djpretzel Posted May 23, 2005 Share Posted May 23, 2005 Alrighty... I made a Remix it is here: CONTACT INFO: My Handle: Joker My Name : David L. Puga Email: Davejkr@prodigy.netREMIX (you know for spam protection) Website: Joker.paletteswap.com User ID: I dunno. But you can tell me if you do. MIX INFO: Remix: In The Darkness Lies Game: Banjo-Kazooie Song: Mad Monster Mansion Link To Orig: (alternatively you can go here) Comment: Well, this is my second attempt to make this remix this song. I started it for the BK remix project that went nowhere. But I continued work on the mix despite the setback. Until.. dun dun dunnn, I realized it was going nowhere. So I scraped it. I started listening to "Room Of Angel" by Akira Yamaoka from the SH4 OST, decided I wanted to try a dark ambient mix. I thought, "Mad Monster Mansion would be a good choice." And here is the mix. Though I originally set out to do a dark ambient piece, using reversed screams, waterphones, & other FX, it came out a bit more melodic, & down right symphonic towards the end for it to be classified as such. So I say it's a dark symphonica remix of Mad Monster Mansion. The End. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 Too bad Joker's link to the original 404'd. Common sense says the source tune is "Mad Monster Mansion (Interior)" but I also hosted the Exterior & Aquatic versions of Mad Monster Mansion on the FTP for anyone else who's interested. A piano playing the source started things off at :07, followed by a basic beat and some (cool) SFX at :26. The strings in the back filled the space a bit, but it was pretty sparse nonetheless. Production was a bit dull. A VERY thin and inhuman-sounding string joined the background at :46. The percussion/beatwork was still pretty bare. Despite other sounds and effects attempting to fill out the background, the atmosphere was still a bit empty, but it tends to work for the style. To me it sounds like it needs some minor addtions but nothing drastic. The changeup at 1:44 with some xylo axction, I was feeling. The piano chords at 2:02 didn't really harmonize with the xylophone initially, but I needed to listen several times in order to get more accustomed to it. At 2:41 the string sounded really fake again, though I liked the extreme delay on it. It's the same sample Sefiros used in Final Fantasy 8 "Everything = Nothing", so I can definitely say I've heard the sample used more realistically. More than 3 minutes into it, and the heavy string section was a decent change of pace, but the track dragged a bit from 3:20-onward. On the whole, the lead material was lacking heading towards the close; fairly repetitive. The whole thing sounded pretty unwieldy and unfocused on the first go, because I didn't listen to the source first. Give it several listens here to get used to things and take in the atmosphere. A kneejerk reaction to this would be a huge error, so don't make that mistake. The strings were a bit too inhuman and the overall track sounded too sparse and relatively repetitive. Sparse is a subjective description, and for the most part it works for the track anyway, but again, I need a little but more going on than reverb. A little more could be done with this compositionally to keep the end from dragging, but the arrangement was a pass to me. You're definitely right on the line to me, Dave. Scary Res Evil-style shit here; I'm liking it so far, but need a tiny bit more. No problems if this passes whatsoever, as my issues may be too subjective and not shared by the group. Best of luck on the rest of the vote. NO (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 This piece is really a mishmash of sparse instrumentations and atmospheric effects that really lacks in terms of arrangement. minimalism is okay when done well, but here it just sounds like there ought to be more. the music is too active to really be atmospheric, and so the fact that there is little in terms of harmony or arrangement just leaves it feeling empty. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayLightning Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 Jesse is right. My other main problem here, is it's way muddy. The piano is dreadfully dark (not steinway cool dark, just muddy/cheap dark). I would eq the treble and or consider shifting it an octave up. I think there are a lot of great ideas here, and it's clear that you are familiar with atmospheric mixes. There are a lot of good techniques, but the result is just lacking. I think instead of the solo strings, the mix would be better served by using softer pads. Also consider using tremelo passages if you must use solo strings, it would add some more of the horror vibe going on here. I like the use of the waterphones, very true to the horror/atmospheric nature of the piece. There's potential here, but it's definitely not there yet. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted May 28, 2005 Share Posted May 28, 2005 Enjoyable listen and an interesting atmospheric take on the source but as has already been said, the sparse elements really don’t gel like they should and as a result, the arrangement suffers. A few sound quality issues also work against this mix. The shrill violin (0:47, 2:42,…) wouldn’t seem as harsh if it meshed well with the other darker instruments like the piano. Here it is totally out of place. Also, although I can’t identify the problem sample, the abrupt cutoff of the sample’s static is distracting at points like 0:08, 1:48-2:36. Good work but needs polishing to get it to shine. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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