Liontamer Posted March 18, 2009 Share Posted March 18, 2009 * Your ReMixer name: The Cecils * Your email address: cecils.the@gmail.com * Your website: http://myspace.com/thececils Submission Information * Name of game(s) arranged: Final Fantasy IV * Name of individual song(s) arranged: "Illusionary World" by Nobuo Uematsu * Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc.: Each track was a live preformance with zero editing (no sequencing was used). The drums are accoustic with a delayed mic amped in the room. The lyric was written by The Cecils. --------------------------------------------------------------- http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ff4 - "Illusionary World" (ff4-38.spc) The mixing needs some work; not enough high-end frequencies and the lyrics just bled over the instruments. I'm sure it's purposeful, but the execution doesn't work effectively regardless. The lack of realism with the sampled bowed strings didn't sound great, but they were very low in the background, so they didn't stand out too much. The lead guitar ended up sounding pretty dominant, but the supporting instrumentation basically washed together. Once you've heard the first 1:05 of the arrangement, the rest is just repetition with nothing new, and it didn't sustain interest. The interpretation also wasn't particularly creative beyond the adaptation to these instruments and adding some vocals; it follows the structure of the original too closely without injecting enough personal creativity into the picture. A lot more could be done with this. A shame too; if this were 2000-2001, this maybe could have made it. I really like the mood of the piece; that's definitely good. But the arrangement's a one-trick pony, and that's not gonna do it when your track is 5 minutes. Even if you maintain a very steady energy level the whole way, you can still develop and evolve the piece in other ways. Get more interpretive and varied with the interpretation of the theme as well as your instrumental textures/combinations. Hope we hear more music from you guys. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted March 23, 2009 Share Posted March 23, 2009 Arrangement concept is one-of-a-kind, I'm not even sure how to describe what you've put together. Delay and filter effects, harpsichord and strings, rough guitar and drums, disaffected vocals: garage goth psychedelic, maybe? It was very interesting. Cool guitar, especially the weird notes (reminded me of Pavement), and the vocals were delivered well. But like Larry said, it can't repeat as much as you have it. This could have been two minutes and I don't think you'd have lost anything except new lyrics. Consider starting with just guitar and vocals and adding new instruments as the song goes on; I think this song would work well with that structure. Mixing is off, definitely. I heard a lack of low-end and body rather than high-frequencies, but play around with the sound and see what you like. The guitar is a little loud and dry, and the sound picture is cluttered. String sample could stand to be improved, it sounds like you used the original sample. This ain't 1991. I'd love to hear another, more fleshed out version of this, it's a unique take that matches the restlessness of the original. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted March 24, 2009 Share Posted March 24, 2009 Very unique. The arrangement has a good vibe but as the previous judges said, it's repeating too much. There also could've been a lot more personalization of the source beyond the instrumentation. The production is problematic because it's definitely partially intentional. However some important things can't be passed of as that. The vocals are distant and you can't make out the lyrics which takes away their purpose quite a bit. The mix lacks low-end AND high-end, it's basically all in the middle. The strings are a weak point when it comes to the instruments. The drums were interesting but could've been both more varied in playing and less noisy. The overall noisy sound could've been applied with wind-effects or similar AFTER recording instead of the low-quality recording sound which just makes it seem, well low-quality. Interesting concept but lacking in execution. If you revisit this I urge you to, however wrong it may feel, try to get it more up to par with current music's mixing. You could definitely pull off the old goth-ish sound without having a recording that is, for lack of better words, bad. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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