Chimpazilla Posted September 30, 2014 Share Posted September 30, 2014 (edited) Remixer Name: Garpocalypse Email: Forum ID: 31287 Name of Game: Legend of Legaia Remix Name: As The Town Sleeps Source: Light of the Town Hey OCR, This is my remix of Legend of Legaia's Light of the Town. For this one I tried to imitate the early works of one of my favorite, still living, composers. Ed Van Fleet. I first did this remix for the People's Remixing Competition a year ago and thought it would have a pretty good chance at passing the panel with a little more work. The arpeggios present in the source play throughout this remix and I did a few variations on the melody in order to expand it into a full remix and still retain familiarity. There is some original material in this remix but I believe it is still above the minimum amount of source material required. Thanks! Hope to see a bunch of you at MAGfest again! ----------------------------------------------------------------- Edited October 10, 2014 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 8, 2014 Share Posted October 8, 2014 Strange ambient opening, but we'll see where it goes. Light pops at :02, :04, :06, :12 & :14, possibly from the vox triggers; needs to be fixed. Digging the popping-style percussion st00fs at :31; nice touch. The timing of the lead from :53-1:03 felt rigid and slightly behind the beat, which was unfortunate. 1:31 was an odd transition, and I didn't think the textures were fully clicking up to 2:02. Compositionally, there were subtle additions and subtractions as that bassline pattern repeated until 2:32, but that whole minute (seemingly) had very little purpose or direction, and felt like aimless filler until the main verse returned/repeated at 2:32. I thought there was rigid, awkward timing of the lead as well from 2:03-2:18 that sounded its worst/most obvious around 2:10. However, at 3:02, I WASN'T getting that robotic/stilted vibe from the sequencing... until the 3-note patterns from 3:33-4:03. The closing section from 4:03-4:29 also felt aimless and didn't even sound like it was all in the same key. Minor thing, but the ending faded to 0 at 4:27, then came back up again in volume before cutting off at 4:29; fix'er up, and don't miss details like that. IMO, you could do any or all of these things as potential ways to improve the flow and keep it fresh: 1. Smooth out some of the rigid sequencing mentioned earlier, 2. Add some other ideas or dynamic contrast for the 1:31-2:33 section it doesn't seem so relatively aimless; and 3. Do something different/varied with the core pattern at 2:32 that's stands apart from 1:01 to prevent the track from feeling too repetitive over the long run. This definitely had some creative, interpretive ideas that carried the arrangement in a good direction. However, the timing needs to stay smooth, and the arrangement can't coast/wander so much. Hopefully some other Js can better articulate what's holding this back. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted October 9, 2014 Share Posted October 9, 2014 Good, comprehensive vote from Larry that echos my crits as well. Timing issues in the lead instruments, which could either be caused by performance or trying to get more humanization out of the sequencing. If the latter, I'd recommend focusing more on velocity/volume changes, rather than note timings (I actually almost never adjust the note timings on sequenced leads). 2:11 & 3:56 are especially problematic in this regard as mentioned. Double agreement on the 1:31 transition and section. I think I hear what you're going for, but it sounds both directionless and doesn't contrast enough with surrounding sections to be an effective bridge between main sections. I'll add that I felt like the bassline had a fairly bland tone and repetitive writing throughout the track. Some changes to it's writing alone could help the repetition we're seeing. Some note choices on it seemed odd to me as well. Notes like @ :39, :54, 1:45/2:01/2:15/etc (when compared to vox pad), 3:16, & 4:09 (compare to other notes used). Unfortunately, I don't have a keyboard in front of me to give specifics on what might work better. I'll try to get back to this at home to see if I can edit my reply. Nice use of airy synths and percussion to set the mood here. Nice arrangement ideas on display here. The lead flute could have a bit more presence. It might be the sample, but it's very centered in the soundfield. I'm not saying you need to add a bunch of stereo delay or anything, but something to separate the L/R channels a bit may help. Could come up a tad in volume as well. Overall, it's actually quite a good start here. Definitely take a look at the loose sequencing, song flow/direction, as well as, though not as critical, the flute/bass issues I mentioned. NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted October 10, 2014 Author Share Posted October 10, 2014 Larry and Justin have covered the issues nicely, everything they both wrote is what I would also point out. I'll add some thoughts. You've set up a lovely soundscape (and I happen to like the ambient intro!), but the arrangement does seem to plod along quite a bit, relying on lots of whole notes and eighth-note patterns, and with very little dynamic contrast. The lead sequencing does sound very stiff much of the time, don't be afraid to go off the grid sometimes, throw in triplets or whatever. At 2:03, you have a bell lead that is super quiet, super resonant and bleedy, and the sequencing is off-time and also rigid. Just one example of the type of thing that can be improved here. So yes, lovely start, just needs some more development and interest. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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