*NO* Sonic & Knuckles 'Ashfall' *RESUB*

[Chimpazilla]

original decision

ReMixer Name: Fallen Seraph

Real Name: Wina Kamlongera

Email address:

Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/fallenseraph

Userid: 10661

Name of Game Arranged: Sonic & Knuckles

Name of Arrangement: Ashfall

Name of Individual Song Arranged: Lava Reef Zone - Act I

Comments: I've been working on this track on and off for quite a bit right now, trying to sort out a number of the criticisms that were raised the last time I submitted. I made an error in submitting the previous time though - I should have mentioned it was an arrangement of the second act, not the first...but with this revision, I've ditched the Hidden Palace Zone vibes and gone with the first act (hopefully to satisfaction).

The direction of the track has been redone - so much so that I'm not sure to consider it a re-submission or a completely new take. I associate the phrase that starts at 0:17 with Lava Reef a lot, so it's the main anchor for the track in a number of places as I played around with the original melody a bit and built some original stuff to go with it. I also introduced some new stylistic elements to my music that I haven't used before (basically, I (casually/lightly) messed around with Gross Beat a bit despite my usual reluctance to do so) but hope to improve upon and start using to better effect in the future. (Guys, help me...what genre is this? :-/)

My hope is that there are enough things going on in the track that it doesn't feel as empty as my usual arrangements. For variety's sake - I've gone with different drum kits for the chorus and for the verses (supplementing the chorus with some Darbuka drumming) trying to switch the patterns in various subtle ways.

The image I was trying to go for was a (modern) run through Lava Reef that despite the fierce visuals that would come with the landscape, there would be a gentle, almost serene, appreciation of the scenery. You may be running towards a volcano but in spite of the impeding danger, one cannot help but be carried away by the Reef's beauty. Embers are thrown to the sky, dissolve as the they meet the cold, and fall to the earth as crimson ash fluttering to an unheard rhythm unique to the floating island.

As always, all criticism is greatly appreciated,

Hoping the effort shows, enjoy~

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Edited December 15, 2014 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Chimpazilla]

Interesting take on this source. I like the slowed down approach. I have not heard the original submission but it seems from the writeup that this version is changed quite a bit from that one.

First off, that first snare at 0:30 is WAY too loud and mixed upfront, it's hammering the soft soundscape. The second snare that comes in at 0:58 is even worse, it is loud, dry, woody and out of place. The drumming patterns starting at 0:58 sound forced and awkard.

The glitching seems random and not well thought out. I think some light glitching in this track might work, but what's here seems overdone. Dubstep. Hhhhm. I'm not sure that is fitting in either, and it's not pulled off with enough finesse. (I can say that since I personally can NOT pull off dubstep, haha!)

So yeah, a combination of things that don't seem to quite work or fit together. Those snares, oof. And the glitching and dubstep, well I just don't think they compliment this arrangement.

NO

[Emunator]

I had high hopes for this track based on the opening seconds - the vocal chopping and general mood of the track was really promising. It has a very Blackmill-esque vibe, which I love a lot. I like your overall approach but ultimately this fails to click into place, primarily on the production side of things.

As Kris pointed out, the glitching is haphazard and doesn't actually contribute to the flow of the track in a meaningful way. The core of your drum kit isn't working for me, either. The snares are indeed the most notable offender, but in general they just feel stiff and not totally genre appropriate. The hi-hat is also very sharp and relentless, and becomes distracting on repeat listens. That needs to be toned down.

I'm trying to nail down what's making this sound so off to me, and I think maybe the lack of a prominent bassline is causing your track to feel aimless and too loosely-structured. The sections that do have a bassline use a very muddy and indistinct sound that muddles up the low frequencies without cutting through or serving as a solid foundation for the rest of your track.

I appreciate the approach here but there's too many prominent elements that just don't gel together. I think you need to spend more time working in this style and hone your production techniques to get a better handle on what works and what doesn't, especially with your drum/glitch writing.

NO

[Jivemaster]

Wickid intro bruh. Like those vocal samples. I don't mind the direction of this track overall, but there are some improvements that should be made to polish this up.

Let me begin.

-When your snare drops, it's loud, but I quite enjoy the sample and the pattern. Your second snare isn't as loud, but still sticks out. I'm of the opinion that these snares can work - what I would be doing first is dropping their levels to fit more in the mix. I would also add some reverb to them, particularly the second snare. My advice would be something with a slightly longer tail than usual to fit the ambience you have going on, possibly a gated reverb if you have it.

-The hat is very resonant and should be tamed with EQ.

-I think your synth lead playing the main melody should be louder. The drums could be overpowering it but I think it should still stick out a bit more even with your drum adjustments. I also think the filter on it could be opened a bit as it lacks a lot of higher frequencies. Something cool would be if you played with the filter over time to evolve the sound.

-Your glitching at 1:43 is cool but overused. My advice is to leave more gaps (don't glitch continuously), and do it a little more rhythmically. A little trick is to think how you want it to sound and then beatbox it with your mouth, record that and then try to imitate that glitching in your DAW. I would also consider running the glitching through a separate bus and let some instruments through unglitched (sounds like you're stuttering the entire master bus here).

-Your dubstep at 2:26 is not a bad starting point - IMO the glitching here is more creative and rhythmic than your earlier section. You do have some issues here though, primarily with the instrumentation. You have a very similar synth the whole way through, doing very similar modulation. Explore your wubs a bit more by throwing in some longer growls rather than bunching together lots of quick wubs. I would also recommend dropping in another lead or two here to alternate with, which is common for the genre. Finally, you should consider dropping a separate drum kit in for this section to give it more that break from the rest of the track feel.

-As you close out, you give us some more glitching, which is almost overdoing it again, but I think it's ok. One further thing I would mention is to back-off on the amount of tape stops as they are easily audible and can become stale quickly.

-I noticed your track doesn't quite get a chance to fade out, may need to extend that end marker another couple bars.

-Throughout the track, your bass is quite shy. I would consider dropping a different bass in from the 1:02 mark which is thicker and has more body, to drive the track forward.

For me, source usage is ok and arrangement is interesting enough - it's mainly your production and instrumentation that need some work. Have a visit of the production points above, I think you can improve this mix and get it past the line with a bit more effort.

NO

Edited December 15, 2014 by Jivemaster