djpretzel Posted February 19, 2005 Share Posted February 19, 2005 Game: SD3 Title: Path-ology ReMixer name: OverCoat Few Paths Forbidden done in an ambient/chillout style. Zircon said I should submit this to you guys, so I'm taking his word for it . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Groovy. Nice use of delay on the violin. It fills up the soundscape without filling my ears in a bad way. Sounds really mesh well together. That lead that comes in around 1:30 is kind of annoying. Really annoying. Oh good it went away. Violin stuff is really nice; great texture. I wish there was some more variation in this piece, but it's good enough and there's a nice soundscape. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted February 20, 2005 Share Posted February 20, 2005 Definitely glad soc submitted this, because I think it's one of his best mixes so far. The overall texture or soundscape is superb, created by the various synth patterns, atmospheric leads (like the violin and synth flute), and acoustic drums. Production-wise, I think I would have preferred a real flute, and additional variation or processing of the drums to keep things fresh, but it doesn't detract from the song too much. The arrangement is also quite good overall as a reinterpretation, though the structure suffers from repetition and the lack of new ideas or layers. In fact, I'd say that this probably sits RIGHT on the border of what is passable and what isn't, because it stretches just a handful of ideas over 4:30.. but my vote would be that it doesn't cross the line. It's a good re-invention of the original and has great sound quality. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 21, 2005 Share Posted February 21, 2005 http://www.snesmusic.org/spcsets/sd3.rsn - "Few Paths Forbidden" (sd3-2-04.spc) Played it on VGF44.99; pretty chill stuff. Like Darke mentioned, the violin sounded very, very nice. I thought the drums were a bit loud and didn't sit quite right in the track. Nothing glaringly wrong, but for some reason they didn't mesh quite as well with the other sounds as I feel they should have. Overall though, the production was excellent. Everything sounded nice, and the flute-like lead at 1:35 didn't bother me much. I heard a bassline pattern come in at :47 that seemed derived from voice 4 of the SPC, though I'm probably looking too deeply into things. I'm not sure how significantly the source tune was incorporated into the mix from 1:12-2:59. I listened to :52-1:29 of "Few Paths Forbidden" trying to see if that section was used here, but I couldn't make any connection there. Scott's composition of the mix was nice, but the violin work was basically the only notable part taken from the source material and only lasted for a combined 1:38 of your 4:34 mix. The source tune arrangement returned from 2:59-3:48. From 2:59-4:34/end, the track repeated :23-1:38 of itself verbatim. I initially thought that some of the pad work this late in the track was new in order to provide some subdued dynamic contrast. But nah, it was all just another iteration of what came by the first time around. I'm loving the chill atmosphere here. Aside from the minor issue with the drums, I thought the sounds were great. The flowing electrosynths, pads & violin created a relaxing track, and the original & arranged elements pieced together nicely. Nonetheless, I need more overt use of the source tune besides the violin work and the last long section needs something that distinguishes it from the first section. Doesn't have to be anything that would upset the ambient/chillout nature of the track, but something should be done there so you're not literally recycling the track. A very cool mix regardless of the guidelines here, this was some of Scott's finest work. It would need more usage of the source material and a small measure of development/contrast in order to objectively gain my vote though. NO (revise/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Digital Coma Posted February 23, 2005 Share Posted February 23, 2005 Larry's right that only part of the original is used here. The arrangement of the quirky chromatic-like instrument is missing, for one; for two, well, the whole second half of the theme is missing. So this mix uses only a part of the theme to retain its chill atmosphere. The delayed violins are cool, although when they sustain, the sample just sounds strained. Percussion is pretty much the same as the original's minus the heavy snare. The synth flute does irritate me, probably because it sounds doubled and washed out. Bass and accompanying synths are cool. Main problem here is the repetition of the same passage throughout the entirety of the mix. After the flute B section, which is pretty weak anyway, we're back to the violins, and repeat. Cool chordage and chill, but the arrangement lacks. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayLightning Posted March 3, 2005 Share Posted March 3, 2005 SOC has gotten a lot better. Comparing this and the original, I have to say the parts that SOC left out were the weaker parts of the piece, at least for me. But at the end of the day, I don't feel an arrangement necessarily must rely on a major part of the original. I thought the original's harmony wasn't that good, and the changes SOC made sound not only better, but especially within this context it works well enough. Solid arrangement as far as I'm concerned. The production is nice, delayed violin is great. The delayed flute/synth on the other hand sounds muffled and bad. Other than that though, the mix doesn't have that much interesting processing techniques. The saw synth? could have done with more processing. I think it sounds really thin. I also think SOC could have done more processing to create a denser soundscape. The atmosphere of the mix is very pleasant and nice to zone out to. It's not an ideal way of doing an arrangement, but in consideration to the parts removed vs what was kept and what works in this context, I think it's passable. Good work. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcos Posted March 11, 2005 Share Posted March 11, 2005 The soundscape here is very pleasant to listen to. My only reservation is that the flutes sounded a little odd at times withe the delay. I agree with GL that I feel that the weaker parts of the source tune were left out, and I think the mix is better because of it. A little more variation, perhaps the addition of another section, would have stepped this mix up another notch. However, for me this is good enough for a YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
analoq Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 ok.. i respect the no votes, but i see this one as passable. yeah SOC should've used more of the source material but what's there is recognizable as the theme and though he goes off in another direction he brings things back to where they started with the theme. so there is a unity of integration with the source material that i find acceptable. the ratio between original material & source material is the same as several of my own mixes on the site, so... yes har har! absynth presets & drumloops Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted March 22, 2005 Share Posted March 22, 2005 poking my head out from under the heap of my life, right quick. the mood of this track is phenomenal - i love the syncopated bassline and the twirly pads and synths, very trippy. as far as the source material... i'm all for liberal interpretations and this still resembles the source enough where i dont' see why there's a problem with it. it does get repetitive but that's good for a lot of instances and this is no exception. there is something about overcoat's ability to turn pretty things into very haunting auras. but i dig the style and i dig the mood and ultimately love the song YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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