DragonAvenger Posted October 7, 2012 Share Posted October 7, 2012 ReMixer name: Pl511 UserID: 48825 Name of game: Kingdom Hearts (PS2) Name of arrangement: Lost Radiance Name of song arranged: Hollow Bastion theme Comments: This remix was inspired by an arrangement of the original Hollow Bastion theme by Josh Barron that I would have to describe as one of the best piano arrangements of a non-piano song I've ever heard. This remix itself uses multitracking and panning to emulate the sound of 5 pianos playing simultaneously, capturing several ideas in the original song at the same time. The idea for this fairly unused style actually came from when I was mocking up a basic file of all the parts in the original theme in a basic piano soundfont. When I listened to it to check for mistakes, I realised that even with all the pianos playing together, with a few changes to the original there were no few major clashes and the parts fitted into each other very nicely. The first section of the remix is essentially a slightly more varied 5-piano cover of the original song's first loop with a few changes to the melody and bassline and a few minor differences to rhythms and - most notably - the speed. In 5/8 with a very fast tempo, in this remix I attempted to capture a sense of the urgency of the situation in the game at that time. The section following the first section is in the original tempo, and in this section a lot more personal interpretation is added with a few chord changes using only a single solo piano. The final section is a more varied and dynamically different version of the first section, ending on the motif used throughout the last section. This remix was created using some fairly minor MIDI keyboard recording in MixCraft 5. However, due to latency issues, the entire piece had to be quantised. I have humanised the whole thing fairly carefully to try and create the sound of an actual pianist playing, so I hope I did a good job. I hope you guys enjoy it! -Pl511 ---------- - Josh Barron arranged version Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
halc Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 link was a little misleading, I don't think this sounded like a definite no in any way. the piano sample wasn't top-of-the-line (I actually really liked the pluck on the higher notes), mixing is a little thin and the placement of the pianos could have been a bit more cohesive, but I thought this was perfectly listenable. even the sequencing was pretty solid imo and the song was very dynamic, although those constant 8th notes do get a bit tiresome. some more 'breakdowns' or half-tempo segments in the arrangement would have been beneficial to this imo, but overall I'm liking this one. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted October 17, 2012 Share Posted October 17, 2012 Yeah, I like this quite a bit. I'm generally a stickler for piano samples but I thought this one sounded fine. The performance is very intricate and expands on the original Hollow Bastion theme in a very intelligent way. You include enough breaks from the token 1/8th note rhythm from the source that I don't think it becomes overbearing, and there's tons of unique countermelodies and harmonies that keep things fresh at all times. You're definitely a remixer to watch, this is an excellent piano arrangement that demonstrates a ton of talent with your instrument of choice. Can't wait to hear where you go from here! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted October 21, 2012 Share Posted October 21, 2012 Nice arrangement that compliments the original quite nicely. Piano sample seems ok to me, if not a bit thin. I'm not a fan of the dryness of the sample either, it doesn't give off a very realistic stereo space, which ultimately exposes the piano as sounding a bit more midish than it might have otherwise. Like the other judges, I do feel like the 8th notes gets a little tiring, but there is a nice amount of variation on this otherwise. Quite a few nitpicks that ultimately adds up, but the arrangement means i'm still ok with this, altho its a close call imo. Nice work! YES (Borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted October 30, 2012 Share Posted October 30, 2012 Well, I'll agree with Deia that the dryness and thinness makes this a clear NO in my book. This just doesn't sound realistic enough as is for a solo piano piece (or 5 piano piece) - I don't think it stands up to other pieces we have. Also the full stop in the middle was pretty awkward. Sure, there are some things that help like the subtle tempo changes but this has some dealbreaker issues. I think with some EQ fixes and definitely reverb, this could probably pass but I think the evenness of the playing is a little unrealistic as well. Hmm. Well, I hope you can do something with this and send it back, arrangement is pretty cool. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Going to agree with Vinnie on this one, the piano is really dry and lacking depth while also sounding pretty robotic. The arrangement I really like, and the dynamics between sections are good. What i'd like to hear is an upgraded sample, as well as some more dynamics and humanization within sections, rather than a specific section being set a narrow velocity range. I think further panning to make it sound like 5 distinctly placed pianos would be nice, rather than only a few hard pans and a barrage of notes. The arrangement of the source is pretty solid, no qualms there, but the sound itself needs another look. I'd love to see this on the front page, so please revisit it! No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Very exciting performance. It's a bit mechanical at times, but was able to not think about it and it didn't bother me. The sonics are a big boxy around 5-700Hz at times, and a bit boomy around 200Hz at others, but it's not terrible. Definitely on the dry side, but I don't find myself hating it. Perhaps too compressed. I'm going to say YES because the arrangement is really well done, and the mixing/samples don't bother me too much. I definitely wouldn't be opposed if you decided to go back and rework the dynamics and EQ. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 14, 2012 Share Posted November 14, 2012 After opening up very conservatively until 1:04, the arrangement ended up (finally) ended up doing something different with the tempo and dynamics to stand apart from the original. At 2:06, it went back to the original tempo but with some further additive writing to help give it it's own interpretation until the slowdown and finish at 3:09. I would have loved to have heard this go in more interpretive direction, and I'm not sure I could give it a YES on the arrangement even if the sound quality and realism of the piano sample was on point. It does do some things to stand apart from the original, but that's mostly in the middle, and for only about 60 seconds. About 2/3rds of this sounded pretty cover-ish with the same tempo, time signature and overall mood, and merely adapted to piano, so I didn't really get a sense of it standing apart from the original. Coupled with the piano realism issues that Deia, OA & Palp pointed out, I'm definitely not on board yet and need to hear an improved version before I could pass this. Maybe no one co-signs with me on the arrangement needing some additional levels of interpretation, but the sound quality and humanization of the piano both need work. Palp's right that it doesn't compare favorably to any recent piano piece we have. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted November 15, 2012 Author Share Posted November 15, 2012 I'm in between where Larry is standing and where Vinnie/Andrew are. I think the sounds (and in some areas the realism/humanism) definitely aren't where they need to be, and that for me is the dealbreaker in this mix. I also think that the level of interpretation of the first 1/3 is lacking. If it came down to just the arrangement, I think I'd be borderline YES, because after that things open up and are pretty interpretive, but I certainly wouldn't mind more expansion as well in that opening section. Hope you look at this one again, though! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted November 16, 2012 Share Posted November 16, 2012 Arrangement is killer but the mechanical performances and other production issues are bringing this down. Solo piano/piano ensemble mixes can't get away with sounding like this. Needs work. NO, resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted December 5, 2012 Share Posted December 5, 2012 I'll be sending this one back with a request that it's resubbed. I think it's really nice, and I love multi-piano compositions, so please do me a personal favor and polish this up a bit for us. Consider adding some additional interpretation for Larry to feel more comfortable, but it's optional, i'd say. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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