djpretzel Posted June 5, 2005 Share Posted June 5, 2005 Hi, Just finished a remix featuring Christian Pacaud on bass. Thanks in advance for listening! Here are the blurbs: ktriton: Yeah, so basically this was an idea I started forever and a half ago. I never finished it because I am amazing at slacking off. The remix takes into account a variety of lesser-covered Mitsuda soundtracks—prime among them being the Tsugunai: Atonement soundtrack (which I thought was great). Other sources and shout-outs include Xenosaga, Magic Pengel 2, Xenogears, and Shadow Hearts. Interpret the title and the static as you will, I’m not going to say anything about that. What I will say, however, is that this remix wouldn’t be half of what it is without Christian’s help. Even though I was forced at gunpoint to let him record the bass, this remix would sound probably three to four times crappier than it is if it wasn’t for his help with production. So thank you Christian for the bass track and all the production help! Hope you guys enjoy this! CPacaud: When I first heard a WIP of this mix, the first thing I noticed, besides all the piano and synth goodness, was that the bass lines were... sexy. I basically forced Kunal at gunpoint to let me play the bass on this mix. Hopefully it has been for the best! I mostly played what was sent to me with some additional touches here and there, so this is all ktriton's show. Go K ! Thanks, Kunal Majmudar Composer | http://www.ktriton.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 15, 2005 Share Posted June 15, 2005 I PMed Kunal over at the OneUp Studios' forums to find out more about the source material, and he got back to me in just a couple of hours. Hey Kunal, I was hoping to judge "Static Wonderland" but don't have any of the source material in tow at all. Can you elaborate on what specific source tunes from Tsugunai, Xenosaga, Magic Pengel 2, Xenogears, and Shadow Hearts were involved for the mix and when they were referenced in the mix? If you could also host any of those (really just Tsugunai & Magic Pengel 2) temporarily so that I could check those out and give them to the other judges, that would be great if possible.Sorry for the wait on a decision by the way, but with a submission like yours that has a lot of tracks involved, it only makes the judging trickier without all the source material readily available. Lemme know any information you can when you have time. - Larry Sure thing, Larry. lol, I was starting to wonder if that would ever get judged Anyway, here are the sources: "The Devil" – Tsugunai "Battle with the Devil" - Tsugunai "Last Battle" - Xenosaga "Gallery of Ice and Flame" - Magic Pengel 2 "Battle - Level 2" - Tsugunai "Opening" - Tsugunai "Continental Express I ~ Wind Which Blows from the Dark / I" - Shadow Hearts "Early Afternoon in the Village" from Tsugunai (used in the ending) I’ve hosted these files temporarily here: [removed]. "Battle with the Devil" is the main source for the song. The rest are ideas and shoutouts I used as nuances or in transitory parts and whatnot. I don't have the Shadow Hearts source. Actually, I've ordered the damn thing several times, but every time the delivery has been botched. I heard the sample of it over at RPGFan (http://rpgfan.com/soundtracks/s-hearts/index.html) and that's where I took the idea from. Sorry for the wait on a decision by the way, but with a submission like yours that has a lot of tracks involved, it only makes the judging trickier without all the source material readily available. Lemme know any information you can when you have time. - Larry Don't worry about it. Part of the reason I did the mix is so that people check the soundtrack out. I personally adore it, but it was such a poor game that relatively no one noticed the kickass celtic soundtrack behind it Broke it down for you, too:0:01 - "Battle with the Devil", Melody - "The Devil" 1:13 - Original Material 1:26 - Shadow Hearts 1:36 - Loosely based on "Battle with the Devil" 1:57 - Shadow Hearts 2:06 - Accordion rhthym a 4/4 version of "Opening" 2:16 - Melody from "Battle-Level 2" 2:26 - Original Material 2:47 - Melody from "Last Battle" 3:07 - Original Material with rhythm section taking material from Shadow Hearts 3:47 - "Last Battle" melody applied to "Gallery of Ice and Flame" 4:05 - Original interlude playing off the nature of "Battle with the Devil" 4:23 - Melody loosely based off of "Inner Space" from Xenosaga with Rhthym based off of "Opening" 4:42 - Melody from "Last Battle" 5:18 - Taken from Xenogears. Don't remember which song, but it's a distinguishing motif throughout the soundtrack. 5:21 - I know this section is referencing something, but I can't remember what. It's probably from Tsugunai though, if that helps any... 6:09 - Original material 6:32 - "Last Battle" melody over rhythm from "Early Afternoon in the Village" 6:40 - "Early Afternoon in the Village" 6:57 - Fades out into the static from "Battle with the Devil" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 22, 2005 Share Posted June 22, 2005 Yeesh, had to move my vote to a new post just to separate from the bible of information about it. The time breakdown though from ktrition was much appreciated. This was pretty catchy stuff, and I liked it as a casual listener. I thought the production could have sounded sharper and more lively, plus I don't understand why this was presented so quietly. Had to raise the Winamp preEQ 6db just to hear things. Also need to obtain a <6MB copy of the mix. I was pretty borderline on the track. Not that this has to echo a more active, progressive approach the whole way through, 'cuz the rather minimalistic instrumentation approach for the first few minutes works for the most part, but the track felt too empty at points. The first minute or so was excellent, but when Christian entered in with the bass at 1:25, it sounded like it was just drums, perc and the harp there and things felt sparse to me. Once you hit 1:56, the organ on lead plus just the bass and drums felt a bit too empty in tandem, though I liked the harp-style activity. Nice fluttery sound at 2:26 for the ear candy. I wish Christian's bass work was a little more pronounced here, especially since there weren't too many things going on yet. The section starting from 3:47-4:02 and then 4:02-4:22 with all the SFX was a pretty WTF transition. The static was fine, but some of the other soundclips came across as cheesy/unnecessary beyond the static itself. Call me a wet blanket, but I don't really see the point of that part at all. Nonetheless, we got some of the good stuff at 4:22 and things picked up nicely and filled up the soundfield with some laid back, but strongly performed material. This is more of the vibe I was anticipating from the get-go. Nice transition at 5:17 into some nice hand-drum & piano stuff, but then at 5:35 some odd-sounding notes came in. I wasn't really phased by it too badly, but 5:50-6:10 was just...what's going on there? I was feeling the material after 6:10 though, and I liked the static coming back in for the finish. EDIT: I may sound close-minded, but I really initially thought the ideas from 3:47-4:22 & 5:50-6:10 threw monkeywrenches in an otherwise solid arrangement. They didn't impact me enough to NO, even though I initially disliked the specific ideas there, and felt they disrupted things. Otherwise, the arrangement was fine, and didn't suffer from straight medley-itis the way mixes with this many source tunes are prone to do. I'm fairly sure some will dislike how certain sections transitioned though, but over time, those sections worked fine on an artistic level as well as for switching up the flow here. And, no, that's not a free pass for anyone trying to do something strange. Not really gonna try to dissect this with so many source tunes though, so thanks to Kunal for breaking it down for us. I'd really prefer the levels raised up a bit without clipping, and those (in my opinion) out-of-place sections refined a little bit, but otherwise have a YES, with the arrangement carrying my vote. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted July 1, 2005 Share Posted July 1, 2005 brilliant arrangement. one of those times when i don't especially like the source material but am sort of won over through intelligent arranging and presentation. christian's right... bass line is pretty fucking sexy, indeed. i don't like the production on it because it doesn't have any bite at all for most of the beginning and is drowned out but focusing on it brings my attention to its intricacies. then as you get later on into the piece, the bass takes on more of a role and appears to become the lead but its just not prominent enough.. the leads are fantastic... kunal, my friend, you are magnificently talented and i love to listen to your work. you vary it up a lot... you have at least 4 or 5 different lead instruments throughout the thing and they give a distinct world feel to them - the accordian, cello and that crystally synth lead are SECKS goin interchanging with the introductinos of such distinctly different melodies. smart stuff. having mentioned that, i have some qualms with the general tone of the piece, though. i am personally a huge fan of world jazz and particualrly al dimeola (whom i hear a lot in this piece) but this is mellow almost to a fault. not quite and its soothing deliberation is appreciated but it sort of dilly dally's in terms of dynamic and doesn't grab me at all. granted, that is the calling card of this sort of work so it doesn't bury it but just pointing out what i would have liked to have heard. again, the instrumentation and arrangement are brilliant. the static works for me... but then again, duh; would you expect me of all people not to have enjoyed that transition? the ending is very pink floyd but you probably knew that going in the original section turns me on. and you get a big happy YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted July 2, 2005 Share Posted July 2, 2005 Larry and Zyko already wrote dissertations, so I'll keep my vote short (also because I'm lazy, but whatever ). I really like it. I think Larry's comment about liking it as a casual listener rung true for me as well. This is the kind of stuff I listen to when I'm driving home. Real smooth stuff; lots of nice variation and a good soundscape. Percussive elements are great, especially congas. NICE. The bass is a sexy girl that's out of my league. Can't so no to this. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harmony Posted July 5, 2005 Share Posted July 5, 2005 Excellent work. This has got a crystalline chill vibe that easily carries the listener through all 7+ minutes without feeling repetitive or being a pure ambient track. The melodies from the many sources flow together effortlessly and the original sections are inspired. I wish that I was more familiar with some of the tunes because the source material that I’m judging with is wonderful on it’s own but I’d also love to have an even greater appreciation of the amazing arrangement. Some of the instruments are really amazing. The bass certainly stands out and acts as a reminder that try as we might, good live bass is difficult to find a substitute for. It’s a little loud and jumps out of its place at a few points during 3:06-3:47 but like I’d forgive a beautiful woman for just about anything, so it is with that bass. The accordion, the congas and the piano are equally as forgivable (although little forgiveness is required). I’m trying to place those drums…Sonic Implants? Wherever they are from, they are pretty slick as well. I would have liked a little more full of a sound during The “Last Battle” jazz style melody at 4:43 is a great subtle touch that keeps the arrangement flowing right along and 5:20-6:33 is beautiful guys. Alright, enough praise. I was looking for Shna’s theory breakdown of this one but I guess that’ll have to wait. In the meantime, I’ll happily close this with the fourth YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayLightning Posted August 18, 2005 Share Posted August 18, 2005 Excellent in all categories. A little too much reverb though. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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