*NO* Castlevania 3 & Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance 'Castellum Ossium'

[Liontamer]

Remixer name: The LoBros

Real Name: Christian Lopez

Email:

Userid: 51503

Submission-

Name of Game(s) Remixed: Primarily Castlevania 3 (Akumajou Densetsu), also Circle of the Moon (for Game Boy Advance), and also a brief quote from Castlevania 2.

Name of Arrangement: Castellum Ossium

Names of songs arranged: In order-

1. Evergreen

2. Beginning

- A brief quote of Bloody Tears (Castlevania 2) in Brian's (Sax) transition into...

3. Demon Seed (C Minor Solo Section)

4. VK2K2 (Vampire Killer 2002 from Castlevania Circle of the Moon for Game Boy Advance)

5. Clockwork (Arrangement inspired version also from Circle of the Moon)

6. VK2K2

7. Beginning

8. Evergreen

Info regarding arrangement:

Hello OC Remix community! Long time listener, first time submitter... Castellum Ossium (We just call it "Castlevania") is a studio-produced recording which appears on the newest LoBros (Christian and Salvador Lopez, yes brothers, and yes we both play trombone) album entitled Photo Booth Time Machine. I arranged the piece and it was debuted on mine and my brother's recital at the University of Arizona in 2008, and it wasn't until we decided to record an album that we decided to dust off the cobwebs and throw it down in the studio. I chose to arrange Castlevania due to its neo-classical/neo-baroque compositional style, which I thought would be easy to turn into a medley, plus it is badass music. The arrangement features some of Tucson, AZ's finest musicians including Salvador Lopez (Tenor Trombones), Christian Lopez (Bass Trombone, Arranger, Producer), Brian Hicks (Alto and Soprano Saxophones), Daniel Mendoza (Bass Guitar), and last-but-not-least Adam Ackermann (Drum Set). Hope you enjoy it!

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- "Evergreen"

- "Beginning"

- "Demon Seed"

- "VK2K2" (it's actually from Harmony of Dissonance, not Circle of the Moon; both soundtracks are on the same physical OST release)

- "Clockwork" (Circle of the Moon) Edited July 3, 2014 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Liontamer]

The premise and the trombone performances were both cool. The performance could have been tighter but it was above the bar for what we're looking for, IMO, so that was good. I liked the soloing ideas over CV3's "Demon Seed" particularly from 4:03-4:53.

Many of the transitions (e.g. 1:10, 2:18, 4:53, 5:49) were too abrupt and made the medley incohesive; for the standards here, medleys should basically flow like a single track. Obviously, a few jumpy, disjointed transitions can happen, but there were too many here.

Obviously, this is meant to be a subdued piece with the focus on the leads. That said, the textures ended up sparse and the backing instrumentation doesn't really fill things out enough. Dynamically, this was pretty flat; no matter the source tune or rhythms, the energy level settled at middle of the road and stayed there.

It's interesting, but too flat over the long haul, IMO. The other Js can let me know if I'm being a grandpa; I like smoother jazz, I'm not against this style, I just don't think the soundscape is filled out enough, that the transitions are smooth, or that it's dynamic enough of a piece over the course of the 8 minutes. It can't easily be redone due to it being live and needing to assemble everyone, which is a shame, but that can't affect the vote.

NO

Edited November 22, 2013 by Liontamer

[DragonAvenger]

Really cool concept, and you guys have some great technique! Love how clean you play that faster stuff, and you've got great tone. To me this boils down to the arrangement, specifically the medley structure, and how the tracks aren't strongly connected. I'd really like to hear you guys take one or two of these songs and expand on them, rather than pull so many tracks and attempt to mash them all together.

Larry brings up a couple other good points. The overall soundscape does feel a little bit empty overall, but I don't think there's much you can do to fix it aside from adding more instruments in. Larry also mentions the dynamic level, which I agree with but in a different way. All the songs you've used are pretty similar in energy level, though they have their slight differences. Maybe try to really exaggerate the quieter sections here to bring out those differences.

In the end I'd really think that cutting some of the pieces and expanding on the others would be the way to go. I was really a fan of 2:26, and that would be my suggestion, but overall it's up to you guys.

NO (resubmit)

[DarkeSword]

Never thought I'd do this but I'm actually voting YES on a medley.

I'm not a fan of the transitions; some of them are very abrupt, but in the end you give each section of the piece time to breath and develop, and you also bring the arrangement full circle by revisiting sections, so this feels like less of a medley and more like a single piece of some definitive sections.

Performances are clean and tight. Really enjoyed listening to this a lot. I don't think the soundscape is that sparse; this is just the nature of small combo jazz.

[OceansAndrew]

I do think the rhythm section could afford to come up a bit in volume, and some of the transitions were lacking, but overall this is really well played, pretty well arranged, and while the live combo sound isn't for everyone, this is really excellent and accessible. WHat would hve made this an easier sell to the judges overall is improving the transitions and having it sound like a single track. The return to Evergreen was a nice bookend, and the solos are excellent.

I do think that Larry is a grandpa, but his opinion is valid. Still won't stop me from voting Yes.

[Chimpazilla]

Omg now I finally know who to hit up when I need a trombone player!!! The performances here are really very good. I'd like the bass and drums to be a drop louder but I won't cry about it. I think the sparse-ish soundscape works here, giving the limelight to the excellent lead and countermelody writing. Agreed about the abrupt transitions, Larry is right, smoother would be better. Is it a dealbreaker? It's a close call, to be sure. Still, this was so well performed and kept me entertained for the entire 8:14... impressive.

YES

[Palpable]

There's some great arrangement ideas in this, but wow does this sound like a medley. There's almost no unified feeling at all, just abrupt cutovers between songs. There are key changes, drum changes, no parts to bridge anything - only the instrumentation stays the same. I mean, it's hard to pass on a song with a great band performance and strong arrangement ideas like this, but this is definitely a medley.

The production felt a little small to me, like there was space to bring up the drums and bass or use more reverb, but that has almost no bearing on my vote. The medley structure makes this a no go.

NO

[Flexstyle]

So. I thought about this for a while, checked the guidelines, drank some water, etc.

I'm going to vote in the affirmative on this one. The performances are tight, the production conveys a very intimate feel, and it's definitely on point in all technical areas to my ears.

As far as the arrangement goes: yes, it's clearly a medley, but we've posted those before (what is it with Castlevania and great live medley-mixes?). I think the playing chops make up for medley-itis in this case. Plus, a few musical motifs are re-visited towards the end, so it's not like it's just playing straight through and ignoring everything once it's been touched.

YES, and I'm downloading it to my folder of Good Mixes regardless.

[Nutritious]

Tough call here, I can definitely see the perspective of both Yes & No camps here.

Pros:

-Great performances and excellent musicianship. As a saxophone player, I can respect the playing skills on display here.

-Nice fleshing out of the various themes used here.

-Dat slap bass.

Cons:

-Drums are pretty quiet in relation to the horns - especially at the beginning.

-It's a medley with abrupt transitions

I can appreciate how good (and I mean really good) each individual section is developed and performed here. I just don't feel like I can sign off on something given:

■Your submission must have a strong focus and direction. Medleys must sound like a single song, not multiple songs pasted together

I have to admit, though, I kinda still want to see it pass regardless

NO resubmit please

[WillRock]

So the first thing that I think is "oh live instrumentation" and i'll tell ya, I've heard some people play brass much much worse than this. Bravo on the performances.

The issues stem from the transitions imo, which are more abrupt than they should be considering. For example, that transition from Evergreen to Beginning could have worked fine (same tempo, so it can be pulled off) but it feels too abrupt as it is because it starts a beat earlier than expected and there is no build up to the transition, it just occurs. The transition to Demon Seed was better but still felt a bit weaker overall due to the tempo jerk - I'd have gradually slowed down the playing of the solo sax so that when Demon Seed hit, it was playing at the same tempo. One thing I will say - Demon Seed is SWELL. Best part of the track for me

The rest of the track is swell as well! You actually brought back some of the themes and you ended on the same track you started with and that helped the remix come full circle imo.

Ugh I'm having a hard time here. So much good thats brought down by one seemingly small issue. The problem is that some of the transitions break the flow and it was avoidable in pretty much all of the cases imo. Demon Seed to Vampire Killer was the biggest offender (and the last since the transitions after it worked better). I think that putting a bit more into the second rendition of Beginning might have helped with the arrangement focus as well. It felt tacked on, which was a shame because the transitions to and from it were the best of the whole track.

Oh man.

I love this. My heart says yes - but the cold calculating judge in me says NO (resub).

I hate myself forever T_T

[Vig]

Great performances, the mixing is pretty flat, but not terrible. Would have liked more reverb on most things, and more compression on the bass and drums. Most modern jazz mixes are at least gonna have more space in the mix, if not a ton of compression. I'd also mix the horns a bit brighter and the bass a bit darker. This is fairly nitpicky of me though.

I do think the arrangement could have been a few minutes shorter, but I disagree with the notion that the track is dynamically flat, or lacking in direction. The energy level is anything but static, and it does come full-circle at the end.

Ultimately, the complaints I have about the mix are next to irrelevant, and the complaints I have about the medlyitis/arrangement aren't insignificant, but not nearly so egregious as to overshadow the exemplary performances.

I think this is a great piece of writing and performance that would be a shame to miss out on.

YES

[Fishy]

It's hard to pass on a song with a great band performance and strong arrangement ideas like this, but this is definitely a medley.

Too hard my friend.

YES

I understand a lot of the concerns but this is far far too good and original to reject for being a bit medley-ey.

[djpretzel]

I understand a lot of the concerns but this is far far too good and original to reject for being a bit medley-ey.

It's very medley-ey. More than a bit.

Flex was right to cite the Super Guitar Brothers mix for comparison, however, here's what I said in my writeup about THAT mix:

medleyitis is always mitigated with fewer instruments - plus transitions are handled intelligently.

Can I say the same here? There are a few more instruments, but still few enough that I think smooth transitions could easily have been written. Just a few linking passages, really; something that sets the stage and draws some connections. Something that overlaps in a creative way, or even better, something that cross-references and cross-pollinates between the different pieces being used.

None of that happened.

Everything else that DID happen was great, and as a fan of jazz, brass, bone, & pretty much everything these guys are doing, I'm tempted to say that it compensates. And it does, to some extent. But the spirit of our standards SPEAKS to the quality of arrangement itself, and REALLY tries to avoid that feeling where it's like "oh man NOW they've playing BLOODY TEARS!! I hope they do VAMPIRE KILLER next!!"... it's not supposed to be Castlevania's "greatest hits" all packed into one track; there needs to be some thought, however minimal, to cohesion. I think there was a TON of thought put into this about almost every OTHER aspect, but sadly this point was overlooked.

I'm punching myself and crying, but I'm gonna have to agree with the pickers of nit & sticklers of standards, as there needs to be a line drawn SOMEWHERE on this specific point:

NO

Would absolutely kill for a resubmission with some thought put into transitions & the overall arrangement, as otherwise you guys are killing it on every level, and ALL of us respect that.