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Super Mario Nightclub! \@/


Guifrog
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Yeah this would be perfect credits music for a Mario Party game or something. As soon as the song starts it's ridiculously happy, and there are great synth choices throughout - I particularly like the one that sounds like a mix between a trumpet and a steel drum (like the SNES version of the theme).

This is seriously good, you submitting it?

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Update: http://soundcloud.com/guifrog/super-mario-nightclub-v-2/s-Qf0nu

Fixed the bass low-end etc, but there's something else I'd like you to evaluate - I'm torn between the timbales used on the 1st version and the updated 2nd one. I mean, even if the 2nd one sounds more realistic, I think the 1st seems to keep a clean overall environment to my mix.

What do you think? ._.

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Catchy. Cool. It has a very Miami/South Beach party feel at most parts. I find no fault with the instrumental make-up of the second version.

The only complaint I can see the judges making is that some of the drum parts become repetitive of over time. The Since it is supposed to be sort of a beachfront nightclub feel to it, I can forgive it, but they may not.

I suggest a Mod Review before submitting it.

EDIT: You do NOT need the Mario Game Over music at the very end. It destroys the upbeat feel of the song.

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<MODREVIEW>

Oh boy. This is one of those sources that you gotta really blow out of the water to even come close to having it posted.

Couple of things as I'm listening--that open hi-hat is pretty loud, and tends to grate on my ears as the song goes on.

Intro: the problem you’ve got is that you start off sounding very VERY similar to the source, what with the square wave chippy sounds playing a Mario MIDI. That kinda sets the tone for the rest of the piece

Brass samples are super-cheesy and obviously fake, but in an "I made it this way on purpose" sort of way. I'm still not quite sure on what the judges think of intentional cheese--I like 'em (although they're also a tad harsh in the upper-midrange), but your mileage may vary.

Personally, I don’t think the kick hits quite hard enough. Perhaps a spot of compression might bring it up to club levels of punch? Gotta spike that punch in tha club, ya know.

The stacked chord synth that comes in around 1:32 (a) is too loud, (B) has too much reverb, and © sounds really generic. Sounds like a really “stock” unison preset of some sort.

Overall thoughts—the drums throughout the song are really quite boring. The straight 4/4 kick groove with not a lot of variation gets really monotonous, unfortunately. If you’re going to go with the “classic ‘90s house” sound, you’re going to need to throw in copious amounts of varied snare drum fills.

This particular arrangement isn’t inventive enough to really hit OCR’s listener base in the face, I’d say. The groove is fun and upbeat, but it’s still stock Mario at its core. The judges may disagree with me, but I need something to totally come out of nowhere to even consider a Mario Theme mix. Again, I think part of your problem lies in the fact that you’re using square wave sounds as part of your lead selection, and square waves are exactly what the original source used. Can’t really be having that.

Not gonna lie, I’m really digging the rad timbale licks you’ve got going during that breakdown at around 2:19. Said breakdown is a welcome and far overdue change in the groove, I’d say. I will, however, second the person who said that the ending motif kinda detracts from the overall song. Nobody needs a downer during the party, maaaaan! Consider adding more such breakdowns during the song; that way, the listener gets a break from the incessant kick-hihat-snare/clap groove.

Closing thoughts: Production is adequate, although you could stand to tighten several things (kick, hi-hats, etc.). Biggest problem for me is that some of the sounds you’ve used just don’t do much for me, and the arrangement is nothing particularly ear-catching.

It is an enjoyable song—please don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to hate on anything here. It’s just not got that “special” to it that an OC ReMix needs to have, especially a Mario remix. Fix up some sound choices, get a little more spice in that arrangement, add some zest to the drums, tighten the production a wee bit, and we could well be on a good road to Mario club-madness. :-)

</MODREVIEW>

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Mmm, I actually really liked the arrangement, as far as what it is. I think when people listen to a Mario remix they want to still have 'Mario' in there. I don't think the judges will nail you on the arrangement, objectively speaking.

I'm going to agree with the drums on this one - they are extremely boring. They need to have a lot of variety and spice, especially on a track like this that's supposed to have a lot of zest and spunk. The bit at 2:19 is a step in the right direction, but there needs to be more excitement in the set as a whole overall. This is absolutely critical in a song like this.

The brass works in a 'I'm cheesy on purpose' sort of way, but some of the other samples are really quite grating. The piano sample in particular is really bland and unrealistic. Give it some volume, give it some humanity, don't play every chord at the same volume, add a little pedal to it... There's a lot of work on the piano before I can really accept it's presence on here.

The production needs some more spread. Use a little panning in this to use the space better. Everything just crowds in the middle, as it stands, so don't be afraid to pan some instruments and drum set pieces to the left & right, even just a little bit. It'll help open up the track.

The bass is pretty light, in here. Throughout the main sections it works, but there are some areas (like 1:14) where you have some intricate bass going down that no one can hear. You need to give the bass more strength in sections like this.

Aside from what I've said, Flexstyle has a good review of what's going on - the intro, the drumstyle, the samples and such are all spot on, as well. Also, as he said, it's still a pretty fun piece - it just needs some more work before it'll have a chance in the panel. Good luck on it.

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Wow. Yes. Sure. Thanks :P

But there's something that got me confused: why wouldn't the idea of a small intro with an almost direct cover of the source be okay in a mix, as long as the overall material's substiantially inventive enough (I understand that my take on the whole thing's quite conservative, tho, but is it really THAT conservative)?

Also, is it always a problem to have generic samples in a mix? I did want to make things very simple/Mario-ish, but I'm definitely looking forward to improve this with enough advice that clarifies OCR's limitations on that.

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You might get away with that on some songs, but I'd be willing to bet money that it wouldn't work for this particular source. This is a source that I bet the judges see in the inbox every day, just because it is THE iconic VGM source. Gotta give 'em something they've never heard before, IMO.

I actually wanna step in here and say that we don't really judge songs like this. While it's very true that, as a listener, you wanna hear something unique from a source that's been done a million times already, but as a judge we do have to put that aside and be objective and treat each remix the same as it applies to the standards, whether that source has been done once or a dozen times before.

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