DragonAvenger Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Remix Link: YouTube: Contact Information Your ReMixer name: Dj Mystix Your real name Mansoor Nazar Your email address Your userid 11757 (DjMystix) Submission Information: Name of game(s) arranged: Persona 2, Donkey Kong Country 2, Outrun Name of arrangement: Timeless Devotion Name of individual song(s) arranged: Persona 2: Maya's Theme and World Map, DKC2: Mining Melancholy, Outrun: Magical Sound Shower Composer(s) : Persona 2: Toshiko Tasaki, Masaki Kurokawa, Kenichi Tsuchiya DKC2: David Wise Outrun: Hiroshi Miyauchi System : Persona 2: PS2, PSP DKC2: SNES Outrun: Arcade, multiple Sources breakdown: (They are mostly overlapped) 00:00 - 00:37 : DKC2 (Mining Melancholy) 00:19 - 00:37 : Persona 2 (Map) 00:38 - 01:34 : Persona 2 (Maya's Theme) 01:35 - 02:00 : DKC2 (Mining Melancholy) 01:53 - 02:39 : Outrun (Magical Sound Shower) 02:40 - 02:59 : Persona 2 (Maya's Theme) 03:00 - 03:32 : Original Stuff Sources: Donkey Kong Country 2 (Mining Melancholy): Persona 2 (Map): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw6-LkojX28 Persona 2 (Maya's Theme): Main Song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JWhM_aMthE Outrun (Magical Sound Shower): OCR Workshop link: Comments: Now please don't hate me for this I just can't keep myself from blending in multiple sources. This is mainly Maya's Theme remix from Persona 2 that starts off with bits and pieces from Mining Melancholy and Persona 2's world map. Magical Sound Shower acts as a bridge before I switch back to Maya's Theme. Ending is all original stuff. I really wanted to make a pure 80's pop song so you can expect to hear all sorts of 80's instruments. I love 80's to death and was really looking for a way to pay my tribute. I hope you guys like like, I had a lot of fun making this track Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I'm starting to really appreciate the amount of effort that you put into selecting sources for your remixes. It feels like, with each new remix, it's almost like you've composed an entirely new song by patching together existing melodies from vastly different sources. I think, melodically-speaking, this is one of your most successful outings yet - that DKC2 melody really goes well with anything! Your sound choices are really pleasing to hear, on the whole. There's a few leads (like the one that enters at :43) that I wasn't full sold on, but overall you've pulled a lot of very recognizable, nostalgic 80's sounds together into a rather seamless package... None of it ever sounds TOO cheesy though, and you've got your fair share of modern production techniques going on to bring these sounds into a more modern context. I don't think I fully appreciated the style on mix one until I sat down and realized how much textural variety there is going on here. Like all of your other songs, you've got a huge amount of individual sounds each playing some part in the mix overall. Some highlights include the very-retro sounding piano chords in the background at :43, and the synth flute sample at 2:25. Overall, I'm very impressed with that aspect of your mixing here, and it's definitely one of your most cohesive soundscapes to date. If I had to suggest anything to you to help improve in the future, I'd recommend getting a little more complex with your melodies at certain sections in order to highlight them a bit more. Structurally, the mix is very much a sequence of melodies presented without ever really defining anything in terms of verses, choruses, etc. The end result is that the arrangement feels static, and I'm never really sure where the energy level is supposed to be at. I think you could really help create more of a climax with this track if one of the melodies was adapted to sound more like a solo, with more complex writing and some improvisation, at a key point in the track. Keeping an eye on your backing track and being more deliberate with the energy level throughout your arrangements might help make your arrangements a lot more dynamic in the future. Overall though, this is very clearly over my bar, despite a slightly-plodding arrangement and a few questionable leads. There's a lot of heart here and I think the strong points in your music making process (vibrant sound choices, seamless source blending, and emotive melodic writing) are improving with each submission. Hopefully you find some of my suggestions useful (or, at least coherent!) YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 I am a big fan of this too, though I felt things got a little crowded in the low mids in spots. The main snare was a bit weak as well, but otherwise I am completely on board; you've used some very intelligent ideas to get the various sources to play off of each other. There are a ton of different original melodies, but the arrangement blends them very well, so while the source may shift between sections, an element or idea is continued from the previous theme in some way. Very nice. Yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 I think Emu's judgement here is spot on; it's hard to realize just how difficult it can be to combine sources like this until you try to do it yourself, and even then the complexity you had of combining them back and forth adds to it! I will agree that I wasn't completely sold on all the sounds, but I think as a whole everything does indeed work together. I'll be looking forward to you next mashup soon! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted August 23, 2012 Share Posted August 23, 2012 Hmm, can't say I was digging this one as much as the other judges. It definitely had a cohesiveness to it that many medleys we receive don't have, but I wish there had been more dynamic to this, rather than feeling like it was one melody after another. Emunator listed out some ways to change things up, and I think those are good tips. I think this could have used more of a direction. Actually the bigger problem is the leads used, and to a lesser extent, some of the background sounds like the orchestral hits. You picked some very basic sounds to work with here and it gives this a blandness that doesn't have to be there. In particular, I'm thinking of the lead at 0:38 (that sounds very similar to the original) and the one at 0:57. At other times, the sequencing is a little basic even if the lead is a more complex sound. The piano was way too fake to use as a lead. With both of these issues together, I don't see this as a pass. Good job on the mixing, great ideas weaving things together. I think I need to see something more than that though. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Wow, Persona 2's map theme is my new cut; awesome track! Opening was rather mechanically sequenced, but I'm seeing where it's leading. Hahaha, the bassline brought in at :18 definitely had an '80s vibe to it. The background beat at :38 felt too sparse and was holding the track back from sounding fully fleshed out. Meanwhile, there was a lack of clarity with the mixing that made this sound lossier than the encoding would have you think. Wasn't feeling the transition back to DKC2 at 1:35; not particularly smooth, coupled with some loose timing issues. The textures until 1:57 there felt flimsy and the instrument set change didn't seem to naturally evolve from the sounds that came before it, IMO. At the end of the day, I like the potential here, and won't be mad if it passes, but I thought Emu's crits within his YES followed by Palpable's reservations in his NO really articulated the nagging feelings I had. I'm actually glad they voted earlier, because I wouldn't have been able to articulate these issues in the way that they have. If I had to suggest anything to you to help improve in the future, I'd recommend getting a little more complex with your melodies at certain sections in order to highlight them a bit more. Structurally, the mix is very much a sequence of melodies presented without ever really defining anything in terms of verses, choruses, etc. The end result is that the arrangement feels static, and I'm never really sure where the energy level is supposed to be at. I wish there had been more dynamic to this, rather than feeling like it was one melody after another. Emunator listed out some ways to change things up, and I think those are good tips. I think this could have used more of a direction. This here. There's nothing inherently wrong with going a more straightforward route with the melodic treatment, and the effort's clearly there to weave each theme with the background writing, but I didn't feel like the various sources were as cohesively stitched together as your past approved mixes, so I'm actually agreeing with Emu (and disagreeing with Palp and the YESs) in that the structure ends up not sounding defined or fully organized to me. Actually the bigger problem is the leads used, and to a lesser extent, some of the background sounds like the orchestral hits. You picked some very basic sounds to work with here and it gives this a blandness that doesn't have to be there. In particular, I'm thinking of the lead at 0:38 (that sounds very similar to the original) and the one at 0:57. At other times, the sequencing is a little basic even if the lead is a more complex sound. The piano was way too fake to use as a lead. I didn't mind the piano at all, and I've heard enough official arrange album pieces where basic sequencing and a lack of complexity aren't dealbreakers, but I think he's onto something here on this particular piece. The lead changeups DID help create some good dynamic contrast, but not quite at the level where this didn't feel like it was basically in one gear from :19 onward. This is cool, but the overall lack of dynamic contrast, the muddy mixing, and the blandness brought about by basic sequencing were enough to pull this down to a NO (resubmit) for me. I think this could sound even better with further tweaks, but best of luck with the rest of the vote, Mansoor! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 Sounds are pretty basic but I think they're used well. Arrangement plods a bit but the medley keeps things kind of fresh. Nice blend. I think Larry and Vinnie are right about things needing to be more dynamic though. The energy level throughout this mix is pretty static. I don't really get those big highs and lows. There's a bit there things cut out around 1:35, but even that's still mostly the same. I think some bigger builds could help this piece really stand out. Take a look at what other Js have said and see if you can fix this up a bit. NO, please resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 So this one doesn't stagnate forever, i'm sending it back for some touchups. I personally think the arrangement is excellent, but there are lots of little things to improve to win over some other judges. I hope we hear this one again soon! No Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 There are some mixing issues, but I think the main problem holding this one back is the lack of dynamic like Palp said. The form is better thought-out than many medleys, but the energy is near constant, which makes the individual sections unmemorable. In a case like this you might be better off using one source melody and spend more time playing around with the energy of the track than worrying about combining sources smoothly. This track is plenty smooth, not very dynamic. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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