timaeus222

I just finished this middle-eastern progressive dubstep ReMix of Dungeonmans' " Enmired Herpetology" by @zircon ! Hope you enjoy (Note: Soundcloud does make the treble have some aliasing issues so don't worry about that.) Here's the original: A writeup about it below: --- Hiya! It's been a while since you guys have had a Dungeonmans ReMix, eh? This time I arranged "Enmired Herpetology" in a progressive middle-eastern dubstep style, featuring the Turkish Oud (Impact Soundworks), Santoor (East West Quantum Leap Ra), and Sitar (my Zebra2 preset collection). This takes inspiration from Mervin Matthew's "PetiStep" Bollywood Harmonium demo, and has some scattered influence from zircon's stuff (the sine wave bells in particular). I had so much fun writing this; it only took about 10 hours to compose, and then another 12 hours to polish the details, overall spanning 3 weeks, and I think that that tells you how this is one of my more "patient" pieces---it takes its sweet time to evolve, but doesn't necessarily try to be too flashy. Even at the climaxes, there isn't a ton of stuff going on at once, just big harmonies. Nonetheless, there some cool things to mention here: - The distorted lead sound (such as at 1:02 - 1:12) is actually one of my electro house basses that I pitched up a few octaves. - I tried some new, FREE effects plugins from kiloHearts Essentials, using their Transient Shaper, Filter, and/or Ring Modulator on the drums! - There is a LOT of sine wave bell action going on, which was the backbone for the entire ReMix. It outlined the chord progressions for me and became an apt way to end things as well! I really liked it because since it's only a single harmonic, it's almost always audible no matter the context. It's been over 5 years since the release of Dungeonmans, but it seems to be going strong, and I hope that that continues to be the case! ...By the way, see if you can spot where I put the key change. Extra Info: Source Breakdown: 0:00.00 - 0:31.47 = Intro (0:06:22 - 0:38.19) 0:31.47 - 0:52.34 = Harmonium Dubstep Drop (0:38.19 - 0:59.54) [loose] 0:52.34 - 1:13.20 = "Chorus" (0:59.54 - 1:10.22) 1:13.20 - 1:34.08 = Bridge A (0:59.54 - 1:10.22) 1:34.08 - 2:05.38 = Bridge B (1:10.22 - 1:20.89) 2:05.38 - 2:15.83 = Bridge C (1:20.89 - 1:31.56) 2:15.83 - 2:47.12 = Breakdown A (1:31.56 - 1:52.89) 2:47.12 - 2:57.55 = Breakdown B (1:52.89 - 2:16.89) 2:57.55 - 3:28.86 = Climax (2:16.89 - 2:38.21) 31.47 + 20.87 + 20.86 + 20.88 + 31.30 + 10.45 + 31.29 + 10.43 + 31.31 = 208.86/223.29 = 93.5%

I love it! Quirky, cheeky, and playful!

Cool source tune, actually. I can see there being 3 distinct sections in the original, very remixable. Not sure if you wanted an official mod review here, but I'll just give my general feedback. Arrangement There's a good semblance of structure here. As far as implied dynamics go, it's in a good spot. My main concerns would be in the production aspect. Production/Mixing I would focus on addressing the drums throughout. To me they seem like placeholder samples before you put in the actual ones. - The first moment where the drums are iffy is 1:04 - 1:15; you are using the same drum sounds here as in the main sections, whereas the dynamics here are meant to be lower. I'd swap these drums out for something more distant with a longer reverb tail. - At 1:15 and in similar spots, I thought there would be a cymbal to mark a major transition. That would do a lot by itself. - The snare rolls tended to have similar velocities, such as at 1:40, 2:47, and other major transitions. Try varying the velocities so that they sound like rolls (alternating intensities), as opposed to just maximally hitting the snare. It's very apparent at 3:04 where the military-like rhythm doesn't make too much sense unless you actually used an orchestral snare --- Basically, what I've just said above boils down to: - treat the drums with more TLC by addressing their mechanical rhythm and intensities - take the time to choose more drum samples that are more appropriate for the implied dynamics of a given section - mark your transitions a bit more clearly with cymbals

Some remarks from me on the first listen: - I agree on the guitar being mechanical; other than varying the velocities (intensities) and rhythm of the notes to make it more realistic, I think another aspect is that it's overcompressed. There's a limiter that is pumping it. That's maybe not so obvious before the drums come in, but that's what's going on. To fix this, just lower the input levels of the instruments (before they get to the limiter), then raise the overall volume post-limiter in the FX chain. That way it isn't pushing against the limiter, but you still should get a similar final loudness. - The drums don't really fit the vibe you're going for - they are meant for trap/hip-hop-adjacent music, but if you used a more-acoustic kit, I think it would fit better, based on your hang drum and guitar as your main instruments. (This may come off as a subjective thing but objectively it just fits a different genre.) Hope it makes sense!

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MOD REVIEW Has kind of a Dragon Ball feel to it at the beginning! I didn't hear the previous version, but the mixing seems good/intentional to me! It has kind of a vintage, kinda 90's vibe to it. Thanks for the source breakdown as well - easy enough to make the connections there. I don't have much else to say; if this is the newest version, I'd go for it and submit!

Cool atmosphere! Hefty amounts of delay and reverb going around. I think some tips I wanted to mention would be: - The kick felt a bit weird in stereo - if you narrow the panning on it (just use a Stereo Enhancer and put on the inverse action), it would feel like more conventional panning to me. - The snare could maybe have a longer transient (it feels 'too' snappy). Something that would help is to layer on a snare that does have a long tail, to compensate. - The drum sequencing feels a bit mechanical. You don't have to slightly vary the rhythm to address that though - you could just vary the velocities, especially on the hi hats and kick.

Truly one of his best works! (if you got a ping, there was a temporary bug and the video was unavailable. It's back now, odd...)

I like the chord changes that differentiate the Invincible theme from the usual repetitive nature of the original. The Overworld Theme's melodic contour being changed to fit the uplifting musical mode works really well too! A refreshing take on a classic that actually is exactly what we are looking for when it comes to personalization from the arrangement end. I just wish it didn't fade out.

Loved the odd time signatures! Maintains a similar rhythm throughout but has great dynamics.

Pleasure to hear those kind words from you! Cheers mate

We really be out here accidentally submitting sketches. What a mad lad. You wouldn't believe it but I'm not usually a fan of this style. Jordan just does it well so it doesn't matter.

I might return with something more detailed, but the simplest way I think is to take your leitmotif and repeat it in a higher mode. Basically a similar melodic contour on a higher 'key' with the appropriate adjusted chords. This came to mind: This video also talks about using this technique, not necessarily to feel like you're floating, but just as it was used in its time:

After watching this really cool video, I actually felt inspired to go back and rewrite the middle breakdown section to incorporate this theme.

I don't think I could have become who I am today without OCR. You guys helped me develop my character as well as my musical ability.