Chimpazilla Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 (edited) Hi, Here's my submission. Hope you like it. ReMixer name: Space Infaders real name: Gordon Braicks email address: website: http://www.youtube.com/spaceinfaders userid: 47617 Name of the arranged game: Commodore Amiga - The Chaos Engine (World 2-Workshops) or SNES Soldiers of fortune (World 2-Workshops) Name of arrangement: Chaos Engine-Workshops (Space Infaders Remix) Name of individual song(s) arranged: Chaos Engine-Workshops Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site) The Chaos Engine is a top-down run and gun computer game developed by the Bitmap Brothers and published by Renegade Software in 1993. The game is set in a steampunk Victorian age in which one or two players must battle the hostile creations of the titular Chaos Engine across four landscapes and ultimately defeat the Chaos Engine and its deranged inventor. Biography of composer Richard Joseph Prior to working in games Richard had a fleeting career in the music industry working with artists such as Trevor Horn and Hugh Padgham. Richard released one solo single on EMI and was part of the group CMU which released two albums (although Richard was only involved with the second, Space Cabaret [2]) on Transatlantic before evolving into jazz funk band Shakatak. Richard was noted in game audio for bringing "real" voice actors into a game for the first time (Mega Lo Mania), the earliest use of interactive music (Chaos Engine), working with established recording artists (Betty Boo on Magic Pockets, Captain Sensible on Sensible Soccer, Brian May on Rise of the Robots and John Foxx on Gods and Speedball 2), and featuring vocals in title tunes, which was revolutionary for the time. In the late 1980s and early '90s, he produced soundtracks for development teams Sensible Software and the Bitmap Brothers. He is also credited with the soundtrack to the C64 version of the hit Defender of the Crown. He then went on to set up Audio Interactive at Pinewood Studios and, along with composer James Hannigan, helped Electronic Arts to win the BAFTA Award for best audio in 2000 for Theme Park World. From 1990 onwards Richard was a frequent musical collaborator with Jon Hare with whom he co-wrote and arranged all of Sensible Software's best known musical tracks including the soundtrack for Cannon Fodder the GBA version of which was also nominated for a BAFTA in 2000, and is still the only small-format soundtrack to be recognised by BAFTA to this day. In 1995 Hare and Joseph emabarked upon an epic 32 track soundtrack for the multimedia product Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll, signed to Warner Interactive, however in 1998 Warner bowed out of the games market and their Magnum Opus was only ever released as a limited edition audio CD. After working as Audio Director on Republic: The Revolution and Evil Genius for Elixir Studios (music composed by James Hannigan), both winning BAFTA nominations for Hannigan's scores, Richard moved to France where he ran SoundTropez, a company offering next-technology soundtracks. Richard came from an entertainment family. Brother Eddy is a BAFTA-winning sound supervisor, working on films such as Harry Potter and James Bond. Brother Pat is a director of The Mill which won an Oscar for Gladiator. Nephew Alex is a foley supervisor. Richard's Father Teddy (1918-2006) was a production executive working on, amongst many others, films by John Schlesinger and Alfred Hitchcock. Link to the original soundtrack (if it is not one of the sound archives already available on the site) As the original song depended on the specific moment of the game, there was no fixed arrangement. The added MP3 is an recording from youtube. Your own comments about the mix, for example the inspiration behind it, how it was made, etc. I was a 15 year old boy when I played this game with friends for hours and hours. We liked the music of level 2 so much we kept on playing it again and again. The tune never left my mind. I was looking for a remix on OC Remix and youtube but could not find any. Then I used my own gear (MC-909 / Cubase) to create a remix with the feel of the original. It's a dark industrial arrangement with multiple bass tunes and a strange rhythm. The work Richard Joseph had done was incredible with a Amiga computer and only 4 voices max. As there was no fixed arrangement I took used as a reference a recording of somebody who played the game during some time. I added sound effects, more voices, different rhythms and made an arrangement that fits a 'normal' length. I amplified the parts that I really felt were strong to emphasize. Best regards, Gordon Braicks ---------------------------------------------------------- http://youtu.be/P-CikjBODO0?t=43m18s Chimpazilla note: I'm not sure which is the actual source... the youtube link above is my attempt to locate it. The artist sent an mp3 of his actual source, here it is, but I cannot find it on youtube. The two sources (my link and his) are just a bit different. Edited December 11, 2014 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexstyle Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Hoo boy. Where to begin on this one? Let's list a few issues: - first, the source is hard to listen to, with that panning all over the place. (not your fault, of course, but worth noting.) - like the source, the remix has almost no structure, nothing in the way of buildup, breakdown, ebb, flow, etc. - honestly, this sounds very much like a direct MIDI rip, with almost no variation on the original--just a different set of sounds. If you revisit this, you'll want to sit down and build a proper arrangement that has a beginning, an end, and discernible structure. You'll want to actually arrange the original to some degree, rather than just copying it note-for-note, and you'll probably want to upgrade your production approach a bit as well, since that whole "hard panning quickly" thing is hard to listen to. There's a lot more I could say, but I don't want to do all that typing. This should be enough to work on for now. If you want extra insight, the Workshop forums are always a great place to start! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) I'm really not feeling this. Maybe it's the source, which I don't find appealing at all, but there's not a whole lot of variation in this track aside from some arbitrary instrumentation changes throughout. I don't feel like there's any form to this piece; it just sort of adapts the source in a very straightforward way with some very basic, mediocre sounds. There's also a lot of back-and-forth hard-panning going on in the leads, which is just just distracting. There's a lot you could do with a groove-based source like this, but playing it straight isn't the right approach I think. If you're looking to accentuate the source, you need to focus in on the strong rhythmic qualities the source has and kick those up to another level. Right now this sounds like a sound upgrade. Not feelin' it. NO Edited December 11, 2014 by DarkeSword Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted December 11, 2014 Share Posted December 11, 2014 To me your mix sounds feels like a solid base ready to build up into a larger production instead of a finished mix. It tries to make the minimal source tune more interesting and listenable - it's successful in some ways and not in others. -I didn't mind your intro. Everything is sounding pretty good at the beginning, and builds up nicely up until about 0:23. Then the main lead comes in which feels out of place and anticlimactic. For a piece leaning towards an industrial vibe, at this point I'd be expecting things to get larger with bigger drums and heavier hitting synths. -Your next lead at 0:38 isn't too bad but is very dry and could use with some modulation to make it more interesting. -Things repeat a little after this. You introduce some new leads and melodies as we go on, and they try their best to change things up and invigorate interest, but don't quite make it. -Your outro with the strings is quite enjoyable and fits in well with the source tune, but I would encourage something other than a fade out (not a mark down). I think this mix is a good starting point. Production wise things aren't too bad, the arrangement and instrumentation are the things that need more work. I can imagine this becoming a thumping track with the right choices. Please take on board some of the tips we've given you to strengthen this mix. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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