SoulinEther Posted March 10, 2010 Share Posted March 10, 2010 UPDATE: See post way below for latest version / details! I don't know why I put an exclamation point either - this is hardly exciting! (or if you're lazy, VERSION 2: http://www.box.net/shared/le508qxvfg) http://www.box.net/shared/3djqouevi7 (if you're still reading) Jeremy soule is like my hero. Alright, he isn't, but I loved his Total Annihilation and TA:Kingdoms soundtracks - the former representing epic war theater and the latter an ethnic grab-bag, or something. So, to honor this bloke, I've started on an electronica remix of one of Taros' themes from TA:K. I could bore you with my personal life and my fondness for Lokken's side, but that will only get in the way of everything. I have no idea what style I'm going for. But expect some four on the floor. And. Previous sentence intended as is. I have two unconnected, unfinished parts at the moment. There are... no actual chords to speak of. And I'm still figuring out how to bridge the pieces and where I want this to go. I'll take any crits (I'm aware there's a little bit of clipping in the second half). I haven't even touched the ...middle part of the song that connects the repeated halves yet... but I will eventually. The name is up in the air at the moment, but I think I might go with the one in the title over the one on the file. edit: Source: it's pretty... sparse. I know, I've traded such intricate percussion for four on the floor.edit 2.5: my first post here woo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboKa Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Well this is interesting in both a good and bad way. I definitely recognize the source here. This is good in that it's generally striving to not sound like your said generic electronic genre, but... The bad is that it's kinda meandering and sparse. I started off that way myself - way worse actually. lol. Anyhoo, the best thing to make this track better is to make it build up gradually - make it evolve without losing the original feel. Production and otherwise is alright, but you should worry about the composition first and foremost I'm a little dissapointed at the lack of responses on this thread here. I mean its TA:K ppl...gosh you all a bunch of sissy Final Fantasy fanboys or something?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Invader_Quirk Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 ... There was a sequel to Total Annihilation?? TA is one of my favorite games of all time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulinEther Posted March 13, 2010 Author Share Posted March 13, 2010 Well this is interesting in both a good and bad way. I definitely recognize the source here.This is good in that it's generally striving to not sound like your said generic electronic genre, but... The bad is that it's kinda meandering and sparse. I started off that way myself - way worse actually. lol. Anyhoo, the best thing to make this track better is to make it build up gradually - make it evolve without losing the original feel. Production and otherwise is alright, but you should worry about the composition first and foremost Yeah, I am meandering a bit here. I am rethinking a few parts of this and I think I've figured out a satisfactory way to connect these two pieces as part of a larger build. I just recently added the guitar-ish synth and I'm not sure if I'm happy with how it sits in the piece. A lot of the instrumentation I'm unsure about, frankly. This is something I've been working on for a while but only recently worked up the courage to post. And Kingdoms isn't quite a sequel - it's another RTS with similar mechanics but it takes place in a sort of Middle Ages world with magic and bows/swords/wood/catapults/etc. Supreme Commander (and Supreme Commander 2) are more spiritual successors to the game that, so I understand, have a similar setting as TA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboKa Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 ... There was a sequel to Total Annihilation?? TA is one of my favorite games of all time. It's not a sequel - TA:K just used a similar engine and RTS concept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboKa Posted March 13, 2010 Share Posted March 13, 2010 Yeah, I am meandering a bit here. I am rethinking a few parts of this and I think I've figured out a satisfactory way to connect these two pieces as part of a larger build.I just recently added the guitar-ish synth and I'm not sure if I'm happy with how it sits in the piece. A lot of the instrumentation I'm unsure about, frankly. This is something I've been working on for a while but only recently worked up the courage to post. And Kingdoms isn't quite a sequel - it's another RTS with similar mechanics but it takes place in a sort of Middle Ages world with magic and bows/swords/wood/catapults/etc. Supreme Commander (and Supreme Commander 2) are more spiritual successors to the game that, so I understand, have a similar setting as TA. DOH didn't realize u already responded to that. BTW I heard a lot of bad stuff about Sup Com 2. Q.Q Anyways, I think you can pull this off if you can find some kind of hook to bring it all together, as well as moar BEEF, otherwise the Lion will maul you. (btw can u critique my EWJ remix? =p) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulinEther Posted March 13, 2010 Author Share Posted March 13, 2010 Anyways, I think you can pull this off if you can find some kind of hook to bring it all together, as well as moar BEEF, otherwise the Lion will maul you. i know, i'll post an update maybe this weekend but at like two minutes i'm looking at like 30% source usage atm. though i think i have bigger issues right now than source - need something to bring it all together, as you said..i think I have an idea of what... maybe. I'll try to take a look at your EWJ remix tomorrow, when it's not almost 3 in the morning lol. Sadly this is the only quiet time I have when I can focus on what I'm doing for more than ten minutes at a time... not forever I hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulinEther Posted March 30, 2010 Author Share Posted March 30, 2010 http://www.box.net/shared/le508qxvfg so... combined the two pieces coherently now. added a saw bass thing - sorta sounds like a guitar. thought of adding hats/claps/snare/something for the second section, but it didn't work out to my liking. there's a little clipping... trying to make it loud but i'm noting in the waveform I have something intermittently loud to address. from here i have ideas of how i will proceed but I'm not sure about timbres and stuff. edit: wow this is really intense in the lower frequencies. needs more highs! see? i critique myself. edit: well, it cut off early but i don't feel like reuploading. i just completed the phrase as you hear it.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted March 31, 2010 Share Posted March 31, 2010 Alrighty, not familiar with the source/game, but you posted it so all is well. Let's see what you got, shall we? I like the idea... I don't think I'd ever imagine writing an electronic/dance version of this song. The source is strong in your track (perhaps a touch too much so, for OCR), so while it loses it's tribal feel it still sounds like the source. It's just a bit more... upbeat. Hmm... that beginning wasn't grabbing my attention. 'Tis a shame, since the sidechaining part had some nice bite to it. I suggest starting with the sidechaining and bring out the theme so it isn't drown as much. That'll get our attention better This is pretty sparse. I notice a lot happening, but none of it fills the space. Use some texture in there that'll fill the soundscape better (pads, short electronic textures, whatever works). There's a note that doesn't ring right with me at 0:46... I think it's the melody note, but I'm not sure. Fix em'. Drums... well, you really could use a snare . Hats would also help. Just because it's four on the floor doesn't mean that you need a boring drum - spice it up with some little tasty hat work, and finish it up with some snare SPICE!! Yeah, it really needs something... more, in there. I'd love to dance to this, but there isn't enough sound to really get me going, here (I'm picky, like that). Ah well, keep it up, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoulinEther Posted March 31, 2010 Author Share Posted March 31, 2010 thanks much for the critique. i've been trying to find a good drumset that fits.. hat work and snare duly, duly noted. and I will try to get a pad in here somewhere and get a chord progression going..hopefully it'll do well to fill out the soundscape. my brain is teaming with ideas. sort of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HoboKa Posted April 2, 2010 Share Posted April 2, 2010 ooo side-chaining. Sexy. However, it feels a tad weird with the lead melody. Maybe make the lead gated and/or something with OOMph? Also noticed a bit of dissonance at the last 4-5 notes of the lead at 0:49-51. Yeah this needs to pick up into high gear - i.e. build in heavier drums. There could be a way to pull this off with the sparse feeling, but I think you'd need to upgrade your whole sample set. So it'd probably be safer to go in with a thicker soundscape, more texture and moar drums. Progression wise, it's a bit stale, you can easily find ways to change it up without losing focus - that's the good thing about this wip being sparse. Lots of wiggle room to try new things and add in different ideas Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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