Chimpazilla Posted December 2, 2014 Share Posted December 2, 2014 ReMixer Names: Brandon Strader, Chickenwarlord, Hylian Lemon, Tuberz McGee Userids: [Chickenwarlord: 16195] [Tuberz McGee: 44165] Game: The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons Arrangement title: No Rain in the Desert Song arranged: Dancing Dragon Dungeon Comments: Hylian Lemon: This is part of the summer section of our Oracle of Seasons project, Lime of the Season. Chickenwarlord and I did Ages' level 4 theme for Essence of Lime, so of course we would work together for Seasons' equivalent. We wrote the first half of the arrangement together in MIDI form, and then I finished it myself in FL Studio due to technical difficulties on Chicken's end. Brandon strummed everything and played the first minute or so of guitar leads, and Tuberz finished off the rest of the leads. Then I fiddled with some knobs and messed everything up. Big thanks to the guitarists for breathing life into the worst guitar writing they've ever seen in their lives, and to Chickenwarlord for adding creativity fuel to the arrangement. <3 you all Brandon Strader: I'm sorry for holding things up as long as I did. I hope people enjoy the song. Huge thanks and congrats to Ben Hoffman. Tuberz McGee: Man this mix is solid. I love the chippity choppity goodness going on here. I love the harmony and how it shifts about into sometimes completely unfathomed territory. I love it. I was glad to join Brandon in the addition of Guitars to this mix. Really glad. Chickenwarlord: I'm responsible for a lot of the twiddly bits and flourishes in the arrangement prior to 2 minutes. Really happy to work with Ben on a Level 4 theme for the second time in my arranging career. The work as a whole is really Ben's brainchild and I was fortunate enough to get a small glimpse into some of his arrangement style. It ended up a little bit more chippy than I had originally envisioned (Lemon's comment: everything I touch turns to chips), but the final piece is something that is the product of more than one fantastic imagination. I hope you enjoy listening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted December 3, 2014 Share Posted December 3, 2014 Pretty catchy source here. I got a weird Xenogears vibe from the part at :08 and later on. Bonds of Sea and Fire or something like that? ANYWAY Really liking the sound of the opening guitars. Nice job blending a very diverse set of instruments here. Everything really works well together here and gets space to not feel cluttered. Lead woodwind is really well executed here. That's super tough to do well. I'm pretty sure I couldn't pull that off unless I (tried to) perform(ed) it. One issue I'll point out is the kick drum sound really boomy (lots of low end), with out much mid/high presence. I have good bass response on these headphones, so I can hear it quite clearly, however I could imagine it sounding pretty weak or just missing on consumer-grade gear. Arrangment-wise, there is a ton of smart uses of both the lead melody and backing parts. This mix overall is quite cohesive for so many arrangers here. Love it. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 I love how that chippy synth comes in right on top of the acoustic guitar right at the start. Really digging how all these different instruments are melding together. Guitars, synths, flute, percussion...WOW. This is absolutely fantastic. I love the seamless doubletime feel at 1:58. Such a natural progression into that quicker feel. Flute sequencing is really great, IMO. Arrangement is awesome. Excellent development throughout, great performances from the guitarists, and a great texture all around. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 This got pretty liberal at times with the melodic treatment, but it was apparent things came directly from the source. From what I could tell, this was at least over the line as far as having the source tune usage dominant in the arrangement. :24-:48, 1:12.5-1:48, 2:01.5-2:02.25, 2:04.75-2:05.5, 2:18.75-2:41.75, 2:43.5-2:45.25, 2:46.5-2:48.25, 2:49.75-2:51.5, 2:52.5-2:54.25, 2:55.5-2:58 , 3:05-3:17.5, 3:18.5-3:37.5, 3:40-3:44, 3:57.75-4:02 = 132.5 seconds or 52.37% overt source usage The flute sequencing at :24 was stiled, and wasn't as smooth or expressive at it should have been, IMO, especially on the notes that are held longer. It's not horrible, but the entire way, I just thought the timing felt too quantized. It's serviceable though. Man, I'm not feeling that piano first used from :49-1:13 at ALL. It's not completely exposed, but the rigid sequencing is readily apparent for me, and it's just unfortunate to hear that when the other elements are on point. Luckily, the second half feels like it has less of an issue all around, with that piano gone, and the flute after the key change at 3:06 sounding a little less tight. Joe geetar at 2:07 was pretty swanky, BTW. Not my cup of tea, in that all of the instrumentation didn't quite click for me. That said, what's here gels together enough to get by. Whoever's responsible for that piano though, don't ever settle for that level of quality ever again. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flexstyle Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 I'll just go ahead and close this one out quickly. Solid arrangement, great combo of sounds. +1 on Larry's gripe with the piano, and +1 on Justin's gripe on the drums not being terribly well-mixed, but those are small items in the larger scheme. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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