Liontamer Posted August 29, 2013 Share Posted August 29, 2013 (edited) Hi there, Please visit my soundcloud link below for my submission: Original VGM below http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1qbVI9iTBU My mixer name is 'Capitulated Sound' Real Name: Matt Hird Email: Website: http://soundcloud.com/user4076963/ User ID: hulky (Sorry, I tried to find number but had no luck !) Game arranged: Chrono Trigger (SNES) Name of Arrangement: To Far Away Times - Touched Remix Original Track: To Far Away Times Originally VGM: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1qbVI9iTBU Comments: My second attempt breaking through on the OCRemix scene...I previously submitted a Ninga Gaiden remix, "the devil removes his mask". It was a very close and in my opinion "Admirable" decline I did consider your comments but decided not to re-work my track as I personally was pretty happy with the output. Thats not to say I disagree'd with your opinions and I definitely value the constructive feedback! Am hoping this submission may meet the suitably high standard you guys set on your fantastic website. Thanks for listening Matt ------------------------------------------- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m1qbVI9iTBU Edited October 21, 2013 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 29, 2013 Author Share Posted August 29, 2013 Ain't no download link on the SoundCloud, so I had to settle for listening to it directly there. The arrangement was decent but felt pretty by-the-numbers besides this genre adaptation. By 1:30, I was waiting to hear something more substantially interpretive with the handling of the melody. 1:43 helped a little by the chorus feeling different than the source tune's version due to the beats, but there's a lot of just adapting the tune to a relatively static dance groove and not really much substance going on beyond that. Nearly halfway over, 2:55 finally moved to some original writing ideas to add something new to the picture. 3:28 brought the theme back again, this time with the breath SFX and some new other new writing with the belltones and chord progression stuff. That probably ended up being the most interesting part of the track because of hearing new instrument textures and actually having some dynamic contrast compared to earlier. Back into the source melody at 4:22, which was essentially a copy-paste of 1:12's section; that was a little disappointing. Since the melodic treatment was so straightforward before, that was a chance to provide some sort of variation in the the melodic writing, the instrumentation, the rhythms, just something to build off the interesting ideas presented from 2:55-4:22. It's not that this arrangement was just a cover + beats, far from it. But when the source tune is in play, the melodic treatment was plain enough that none of the ear candy around it mattered. It boils down to a melodic take that didn't sound creative enough with a relatively static groove under it dominating the first half and final section, and it wasn't enough to seal the deal. Anything that could be done to spice that up would be awesome, Matt, because the potential is readily apparent here. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted September 16, 2013 Share Posted September 16, 2013 (edited) Interesting textures you have here. I will admit I was put off from the xylophone especially, but over a couple listens I find it to be charming. The arrangement definitely has some fun personalization, and I think that, while a touch repetitive, this has a lot of good assets to it. If anything, the ending is the weakest section to the entire piece, although I think even if you hadn't faded it it might have been stronger as it was. The other issue I have is some weird harmonies at the opening in the pads. It isn't something that I think puts the track under the bar, but I do think that it detracts from the piece a bit. I might be the only one on the other side of the fence, but I think this is good to go. I certainly wouldn't mind some retouches here and there, though. YES Edited September 16, 2013 by DragonAvenger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted October 3, 2013 Share Posted October 3, 2013 Not bad at all, though it's pretty conservative. Kind of straightforward. My issues with it are that your melody is in the piano, and it's getting completely lost behind all your arpeggios and stuff. The balance on this track is way off. Middle section with the breath fx is nice. I agree with Deia that there's some weird harmonic stuff going on with the pads. Give it another listen, around :21 and :35. I like it but I think it needs some work. Maybe some stronger leads with more rhythmic variation. Change up that four on the floor drum pattern too. You could do some really fun syncopated stuff in the breakdown in the middle. Needs some work. NO, resub Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted October 9, 2013 Share Posted October 9, 2013 I absolutely love the sounds chosen for this track, it feels super light and fresh to me, and the fact that the source is one of my favorite songs ever doesn't hurt. The soundscape is excellent, though there are some weird overtones in the opening parts with the synths used, and some of the mixing is a bit rhythm heavy. Overall production is above the bar, but the mixing balance could be improved. The arrangement isn't amazing for the first half, but it is personalized, and the middle section breakdown I love. Between the amount of additional counterpoint parts, rhythmic changes, structure alterations, and melded sections, it passes arrangement requirements in my mind, at least for the second half. I think the first half needs more personalization. I can sympathize, because I recently remixed this song myself, and it's literally such a good source song, I found it incredibly difficult to change anything at all. Drums aren't exciting, but are functional enough, and there are builds and drops between sections. I little bit of rhythmic changeup would be nice, but I don't think it's required. Overall it's really solid, and I think borderline, but I think the benefit of revisiting it slightly outweigh those of trying to push it through as is. I really encourage you to update this because i'd love to see it on the site, and i don't think it'd take that much to sway the other judges. No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted October 21, 2013 Share Posted October 21, 2013 The xylophone is way too loud compared to the lead piano. You need to sidechain. It helps tighten the track up and make it bang. At the 1-minute mark, the chord rhythm is awkward because it repeats after one bar, resulting in a 1/16th hit at the end of each bar. Syncopate it. Let that last hit carry over to the next bar. My advice in terms of arrangement is to go listen to some progressive house and really pay attention to the structure, instrumentation, and dynamics. It's all about break, build, drop, release. This is a bit too static. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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