djpretzel Posted October 23, 2005 Share Posted October 23, 2005 metaphist aka Paul Ford peford@cfl.rr.com http://www.arcane-d.com Kirby Superstar “Dreamstreet” (Dynablade Area 2 remix) Seems I can’t get off this downtempo stuff It’s definitely my style, though. I tried to start things off with a good lead that establishes the main melody of the original, since in the past I’ve seemingly had problems with weak leads. When the melody repeats, I added some string work that I hope complements the lead rather than confuses it. The second half of the remix introduces the bassline heard from the original tune. I thought that the bassline was a defining element in the original so I wanted to feature it. Next comes the breakbeat, which is my favorite part. I tried to keep things relevant by adding variations of the main melody underneath, which continue on till the end. Lastly is the bass solo, which I hope I pulled off better than the last time I tried it (coughMtKoltzcough). I close things out with a light return to the main melody so as not to forget the source. Hope you guys like it, we all need more Kirby in our lives. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 27, 2005 Share Posted October 27, 2005 http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/kss.rsn - "Dynablade Area 2" (kss-17.spc) Been a fan of this source tune every since randomly listening to the Kirby Superstar soundtrack. Stuff that translates well to the downtempo format. Cool e-piano intro. Nice light cymbals come in at :10 along with more perc at :21, and tastefully used Kirby SFX at :26 that'll make DarkeSword proud. Some of the phrasing once the melody came in at :32 was really off. I see how you were trying to transpose the source tune here, but it isn't quite handled correctly at :40, 1:02 or elsewhere where it's used. Maybe I'm offbase, so we'll let the theory guys handle that one. Good way to drop the beats out at 1:13. The cymbals were still pretty busy there and kind of drag the section out a bit, but you had much needed variation on the instrumentation at 1:35 with the more oraganic percussion being brought in. The distortion brought in at 1:57 doesn't sound very good. Gray might have some issues with how well this software-created distortion was pulled off. Personally I don't think it clicks here as it's also too subdued-sounding (making it seem unpurposeful to a casual listener) and interferes a bit with the other sounds. The steel drum stuff from 2:08-2:18 sounds a bit too artificial as well as subdued; the tail end of that part could be written a bit better as well, as 2:15-2:19 doesn't seem to contrast well with the e-piano. 2:40 moves over to some more breakbeat style stuff, keeping the distortion and e-piano. Admittedly glad the distortion dropped out at 3:01 for the last section. The strings from 3:01 until the end seemed to clash with things as well. The last few notes of the e-piano are a little exposed, but that's minor. Anyway, this was decent all around, just lacking a certain energy, even for downtempo. I don't necessarily think more instrumentation or volume is needed, as that could ruin an otherwise good thing so far, though those methods could hook this up if treated right. Straight up though, this feels flat overall. Where's the processing? Where's the N-R-G 'n shizz? Unfortunately, I have to hope another J will be able to articulate these issues better than I. With some of the off/conflicting writing fixed, some sort of change regarding the involvement of the distortion, as well as a bit more energy this would be a solid YES. It's your most promising work yet on the panel. Keep working on it, Paul. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted November 30, 2005 Share Posted November 30, 2005 Scratched Kirby battle cries = awesome. I love the e-piano sound, strings and bassline; reminds me of my MMX4 mix. Good stuff all around there. Texture clicked together really nicely. There's something not quite right with the percussion though; I think the distortion that comes in later is too subtle; it doesn't sound intentional; it sounds like there's something wrong with my headphones. You catch my drift? I also think that the cymbal stuff is too loud, and a lot of it doubles over itself, causing some weird phasing sounds that don't quite work for the acoustic sound you've got going. Beats are cool, but the sounds are not. Now that I think about it, bassline could be quieter. So much potential! NO resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted December 8, 2005 Share Posted December 8, 2005 This starts off as very nice stuff. I'm with Darke here in saying that the percussion is what's dragging this mix down. It sounds very blunt and out of place. You've set up a nice mood through the piece with the bass, E-Piano and steel drums. But the percussion sounds distorted and weirdly out of place. This is the kind of mix that I'd expect a nice soft reggae beat or island beat to, just some nice relaxing music. The arrangement is pretty good, you just have a bit of an identity crisis with the direction you're taking this mix. My advice would be to go back and work on bringing out that relaxing sound. You're on your way to the right direction, you just need to make a decision and turn left or right at that junction. With this kind of piece, it's all about the flow of the mix. Sound quality and style is very important in this direction. As Darke said, lots of potential here, resubmit it if you get the inspiration to work on it some more. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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