Liontamer Posted March 1, 2008 Share Posted March 1, 2008 Name of ReMixer: Michael Pear Real name: Michal Hruška Nane of song: Holy Nature Game title: Final Fantasy XII Name of arranged song: Romance ---------------------------------------------------------------- "Romance" is from the FFXII arrange album Symphonic Poem "Hope", but you need to know which track from the original soundtrack is being arranged and provide that information when you submit. Thanks to CHz for dredging up the "Romance" track. Symphonic Poem "Hope" - (04) "4th mov. Romance" What was recognizable from "Romance" was used near-verbatim until 1:38, with some (apparently new) piano harmonization underneath. There was more interpretation of the theme afterward, but the backing instrumentation was basically on cruise control most of the way. As far as I know, 2:37-4:54 had nothing to do with the source material, but maybe CHz or I will have a better idea checking into the FF12 soundtrack. I'd certainly update my vote if any new info came up. At 4:14, the track finally started building back up after getting sparser and sparser. The end result had a very subtle, parabolic dynamic curve, but it was there. Unfortunately though, everything after 4:14 retreaded previous ideas, basically in reverse order, building the texture back up. The arrangement ended up dragging out and saying nothing new past the first half. It would make good in-game music, but ironically enough not a good OC ReMix. As for the production side, the textures were serviceable, but the instrumentation sounded thin and mechanical. Even if the arrangement were clicking, the sequencing should be refined to sound more natural. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted April 7, 2008 Share Posted April 7, 2008 Quite similar to "Romance" for the first 2:37, down to mood and texture. The piano was new, but I didn't think it was a substantial addition. In general, the song really had a lack of ideas. Even the original (?) tribal section following the iterations of "Romance" relied on the same sounds for nearly two minutes, with very little progression. Actually, I thought the percussion groove here was entrancing and well-incorporated, but I still would have preferred more direction to this section or for parts of it to be cut out. Production was alright, but the piano sticks out as being low-quality with unrealistic playing. The notes don't sustain like you expect them to. Fuller-sounding instruments would also bump this up a notch in my book. I'd be willing to revisit the decision if someone finds more connection to the FFXII soundtrack, but even if that tribal section turns out to have a source connection, the rest is still too similar to "Romance". On top of that, the production issues would probably still make this a NO. Though I came down on this, discounting the repetition it was a fine piece of music, good for what it was. I don't have any major suggestions for reworking the arrangement because IMO it's pretty far from what OCR would accept. I'd still encourage you to submit something different in the future, Michal. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted June 8, 2008 Share Posted June 8, 2008 This is so mechanical, which is a shame because the original is so expressive and emotive. The arrangement is basically "Romance" transcribed to other instruments. The hand percussion doesn't really work for me here; what you're attempting reminds me of Space Lion from Cowboy Bebop, but the percussion is just too rigid for it to work here. I think that for a piece that strives for an organic atmosphere, you really need to look at your humanization. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts