OceansAndrew Posted September 23, 2012 Share Posted September 23, 2012 Remixer: chaos_Leader Game: The Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask Original Piece: Stone Tower theme Remix Title: Stone Tower Ascent This piece is in two parts: one which stays very close to the feel of the original source material, staying close to the rhythms and structure of the original, and another part that really plays with the rhythms and melodic/harmonics of the piece, resulting in a piece with a somewhat funkier, almost reggae-like feel (or so I've been told by those who've listened to it). My idea was to use almost exclusively Asian/Mid-East instruments, with vocals, all overlaid on top of a constant howl of wind in the background. The aim, especially in the first part, is to preserve much of the mystic feel of the original, but updated with more realistic instrumentation. Doumbek. Thank you for your consideration. I hope to hear back soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 The first half of this track is undoubtedly almost a straight cover of the original Stone Tower track, with some instrument changes. Things definitely start to get more interpretive with the second section of the song, and I really love what you did with the melodies. However, when you start getting into more intricate soloing, it also exposes the weakness of the sequencing/sample used here. During your faster runs on the lead guitar, it sounds like there's a lack of attention paid to velocities and dynamics, so the lead just comes across as synthetic. Another thing I noticed is that the lead instrument throughout the entire track never changes, and the backing instrumentation remains static too. It's extremely difficult to pull off an arrangement like that without an extremely engaging performance by the lead instrument, and even then some textural variety with the backing instrumentation is usually a good idea anyway. In this case, I think both areas of the track are a little bit deficient. You've got a great base, the mood created by the choirs and sparse percussion is really cool, but there needs to be more development throughout the whole remix, as well as some polishing on the lead instruments for this to be passable. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted November 10, 2012 Share Posted November 10, 2012 Wes's vote here is really solid, and you should take all his advice to heart. Wes implied (and I will follow up) that the opening run-through being a cover could expand out sooner. Looking at it objectively, half of this mix isn't showing any of your potential or skill. When you start on the second run through there is a lot of creative takes on the melodies, and I definitely could see you taking this even further, but just as I'm hoping for more it ends. (On a similar note, the ending is a bit lackluster overall). Production also has issues. Along with the instrumentation staying stagnant, I felt like the entire track was a bit quiet, and there wasn't much use of dynamics throughout. You can add a lot more expression and emotion if you use those two aspects to your advantage. Definitely a good base to start, and you can certainly do a lot more here. Hope to hear from you again! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted November 13, 2012 Author Share Posted November 13, 2012 Definitely the lack of velocities in the sequencing holds this back - there are a few sections where you use some nice velocity triggers to get some slides, like the ending guitar, but a lot of the trills throughout and other rns feel very robotic. Part of the issue may be that the samples used don't have a ton of expression in them to begin with, so even going severe on velocity changes won't have as much of an effect. I also agree that the first half is way conservative, and while maintaining a really strong tie to source music is crucial, you can branch out more. The mood set was really nice, but it needs a bit of work still. I'd love to hear a resub. No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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