Secret of Mana - Ice Palace Remix WIP

[Mordi]

Someone wanted me to do it. And so I did. Never played the games myself, though... But I liked the composition.

Version 1

http://www.willhostforfood.com/users/Mordi/Mordi%20-%20Ice%20Sonata%20(Secret%20of%20Mana).mp3

Version 2

http://host-a.net/Mordi/Mordi%20-%20Ice%20Sonata%20(Secret%20of%20Mana).mp3

Version 3

http://www.willhostforfood.com/users/Mordi/Mordi%20-%20Ice%20Sonata%20(Secret%20of%20Mana).mp3

Added more variation with some solos and different kick/hihat patterns.

[ZealPath]

Definitely one of my favorite songs from SoM, awesome work, you're on a roll today man!

[Tricklozen]

The lead is too sharp/burns through. It's out of place in contrast with the rest of the arrangement, which was vivid and pleasant. Just listened once in the background, and that was what I picked up on.

[Mordi]

The lead is too sharp/burns through. It's out of place in contrast with the rest of the arrangement, which was vivid and pleasant. Just listened once in the background, and that was what I picked up on.

I was having the same thoughts. I want to be in contrast to the classical/orchestral instrument otherwise used in the arrangement. I'll round it out a bit.

Edit: Hey, I notice you're a fellow norwegian.

[Tricklozen]

Edit: Hey, I notice you're a fellow norwegian.

Hei @ 4 am,

..and I was going to point out that "Mor di" is equivalent to YOUR MOM in one dialect of Norwegian. :]

[Mordi]

Hei @ 4 am,

..and I was going to point out that "Mor di" is equivalent to YOUR MOM in one dialect of Norwegian. :]

Yes. Im a karsk-drinking leather-vest wearing trønder, you see.

Anyway, I've just made the saw-lead lower in volume and it sounds much better. More balanced now. Just gotta figure out some balancing issues at the end of the song and it should be done.

[MrSneak]

This mix is very chill and somehow still very expressive. I love it and can't wait for your revision. This'll go in my personal collection when you're done.

[ZealPath]

After a few listens I do find that this mix "starts slowly." That isn't necessarily a bad thing but it takes quite a while to get into the tune heard in the original (it really "starts" around 3:50 which is a lot of buildup).

I love what's happening with this mix though, it already feels incredibly polished.

[Mordi]

After a few listens I do find that this mix "starts slowly." That isn't necessarily a bad thing but it takes quite a while to get into the tune heard in the original (it really "starts" around 3:50 which is a lot of buildup).

I love what's happening with this mix though, it already feels incredibly polished.

I kind of like it that way. It kind of gets better and better, you know?

Anyway, I updated first post with the improved version. Its a bit longer too. I also made the lead "slide". I like it that way. C64 style.

[ZealPath]

I like it, hopefully we'll see this one on the front page soon?

[Mordi]

I like it, hopefully we'll see this one on the front page soon?

Meeeeeh. If it werent for that stupid under-6-megabytes rule. Whats up with that? The song would have to be maybe 128 kbps, which is a little meh to me.

Also, I'm too lazy to submit it.

[ZealPath]

Wow that's lame I didn't know about that... oh well, hopefully this mix will get some more exposure because it certainly deserves it imo.

[Robotaki]

I like the sort of lo-fi chill thing you got going on here. Only problem is, it might just be TOO chill, as in there isn't much dynamic range throughout the entire piece. I'td be great to hear a little more variety in terms of the drums, possibly the bass sample, and maybe chord choice. THat being said, the instruments you've picked work really well together. I like it =p

Oh in terms of the size for submitting, the site is already hosting loads of tracks so they can't be holding tracks that are 14 megs a piece. It'd just take way too much. But, you've got the bitrate going at 320 kbps. That's REALLY high, at least in my eyes. I usually keep things at 160 kbps tops for 6 min tracks. You can definitely lower the bitrate before eexporting it to lower the file size, or use a program like LAME to encode it for you. I don't think it'd affect the sound too much.

[Mordi]

I like the sort of lo-fi chill thing you got going on here. Only problem is, it might just be TOO chill, as in there isn't much dynamic range throughout the entire piece. I'td be great to hear a little more variety in terms of the drums, possibly the bass sample, and maybe chord choice. THat being said, the instruments you've picked work really well together. I like it =p

Oh in terms of the size for submitting, the site is already hosting loads of tracks so they can't be holding tracks that are 14 megs a piece. It'd just take way too much. But, you've got the bitrate going at 320 kbps. That's REALLY high, at least in my eyes. I usually keep things at 160 kbps tops for 6 min tracks. You can definitely lower the bitrate before eexporting it to lower the file size, or use a program like LAME to encode it for you. I don't think it'd affect the sound too much.

Thanks for the feedback. Yeah, I'll consider lowering it to maybe 128 kbps, or even 192, if it gets under 6 mb.

Maybe I should make more variation in the drums. There's only one loop running through the whole song, so.

[Nohbody]

Anyway this needs to be submitted. Very good.

Also I cant download your final release. I can play it on Windows media player, but I cant keep it.

[Nohbody]

Has this been submitted yet? Itll pass if it gets submitted.

I want this submitted

[Chickenwarlord]

Has this been submitted yet? Itll pass if it gets submitted.

This is not an accurate assessment. There needs to be far more variation in texture and beatwork before even considering submission.

1:16, that lead absolutely slices through the somewhat ethereal soundscape that you've set up. Consider easing up to that very sharp sound with something a little less punchy.

Very rigid piano sequencing, but it works in a piece like this. I would suggest some dynamic changes in the piano part whilst it has its time.

This is a solid foundation, but there's a lot of work to be done before submission.

[Mordi]

1:16, that lead absolutely slices through the somewhat ethereal soundscape that you've set up. Consider easing up to that very sharp sound with something a little less punchy.

Its supposed to be a contrast to the otherwise mellow song. I think its best to have it like it is.

[DrumUltimA]

It definitely gets better as it goes on, I like this. I'll used this new fangled list thing again.

PRODUCTION

[x] Unrealistic sequencing

STRUCTURE

[x] Too repetitive

PERSONAL COMMENTS (positive feedback, specifics on checklist criticisms, any other thoughts)

First of all, I actually think your instrument choice for the lead is a good choice, I like it. However, people are right to say that it sticks out/sounds too harsh, etc. It doesn't really blend with the texture of the rest of your mix. I think just putting a bit of reverb on it will help a lot--not so much that it sounds washy, but just enough so that it sounds like it's in the same room. Perhaps try shaving back some of the high frequencies too--but not too much, of course. I REALLY like what you do with it at 2:08, so I wouldn't want to mess that up.

I think I could make a similar comment for the piano--I would like for it to sit back in the texture a bit more. I'm not as concerned about this, but I think it could help.

One thing I noticed about everything on your mix is that there's not much velocity work, on all instruments--bells, synth, piano, bass, etc. I guess this works due to the way the Secret of Mana tracks are composed, but you may want to play around with a bit more phrasing. Once again not a huge concern, but I think it would add a new dynamic to your mix, and support such decisions as the one you made at 2:08

The last thing is the level of repetition going on here. This mix is over 6 minutes long, and as it's been addressed before waaay over the file size limit. However, in this six minutes, you basically repeat the same melodic material over and over, using layering as your only motive of variation. While the way each instrument interprets the melody and harmony is really well done, you don't have (from what I can tell, I'm not that familiar with the source) enough original content. 1:15-2:34 is basically all of the melodic content we have, counting the lead melody and the piano counter-melody. When the bell-steeldrum-whatever-synth comes in, I consider that to be purely accompaniment--and that figure even repeats four times by itself before the same melody and counter-melody we already had come back in. And then 4:20 is just a combination of the piano and bell accompaniments we already heard. The piano playing it's version of the melody is a nice touch, especially with that cool quartal harmony. That being said, there's this big ol' section in the middle, from 3:00-4:45 where nothing new or interesting really happens. The result is that this track begins to sound like background music, and the listener loses interest. Personally, I suggest shortening that section by a good verse or so, and perhaps putting in either an original melody or a solo there.

The arrangement of this track outside of the realm of melody (percussion, accompanying lines, chords, etc) is fantastic, however. I think your drum writing is very nice for this style, the samples sound great in this texture, and your use of reverse cymbal and delay is really tasteful. The warm pads set up a great atmosphere, and I love your use of the in game sound effects. I'm not crazy about the texture dropping out behind the piano melody at 4:45, though--if there's going to be a dropout, I prefer a more drastic one, percussion included. But it's not a major concern.

I think there's a lot of GOOD STUFF in this track, but right now it is too long given the material provided. Good luck with everything!!!

[Mordi]

Woah, nice feedback. I'll try to adjust it some more. I agree with the variation. Too little of it.

[Nohbody]

This is not an accurate assessment. There needs to be far more variation in texture and beatwork before even considering submission.

1:16, that lead absolutely slices through the somewhat ethereal soundscape that you've set up. Consider easing up to that very sharp sound with something a little less punchy.

Very rigid piano sequencing, but it works in a piece like this. I would suggest some dynamic changes in the piano part whilst it has its time.

This is a solid foundation, but there's a lot of work to be done before submission.

In my opinion, there are other remixes out there that arent as good as this. Im not a judge, but I've heard about 500 remixes on this site, and comparitively, this song is something good. I agree that more work would make it better, and that statement II made before was to get this thread back on top so it could get through the system.

[Mordi]

Glad to hear it, Glitch. Especially since im relatively new at this.

I updated first post with a new more varied song.

[DrumUltimA]

Nice man! It's definitely much improved. The solos help a lot, and I like what you did with the drums! Personally, I could still use a little more variation, but I'm not going to press that any further--I'm just glad to see an improvement like this

The fadeout at the end seems a little long... Perhaps start it later? I thought the music was going to end, and then it just kept going at like, half the volume! I would say fix up the timing there.

Nice work man!!!

[Eten]

How much flak do I get saying I like version 2 over version 3. Of course some(maybe a lot) of it has to do with lowering it to 128kbps. All I can say is that having variation in the drums is an improvement...

[Tensei]

Im not a judge, but I've heard about 500 remixes on this site, and comparitively, this song is something good.

How many of those remixes were made before 2006? Because the standards have definitely gone up since then. As a casual listener I don't think you have a very good idea of good production and sequencing, you listen solely to the arrangement, so you really shouldn't be telling people to submit something that's obviously not ready yet.

While the arrangement itself isn't bad, I dislike the constant repetition where you only add or take away a few elements. It becomes very meandering towards the end, either the mix needs to be shorter or the changes in texture and dynamics need to be way more pronounced to be able to carry a mix like this. Same for the drums, this type of drums just isn't interesting enough. I could see this working with some bitcrushed beats or glitchy percussion (like in Back 2 Skala)

The sound department is bleh, most of the synths sound like very basic FL Studio presets and the acoustic stuff (especially the piano) sounds very midi-ish and mechanically sequenced.

In short, this needs to have a way wider spectrum of instrumentation and textures to make such a long mix work, I think it's especially the percussion that kills it. Try to have the percussion dynamically evolve with the mix and bring it to a real climax rather than just copypasting your way through.