Liontamer Posted July 9, 2009 Share Posted July 9, 2009 CONTACT INFORMATION ReMixer Name: Jormungand Real Name: Joe Schwebke Email: jschwebke @ gmail.com Web: www.js-music.com userid: 14092 SUBMISSION INFORMATION Game: Valkyria Chronicles Music Arranged: "Gallant Fight" (first battle); "Main Theme" Game Info: Valkyria Chronicles (2008) PS3 Composer: Hitoshi Sakimoto Developer & Publisher: Sega OST: http://vgmdb.net/album/7796 ReMix Title: "Valkyrie of the Battlefield" Comments: This piece marks my first foray into prog-rock arrangement as well as my first Hitoshi Sakimoto remix. Each and every note was lovingly hand-crafted with synth and sequencer; no live instruments, and no CD loop samples. The arrangement's name is a slight variation on the original JP game title, Senjou no Valkyria. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Valkyria Chronicles Original Sound Track - & I'm loving the concept here, but the execution is too robotic. The EP at 1:06 was devoid of energy, and the guitar sample first used at 1:19 sounded brutal. There's gotta be something out there that's better quality; right now the sample had no body and the timing was super robotic. Synth at 1:46 was also very mechanically sequenced. The textures also sounded too sparse sometimes, when the padding was very subtle. I liked the arrangement though, and the writing was generally nice throughout. It had a nice relaxed rock style to it. Great dropoff at 6:32. The arrangement became repetitive in a bad way before that, around the 5 minute mark, so it desperately needed the change. I thought the transition at 7:12 could have been handled better though; felt like an abrupt key change. It's worth pointing out that the drum programming sounded better/more comfortable (cymbals in particular sounded very nice, IMO), and the bass was rigid, but fine. Some of the sequencing sounded pretty nice and pretty natural (e.g. the opening guitar, the guitar part at 6:45). But the leads and main supporting elements sounding so robotic killed this. Definitely a shame the production is lacking, because I love this arrangement. Many of the instruments needed more body, but I liked the writing, which had a pretty authentic arrange album feel. You could easily imagine a Japanese composer band performing this. Can anyone offer some advice to Joe on better samples to use in the future that are either free or don't break the bank, or how to prop up what's in use right now? We've gotta get this posted in some form. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted July 13, 2009 Share Posted July 13, 2009 Yeah, I really like this arrangement too. Even at 9 minutes, it's interesting to listen to the whole way. The development of the song is cool, you didn't go the standard epic rock song way. This chugs along, morphing subtly, holding a steady pleasant beat. The lead guitar sample is a little painful, since the sequencing is robotic and the sample ain't great. It would be great if you could get somebody to play on it, this is a good place to start if you want to go that route. The other option is just spending more time sequencing it, adjusting volume and expression. I thought I heard some vibrato in there - if your guitar instrument lets you play with expression, use it more. The EP actually sounds fine sample-wise, but when it takes lead, you could afford to play with the expression and sequencing a bit. It's plain. Maybe throw some distortion on it too, because that would suit the song and spice up the section. Lead synths have the same stiffness/blandness problem. I also think the sparseness hurts parts of this song. The snare drum could be a tad fuller and louder at times to fill it out. I would definitely like to see this improved upon and resubmitted. Don't end this song's journey here. At the same time by fixing this, you would improve your own skills and become a better producer. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 16, 2009 Share Posted July 16, 2009 I agree that the only real issues with this track are generally plain sounding samples and a few production weaknesses; the arrangement itself is really strong, reminds me of some late 70's prog rock like Yes or Kansas, but synthed. This is a concept I fully support. I am hearing a lot of expression in the guitar lead, but the attack it has inherently is really distracting. I don't know what to say besides get a better sample, since I think a live player would ruin the theme of this mix (and this is possibly the only time i've ever said that a synth guitar would be more appropriate than a real one). The other judges pretty much covered the other issues; the snare could be bigger, and things could be a little more defined, but it all seems to be little details that add up. no, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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