-wracking already
So what you're trying to say is the game completely owned you from the first screen? Because that's the Ben Briggs+Zelda 1 I know.
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If there isn't one pending, there should be.
And I will remix the shit out of the Serpent Trench and Awakenings.
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By the way, Ecto, after hearing all your lighthearted trash talk in this thread, I was really pleased to finally hear your bite is as good as your bark with Electric Sleep (WHAT? It's not SHEEP?). I so wish I could have voted for four songs instead of three:(
You made the right decision!
... oh wait, I'm the "fourth vote"
You made the wrong decision!
n.e.wayz** I'm glad you liked it
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That's a very broad question, but I tend to do sort of "one-shot" and extreme instances of processing on the master track or the bulk of the sound in a transition. Often, I'll build a complex transition one part at a time. For instance, I'll start with a rezzy low pass filter on all the current voices closing over, say, 2 measures. Next, I'll add a deep flanger that goes from 0% mix level to 100% mix level across those 2 measures. Why? Sounds cool. Then, maybe I think there should be a noise wave sweeping from fully LP filtered to unfiltered across those 2 measures -- a voice unaffected by that first envelope. Maybe it would sound cool if I gated that noise wave more and more as it built. What if the gated noise wave were cross-panned to add space?
That tends to be an effective, simple method that can build up a very cool, very complex transition. Just take it a step at a time.
Otherwise, you can try a more harmonic/arpeggiated approach, such as already having written Part A and Part B, but now you're writing the transition between the two. Try writing an arpeggio that starts on some relevant note of Part A and ends on the first note of the melody or some note of the first chord of Part B. It'll always sound right if you do this, and you can add in the step-by-step method above as well to make the transition more than just musically interesting.
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I'll be voting soon enough, but Skyrim has basically consumed my life since Saturday, and that's OK.
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http://ocremix.org/forums/showthread.php?t=37703&page=2
First off I'd use this as a guide.
There's also explanations on track choices.
SDFKAJS;DLFJA I had never seen that list until just now. Weeeeeee, time for a NES music marathon to accompany my brutal slaughter of all the innocents in Skyrim!!!!1
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You still have one or two more remixes to submit for the compo, so be sure to knock us dead in the coming rounds.
I'll try my best, but this next round will be iffy given all my lab project deadlines and final exams for school. That said, I'll be god damned if I don't produce at least one front-page postable mix for you people (yeah, I said it) out of all of this.
Help me win $2500 in a jingle contest! I'll donate $200 to OCR if I win!
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LIK'D. You owe me an OCR hoodie