*NO* Chrono Cross 'Another Time, Maybe...'

[djpretzel]

Sup, guys.

Chrono Cross remix here. Slow, chill, groove biased and what not. Thanks to Gray for helping me clean this one up.

Title: Another Time, Maybe...

Artist: Mythril Nazgul

Unlike Chauffage, I don't think I need to give a step by step of this one...it's pretty conservative and "un-singular". My bad.

Any issues, you know where to find me.

-Navid

www.mythrilnazgul.com

[Liontamer]

http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/Chrono_Cross_psf.rar - 107 "Dream of the Shore Bordering Another World"

Nice cymbal fade-in to start things off. Liking the lead and the pads involved. The bassline and percussion work are cool, but the sum total is bare. Can't put my finger on why, but I'll certainly try.

Offhand I do feel the kicks and other percussion are too loud over the other sounds, but I know they're supposed to be somewhat of a selling point here and I'm not necessarily saying that should go. But adjusting the sound balance a bit may be what this needs. Bringing out the bassline more during some of the bass's quieter moments would help provided you doesn't clutter things when you did it.

The freestyle-ish section from 1:36-2:16 basically meandered around and felt like a freestyle/break section being there for the sake of having one. It feels pasted in rather than well-written, and I know it's been an issue since the WIP stages of the track, so I'd really like to see something better there.

Also, watch all of the sounds cutting out at 1:57. Don't completely drop the volume out like that during the transition. In any case, the section after 1:57 was the one that most underscored the issues I had with the mix, where it sounded bare and the percussion (particularly the kicks) sounded too loud and dry. Adding a different type of pad in the back of that section for example could help fill things out.

In any case, the rest of the arrangement was conservative but the rhythmical alterations were good, there were some good moments that showed dynamics, and the production was crisp & clean. I even liked the weird ending. But the track felt bare as if there was a spot that needed to be filled out. On that level, it was a similar problem that I believe djp was able to give suggestions on for "Chauffage au Gaz," and it's still an issue here that we've talked about before.

Also, the percussion patterns got recycled too much. Consider varying the patterns from 3:14-3:53 so they aren't exactly the same as :02-:22 & 1:16-1:26. That pattern ran way too long that last time and felt like a lazy retread.

I might end up being the only NO, but believe me when I say I ain't no hater, Navid. Would love to see this be your second posted ReMix down the line, but I feel it's got potential and isn't there yet. Good luck with the rest of the vote.

NO (resubmit)

[Sam Ascher-Weiss]

The bass drum sounds like it's been tuned upwards which gives it more of a hands on feel. Rather than having it dwell down below, it's right there in the thick of things. When you add the hand drums to that, the percussive texture becomes all the more unique. The thick string-like warping sound that fades chords in and out brings worlds of depth to the soundfield whenever it enters. When it makes its first departure at 1:37, rather than leaving things seeming empty, the hand percussion jumps in right in time, replacing the depth with clarity and stronger foward motion.

The moment of silence at 1:58 was a neat little bit of messing with the listener's a head and it rolls out the red carpet for the next portion of the melody. Temporarily reintroducing the mighty morphin' string sound at 2:39 leaves me well prepared for what's to come. The melody is then accompanied very gently by an up and down 4 note marimba pattern which is eventually joined by the warped strings leading into a brief statement by the bass. The drums take their cue from the bass player and proceed to give everyone else a four-count before returning to the main section. Marvelous ending with the deceleration followed by some funky panning, stuttering and detuning effects on the warped strings.

Somehow, while using a non-traditional combination of instruments and even some strange audio effects, you've still managed to write something that almost sounds like a live performance. This comes from the excellent instrumental teamwork, the use of panning, and the fact that all of the parts are given crucial roles at every moment of the mix, so that nobody feels left out. At the same time, each section flows wonderfully into the next with a gradual rise and fall in dynamics while preserving an overall sense of build. When its finally over, I don't want it to be, but I still end up feeling like I got my money's worth.

YeS

[zykO]

i listened to this last night and then again this morning before making my decision...

there is one glaring problem here; the bass. while i appreciate the live sound approach... it definetly sounds like a live electronica show but i still wanted to hear more of a bass presence, the track definetly asks for it

arrangement is spot-on. i love the directino you take the melodies... when you scale it back into a very subdued bridge around the 3 minute mark, you bring out that bass and the whole thing sounds very NICE. then it goes back to the slightly barren mix. ending was fantastic. good shit.

as for the instrumentation, its a weird mix for sure but i love it. this is one of those instances where a clearly unrealistic sounding instrument is far more fitting than a real one.

i'm not going to NO this on account of the bass. this is too good an arrangement to get hung up on a personal preference. if you choose to submit a version with a more present bass, feel free to and know that i would back it no less than i back it now.

awesome work. MOOD=A

YES

[DarkeSword]

I really don't think the background locks together harmonically at all with the melody. Not as well as it could, anyway.

I think that the breakdown section is pretty gratuitous; it sounds like something completely original thrown in for variation's sake.

It seems like there's a lot of freestyling in this piece without a lot of substantial use of source material. The texture isn't bad, but it's a bit sparse, and the percussive elements stick out and have a strange enclosed kind of reverb on them.

The pitchbending ending doesn't really fit in this context either.

NO

[The wingless]

The intro drums strike me as really out of balance with everything else. They are quite loud (particularly the hi-hat). Later on, the chimy-mini-gongs spike very high in volume. It just seems like the volume is all over the place, as it is oft to do when hand playing and not fine-tuning everything in post-production.

But the right side of my brain really enjoys the mood, the groove of the piece. It floats like a cloud inbetween the ears, filling the mind with the lightest, most delicate rains.

But sweet Billy Dee Williams dood, the EQ issues are a bit too much for me to absolve you of.

Resubmit

-Think about a hierarchy for your instruments. What is the most important instrument for us to hear. What is the least. What can be perceived with very little volume at all. What is grating or piercing in what is a seemingly "normal" volume.

-Retune the whole song, but pay particular attention to the drums and instruments that suddenly spike high in volume.

[Harmony]

I’m totally disoriented coming into the piece after the no-nonsense 1 second intro. That’s not a bad thing at all though and after I catch the groove and the harmonies I really enjoy the vibe. The rearrangement is pretty straightforward but the instrument additions and pleasant composition are certainly creative expansions on the theme.

After more than a few listens I’ve come to enjoy both of the cutouts (0:45, 1:57); even the dirty one at 0:45 which I think works really well as an end to the e. piano solo. The breakdown at 1:37, with its flowing guitar, hand percussion and freestyle work is really beautiful and I think that it fits nicely with the rest of the piece. That section defies the few but important problems that I have with this mix…

My fellow judges have already hit the issues that most concern me: the sparse feel of some sections that should have a fuller sound, the lack of bass in the percussion and the track in general, and the slightly repetitive percussion. Fixing the last two would do wonders and I think that would easily put this in YES range. Fix all three and well, yeah, you’ll be golden. Good stuff Navid. I’m looking forward to the resubmit if this doesn’t pass this time ‘round.

NO (Please Resubmit)

[GrayLightning]

To be clear, my involvement in the mix was from a suggestions perspective.

I mentioned having the same issues as many have noted right before he submitted it. I thought it needed more work in several areas still, but he wanted to wrap it up at the time.

My main issue here is the conservative nature of the mix. This isn't ready for primetime. I actually did like the breakdown section, I thought it added a nice change of pace and it does work for me in this context. But other than that and the vibe expansion, a lot of the progression/structure/melodic content especially is far too conservative imo. I'd like to these these at least worked on further, as you have sections that go on for minutes that sound almost unarranged at the core.

My other issue is the sparseness issue. I think this can be remedied simply - either by thickening up the chords or even layering the pad an octave down at a softer level. This does need more middle and middle low end frequencies.

I'd like to see the percussion and drums mixed up a little more as harmony said. It does get a bit stale, I know you're going for a chill vibe and in a lot of music of that sort, there shouldn't be too much evolvement or busyness. Maybe throw in a clave in there for variation and more bottom end drums like slightly heavier kick. I did really like the hand drums though, cool sequencing on those.

Ultimately I don't feel this is near the quality I've come to expect of you. Your next two mixes are Ace and I look forward to those. But this is a NO for me.