OCR02113 - *YES* Touhou Koumakyou: The Embodiment of Scarlet Devil 'Devil's Advocate'

[Palpable]

Hey judges,

ProtoypeRaptor here with a radically different mix than my previous sub: an orchestral remix of UN Owen Was Her?, the theme of an extra level boss in Embodiment of Scarlet Devil, of the Touhou series.

I've tried to take what was mentioned on my last orchestral work and try to correct it and, well, embarrassingly enough, there was a switch thrown when I mixed the old one down.

It just goes to show to double check the system EQ before you finish something up....sheesh.

Anyway, this orchestration is heavily inspired by Danny Elfman's works (specifically Beetlejuice/Men in Black) and tries to capture the playfully evil nature of a 500 year old vampire child named Flandre as only Elfman can do.

While it's not a very complex, intricate piece, I do find it conjures up the dark, brooding, most definitely black and white image of imminent death at the hands of a psychotic who looks like she's 12 quite effectively.

Also she has lasers. Good luck with that.

source: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYQHMSN13j4&feature=related

remix: http://soundcloud.com/prototyperaptor/devils-advocate

Thanks for listening,

-PrototypeRaptor (Jonathan Paulsen)

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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYQHMSN13j4&feature=related

[OceansAndrew]

Cool arrangement on a equally cool source, this had some really nice moments, and stayed exciting even with a strong dynamic curve. Nice work!

Production was a bit muddy in the low end with the piano reverb and orchestral drums, and some sections were a little bit mechanically sequenced, but overall I was feeling this. It has a distinct manic energy to it, and the sections were nicely transitioned but still unique to each other, and the vocals and horn rips were a good unifying element.

I dig it.

Yes

[DragonAvenger]

I could probably directly quote OA on this one. I'm really enjoying this arrangement, and I think all of the elements are put together really well to add that dramatic flair. There are times where things get a little muddled, especially in the lower end, but it's only in certain sections. I can also agree about the mechanical sequencing at times, but to me the arrangement and the larger bombastic sections more than make up for it.

I'm also a sucker for (well done) epic orchestral stuff, which this does nicely.

YES

[Palpable]

I always love seeing remixers branch out, so to see you do orchestral this respectably is great. I already thought the original sounded Elfman-esque before reading your description; you took it further in that direction, and the result is a pretty spot-on pastiche. The opening was somewhat shaky - the low-heavy piano blended in to the background and the sequencing on it was a little unrealistic, but from 1:34 onward this didn't miss a beat. Sure, there's articulations here and there that sound a tad off, but for the most part it sounds great. Happy to give this the ol'

YES

[Vig]

Production stuff first, then I'll go back and listen to the source.

This is drowning in reverb. You should really pull it back on the vox and piano, make them more present. In general, that's where your mud is coming from. That's really my only technical gripe. The mix is pretty good otherwise. The vocal could be more up front, but if you make it more dry, that might do the trick.

The arrangement is really great. I was surprised when I listened to the original. We don't get many orchestral adaptations from energetic electronic sources, and this does a great job of preserving some of the energy of the original. Very creative.

YES