djpretzel Posted November 17, 2005 Share Posted November 17, 2005 Conctact Info: Blue Magic Damon Campbell email: bluemagic1984@bellsouth.net website: http://www.angelfire.com/blues2/bluemagic/ Remix Info: Sonic and Knuckles Lava Reef / Hidden Palace Zone Comments: Its been a long time coming... This was suppose to be a collab, but things didn't go as planned. But its all good. I've been working on this for a little while now, and it finally done. This is a remix of Lava Reef/ Hidden Palace Zone from the Sonic and Knuckles soundtrack. It is sort of similar to my "New Beginnings" mix (with the mother nature sound FX and all), but in my opinion, it is a bit more upbeat and jazzy. Enjoy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 23, 2005 Share Posted November 23, 2005 http://www.zophar.net/gym/SK+SONIC3.RAR - 23 "Lava Reef Zone 2" I mistakenly associated the source tunes as "Lava Reef Zone 1" & Sonic 2's unused version of "Hidden Palace Zone". Thanks very much to DarkeSword for pointing out my mistake. For any other judges, you gotta get familiar with :30-:47 of the source tune, as several of the arrangement ideas here are derived from that. This source tune isn't as memorable as "Lava Reef Zone 1", which is what I normally think of for that stage's theme. Track goes for a somewhat similar feel to Kingdom Hearts "New Beginnings" only it lacks a lot of the texture and richness that that mix had, which I feel is criticial to making synthethic pieces like this click. The KH mix had some strings, jungle SFX and a good bassline working in the background at various points to fill things out, and the percussion had more punch, which all helped a lot. Otherwise, you get things sounding too mechanical and thin like they do here. Strings starting at 1:56 are pretty synthy, but they're so light that it manages to work. When the strings come in more at 2:29 playing the "Lava Reef Zone" theme, they're dull in the performance and exposed. That slap bass-like synth is just really exposed and fake from the get-go, and the percussion performance feels too dry and rigid. I'm not saying you should try and rehash "New Beginnings" wholesale, cuz that's no good. But if you're gonna go for a downbeat yet jazzy-type feel here, it can't be so flat and empty-sounding. TO mentioned to me that the track sounds bland overall, and I totally agree. I'd like to hear some suggestions on punching this up, cuz this really needs more depth to the sounds. If you're not tired of this one, keep working on it, but otherwise I'd say put this on the shelf for a while. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted December 13, 2005 Share Posted December 13, 2005 The production and the arrangement for this track are both respectable, but both need a little more improvement before this will pass. The slap bass sticks out as a pretty weak sample, and the sequencing in the strings gets pretty mechanical at times. As far as dynamics go, this arrangement is pretty static. I would try to make the more sparse sections even more so, and give the busy sections more intensity, to give the overall mix a bit more tension. For example, the transition to double time at 2:20 is a great idea, but would work even better if the actual dynamics of the arrangement complimented such a change. This mix hovers around metzo-forte for the entire duration. This is pretty good, but can be even better. NO RESUBMIT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrayLightning Posted January 4, 2006 Share Posted January 4, 2006 I have to say this has a lot of fantastic aspects. I like the approach and the arrangement. This sounds like a great movie/chill underscore. Unfortunately for me the execution and production really hamper this. There's a very thin and sparse, lacking element that goes on here. You have the drums/percussion, guitar, piano and bass, but there's very little going on between these elements. It feels vacant. A pad playing the chords would help a lot. I do like the instrumental texture you are going for here though. There's no dynamic contrast here, but I think for the type of music it's perfectly fine in my book. I'm really digging the style here. But I think the production here is also lacking. Everything sounds underprocessed, dry and vanilla. I think you need more reverb here for density, spacing within the sound field. Also this needs some eq work at this state. Needs a bit more bass and treble for warmth and shimmer. The overall production just comes across a bit lofi and plain. What I would give to hear this played by a good band though. The ideas are there, but the execution and production are both lacking. Keep it up Blue Magic, I really like your style. I hope you keep at it. Also I should note your hand percussion sequencing rocks - excellent work there. Needs more at this point in those categories to spice things up. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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