Liontamer Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 Hey guys. This is a remix I did of Norfair from Super Metroid. It's called Heat Vision. This remix was originally written for Super Metroid ~Reserve Tank VARIAtions~, a "get well soon" remix album written for bLiNd. Enjoy. ----------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=sm - "Norfair Ancient Ruins Area" (sm-26.spc) & "Theme of Super Metroid" (sm-16.spc) The arrangement is pretty good, but I'll be honest in that I was pretty underwhelmed with this. Some choices took a lot of steam out of an otherwise solid and swanky jazz mix. Unlike the smooth rim hits, the beats first used from :50-1:23 & 3:16-4:06 were too distant-sounding and flimsy, and undermined the track a lot IMO. There was a hollowness to them that made the soundscape seem empty. Loved the changeup at 2:09, especially seeing how Shariq tied it into "Theme of Super Metroid" at 2:26. The lead there was too piercing when it got loud though, which was another thing I would love to see tweaked. Otherwise, a very unique angle reworking the source in a jazz style that I didn't expect; nice. The arrangement also retread from 2:59-4:06 with some light vox padding things out as a new addition, but I thought it was otherwise too cut-and-paste and could have done something more to keep the ideas fresh. Obviously good stuff in place so far, and I'm not trying to diss Shariq, but I just don't feel it's on par with his usual goodness or above the bar. One could argue the repetition was OK given the interpretation involved, but I didn't feel the same; it just felt like a copy-pasta without much contrast compared the first iteration. If this passes, no problem, but I thought the sum total of the issues held it back too much. NO (refine/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted September 9, 2008 Share Posted September 9, 2008 This track has an unusual aptness at validating its title. Listening to this almost convinces the audience that they, in fact, can see in heat vision. The track has a sort of polished tint to it, reminds me a lot of older Darkesword music.. The overall tone is crazy cool. The arrangement isn't as bold in parts as one might like it to be but it does plenty of original things on its own with the source so it isn't any kind of concern. In a sense, there is a fearless manner to the arrangement in that it tackles the source and doesn't mind reiterating it differently each time that it is rather than falling back on original sections to fill it out. Production is great although the drums sound distant and disengaged. I can recognize the drumkit, it must be the Hammersound acoustic drumkit, because I've used it more than a few times. This is by no means a poor use of it but it does fall back of the mix a lot. Other than that, I think this is a great way to coordinate the presentation and release of the project. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Arrangement is pretty nice overall - the repetition didn't bother me at any point. It just felt natural, and the integration of two themes worked very well. Some of the sounds are on the weak side, but none (drums included) are any worse than Darke's previous mixes, IMO. Sample quality aside, I felt the production was definitely solid. No mixing/mastering problems that I could hear. YES (BGC edit) Dang it, does anyone else have the problem where they mean to quote someone, but instead they accidently edit the post? D'oh! (Larry edit) No. I think it's just you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 This was pretty cool, a lot of interpretation of the sources. The arrangement was clever and putting the two themes together worked surprisingly well. I think the transition could've been even stronger but it's minor and you didn't have a lot of time for this. The repetition is not bothering me because of the overall interpretation of the source at that part, as zircon said: it just felt natural. I thought the samples was quite weak, especially the lead at 2:26. It's a bit too detuned to take that role. It's also quite flat and piercing at times. Reminds me of the Animal Crossing whistling *shudders*. I'd prefer if this was changed before this goes up but it's ultimately nothing that makes me go the other way with my vote if this one's in a hurry. Otherwise the production was clean and all good. YES(conditional lead fix/change if there's time) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted September 10, 2008 Share Posted September 10, 2008 Nice concept, with the time signature change. Gives the original material a very different feel, and the additional harmonies and countermelodies are well-placed. I thought it was a near-perfect balance between original material and source material. I do think this is weaker than your usual stuff, which may not be that surprising given the time you had to put it together. The bass has too thin a tone when it's isolated, the lead at 2:26 was loud, and the drum change-up isn't as effective as the drums you use for most of the song. The repetition near the end was also disappointing but there are small change-ups in structure. Still, I think this is not that hard a call, speaking for myself. These problems either didn't last long or weren't that prominent, and otherwise the production clicks well. The arrangement is also strong overall, as noted. I think it's a YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted September 17, 2008 Share Posted September 17, 2008 Arrangement is pretty nice overall - the repetition didn't bother me at any point. It just felt natural, and the integration of two themes worked very well. Some of the sounds are on the weak side, but none (drums included) are any worse than Darke's previous mixes, IMO. Sample quality aside, I felt the production was definitely solid. No mixing/mastering problems that I could hear.YES GLIB But really, this is above the bar for reasons just stated. Weed's right, it's very reminiscent of his older stuff, but I actually think that gives it kind of a nostalgic feel, in a remixer sense, that is. Not bad considering this was thrown together in a short time as were all the other tracks on bLiNd's album. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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