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DK64: Fight the Gloom


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Gloomy Galleon was a terrible level in an ok game. Its music, however, was fantastic. Maybe my favorite piece by Mr. Grant Kirkhope. It's melancholy and atmospheric, and when I remixed it into a more energetic piece, I wanted it to still have that atmosphere and a bit of sadness.

Original:

This is just a work-in-progress from someone who is still new to this. So please, be harsh. Tell me what I should do with its production (I am still learning all of that stuff), what needs to be fixed, and what I could add.

Remix: http://www.tindeck.com/listen/gfms

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Several cracking sounds when the bass synth starts at 15.8sec, again around 19sec and a couple other places. I think it's the bass synth in combination with the kick that makes the sound crack

Piano that starts at 25sec sounds low-fi compared to other instruments

faint background synth that starts at 1min4sec occasionally sounds out of key

Overall.. the bass-kick has too much <20hz rumble, it clouds the sound, hi-hats are slightly too loud. Sudden stop (maybe it can be a fade-out instead)

The gloomy/melancholic atmosphere was a success. The piano does make it feel more energetic, it was a good choice

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Thank you very much!

I toned down the flabby underside of the kick and I think it sounds a lot better now. I can hear a lot more of the subleties of the song now. Stuff I had forgot I put in there. XD

I guess that fixed the cracking sounds too. I hope so, because I don't hear them, at least.

The piano may have been a good idea, but I messed around and found another instrument for its part that I think sounds really cool. I don't have any good piano samples that sounded any better to my ears.

That synth part was out of tune because it was on the Chinese banjo, which is meant to sound a bit out of tune. It's perfect for some parts, but... not all. I thought the frantic out-of-tune arpeggiation sounded creepy and cool at first, but upon reflection it did stand out.

New version! http://tindeck.com/listen/kmbo

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I think you need a lot of EQ work on this track to prevent it becoming muddy. It sounds like you're afraid to add more elements to it for fear of it becoming too noisy. The atmosphere so far is great, and works really well in this fast-paced format, but there's just something missing.

Try adjusting the EQ of all your tracks, and playing with volume levels. Also I'd suggest a better kick sample - it sounds far too deep at the moment (at least for the more active sections of the song) - and more percussion work too. The hats are nice, but the snare feels very weak and underused. Try using builds and swells in addition to your arp synths to add suspense, and some crashes to release that tension.

Great start though, just tidy up the production and see where you go from there!

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http://tindeck.com/listen/nhil

Chords and percussion ahoy! And more sparklies at the ending.

I'm going to try to get some better headphones because I seem to have problems telling when stuff needs to be EQ'd... And I hate having to put a track up here and have people hold my hand through that particular process... but I think it just takes a lot of practice and listening.

It has a picture now so that means I'm taking it seriously. I didn't draw this one though >_> I need a sig buddy for this one too...

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