Liontamer Posted February 9, 2008 Share Posted February 9, 2008 Nutritious Justin Medford NutritiousMultimedia@gmail.com 16520 Xenogears Leftovers from the Dreams of the Strong This song is part of the Xenogears project, so please hold on to it until the album is released. I joined the Xenogears project relatively late in the process, so the open track selection was very limited. This specific track stood out to me the most out of what was left, so I signed up to arrange it for the Humans disc (more natural or realistic instruments) as my forte is/was in orchestral music. However, nearly at the same time, someone else started the same song for the Humans disc (I think it was eventually dropped), so Avaris requested that I do the track for the Gears disc (more electronic oriented). Since I hadn't started on the song yet, I figured I'd give it a shot. This is pretty much my first full-length attempt at a electronic-styled mix. It was a real stretch for me to try and produce a good song in this style, but I've received a lot of great feedback from people on the album, which really helped me get this song to what it is now. Thanks to Avaris, Ziwtra, and eBison for their help. ------------------------------------------------------------------- Wish Jon T. would put out the arrangement of this he had. http://tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Xenogears_psf.rar - 115 "Leftovers from the Dreams of The Strong" Fairly good buildup to start. I'd argue the guitar synth at :39 wasn't the best choice for the lead; kind of grating and cheap sounding, but Nice dropoff at 1:28. Some DarkeSword sax™ was introduced at 1:51 that fit pretty comfortably here, to my surprise. The strings and brass on support felt somewhat obscured, but it sounded like a delicate balance, so you may not want to much with it. Back to the guitar synth at 2:15, which just felt weirder with the strings underneath. The parts could have been separated a bit better, and I thought the synth guitar (while not being used like guitar, I realize) was somewhat ill-fitting, but those issues didn't feel like a dealbreaker. Solid arrangement here, with pretty good execution and effective usage of the sounds you had at your disposal. Good work, Justin. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted February 27, 2008 Share Posted February 27, 2008 Cool arrangement. It trades the grandeur of the original for high energy, and the synth guitar lead lends the piece some mysticism that the original didn't have. The soundscape was suitably frantic and the quieter sections built up anticipation for the beat again. I think this one really came together well, especially for a first-time full-out electronic mix. Great processing on those drums and synths, though I was feeling a little more balancing and EQ could have helped the overall picture. But it's hard with a song like this, especially when you're going for a frantic effect. Personally, I wanted those chopped drums to come out of the background and really set more of a groove, but they never did. I ain't holding that against you; it's a personal preference. By and large, this was fine work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted April 22, 2008 Share Posted April 22, 2008 I'm pretty impressed at your range of styles, Nutritious - this is definitely quite different than your orchestral mixes, but you pull it off well. Very nice processing, solid texture, engaging arrangement with a defined structure. The ending felt slightly sudden, but that's not a big deal. My main production complaint is the kick... it's really low and subby, which doesn't work too well for fast sequencing like this. I would have chosen something with more low-mid and mid presence, so you can hear the attack more, rather than just the "umph" sound. The strings also could have been a little brighter. The sax that comes in around 1:52 is sharp. Turn the pitch down on that by 10-15 cents and it should sound better... use your ears though, as that's not a perfect estimate. The marcato strings are also slightly sharp, so you might want to turn those down. A YES, provided the sax pitch is fixed. This is a creative mix with good production values and a unique interpretation. YES (conditional) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 Is that DarkeSax? I can't really tell. Anyway yeah, this piece is pretty hot. Great beats, great groove. The drop-offs and build-ups work really well. I'm a little sketchy on the snare sound, but that's more of a personal gripe. Lots of energy here, very cool. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CHz Posted July 11, 2008 Share Posted July 11, 2008 Okay, so I've only heard your orchestral stuff until now, and boy am I impressed. Loving the intro to open into the guitar main melody. Really nice arrangement all around, actually. High energy, good break, just overall nice work. Ending's kind of abrupt, but not terribly so. Some weak spots in the production, but nothing bad enough to get a NO. The guitar synth is obviously nowhere close to a real guitar, but it's treated more like a synth instead of trying to be a real guitar, so I don't have a problem with it. Thought the sax was kind of piercing, but that might just be personal because it doesn't look like anyone else minded it. Just a solid work, nothing more to say. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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