Palpable Posted November 19, 2012 Share Posted November 19, 2012 Howdy, Here's something in a very different style from my previous submissions. ReMixer name: Dj Mokram userid: 28433 Game arranged: Parasite Eve Song arranged: Phrase of Aya, Missing Perspective, Main Theme, Out of Phase Arrangement name: Spontaneous Combustion Source link: Phrase of Aya http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ktbT2nyXlU4 Missing Perspective http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNEzwWOgv5E Main Theme http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nkt54qAgy-4 Out of Phase http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F13FRIepmD8 Original Composer: Yoko Shimomura System: PSX Comment: Near the end of the last century, Squaresoft used to experiment with bold new ideas to create innovative IPs. With that philosophy in mind, I set to arrange one of those highly under-rated gem, known as Parasite Eve. As a VGM enthusiast and PE fan at heart, I adore Yoko Shimomura's hauntingly beautiful soundtrack. My goal was to cohesively blend multiple sources in a sequence revolving around Missing Perspective. All the while retaining the unique setting and aesthetic that defines the game and its music. In PE, Spontaneous Combustion describes a phenomenon where mitochondria ignite a body from within. To create this remix, I had to push myself outside of my comfort zone to overcome my biggest writer's block. The result is a fusion of acoustic and electronic elements that had me threading unfamiliar territories. Pitting piano and strings against fast breaks and synthetic leads while blending melody with thematic. Sprinkling an ounce of chiptune and bitcrushing on top, with extra care to the overall atmosphere. Hopefully, you guys can find some enjoyment out of this little arrangement. Here's the source breakdown: 0:00-0:20 -> Phrase of Aya 0:20-0:28 -> original 0:29-0:50 -> Missing Perspective 0:51-0:57 -> Missing Perspective + Phrase of Aya 0:58-0:59 -> fade in sfx 1:00-1:29 -> Missing Perspective 1:30-1:44 -> Missing Perspective + Out of Phase 1:45-2:00 -> Main Theme 2:01-2:07 -> Missing perspective 2:08-2:24 -> Phrase of Aya 2:25-2:54 -> Missing Perspective 2:54-3:17 -> Missing Perspective + Out of Phase 3:17-3:22 -> fade out sfx Thank you very much for your time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted December 21, 2012 Share Posted December 21, 2012 Nice arrangement. I like how you adjusted the rhythms on different aspects of the sources. Everything has a little bit of a bounce to it, which is overall a lot of fun. There's also a lot of little details that add to this overall, like the little squeaky synths. I don't know if I'm completely sold on the quality of the sounds you're using overall. They're on a whole a bit lo-fi. The other issue I have is that the last third or so gets a bit cluttered. There's a lot going in the same sound spaces so it's a bit difficult to get what's the strong focus. In the end I think that this squeaks by, but I am curious what the other judges think. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted December 22, 2012 Author Share Posted December 22, 2012 I can see what Deia's saying about the sounds being lo-fi. There's a washed-out quality to this, but I felt it was well within the boundary of good taste, and gave it kind of a retro vibe. In terms of melding together lots of different sources, this was skillfully done. I listened to your arrangement before the sources, and I had no clue where the edges were. Sounds like a pass! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted January 23, 2013 Share Posted January 23, 2013 it's 3:22 long, but feels a lot longer, and i'm not exactly sure why. I think the melding of a lot of the sounds is part of it. On closer listens there is actually a lot of cool stuff going on, with the breakdown section specifically being nice. I think the sounds blending is a bit with the type of delay used, and the bass and kick having a similar timbre. It has a sortof 80's police drama feel to it, and though it took me about 10 listens to wrap my head around it, i'm feeling comfortable passing this. yes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted January 24, 2013 Share Posted January 24, 2013 I actually felt some sections here sounded too muddy and cluttered, e.g. 1:15-1:44, 2:25-2:52 & 3:01-3:09, so that really could stand to be tightened up. I know Palpable felt it was within the bounds of taste, but it just seemed off to me in a way that didn't sound entirely intentional and honestly just obscured a lot of details. That's my main complaint, though I felt it was a dealbreaker for me. I loved the arrangement, and appreciate the way this instrumentation was made to work. Mokram made an awesome arrangement here, but something needs to be adjusted with the effects/delay/EQ or whatever to achieve a somewhat cleaner sound for the densest sections. I won't have a fit if this production quality passes as is, but I can't co-sign on this mixing yet. NO (refine/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 I'm not too down on the mixing like larry, but I do think the arrangement is a bit cluttered at times, while other times there are stark breakdowns that kill the momentum. I think more attention needs to be paid to where the song is headed. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishy Posted January 29, 2013 Share Posted January 29, 2013 Think I with Larry and Vig on this one. There are lots of good things about this, but a lot of things that could be improved. The drums all sound really filtered and have a very unusual verb gloss for the style that leads to everything being a bit muddy. This could definitely be brightened up. I also agree about the slightly directionless structure in places. It's a no, but a pretty borderline one, can see this going either way. NO (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Yeah, I can feel both the no and yes camps here. It's a cool track for sure, which shines best when it doesn't get too busy. When everything's kicking together, things get quite muddy. I think the main culprit is the low end freqs with the kick and bass synth battling each other and/or what Fish said. Overall, this needs better sound separation for sure, both in EQing and mixing levels. To be fair, I really like the track as a whole. I love the lo-fi nature of the sounds. Besides the mixing/clutter, I'm down with this. If we can get a cleaned-up version, I'm down with this for sure. NO def resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted February 10, 2013 Share Posted February 10, 2013 I've been mulling this one over for a long time... each time I listen, I feel like I come away with a different opinion on whether or not the overall mixing is enough to bring this down into Resub territory. Ultimately though, I feel like this could benefit quite a bit from being cleaned up - I'm not going to rehash timestamps since Larry already covered that quite well, but the mixing aesthetic, even if it was intentional, feels overdone to the point that the track comes out sounding muddy and dull. Not very many complaints on the arrangement/writing, I think with cleaner mixing this vote could definitely swing the other way. NO (resub!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Not really hearing any egregious muddiness. Lofi sound is cool, a little iffy on the kicks. Nice arrangement. Really groovy. Interesting soundscape. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillRock Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 The other judges have covered this really well already so i'm going to keep this vote brief... Arrangement is sweet. I didn't think it sounded "lowfi" as such, or at least, I didn't think it was an issue generally. However, that piano was to thin for my tastes. Other than that, sound design was ok. There is a muddy low end here, and the drums lack the punch necessary because of the low-pass filter on them, which serves to give this a rather muddled frequency spectrum imo. Larry pretty much timestamped the muddy bits very well imo. The arrangement is awesome tho. Oh man this is tricky. With the production, the bass and the drums are the main issues with mixing, fix them up and perhaps fix the piano, and you'll be well on your way. I do think its very borderline. Its a tricky vote but I can't see this on the front page just yet. Its basically a few small adjustments away - fix it up, and send it back! NO (resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 Mokram, don't you dare be self-deprecating about this decision, my friend. Collectively, we're really enjoying this track, and that should be apparent from the vote. It just needs some tweaks, and we can re-vote on this quickly. You definitely have what it takes to get this passed. We're all in your corner. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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