Liontamer Posted March 20, 2009 Share Posted March 20, 2009 Contact Info: This is a Collab between: Blue Magic (Damon Campbell) Shi (My Dad, Shepard Campbell) email: bluemagic1984@hotmail.com http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/bluemagic/ Submission Info: Sonic Adventure 2 Pyramid Cave theme (Keys the Ruin) Comments: Ad lucem ~ Towards the Light. Despite its short length, this mix ended up being the most difficult one I've done so far and I've been working on it since 2006! At first, this mix was supposed to be a little contest between me and my dad. I was going to test my FL Studio skills against my Dad's skills with Reason and his big, kick ass, studio. The plan was for us to both remix the Pyramid Cave theme however we liked and submit them both to OCR seperatly. Unfortunately, he started having some things come up with his job and he could not dedicate the time to our little contest. So, I ended up scrapping the project (cause the early version of this song sucked sucked to me). I started working on other songs and forgot about this mix until my Dad emailed me one day. Turns out, he got FL Studio 7, saved a copy of my flp file and he did some work on it himself. He totally redid the bass line and the ethnic percussions and inspired me to get back to work on this mix. So, now I nervously submit this mix to you guys. Thanks, Damon Campbell -------------------------------------------------------------- SONIC ADVENTURE 2 ORIGINAL SOUND TRACK multi-dimensional - (08) "Keys The Ruin ...for Pyramid Cave" Maybe it's just me, but I wasn't even picking up much 1-for-1 in terms of the arrangement. Seemed to have a similar vibe, I guess with altered rhythms, but wasn't making out the melody well at all. Definitely need someone else's ears for the connections here, but breakdown would definitely help. Can't comment on the arrangement at all. I will say that the ending was flat. Also, I've heard Binster put out a killer 2:15-long track with nary a repeating idea. If you're gonna repeat stuff, 2:15 doesn't get it done in terms of sufficiently developing the concept. The bowed strings definitely sounded extra thin and fake. Not sure what's up with that lately, but no one in the inbox can seem to produce realistic bowed strings today. The acoustics don't sound organic, but they were at least sequenced better and more expressive. Ultimately though, the percussion and bowed strings didn't adequately fill out the background, and the mix felt too sparse as a result. This needs more body; you've gotta properly pad it out. It could be because the project was old, but in any case, the execution just wasn't at your usual level. Listening to your 5 other mixes, you've created much more cohesive arrangements and this is nowhere near the level of those. Sonic 3D Blast "Day & Night" is probably the closest match to the style of this one and that mix was executed so much better overall. The sounds were richer & more realistic, and filled out the soundscape more effectively; you need to bring that attention to detail to this piece, get each part sounding good on its own, and properly glue the elements together. You know I like your stuff, even when I NOed "The Delay", so I'm not trying to bag on you at all. But right now this is a WIP. De-WIP it. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted March 25, 2009 Share Posted March 25, 2009 1:14-1:35 was the only clear usage of the source that I heard. The rest uses the chord progression (a not particularly unique one) and similar melodic lines, but nothing close to 1-to-1. (I'm not the best at picking out source, so obv point out anything I've missed etc.) So to me, the arrangement was nice, good vibe and writing, but not connected enough. It was also a little underdeveloped, going through some repetitions even though it was only two minutes. Weird chord to end on, I didn't think it worked. A more natural guitar lead, preferably real playing, would have helped the song. Strings were also not great, but less noticeable. I was more concerned about the arrangement than the production details, and I don't think it's a pass there. Sorry, Damon. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anosou Posted March 26, 2009 Share Posted March 26, 2009 There's a lot of small hints to the source in this (for example the figure at 0:00-0:01 that's 1:21-1:22) but they're heavily altered and not identifiable and dominant in my opinion. 1:15 had more audible source usage but it can't carry the whole track. Like previous judges have said, when you have a track this short you shouldn't repeat ideas. The ending was also very anti-climatic for an arrangement so rooted in traditional tonality, finish it on the root chord! The main instrument, the guitar, was okay for a fake guitar but it needs to be more realistic to be able to carry the track. I can't expect you to learn to play it but this currently doesn't cut it. The production was generally crisp and clean but the guitar was a bit too loud in my opinion. The strings were also quite fake-sounding but being that far back in the soundscape it didn't bother me. Overall the arrangement needs more substantial source-usage, preferably a bit longer or without repetitions. That's what's really holding this back but a more realistic guitar and perhaps strings would certainly help too. Make it shine! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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