DragonAvenger Posted June 5, 2011 Share Posted June 5, 2011 Remixer name: cfx Real name: H. Arnold Jones Website: http://www.cfxmusic.com/ OCR Forum ID: 20414 Name of game arranged: Descent (1995, Parallax Software / Interplay) Name of song(s) arranged: - Callisto Tower Colony (Level 12: game12.mid) -- primary remix target - Briefing (briefing.mid) -- only briefly referenced - Descent Title Theme (descent.mid) -- only briefly referenced Track title: "Lost in the mines" Artists: Ken Allen, Brian Luzietti, Larry Peacock, Leslie Spitzer, Jim Torres, Tim Wiles (Not sure who composed what. As listed on http://www.mobygames.com/game/dos/descent/credits YouTube Renditions (recommended! -- OPL2 versions) Callisto Tower Colony (Level 12) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RVOBT2xyAOE Briefing http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jAfb6Rit0vY Descent Title Theme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KwhDaESo9rk Commentary ---------- This is easily my biggest undertaking to date, in terms of project size, complexity, and length. It began as an experiment to show friends and ask 'hey, do you recognize this?' in part because a fair number of MIDI tracks of the early 1990's borrowed from popular artists like NIN and Metallica (DOOM, Descent, and probably others are guilty of this) and I wanted to make sure I was writing a remix that was 'written for the game' without additional complications. As with many things creative, projects often adopt a life of their own: before I knew it I was cranking out revision after revision, night after night, and showing more and more people. It's thanks to their encouragement that I continued creating and molding this track into its current form. Since 1994 I wanted to be part of the soundtracks of my favorite games (something which has not changed to this day). What HAS changed is my ability to do so, and create something that fans of the original tracks could appreciate -- and I could be sure I've created a solid tribute instead of a pile of garbage. It took many years for me to be confident enough in my abilities to satisfy all of the above, and I think the time has arrived. The tune herein lightly references the Briefing and Descent Title Themes (in the intro and outtro respectively) but is otherwise a heavy rearrangement of Callisto Tower Colony (Level 12). Level 21 has an extremely similar feel to Level 12, but it is certainly its own track, and I consistently referenced Level 12 while building this arrangement. I do not diverge much rhythmically in the supporting parts (aside from the actual rhythm section) and did not change melodic elements a great deal, but the arrangement and instrumentation should speak for itself. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 I'm very familiar with Descent. Thanks for linking the original soundtrack, was nice going through and listening to the originals the way they were meant to sound. This is beautifully produced. Everything is crisp and clear. The piano has the right amount of compression and reverb. The beats are clear and have a nice downtempo sound to them. The guitar that comes in is crystal clear. I keep saying clear, but it just summarises the mix so well. The sound reminds me of Massive Attack. The Callisto Mines track is the most evident, with some of the briefing, I couldn't hear the menu theme in there, so it must be very subtle. I think this should've been direct-posted, but the higher-ups probably aren't familiar enough with the source to risk it. Good work, cfx. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 Cooooool. I loved Descent. This mix is solid and enjoyable. It's not perfect, so why don't I just rain on your fucking parade. -Some elements were dry, namely some of the synthesizer countermelodic parts in my opinion should have been further back, put there with delays, reverbs, etc. -The arrangement was a bit conservative, in the same key, same style, etc. Although there is enough added that it's not a dealbreaker. -The beat was really somewhat simple; boring even. It was so often just *kick* *snare* *kick* *kick* *snare*. You need some more 1/16th note elements in there to give the mix more forward momentum. Aside from that the track was quite enjoyable on the whole. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted June 13, 2011 Share Posted June 13, 2011 I think the beat was a bit generic and could have used a lot more spice, but overall i was feeling this. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted June 23, 2011 Author Share Posted June 23, 2011 Really not much to add to what Vig said, in my opinion. This is a nice track, and it's got a lot of good elements, but I can't help but notice that there are a few things keeping it from being omg awesome. That being said, this is still definitely above the bar, and I'll look forward to any submissions from you in the future. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts