OceansAndrew Posted March 4, 2010 Share Posted March 4, 2010 ReMixer name: L.A. Chinaman Real name: Casey Chan Website: http://sandbox.ea.ecu.edu.au/projects/waapa/composition/caseychan/ Submission Information Name of game arranged: Chrono Trigger Name of source tune arranged: Black Dream At the time I created this track, I had suddenly gained an interest in Drum n Bass. Strangely enough, I started experimenting with drum beats and putting together some of my own tracks, and after gaining some "experience", I decided to do a game remix in a Drum n Bass style. I chose 'Black Dream' because it has such a good beat already and I thought it could work well with a combination of electronic and acoustic instruments. As for the title of the track..meh. I've never really liked naming my compositions. This is 'Hold Your Dream', because..I think it's a good feeling when you can remember your dream? Anyway, I hope you enjoy listening to this as much as I enjoyed putting it together. Link to original soundtrack: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hnjjNK7xXI0 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted March 7, 2010 Share Posted March 7, 2010 The Black Dream track has always been underrated, so I'm glad to see some people stepping forward to give it some attention. I can tell that you spent a lot of time working on this to get it to match up with the original. While this is always a good exercise to be able to write out melodies you've listened to, this mix is pretty much a cover of the source. That isn't to say there isn't some original work in here. The drums are changed up, as is some of the soundscape, and there are some original or changed up sections. As a whole, however, it's far to similar to the source as an arrangement. I would suggest listening to some of the recently posted mixes and comparing them carefully to their sources to see how other artists approach arranging a piece for OC ReMix. You mentioned getting into DnB, but a lot of this track is using the same drum loop. There are so many things you can do here, I want to hear more variation. Some stuff you have going on that works in the drums is at 2:35, when the drums are really working to support the melody and aren't on autopilot. Look for more ways to have the drums work with the track. There are a few good things going on with the production. There is some attention to panning that is nice, and while the first lead is a little too far back, overall the balance of the track is good. I'm not really crazy about the sounds that are being used. Right now the track feels like it's a Playstation upgrade to the original with the sounds you are using. Added on top of that, everything is mechanical sounding. It would be a good idea to look into was to add a more human touch to the sounds. You have the start of some ideas here, but the track needs some work to get it to the level it needs to be for us. Please check out our WIP section to get some good feedback from other artists. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 The levels were way too quiet once the track kicked in and the textures were flimsy. The drums were basically the only thing filling out the back, so the track sounded empty. Unfortunately, the bridge at :36 was clearly dissonant, and the saw lead at 1:28 was extremely generic. After the breakdown around 3 1/2 minutes in, the textures were better with the jazzier instrumentation paired with the synths. Good cymbal writing brought better energy to the piece and filled things out nicely. Going back to the empty drums and older ideas around 4:22 just went back to the issues from earlier on in the track. Like Deia mentioned, the melodic interpretation was low, so do more to personalize that aspect of the arrangement. That said, you did at least present some ideas with the supporting writing to help it sound different. This would need a lot of work all around to get it to something passable, but definitely see what you can learn via our ReMixing and WIP forums. Keep at it, Casey, you have potential. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted March 8, 2010 Share Posted March 8, 2010 Not a lot of interpretation in this track, most of the parts play it disappointingly straight. I did like the bridge though, which was much more creative with combining themes. There's a lot of things you could have done to make this more interesting. D&B is a nice style for this track, so make the most of it! Throw in some bass drops, jazzier chords, additional layers of percussion, etc. The drums were too loud and plodding, and the saw at 1:28 needed some expression or movement to it. There were other production issues, but those immediately jump out. I'd recommend spending some time in our WIP forums, I think they'd have some advice that could help you improve. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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