Chimpazilla Posted February 2, 2015 Share Posted February 2, 2015 (edited) Your ReMixer name: MrKyle Your real name: Kyle M Raub Your email address: Your website: http://eiravaein.com Your userid: 22266 Submission Information Name of game arranged: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time Name of arrangement: "La Gran Manantial De Salsa" (or "The Great Salsa Fountain" if OCRx prefers it) Song Link: Name of individual song(s) arranged: Great Fairy's Fountain Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. (if it has not yet been added to the site): All there Link to the original soundtrack: already on site Mix Comments: Early this April, my best friend since I was 4 years old got married. I was the Best Man and part of my gift to my buddy and his wife (cheers Jared and Stephanie!) was a dedicated composition in the style of their own choosing. They said, "We'd like something like a salsa or a tango...something upbeat and fun that we can dance to." Stephanie is very closely tied to Argentinian culture and Jared is a lead programmer for a game company...hence, "The Great Salsa Fountain" was conceived. I wanted to write a piece that incorporated the flavors of salsa and tango but which also had just a bit of a tongue-in-cheek feel at times. I didn't actually decide on the Fountain track at first. One of the first things that Jared and I bonded over as kids was gaming. And since we both had SEGAs, I tried to find a track from Road Rash, Phantasy Star, Sonic, etc since the tie in was more personal. But, alas, after thinking about nothing but salsas and tangos for many days and playing through the OoT OST, Fountain just hit me. Done. (There is actually a tinge of Gerudo Valley in there as well, but that was more serendipitous than anything else and wasn't part of the original ReMix concept so I didn't include it up top.) The piece was arranged on piano and guitar first with a latter heavy shift toward the piano since it just "danced" better for the track. It is a blend of MIDI-controlled VSTs, synths, and acoustic instruments (guitars, some hand percs, FX). The big thing that I really wanted to put into this track was the Spanish crowd calls that are most often associated with the salsa genre. I tried of couple of things that just didn't work and then decided to give some game FX a try. Link and Navi's voices, though needing some moderate processing to make them fit, worked really well. Though really, how could I not use "Hey, Listen!" ? ... I didn't really want the voices to dominate at all; just act as a reminder of those crowd calls. This was just a ton of fun to make and I hope others enjoy it. Cheers! -------------------------------------- Edited February 3, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted February 2, 2015 Author Share Posted February 2, 2015 This is a REALLY bold concept! I'm not sure it's working. The first part is a little spasmodical and the vocal clips don't help, then it moves into a very mechanical sounding run through of the source. I clearly hear Fairy Fountain, but it sure feels odd like this. At 1:21 the crashes are way too loud. Then the beat totally changes and the guitar comes in. The guitar has a Santana feel and it's pretty nice, but I don't hear source in that part, 1:21-2:26. From 2:18-2:26 the crashes are again too loud and the other instruments are too loud too. After 2:27 it's back to the original salsa vibe, and I don't think the vocal clips are adding much at all. I'm glad this was fun for your friend's wedding! But I don't think it works for OCR. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 (edited) Boss intro bruh. I'm liking the concept of this very much - it's like a salsa/island vibe. A great original take on the source tune. You're not playing it safe here which is what I like to see - artists getting out of the comfort zone and exploring different genres. This first thing I'm having trouble with is the piano is super rigid - locked to grid tightly, and hitting what seems to be the same velocity over and over. This kind of style would really benefit from piano which is more organic and emotive as far as going to soft and hard velocities. Loosen it up, I think it'll fit a lot better. Guitar for me was great. The timing change in that part fit ok to me, but the guitar and piano could certainly "talk" and feed off each other better. This comes back to the piano rigidness I was talking about above. The guitar is also a lot quieter than the other elements - it feels separated from everything else and is drowned out a bit. Making it front and centre with some more body would make it work better. Things got a bit chaotic near the end at 2:20, breaking the mix for me. I think you percussion works with your theme, but needs to be more humanised by (again) experimenting with changing velocities and perhaps mixing the individual hits up a bit more. I believe this concept can work if you're willing to stick at it. The arrangement seems ok but your mixing and instrumentation definitely need to be revisited. This is one of those styles where the parts really need that genuine human feel for the mix to work. Too robotic and the vibe is lost. NO (please resub) Edited February 3, 2015 by Jivemaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted February 3, 2015 Share Posted February 3, 2015 Agreed with the other Js that all of the sequenced instrumentation needs humanization. Immediately, you notice the really mechanical timing on the lead and piano doubling it underneath. The arrangement is interpretive, but the attack on the melody sounds so unrealistic that it kills this piece dead; writing-wise, everything also sounds chaotic because these melodic variations don't even work well due to the sequencing. The changeup to tango at 1:30 was a cool concept, but had nothing to do with the source tune and didn't flow from the previous section; it was just an awkward transition. The electric guitar sample during the tango section was dry and lacked body/depth, but was otherwise a good sound with great tone. After abruptly transitioning back to the source around 2:26, I have to ask what the point of that rock section was; it didn't transition or connect with the other part of the arrangement in any meaningful way. This is pretty rough so far, and I don't think it can necessarily can be improved enough to pass, so the criticisms may be things to keep in mind for future music. But if you can smooth out the velocities and timing, and ditch some of the cheesy voice clips, this could have a shot. The transitions in and out of the tango section also need to be more substantial; even a slowdown or weaving some of the instrumentation from the other sections into the start and finish of the tango sections could help the ideas flow together more. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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