*WIP* Streets of Rage 2 Expander (DnB remix)

[DJHexy]

Hi all,

I was suprised to find that nobody has attempted a remix of the almighty track that is Expander, and thought I'd give it a bash myself. I love drum n bass, so I've had a crack at taking it down that route but keeping some of the "oldskool" flavour in there, and experimented with padding it out a little, hence the title "Expanded".

It's very much a work in progress, but I would value your feedback very much on all aspects of it. It is available here http://cdhinteractive.net/expanded2.zip

Good or bad, I welcome your coments and hope you get at least a little enjoyment from it

[Geeky Stoner]

First of all i enjoyed this remix quite a bit.

cant really give any critique on the music.

I don't really have a critical ear when it comes to music yet.

however the file size of this song is 9 megs and OCR's file size limit is 6 megs.

maybe lower the bitrate down on your next render i think it will still sound good.

other than that everything sounded great,but yea try to get this file under 6 megs.

also im not really familiar with the source,I suggest you post the source track.

[DJHexy]

wow thank you!

The original is on youtube here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B89EP06mRlA

[ambient]

Oooo, a new SOR remix. Can't wait to check it out when I get home tonight.

EDIT: Listened to it. Man, I am too lazy to give detailed feedback. In not so many words, this is repetitive and could use some variation or complexity in the beats. But I really like the production and the overall vibe.

[NeoS]

Oooo, a new SOR remix. Can't wait to check it out when I get home tonight.

EDIT: Listened to it. Man, I am too lazy to give detailed feedback. In not so many words, this is repetitive and could use some variation or complexity in the beats. But I really like the production and the overall vibe.

Lazy ass.

[DJHexy]

Hiya all, thank you so much for the feedback thus far, especially Ambient, your elevator remix is fantastic!

I'm reworking it considerably at the moment, adding variations on the melody and bass layers at the moment, and the overall length of the remix will probably be shortened for the next WIP (and eventual submission), as even though DnB tracks tend to be around the 6 minute mark, it is demanding to ask for 6 minutes of critique, not to mention the file size as kindly pointed out to me by Geeky Stoner

I'm considering adding a kind of "downbeat" layer on the precussion mid-tune to break the drum layers up a bit, but thats proving tricky with the overall adrenaline-rush of the original. I'll hopefully have an updated WIP online in the next few days

[Geeky Stoner]

can't wait to hear the updated version

id suggest lowering to about 128bits per second I think I've seen stuff about 4 to 5 min long(maybe even 6) and still be under 6 megs with that bitrate but im not sure.

[DJHexy]

Heres the latest rendering! http://www.cdhinteractive.net/expanded3.zip

It's just over a minute shorter than WIP #1, but fair bit more has been squeezed in (more variation on the melodies, some further drum loop experimentation). The first 2 minutes are pretty similar in structure to WIP #1, just some subtle changes in the patterns, everything after has been resequenced.

[hewhoisiam]

Overall, I like it. There are a few things here and there I'll try to pick out.

Repetition and dynamics. These two go hand in hand. I can really see some dynamics in certain parts changing things for the better. Not a lot, but in a few places where the thing is runny too long on the same idea for my taste. The tom and high parts at 1:40 drag on too long for me. Could be part of the genre of DnB also though. I'm usually not a huge fan of anything that repetitive.

Some layered bass sounds couldn't hurt to help accent the important stuff; as well as something to break it down so it's not running away for the full 5 minutes. I'd say the same thing about the drum track in general. Lots of DnB that I see will throw in a 16th note here and there to keep things just a little bit different (esp in bass drums) That's about where this is at: down to the little things.

While the general flow of the song isn't bad, it's not too spectacular. I don't really know what to say about that other than I find myself losing interest in this about the 3:30 mark. It gets loud and heavy fast. Then it stays there forever and ends. I'm not really a DnB connoisseur, but all of the stuff I listen to that is really made great imho, is because of awesome build ups and really off the wall beats. Like I said above, the little things (and usually the toughest )

Hope this helps

-H

[DJHexy]

Thank you very much Hewhoisiam (excellent nickname by the way!). This feedback has been extremely helpful, and will certainly be taken on board for the next WIP.

You are right, it does need a proper breakdown and build-up, after listening to a few of my favourite DnB tracks for a few hours I concur that an "amen" moment is required here. I think I've concentrated too much on the melody variations this release (WIP 1 had very little in that department) and not enough on the balance of the beats (which although are improved still require a lot of work). This is the next area to be tackled.

I'm also a little torn on the distribution of the high-tone segments with the piano elements. The original piece my Mr Koshiro gets the balance right on the money, I don't think its quite there yet for this one.