Final Fantasy VIII - Serene Pastures

[APZX]

This originally started off just as a little bit of messing around. However, as it progressed I started liking it more. Now, after spending some time with the track and fine tuning what I could think of I think it is more or less done. Though not complete as I still need to properly mix it, but it doesn't sound that terrible right now anyway.

Let me know your thoughts.

https://soundcloud.com/apzx/blue-fields-remix/s-BfALJ

Edit - http://www.mediafire.com/listen/cwv3suuelo4as9v/Serene_Pastures_1_-_APZX.mp3

Okay, so the composition only changed by a minor degree. However, the mix has changed quite substantially. In particular I'm calling the mix done. And for those who are unfamiliar with the original,

. Edited January 26, 2015 by APZX
Updated for newest version of mix.

[Michael_Lochlann]

hey there's some interesting stuff going on here. i like how the arrangement really messes with the original timing of the song.

there's only certain people in EDM I can swallow, i am digging your stuff, so it appeals to us e-curious metalheads as well.

i feel like the lead lines and other stuff in the middle around 2 kind of meander and don't go anywhere, i would prefer something more melodic and pointed, perhaps you can take melody from some other ff8 songs and throw em in there. when you're arranging someone as good as uematsu, i think you have to be very careful what you add because your musical ideas will look bad compared to the original unless you work hard to come up with something of substance.

i don't know, i felt like it started to lose coherence for me around the 3 minute mark, like it lost the drive it had at the beginning. with the weird timing you have going on that contributed i think when some of the elements you had changed.

most EDM i hear is pretty repetitive and keeps a strong driving beat, while i normally hate repetition, maybe you need some more of what was in the beginning near the 3 minute mark to make it stronger and tie the whole together.

maybe take a few weeks away from it for some objectivity and come back and rework it a bit. i like the idea though.

[timaeus222]

Just wanted to provide a quick thought.

Generally it's good, but I think the major issue is the sync lead line that comes in. It sounds like it's playing a few quick notes, then some longer notes, and to me that sounds noodly, rambly, and as Michael said, meandering. For me it makes the arrangement feel directionless until the next breakdown section. I don't think it drives the arrangement forward, basically. It leaves me thinking, "okay, when is this going to change gears? It's still going on at this dynamic. Is a more concrete section going to come to offset this section, which I am phasing out of?"

Any other thoughts I have are rather minor, so maybe I'll mention them later.

[APZX]

Michael,

E-curious, huh? Depending on the kind of EDM you're listening to really determines how much repetition to expect. If you go back about a decade or so and listen to Trance you would be surprised to find that it is highly repetitive and that for a 7 or 8 min long track you've probably only got about 2 min or so of the good stuff. It really is just how the genre works. But the thing you really have to start paying attention to are the little minutia. But I am getting off topic.

It is funny that you mention meandering at all as that was the goal. However, it seems that I'm going to have to make the lead lines a little more adventurous because they're not doing what they are meant to which is to make the mind wonder and question. Or perhaps I'm just writing to abstractly and need to be more direct with it. More experimentation! That same ideology is also towards the part that you felt the track lost drive. Now, I did intentionally drop the drive because honestly, I felt like I needed a break from hearing the same darn beat the entire time. Really just need to get back to playing with the lead lines more I guess.

Timeaus,

See, that was the goal overall. It just seems that I need to make it more obvious. I do have some more ideas on how to accomplish it, but it is going to take some more reworking.

Thanks for the comments though. Got me thinking.

[timaeus222]

Okay, and now the minor nitpicks:

- 1:50 was where I was hoping a change would occur in the lead melodic contour

- 2:13 would be where I would hope for a slightly different soundscape; something where the sync lead was swapped out for something else (like the bell at 3:04) to highlight the ambience of the supporting instruments before you drop off at 2:42.

- Personally I would prefer the sync lead be less retrigger-like and more legato, because it could make it more soaring and evocative.

Sorta big but not major thing:

- 3:34 is flooded with bass; if you didn't have drums there, I think it would sound less flooded, especially considering you are nearing the ending anyways. i.e. I think 3:34 could be your outtro, rather than a climax that drops off to a quick rehash of the intro.

Overall though, I love the soundscape, and the arrangement mostly works for me. It's just those things above that I would have to mention. If you want to submit this to OCR, I don't think it's that far off.

[APZX]

Timaeus,

Funny you mention pretty much all those spots as they were the spots where I had ideas for before you posted it. One idea that I'm currently working on is essentially writing a very long lead line that kind of evolves throughout its stay. Working out a bunch of the kinks with it right now, but I think it may end up working out quite well once I write it. Your comment of legato is also very much spot on though as it is something I'm working into the new lead line. Good interest with the mix between the two but does come with the task of making more agreeable harmonies.

I'm not sure what I'm going to do at 2:42 though. I tried some quick toying with removing the lead and just seeing how that sounds and I'm not sure putting even a powerful bell in there would help much.

The end of the track though. Look there really isn't any more bass than during any part. The difference is that there is a lot of sustained bass whereas the rest of the track has staccato bass. That is really what is accounting for most of that increase in low end. But the point is noted regardless. I'm thinking of trying to make that bit a little ambient or perhaps heavenly and awe inducing. But I don't know yet. Lots of ideas and not a lot of time to mess with them all.

[timaeus222]

The end of the track though. Look there really isn't any more bass than during any part. The difference is that there is a lot of sustained bass whereas the rest of the track has staccato bass. That is really what is accounting for most of that increase in low end. But the point is noted regardless. I'm thinking of trying to make that bit a little ambient or perhaps heavenly and awe inducing. But I don't know yet. Lots of ideas and not a lot of time to mess with them all.

When I said that, I was referring to the low ambient hits and distant snares coupled with the sustaining bass.

[APZX]

Timeaus,

I gotcha on that.

Okay, so update. I redid most of the lead line and mostly changed the outro voicing . . ., mostly. With that said I've still got things I'm working out, but I have spent too long today working on it anyway.

I really did not change the structure much. The breakdown got extended and is where I'm still doing a lot of work on how to play it out. Not sure if I need to take away layers or add more at this point. Perhaps a busy work week away from it will help. The lead however got a lot of work done to it. The strange confusing lead bit is still there because I like it but there is a lot new stuff to it as well.

Comments welcome. Also, I know there are more mix issues than you can shake a stick at. I'm not at the stage of cleaning it all up yet.

[APZX]

Finished more or less just looking for some thoughts.