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OCR03033 - *YES* Spyro: Year of the Dragon 'Acoustic Fields'


Chimpazilla
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Name: Arceace

Real name: Ben Clifton

Game: Spyro: Year of the Dragon

Arrangement name: “Acoustic Fields”

Original track: Midday Gardens

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I find it rather surprising that there isn't a single Spyro the Dragon remix on OCRemix. The original Spyro Trilogy holds many fond memories for me growing up. The music was always my favorite part of the games, and I sometimes enjoy playing those old soundtracks when I'm busy with my school assignments. Midday Gardens was a rather odd song out of Spyro 3, but that doesn't make it any less awesome! The seemingly random assortment of instruments seem to work together perfectly to create a cool, chilled out atmosphere. In this remix, I just wanted to enhance some of the cool drum patterns, and give it a more melodic spin. Enjoy!

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Initial impression: very cool sounds but the bass lead seems too loud especially when it is exposed with only drums. Also soundscape gets a bit samey. Will vote soon.

edit 10/9/14: Thanks Justin for that breakdown. I agree with it mostly, but I'm a bit concerned about that final "heavily modified B section," it's groovy but tends toward liberal imo. I'm gonna give it the benefit of the doubt, the organ stabs and general vibe are carrying it for me, source-use-wise.

I still feel like the soundscape comes off as samey, but there's really nice personalization in the writing throughout.

I think the reason that bass sounds so loud to me is that it is buzzy, as Justin mentioned, and it is completely centered (as bass usually is). I wonder if just the upper end (the buzzy part) were stereo separated just a little, it would sit more nicely in the mix. My mind just doesn't want to accept lovely buzz/crunch right in the middle. :-P

Groovy track.

YES

Edited by Chimpazilla
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Cool sounding track here. Went ahead and did an arrangement breakdown:

:00 - :33 - Bassline covering melody from OST

:34 - :50 - Original

:51 - 1:06 - Very loose organ interpretation from the OST, not counting this

1:07 - 1:56 - Organ section from :26 of OST with altered chord backing

1:57 - 2:13 - Bassline covering melody from OST

2:14 - 2:47 - Bassline on B section bassline from 1:09 of OST

2:48 - 3:55 - More heavily modified B section bassline with organ stabs

I initially missed the organ connection at 1:07, which is what prompted me to stopwatch it in the first place. With that covered, it's well over the 50% mark, even not counting the modified 2:48 section. Beyond that, there's lot of great arrangement ideas on display here. While he retains the basic bass and organ elements, he's focused on expanding on complimentary part-writing, chord changes to drive the energy (like at 1:07), and progresses to electro-mode near the end of the track along with original soloing on top.

I agree with Kris that the synth bass is pretty loud in the mix. It's quite buzzy, which is causing it to cut through the mix even more than it normally would. Just gently rolling off some of the highs on it may be enough to get it to sit better. While I feel it's an issue, it isn't a dealbreaker for me, personally, but I could see it possibly being a bigger issue for others.

Overall, a solid mix and that retains the groovyness of the original. Good stuff.

YES

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On initial listen, I too feel the bass is too loud. This is accentuated by its buzzy high end and the minimalistic nature of the track's instrumentation. I do feel however that because it's carrying a lot of source tune with it, and the song is predominantly bass driven, that it's passable. Apart from the bass being a bit loud, I don't have any major beefs with your production quality.

I can hear the main tune in here pretty well, I don't think there is any major problem with source usage.

The arrangement is mainly relying on the bass, organ and varying percussive elements to keep things fresh. Listening through, I think these are doing a pretty good job on their own. While it's terribly easy for stuff like this to become super samey over time, I think you've managed to avoid that with some creative writing.

YES

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Texturally, the opening layerered claps were a lil' thin, but serviceable. I really appreciated Justin's arrangement breakdown, which made it easy to clarify and co-sign on the source usage. Writing-wise, the dynamics were subtle but solid. The overall energy here was pretty understated, but the elements that were there glued together nicely for a reasonably full soundscape. Nice job, Ben!

YES

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