Liontamer Posted January 25, 2006 Share Posted January 25, 2006 Original Decision: http://www.ocremix.org/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=68612 Whats up LT. I'm pretty sure I should be resubbing this to you, right? If not let me know and I'll email submissions.For the panel: I suppose I'll give a little backround on how this mix originated. This is actually the first vg remix I've done without already having it planned in my head. I stumbled upon zircon's little drum tutorial, which inspired me to work on some ill beatz, and came up with that drum loop you hear during the first half. I added the bassline and e-piano riff undereath intending to craft a simple hiphop instrumental, but then I stumbled upon Dynablade Area 2 from KSS, and I immediately knew it would fit. Things start off with a fingered bass + rhodes soundfount to set the feel, with a squarewave synth coming in underneath. The main drumkit is courtesy FL. I ripped the Kirby SFX from the game and applied some FL Wave Traveler action. Then comes the lead, which is the jr electric piano that darkesword used to host (thanks). Strings from the Florestan soundfont collection accompany. The other synth you hear is a TS404 sound. The next section intro's some nice bongo samples I found, with a steeldrum soundfont added for a little island flavor. After the first sub, I really didn't know where to go with this. After coming back from a break to listen to this again, I realized how the distored perc really didn't gel, and decided to axe it altogether after some futile adjustments. I went back to the source for inspiration, and realized there was a second section of the tune I never used, and thats how I came up with the new middle. The part at 3:00 is a modified pad mixture, and I thought returning to the island beat with a swing groove was a good way to close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 groovy, sexy. first problem i notice is the ELP. first of all, the release is odd..at some points the sample sounds chopped off. also the comping is rather boring. simple voicings, simpler rhythms. Also there are a few wrong notes, such as 1:12. The next section retains a sweet groove. the bass is pretty good throughout. The section after 3:00 is a little akward. the panning guitar (?) is a bit akward, and the ELP problems remain. The elp is really dragging this mix down. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted January 26, 2006 Author Share Posted January 26, 2006 http://snesmusic.org/spcsets/kss.rsn - "Dynablade Area 2" (kss-17.spc) I be feelin' it, then...not so much. I feel like it's a case where you only needed to refine what was already in place, yet you needlessly complicated your revisions. Intro is still icy hot, and everything is still hot going into 1:35. Feeling some of the instrumental additions in there from 1:35-1:56, with what I guess is that ELP dealy. I like how the low-quality drum distortion got taken out at 1:57, good move there. 2:17-3:01's freestyle-ish section though was a no-go. The writing there seemed VERY lacking in form, and felt frantic without direction at points (2:29-2:51). The crazy hats didn't create a good texture, IMO. Better stuff after 3:01 though when the hats were toned down, though the change in percussion patterns at 3:23 made things feel a bit plodding and empty to me. Could sound a bit more complex even though you're going for a relaxed finish. Otherwise, I liked the bassline and other elements going on. Aside from the steel drums (which are fine; still pretty synthetic sounding, but clearly nothing make-or-break), the sections that worked had a very relaxed and somewhat organic feel. If you still feel like working on this further, Paul, I think you have a very nice set of criticisms here that'll really solidify this, so don't be discouraged. If this is going to be subbed again, get lots of feedback from top guys (nag for it if needed) before you hit "Send". NO (refine/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted January 26, 2006 Share Posted January 26, 2006 some great ideas in here, and some great grooves, but you need to trim the fat off this arrangement. the single note rhodes line gets on my nerves quickly. change up the pattern or cut it off. the electric piano is really cheesy IMO, and Jesse's criticisms are spot on. its sounds awkward at times. you need something better at the forefront of this mix. NO refine/resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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