Donkey Kong 64 ~ Angry Aztec (Glitch Hop remix)

[Kanohi]

So I've been fiddling around with this concept for a few weeks, making slow and deliberate progress on a track that may have a spot in a DK64 OCRemix album sometime in the distant future.

Nearing the end of this, I've worked a lot and for possibly too long on this one track. I feel like the only way to progress is to do what you can and move on to learn more things, so I won't be spending my life tweaking this to perfection.

HERE is the current version: Sandstone

Thanks in advance fellow Remixers

[timaeus222]

That dulcimer sounds pretty fake at the moment. It's sorta machine-gun-like. I'd suggest you find some sample libraries if you can, or ask someone to collaborate. At 0:58, the bass is too sudden, as you probably knew. You need a transition there.

Regardless, the bass itself is insufficient in quality. You need to modify it a bit more. I'd suggest some detuning on it, with more than one voice. Four, perhaps? Something kind of like this: https://www.box.com/s/zkczd0oxmragbr47261t

That's Pulse-Width Modulation with a detuned quad-voice saw wave.

As for the drums there, you should get a new kick, because it's currently too bassy and I only feel an impact, without knowing what it really is. It'll also help to add some more punchy compression on the snare. You could also layer on a more hissy layer, lower that layer's volume a bit, and let that create a longer decay on the overall snare tail.

The rest is good so far.

[Kanohi]

Thanks for all the tips! I tried a few of them out and they're sounding much better so far, especially on the kick. I have a pack of Drum and Bass kicks that are typically louder on the higher channels, so I layered that over the one I had and EQ'd them to each hold their own spot, sounds more full that before.

As for the Dulcimer, it's literally a default sample from FLStudio, and a placeholder until I can find a good VST for ethnic-sounding instruments to take its place

[timaeus222]

Cool, that's good. I just noticed something else that is pretty important. The low choir you have at the beginning sounds like something else default from FL, because I think I've used it before back when I first started remixing. If you can find a better VST for that, do it! It's a good idea, but it sounds fake right now, as you might have already considered.

Also, don't be afraid to glitch up the drums some more after 0:58. You said it's "Glitch-Hop", so glitching is totally expected. I'd suggest iZotope Stutter Edit or dBlue Glitch.

[Argle]

Yeah, I was looking for the glitching. Good start, keep plugging away. Yay for DK64 love.

[Chiwalker]

I think you have a very good idea and arrangement here Kanohi.

During the drop the bass sound is pretty good, but just looking at that I think it has the potential to be much bigger. For instance, some band EQing, notching, and stereo separating FX are used by many solid producers to increase the size of the bass sound and make it sound more varied (the good news for you is now you just have to play with these FX as inserts and automate to your taste)

From the more airy intro to the aforementioned bass section, you NEED a better transition. This kind of music (that I think you are going for) is all about transferal of that melodic airy potential and building it up to the heavy bass section, kind of a yin-yang between airy/heavy and melodic/single notes, but I think you understand it so just make it a smoother transition!

I can hear the potential in this!

[Kanohi]

Thanks for your kind words and encouragement! I've so far added a real buildup, altered the melody's string instrument for now as well as the synth behind it, greatly filtered, eq'd, and modified the lead bass on the drop, and started to work out some unique bits for the later bass segments.

You have a good ear, timaeus, that choir is a FLStudio default but it's not supposed to sound like a real choir at all. I want it default because I believe that ties it to the cheesiness of the original track and the simpler sound design. I might alter it a bit, but for the most part it's the effect I'm going for at the moment.

As for the glitching, I've always considered "Glitch-Hop" to just be funky Electronic music at around 100-110bpm, such as artists like OPIUO and KOAN Sound, and don't often think of it as actual glitchy music. I may add some in, but perhaps I'm just labeling it wrong for now lol

Chiwalker, I'll try out some of that stuff for my bass lead to see how big I can get it without being overbearing, thanks for the tips!

[timaeus222]

Chiwalker, I'll try out some of that stuff for my bass lead to see how big I can get it without being overbearing, thanks for the tips!

I just tried something new with automation, and it's kind of interesting. It would be cool if you could somehow use automation to make a sound go from panned center to panned stereo, or vice versa. I've tried it with Stereo Enhancer (the knob you get when you use wide tracks, not the old Fruity Stereo Enhancer tool) and it worked pretty well. Stereo Shaper... not so much.

[Kanohi]

Changed some things around, tweaked a lot of the volumes and EQs, added and removed some things, let me know what you think!

WIP Sample Version 2

[timaeus222]

Hm, you've got something nice in the works!

0:19 - That lead is a bit simple at the moment. See if you can add some more expressiveness on it. vibrato, filters, chorus, waveshaping, etc. Anything to give it more bite, presence, and uniqueness.

1:04 - I see the transition now, but it can be even better! Maybe if you try out dBlue Glitch, you can get some ideas.

1:07 - 1:25 - It might be a bit bare without hi hats or some filler percussion; just the kick and snare as the percussion there leaves too much unused room. It might help to add some slight reverb to the snare to fill out the soundscape a bit more. I like the variations you have on the bass. It would be great if you can work on the tone a bit more. It's tough to describe it, but I think it can sound even better. Maybe you just need to find a better synth to make those with, I dunno. Massive is a good choice, but it's $199.00. If you can afford it, it would beef up this song a lot.

Overall, some more interesting filler sounds would do this lots of justice. Same with some more compression on the drums to give them more power.

[Kanohi]

It didn't sound bare to me until you pointed it out, and now it's driving me nuts lol I added some reverb to the snare, thinking of something else that can fill that and give it a better pace without changing the mood I want it to have.

As far as synths go, I'm already using Massive for most of the instruments in the song lol I was able to pick up Massive, Razor, and FM8 for cheap last year during a sale, the whole lot for $199. Problem is, Razor won't let me do anything but use the presets and FM8 is something I'm completely inexperienced with so I spend a lot of time on Massive.

And for filler sounds, I'm actually re-downloading Synplant VST at the moment. I had it on my last rig and just haven't gotten around to getting it on this one. If you haven't played with it, Synplant is a great way to add some texture and depth to your music, which I'm hoping is just what this needs.

EDIT: Here's the current version, I think the bass sounds a bit better, I filled out the drop section a tad without trying to crowd it up too much. Left the first few beats empty, though, because I like the effect of the silence. Added some of the different-key stuff from the original song, not sure if I like it.

[timaeus222]

It didn't sound bare to me until you pointed it out, and now it's driving me nuts lol I added some reverb to the snare, thinking of something else that can fill that and give it a better pace without changing the mood I want it to have.

As far as synths go, I'm already using Massive for most of the instruments in the song lol I was able to pick up Massive, Razor, and FM8 for cheap last year during a sale, the whole lot for $199. Problem is, Razor won't let me do anything but use the presets and FM8 is something I'm completely inexperienced with so I spend a lot of time on Massive.

And for filler sounds, I'm actually re-downloading Synplant VST at the moment. I had it on my last rig and just haven't gotten around to getting it on this one. If you haven't played with it, Synplant is a great way to add some texture and depth to your music, which I'm hoping is just what this needs.

EDIT: Here's the current version, I think the bass sounds a bit better, I filled out the drop section a tad without trying to crowd it up too much. Left the first few beats empty, though, because I like the effect of the silence. Added some of the different-key stuff from the original song, not sure if I like it.

Oh, cool, that's a pretty sweet purchase! xD I don't use Massive as much, though, because it keeps glitching up on me and muting in the middle of a song until I delete NIMassiveDataBase_ul and reload the database.

Okay, this is sounding a whole lot better. I really love the transition you put in leading towards 1:08. It's an early enough heads-up, and it works really well.

At 1:22, I think I know what you're going for. Try sequencing in a real "bell glissando" (made up that phrase lol) for that bass, and using a resonant filter sweep on a square wave. I remember that type of sound from here:

at 14:04

That main bass also sounds great! I haven't said this yet, so I liked that vibraslap at 1:27.

I see what you were going for at 2:22. Perhaps a triplet leadin to that key change? It works otherwise. At 2:41, when it changes back, I think from there, you need some more notes in your lead to lead back to the original key. I like the little filler snare rolls

Synplant is very interesting, btw, I took a look.

Good stuff so far, keep it up!

[jnWake]

I like the percussions in the intro. It's a shame you drop them when the hip hop drums kick in, I think that if you kept both (or at least some elements of the first one) it'd sound so cool.

All the first section is lacking bass imo. It is your call, but almost always I feel lack of bass makes thing sound so empty...

Also, about the choir sample, if you want to keep the cheesy sound it's fine, but I feel it'd sound better with some vibratto or something like that. Just a slight vibratto though.

Neat transition at 1:07. The 1:25 drum fill is pretty cool too. The random bass sounds are very meh though in my opinion.

You did a nice job in the variety of the sounds but until the change at 2:23, the main Aztec melody is almost unchanged. I think you should do something there to make it sound more creative. In general, I feel you're very conservative in how approach the arrangement since the source notes are almost untouched (except the bass of course).

Anyway, it's still a pretty cool arrangement!

[Kanohi]

Well guys after a lot of tweaking here's a much further-along version

I added some dual-panning modulation to the lead bass, kept it simple but I think it sounds alright. Changed up the deeper noise, eq'd it to a better place. Per jnWake's suggestion I put some of the exotic-sounding drums into the rest of the song, quietly behind the more laid-back bits. Added the second section in, drums are still working at the moment but I have my format. Still looking to put a lot of custom modulation on the final piece, but how is it looking so far?

[timaeus222]

It's sounding really good! Just a few things I noticed:

The lead at 2:24 is a bit plain. It's not like it doesn't fit, but spice it up!

The buildup at 3:03 sounds kind of the same as before, about the same as 0:57. Try adding something to make it sound different, and then have some fun with some glitchy stuff at 3:11.

If you want, I can contribute some glitchy effects there on the bass and send it back as a WAV. I've got

now, and I've had it for long enough to know how to make good use of it.. The snare can also be more powerful there, since it's kinda buried right now. Maybe

might help?

[Argle]

Coming along nicely. I tried an Angry Aztec remix like 6 months ago, but I came up pretty dry. I still have the project file but idk if I will be revisiting it. Glad someone gave this source some attention.

[OneUp]

I'd suggest iZotope Stutter Edit or dBlue Glitch.

I agree with the opinions given on the track, keep on working cause it's got potential! The main reason I wrote is so I can thank timaeus222 A LOT for suggesting iZotope Stutter Edit, that is exactly what I've been looking for!

[Kanohi]

Thank you so much for your continued input guys!

Ok so here is a version of the song that's very close to done

I still have a lot of tweaking, some EQing, and some automation clips to add, but for the most part this is what I'm looking at for the final piece. I don't think I'll change much from here, aside from some very minor instrument tweaks. The second buildup might get a bit of extra love as well.

I think the lead for both drops is where I want it, and just for fun I threw in some glitched-out segments in. I couldn't get my hands on iZotope so I just went with hand-cut bits of the song, I think it has some weird rhythm to it, and I like where it's at.

Anyways, suggestions welcome on what to raise/lower/alter. Right now I'm looking to boost up the Kick and Snare a bit and maybe add just a tiny bit of sidechaining to allow them to punch through a bit.

[timaeus222]

I couldn't get my hands on iZotope so I just went with hand-cut bits of the song, I think it has some weird rhythm to it, and I like where it's at.

Yeah, that's why I suggested I contribute to that 3:11 section. I have it, and I'm willing to do some work on that section to make it ultra-major epic. If you're okay with that, I'd just need the MP3 of the song (easy to get), a WAV of the bass part at 3:11-4:00, and the drums for that part (it couldn't hurt to glitch the drums too!).

[Kanohi]

Somewhere close to done.

Probably could use a lot more tweaking but it's close

[Argle]

yeah man I'm digging this. You certainly gave it more glitching.

[timaeus222]

I can't really hear the hi hats most of the time when the Massive bass comes in. I'm thinking the bass might actually be too loud, and it's obscuring certain other soft instruments.

1:30 - Something weird happened there and the vibraslap got compressed or something. Same at 3:36, but with the cymbal (and other cymbal instances).

2:12 - the offbeat square-wave-hybrid keys instrument sounds like all of the notes in those chords are the same velocity. Try changing the velocities to make each note a more natural volume. Try imagining yourself playing a piano.

Bass glitch improv sounded pretty cool! Great job!

4:15 - the lead there is somewhere under all the choir stuff, but it feels distant there. Maybe you could do a more upfront lead that kinda fades out slowly?

[Kanohi]

Argle: Thanks man, glad to hear you like it!

Timaeus: Ok glad you pointed it out, I honestly thought it was just me, I think I might've overboosted the sub so it might be messing with the rest of the channels. Working on it. As for the 2:12 part, the problem here is that Massive is notoriously disconnected from FLstudio. The in-pattern controls for velocity, panning etc simply don't work for Massive (unless I missed some setting that you need to change) so I'll try my best with an automation clip to see what I can do. Thanks for all the help!

[timaeus222]

You probably still need to assign velocity responses to the amplitude knobs in each oscillator. Right click in one of the three tiny squares below each "Amp" knob and link to a yellow "V", then click-drag up, starting from the V as it is inside the square. Go to about... the 1:00 position. It should highlight a partial yellow ring.

And yeah, I did hear that there might be a whole ton of subs. I heard a little bit on headphones, so it's likely people with subwoofers will almost freak out. xD

[Argle]

Something I noticed, the extended glitch out session at 3:15 doesn't really reference the source other than the chords. It'd be nice to have the melody in the background, whilst keeping the attention on the twiddly bits.