Super Mario 64 - Koopas Road + Dire Dire Docks (progressive house?) (update 3/29)

[Radiowar]

I've been addicted to Sytrus lately just endlessly churning shit out the last couple days, randomly ended up with a SM64 remix. It's another blatant Deadmau5 ripoff, but I'm pretty new to producing EDM so I guess it makes sense to start off with a relatively simplistic sound like that. Usually I try not to blend multiple sources when I remix, but I just couldn't resist with this.

It's all very rough and the transitions aren't quite there. I might work towards submitting it depending on the feedback, I know how bad this site needs another unts unts unts unts unts unts

unts unts

[Rozovian]

I like the soft sound this has under the drums. Not much production crits I can come with here, just a question of direction: soft or hard? I think it could work well as a soft dance track.

Hard to miss the dire dire docks source, and I think I recognize the koopas road thing there as well. Probably needs a bit more variation in the writing before and after the 2:50 mark, but personally, I don't mind its current state.

Good stuff.

[WillRock]

Well, I like this one, production is great, and the source is obvious.

Not so sure about the arrangement at the moment, it seems very repetitive, and gets boring as a result.

It certainly is great tho. Production I don't think is a problem, but more variation in the source, and less of the building up and breaking down parts at the beginning and end, and I would be won over

[MrSneak]

I agree with the others. It's very well done and nice to listen to, but if you're going to repeat the Dire Dire Docks theme that many times, you're going to need to vary it each time so it doesn't get lame. My dad always told me that if you're going to have a repeating theme in your music, it needs to vary each time.

Good luck, you've got a crowd-pleasing start and I think this could go all the way with some more work.

[Radiowar]

Thanks for listening

Spent a couple more hours on this, turns out koopa's road isn't an exact fit for dire dire docks so the arrangement side of things is still in very early stages. Added a few more subtleties and made small production tweaks. Right now I'm just trying to figure out how to make a good lead sound in Sytrus, not sure if the one I've got now works.

updated version (first post updated as well)

[Spakku]

I would not have expected these tracks to work so well together layered on top of each other. Good find, good rewriting.

As for negative, there's far too much repetition of the insubstantial bits. And I'm not fond of the arrangement, though that's subjective.

[Eino Keskitalo]

This unts gets my approval. Liking, nah loving the chord synths too. I'll try to give this a closer listen later.

--Eino

[Radiowar]

ok i think the arrangement might actually be getting somewhere now. the break is basically a ripoff of a Signalrunners song, and it's all not paced quite right yet. I think if I can clean it up and put more references to the source in the intro/outro this might stand a chance. maybe.

updatedaupteaupdateupadupdate

edit: not sure why there's 30 seconds of silence at the end. too tired to figure it out now.

[Rozovian]

Whoa, lotta bass drum here. Just came from a wip with a bass drum drowned in bassline.

Yeah, there's more source, more interpretation, more to like here. I think the track could start at :15 or or so, leaving out the first few bars of just drums. Those drums are DJ material, not sure how well they'd be received by the Js, and I'd rather get into the track right away, not have to sit through the drum intro. More int in the untsro, or less unts in the intro, imo.

But that's all I can say. This is a great track.

[SplinterOfChaos]

I like this song. I can't remember the source. But that tune...I've heard this... Mario...64? The source is so intrinsic to this song, that I'm actually remembering the game, which rarely happens (Err, never.), despite having forgotten the song. Maybe that's because I both disliked the source and that level.

Anyway, really good job on this. My only critique is how the percussions are so monotonous, but that's genre, isn't it?

[Radiowar]

glad you guys like it so far

Those drums are DJ material, not sure how well they'd be received by the Js, and I'd rather get into the track right away, not have to sit through the drum intro.

Usually I'd agree, but I think the intro has a purpose in this case and the buildup/release wouldn't be as effective without it.

Another update, getting close to a final version I think. The break in the middle still feels awkward to me, not sure if it needs more space or a longer buildup or what. I'm pretty comfortable with the rest of it though.

[The Vagrance]

I was planning on doing a remix of this, and I actually have a project file in Ableton Live called "Mario 64 Docks RMX" and it wasn't until about 2 hours into working on the song I realized the MIDI file I dragged in wasn't Mario's Dock theme but rather the underwater music from Donkey Kong Country x_X. Enough story time though, I like Deadmau5 a lot so hopefully I'll enjoy this.

0:00-1:00

First this I notice is that something seems slightly off about the drums. Is there heavy processing or something because it seems almost as if they're delayed a tiny bit or something, or it could be the fact that I'm listening to this at 3AM, take your pick. Pretty same-y, but not a big deal, its an intro. You may want to hold off doing an open hat until everything kicks in though, but its your track so w/e. I will say that the synth that comes in needs to sound phatter/more lush, dry maybe a longer reverb or unison or something because it sounds like its in an apartment or something at the moment, as opposed to an ocean.

1:00-1:47

It'd be nice if it didn't go completely to silence before harp and everything came in. If you adjust your automation curve just a tiny bit it'll sound smoother. I like the little micro-samples of the voices, very minimal. I don't like the double time kick though, creates too much urgency for such a laidback track. You could try high-passing a loop in or something but I'm not sold on the double-time kick. Aside from that it sounds great

1:47-2:17

I'm not a giant fan of the lead synth, but personal preference blahblahblah and each time I listen to the track it doesn't bug me as much. Not much else to say

2:17-2:40

Weird key change in there but I like it. I feel you may have gone into this a bit soon though because the first drop had only been in for 30 seconds before another breakdown.

2:40-3:10

Similar to the earlier section, not a bad thing though as its a pretty nice interpretation of the source, shows original expression, and other judgey stuff that people say.

3:10-3:45

Outro, nice way to end the song. Not really much to say.

3:45-4:22

Fuckin' wicked man, sick guitar solo skills. You could submit this section alone and get accepted. And posted. And shows. And groupies. And herpes.

Overall

I like this a lot. The Deadmau5 influence is quite obvious and its a fresh way to remix a video game song, which is what I like hearing. I also appreciate the fact you're keeping in the kick intro, dancefloor bruvs need more respect. I do feel like it has some rough edges which you were probably concerned about yourself, so get those smoothed out.

I also feel like this song needs more substance to it, the main section only takes up 26.7% of the entire song, it should be at least 33%, preferably more. Its not that there's too much intro and outro, its that there's not enough of the main section, not enough steak. There's a double serving of mashed potatoes and a loaf of bread but only one rib.

So yeah, not trying to sound negs because I like this remix a lot and I hope to see it posted, but stuff has got to be fixed.

[Radiowar]

Is there heavy processing or something because it seems almost as if they're delayed a tiny bit or something

I think I know what you're talking about, at around 0:04-0:06 sounds like there's something weird going on with the hi-hat. I only actually noticed it in this version but going back over the old ones it's been going on since the first version, only then it seemed more like a problem with the kick.

I'm not a giant fan of the lead synth

Yeah, me neither. I'm still learning how to make decent leads and that one isn't quite right yet. Plus I think it takes away from the chill atmosphere this remix probably should have (not to mention the kicks you mentioned). Now that I've added vocal chops I think it's getting there, I just need to fix up the lead to match better.

Weird key change in there but I like it. I feel you may have gone into this a bit soon though because the first drop had only been in for 30 seconds before another breakdown.

haha yeah I know, I'm having trouble pacing that section still and editing it is a bitch because I've got like 100 automation clips to drag around. D:

3:45-4:22

Fuckin' wicked man, sick guitar solo skills. You could submit this section alone and get accepted. And posted. And shows. And groupies. And herpes.

actually threw me off for a second haha

Thanks for the detailed feedback man, I'm trying to learn to do house/trance properly so it helps to get feedback that isn't just from an OCR perspective.

[Lynx]

I really like this song,ALOT. But in 5v2 I don't think that the voice sample should go beyond the build up in the middle. If it has to come back make it come back during the end.

[Radiowar]

ok i'm revamping a little. the drums and the synths are all too intense for the more restrained sound i was originally going for so i'm probably going to redo them from scratch. here is a wip of the wip.

[BlackPanther]

Wow man I'm likin the new version the instruments you chose gives it some beauty which dire dire docks had some beauty to it anyway but you also incorporated that with Koopas Road which was a lot more darker so props to that. I really don't have any constructive criticism for you mainly from the fact that I'm still a n00b learnin this stuff. But I can tell you though that this is some hot shit though lol, keep it up can't wait to hear the finished version.

[Rozovian]

1:04, lotta highs.

Vocal sounds aren't all that pretty. I like how they contribute to the mood, but they just don't sound good. Could be that they're cutouts, and that the volume cuts can be heard. or maybe it's that they're bouncing around so much.

Not sure the bass drum really fits here, it's a little too strong, too much click, maybe not enough bass.

Off-beat saw thing ain't pretty here either.

Weird, I liked it more before. As a wip of the wip (weird expression, btw), I guess it does say something about the direction you're taking it in. Good luck man.

[The Vagrance]

Listening to the new WIP of a WIP.......yeah

As Rozo said, the kick is a little clicky, I don't necessarily think it should be phatter either as it might come off too heavy, but a little bit of EQ work might be beneficial. That said, its not a dealbreaker by any means.

That saw in the beginning still has a weird reverb. You may want to try automating the reverb to give it a more open feel (like a plate setting) during the intro, then let it pass dry for whenever you want it in the background...iono, these are just ideas.

I like the main section a bit more, fits a bit more naturally, but as an idea think you should let the little FX that you end this WIP with go on for like, 1 bar, then drop in the main section again only with 16th note hats and another instrument playing the counter melody.

[Radiowar]

The clickiness in the kick is intentional. I've just been listening to a lot of Moonbeam, that and Signalrunners' Meet Me In Montauk. Those are probably closest to the sound I'm going for.

[The Vagrance]

Thats cool then, keep it if you like it. I will say I'm anxious to hear an updated version of this.

[Radiowar]

i took some time off this mix to learn to do synths better, started this project from scratch a couple times...anyways it's a lot cleaner now and the project is more manageable. i guess this is a demo of the next "official" version. i'm posting this partly just to show that it's still being worked on. none of the automation is there yet but i think this is the general shape and sound of things.

[Eino Keskitalo]

Sounding nice, very peaceful and pleasant, which I like. It's upbeat, but relaxed. Happy but doesn't rub it into your face. Yeah. I like that voice-like synth very much.

--Eino

[The Vagrance]

0:00 - 1:02

Nice and beefy kick, I like it. The bass is also really understated but fits nicely; a minor touch but its nice. Not a bad basis for an intro, I'm assuming a few minor flourishes will be added but not much is needed.

1:02 - 1:17

Not much to say, I'll wait until the automation is finished

1:17 - 1:47

I'm loving everything here, nice atmosphere you got going. Especially that main melody synth, the reverb/delay on that is very nice.

1:47 - 2:17

Lovely, though I think when you go back to do more work on this the drop needs to have a bit more impact. Maybe don't get the kick as beefy as it is in the drop but rather work your way into it, or get some nice percussion going or something. The drums need to differ a bit though.

2:17 - 2:32

Now, this is an area I can see being troublesome because its a very necessary break, however the key change is a bit awkward in a dance setting so I'd give this transition a lot of love, but aside from that it sounds nice.

2:32 - End

Back through the motions again. I like the way it tampers off and the strings are an absolutely excellent touch I didn't notice until the third or so time through.

Overall:

I've always liked this WIP, and this time I like it even more. A lot of production work will have to be done to fix the cracks but the base is very strong and there is definitely a lot to work with.

[Radiowar]

Ugh. This mix is really stagnating. Even after restarting the project, everything is just as convoluted as it was before (the pluck is four different patches), and the chord progression really doesn't blend Dire Dire Docks with Koopa's Road as well as I initially thought. Considering scrapping it at this point. Here's the most recent version...convince me otherwise??

[glasfen]

Considering scrapping it at this point.

Please don't!

...convince me otherwise??

Love too.

The first minute, mostly build-up, is seamless, except for the synth that comes in around 0:45 (maybe back it off a little but add more echo?). I think the Koopa's Road theme blends in beautifully. Maybe a change in the synth would help? Something a little softer until 2:25, where what you have works perfectly. The outro is great, once again demonstrating how good mixing makes the whole thing flow together without alarming the ears that there's been a change.

As usual, this is an amazing mixture of style and source. I'm still astounded by Leafcutter! Excellent work, sir.