Liontamer Posted August 21, 2013 Share Posted August 21, 2013 (edited) Hello Enclosed is my remix. Please let me know if there's anything else Thanks for your consideration -Jack Contact Information * Xij * Jack Oughton * * www.xijmusic.com * Your userid (number, not name) on our forums, found by viewing your forum profile * e.g. djpretzel (http://ocremix.org/forums/member.php?u=1) has the userid of "1" Submission Information * Command and Conquer * Prowl * Name of individual song(s) arranged On The Prowl * Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) * Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) * Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. --------------------------------- Edited September 28, 2013 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 21, 2013 Author Share Posted August 21, 2013 (edited) Nice opening. The padding seemed a little too full for the first 40 seconds for my taste, but that eventually ended, and it was just a personal taste thing, and you quickly get used to it on repeated listens. It's not a crit against the piece. The "On the Prowl" melody kicked in at :50, albeit in an understated way. Not sure if the busy, splashy cymbals at 1:11-1:21 totally fit the mood of the rest of the instrumentation, but we'll keep it moving. Good stuff at 1:22 with the chiptune-ish lead; really sweet sound there, and I liked the ear candy of the supporting instrumentation as well with the whirring noises and active drums. The instrumental changes from 1:47-2:48 were interesting, but the textures weren't clicking. The delay-type effect with the melodic lead was done in a way that de-emphasizes that melody a fair bit; it's not bad, just something to consider. I'd also genuinely consider slimming this section down. It's pretty repetitive and said what it had to say about halfway through. Very cool retro lead comping until 3:08. The writing from 3:08-3:18 doesn't work at all with the source tune, but at least it was pushed to the back at 3:29. I'd argue for changing the sound of that part, but probably just rewriting that little line to something that has more synergy with the "Prowl" melody instead. Not a big deal here at all, just something that caught my ear. The dropoff at 3:39 was OK, moving into some different stuff at 3:49 before ratcheting back up at 4:20 with some cooler effects and rhythmic changes to the melodic lead. Nice countermelodic sound cameo-ing at 4:51. Pretty cool, grimy sound to that final section that finished things strong, albeit just a little bit repetitive by the time it finished at 5:39. On the whole, this works pretty well. I'm not a fan of a couple of the instrumentation and writing choices, but those were pretty minor in the big picture. What's here evolved pretty nicely on the whole, kept the source tune in constant use, and presented a unique, stylized take on it even while retaining its core structure. I could see Frank Klepacki digging this take, for sure. Jack's actually guilty of deluging the inbox with too many subs at once, but I've enjoyed listening to them. Though I didn't panel may of them to save our staff some time, he's got creative ideas. The polish of his work isn't consistent from track to track, but that's something that'll come with additional time and experience. Hopefully, he'll stay active here even if every submission he has doesn't make it. This one here is a good example of both his skill and potential when the structure and flow of an arrangement is generally clicking the whole way through. Nice work. YES Edited September 28, 2013 by Palpable Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted September 13, 2013 Share Posted September 13, 2013 I dunno, I'm not feeling this one as much as Larry is. I felt that a lot of the song is very repetitious which causes it to drag over the course of the piece. The energy was there, but it loses some of it's effect from how often you hear the same parts. I might be the minority here, which is fine, but I'd like to hear this one get trimmed down or have the parts have some more variations in melody/harmony. I'm also not feeling the opening quote; it's pretty low, so it only adds noise to the track instead of something more tangible (not to say that noise isn't what you were going for, which if it was then it works fine). Expanding on the section Larry pointed out, I wasn't feeling 3:08 either, but even the section before that starting at 2:49 felt a bit too random. Some more solid melodies would be a good part to work on there. I think this is really close, but I'd like to hear another pass at it. Good luck on the rest of the vote. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted September 23, 2013 Share Posted September 23, 2013 Ahh, C&C. This game really brings back memories for me. Gonna preface my vote by saying that I've been listening to this track on and off for the past week, so expect a lengthly vote with my accumlated thoughts. Nostalgia +1 on the intro. The background voice sample will resonate with fans of the game since cutscenes with news broadcasters is a common theme in the series - it doesn't bug me at all here. Cool evolving pad as well. I think the first miss is at :50. You've got this cool intro building up, the drums drop off completely for a measure to set up for the theme to drop... but then everything sort of just comes back at about the same energy as before. 1:11 does bring in some heavier drum work for a couple measures, but I never felt like the track got to the energy level it should have until perhaps 1:48. Could be just my opinion, but it would be much more effective if something like 1:48 came in right at :50, with the repeating source pattern right up front. 1:22 could then be used as a breakdown section to pull back from the heavier 1:48 section. Without some sort of contrast after the intro, it feels like it's plodding up until this point. Drum work is sort of a mixed bag for me. I feel like I'm hearing parts of 3 different kits at play here: the up front stereo panned hats, the synthetic/dry/distorted snare (and later kick), and the distant boomy reverbed kick & crash cymbals. Not saying acoustic & synthetic elements can't co-exist, but in this case they're all occupying different spaces in the mix (near/distant, dry/reverbed) and really could use some unity somewhere in the middle. The solo noodling at 2:49 didn't sit well me actually. The mood and writing felt all wrong TBH within the context of the song. The transition out of it at 3:08 was abrupt as well and the section here really just felt like filler to me. If it was me, I'd cut 2:49 - 3:19. 5:47 felt a bit long for the ideas present as we get some of the same ideas rehashed a couple times (albeit with some changes in beats and some additional textures). On the positive end, I'm liking the synth textures and gritty feel you've got here. Very creative ideas here with complete changeups on the kit to give contrast between sections like 3:19 & 3:50. Source is all over here and gets some nice personal touches. I think the more I listen to this, the more it's growing on me. Still, I'm with DA as I don't think this one's ready quite there yet. Dude, you've got the chops for this, though. Good luck with the rest of the vote NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted September 26, 2013 Share Posted September 26, 2013 I do enjoy some of the sound design. Very gritty and lo-fi. The mixing is pretty not good though. Boxy. Low mids abound. I do like a lot of the writing, particularly some of the synth solo writing is very tasteful. On the other hand, there are lots of sections with way too much space. This is a tough call, but I'm thinking it needs a bit more development, or to be shortened. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted September 28, 2013 Share Posted September 28, 2013 Yeah the real drums have this ugly boxy sound which makes it sound crowded but still don't really fill out the track. I also agree with the criticisms that this never reaches the energy levels it could, again partly due to those drums. More development needed, but good textures and a good start. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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