Among the Stars [Legend of Spyro trance/house?]

[Synthony]

Old version: http://www.soundcloud.com/vincevolpyne/among-the-stars-spyro-remix

UPDATE 10/5/12: http://soundcloud.com/vincevolpyne/wip-spyro-among-the-stars

Source: Legend of Spyro: A New Beginning "End Credits (with Choir)" by Rebecca Knuebuhl and The Legend of Spyro: Dawn of the Dragon "Valley of Avalar" by Rebecca Knuebuhl and Gabriel Mann

I made this well over a year ago, and had it rejected by the judges' panel on the grounds of poor production and repetition. I want to update it now that I've improved a hundredfold in production, but frankly, I don't know what to do with it... can haz feedback? :3c

UPDATE 10/5/12: I've made a lot of adjustments to the mix and master, tweaked some sounds and added a couple new elements to make it a little more interesting. Feedback please? ^^;

[timaeus222]

Unfortunately I have to agree on the repetition. There's nothing happening for over two minutes. Well, nothing significant happening.

Writing a good remix takes lots more time than a few hours. Usually it takes a few weeks.

On the bright side, every instrument you used is audible. Most people have that problem of muddiness. Yours is just the arrangement and the instrument choice.

Good start, but maybe changing the genre will encourage you to be more creative. I suggest you start over on this remix. You're not going to lose that much work, no worries.

[Synthony]

There's nothing [significant] happening for over two minutes[...] every instrument you used is audible.

Actually, thanks to terrible mixing, you may not have heard the lead that's introduced at 1:14 -- still a good chunk in, but not nearly as bad as over two minutes. ^^; Here's an updated mix I've been toying with for the last few hours: http://soundcloud.com/vincevolpyne/wip-spyro-among-the-stars

And yeah, I know a few hours doesn't make a good remix... I didn't back when I started it in October '11. I've improved tremendously at music production and composition since then, believe you me.

The only real problem as far as the repetition goes is that the source material is pretty sparse in itself -- aside from the choir and the two (count 'em, TWO) lead melodies, there's nothing interesting going on in either of the source tracks, just simple orchestral chords. The Legend of Spyro score wasn't really made for focused listening. I'm doing what I can with what's there, and I'll study the sources a bit more to see if there's anything else I can use to make it more interesting. That's part of the reason I went with trance, though -- trance generally has repetitive leads, and the progression occurs in the rhythm section instead. Unfortunately, OCR doesn't seem to like that too much D:

[Flexstyle]

Writing a good remix takes lots more time than a few hours. Usually it takes a few weeks.

*cough*

So, this may come across as a bit harsh, but I promise I'm not trying to be mean! Here goes.

Right, a few things up front: the kick is REALLY freaking bassy. Like, almost painfully so. Also, your master compression is really hurting the overall mix. There are parts of the song that sound quite distorted.

As far as an arrangement goes, I'd rather just give a few tips. First off, to pull off a really good OCR trance song, I'd look no further than to our resident expert, bLiNd. If you listen to his take on JENOVA (here), you'll notice that not only does he have the main melody in there, but he's also added a couple different supporting arpeggios, woven in and out throughout the song. By varying the supporting instrumentation along with keeping the main melody at the forefront, he creates a really good trance mix.

That's not enough, though. He's got clearly defined sections, and each section brings something truly interesting to the table. He doesn't pass off repetition with just an instrument added or subtracted as a separate section. Everything is interesting, and everything is evolving.

Essentially, keep everything evolving. Don't let yourself repeat the same patterns too many times. Even if it's just a small change, always be changing SOMETHING. deadmau5, for instance, is a master of this, even at his most minimal. A filter, a drum pattern, a small change in the pad line, whatever.

Finally, try and get some extra mixing tips. Learn how to make a polished electronic mix, and don't resort to the brickwall compressor until it's already a pristine mix. Use a high-pass EQ on anything that isn't a bassline or kick. Be ruthless in cutting unnecessary frequencies out. Electronic music truly stands out when it's polished, and I think that you really can make up for a certain amount of arrangement skill as long as the song is polished enough--see above, with my Concrete Man mix I linked to.

Hopefully that helps a bit, sir!

[timaeus222]

*cough*

Haha, well, I meant to say "most of the time, for most people". xD I've seen zircon do Picolescence in 3 hours.

[Synthony]

Harsh? I love getting constructive feedback xD I wanted to know what could make this better and that's exactly what you have me ^^

As far as the mix and master... I'm gonna have to get rid of my studio phones cuz they aren't doing the trick. It sounded pristine on my studio phones, but in the car and on my fiancée's phone headset, the clipping is obvious and ghastly. I definitely need to make some adjustments >.< As for the arrangement, I started toying with melodies from "Guide You Home", which is a much richer source than the two I've already got -- if I throw that into the medley, I'll have a solid basis for more chord progression and rhythm changes that should make all the difference once implemented. I don't know when I'll get around to it, but I'll update when I've made significant progress.

Thank you for the feedback!