Chimpazilla Posted December 4, 2014 Share Posted December 4, 2014 (edited) The remix is attached to the email, but can also be found on the link below Link to remix: Contact Information: ReMixer name: Qumu Email Address: UserID: 40215 Submission Information: Name of Game: Banjo-Kazooie Name of Arrangement: Grunty's Engines Name of Arranged Song: Rusty Bucket Bay Comment: For a long time I have been wanting to remix the Rusty Bucket Bay music, but I have never gotten around to it. The original track is filled with some kind of sinister determination which I really enjoy and would love to recreate. My goal with the mix when I started was to stay as true to the original track as possible while still adding my own touch to it. So the mix started out as a near straight forward recreation of the track with electronic sounds drums, but working that way got me stumped almost immediately as it got way too chaotic at the main part of the mix. After some time of no progress I decided to experiment by adding some swing to the mix, which turned out better than expected and opened up a lot of possibilities. From there the whole mix was reworked to swing and I did my best to recreate some of the "Grant Kirkhope feeling" of the original track by throwing in some brass and marimbas. The name of the mix is a reference to the puzzle piece behind the propellers of the Rusty Bucket, which is the one I believe to be the hardest to get in the game. -"A simple task you were sure, but Grunty's engines start once more!"- ------------------------------------- Edited January 8, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted December 4, 2014 Author Share Posted December 4, 2014 Quick thoughts... this track has some aspects that are really working well, and other parts that... don't work as well. Interesting combination of styles here, not sure they work well together. Drums are weak. Writing is repetitive. Will vote later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Huh, this definitely threw me for a loop. You did a pretty great job of capturing the silly, free-spirited nature of Grant Kirkhope's original arrangement, I can tell you had a lot of fun with this track. Right off the bat, this sounds like it's mastered real quietly, so I have to crank the volume way up for this to have the punch that it really needs. That needs to be revisited for sure. Even at louder volumes the drums still seem weak to me. Your writing is pretty cool, but they're mixed very quietly and don't cut through the mix. I can definitely see how some of the more abrasive synth choices might rub listeners the wrong way, but personally I think that, for the most part, your instrument choice is appropriate for the level of silliness that this track is going for. Really loving some of the spastic bass writing, the unexpected chiptune break, and your trancey arps toward the end of the song. Horn samples are sequenced decently, some of the longer staccato melody runs start to sound more noticeably fake but I wasn't too bothered by that. To be honest, this is a tough track to judge because of how unconventional it is, but the volume and mixing of the drums definitely needs to be addressed. I think I could get behind passing this if those two issues were fixed - I could see how some of the other elements in this mix might be points of contention for other judges, but this strikes me as a very deliberate set of stylistic choices that hits the mark more often than not. Really curious to see what others think of this! NO (resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted January 6, 2015 Author Share Posted January 6, 2015 The track stays mostly at -3db and I don't think it needs to be that low, I suggest pushing the limiter so the track sits closer to 0db for more impact. Like Wes, I also really like the varied instrumentation and I think it works. Even the sampled brass works (because it isn't trying too hard to sound real), and I especially enjoy when it transitions into dubstep/chippiness. I'm wondering why there is so little in the low end, it seems you've steeply cut off everything lower than 70Hz so there's a whole range missing that would really add to the soundscape. As it stands, it sounds unnecessarily thin. The drums are very weak and also dry. Let's hear this with a kick and snare with more meat to them. I like the hats and other percussion but it also sounds overly subdued. Lots of fun details in this track, it is enjoyable. Looking forward to hearing this back with just a few production tweaks! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted January 8, 2015 Share Posted January 8, 2015 The arrangement here is pretty great, and the quirkiness of the track and attention to detail really pays off. I think all the crazy sound choices fit very cohesively and make the track very unique and fun. SOme of the synths in the second half get a little too piercing, but can be EQ tamed or replaced with something less pointy. The drums, low end, and overall volume are issues large enough to have this get another pass, however. The ceiling is really high, and the drums are not giving the oomph they need. no, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts