Chimpazilla Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Your ReMixer name: Ivan HakštokYour userid: 43292Name of game(s) arranged: Gunbird 2Name of arrangement: Signs of LustName of individual song(s) arranged: Type of Essence (Italy)Link to the original soundtrack: Composer: Masaki IzutaniThis song was made for the April 2014 Dwelling of Duels. I put the source on my "stuff I need to remix" list a few days before the theme was announced, and since this was a free month, it was a perfect opportunity to remix it.I went for a pop (or pop fusion? I'm bad at this whole genre thing) song in the style of T-Square's song Omens of Love, which I've been listening to like every day since I first heard it. As you can probably guess, the title itself is a play on "Omens of Love" xDAs far as source usage is concerned, I played a bit with the melody and chord structure, and added a guitar solo, but I kept it fairly close to the original. Oh and also a warning: this song ends in a fadeout. I know judges don't really appreciate fadeouts, but a fadeout fit the song perfectly, and people at DoD loved it! So yeah, that's all I have to say, hope you enjoy listening! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted February 24, 2015 Author Share Posted February 24, 2015 Ew, fadeout! YUK!!! It's true I don't care for them, but I'll live. Ok, so this is quite a conservative and straightforward arrangement of this source, but there are some nice variations throughout the mix. I find the first saw lead underwhelming, it gets lost among the backing instrumentation and just sounds a little flat like it is hiding. When the guitar starts up at 1:42 I'm MUCH happier! The guitar work is terrific. The drums could be a little louder, they get a bit lost in there. That very plain saw returns at 2:18, I'm really not a fan of that sound and I'd prefer a different lead to the first one anyway, for more variation. Even so, I think this works. If it doesn't pass, I'd suggest changing up that saw lead to something that cuts through better, and swap it out for a new lead in the final section, also bring the drums out a bit better. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted March 19, 2015 Share Posted March 19, 2015 Have my babies, Hakstok. This track captures pretty much everything I love about your style, I feel like a broken record on most of my votes but you have an impeccable taste for source tunes that complement your style. Once again, you've added enough personality to the original while keeping intact everything that already clicked about the original source. Guitar work is exciting and tasteful and comes in at just the perfect time to keep things fresh. I actually like the saw lead that Kris is harping on... not sure how to really qualify my feelings on it, but it works for me! YEAH! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 (edited) Nice rocking guitars with synth accompaniment. Overall I think the track is strong on the production side, a lot of nice playing and some nice instrument choices that match up with your pop theme. I will mention a couple things that stuck out to me. On the mixing side the low end is slightly crowded and could be little clearer (your drums for example). It's nothing major but noticeable. On the arrangement side things stay pretty close to the original until we hit the half way mark, a problem you've hit before in the past. I think there's enough you in there in this instance, especially with the solo in the second half really adding some originality, but there's room for a bit more source interpretation in your mix. Something to think about in future. YES Edited March 22, 2015 by Jivemaster Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted April 14, 2015 Share Posted April 14, 2015 Source song has some strange harmonies. Huh. Ivan's track is more straightforward, ditching everything but the melody for an upbeat synth-rock instrumentation. Sounds great - not a lot to say about it given how straightforward and well-adapted it is. I sort of agree with Joel about the first half, though I think the problem is more that the synth lead and rhythm guitar are on the static side, rather than the arrangement needing to deviate from the source more. I like the detail work that the non-rhythm guitar adds, but I would have liked the melody to deviate a little more, have a couple high notes or vibrato or slides or something for more energy. The solo section was much-needed and gave me what I was missing. I'm not against fadeout endings per se, but here it felt a little easy, again. In all, my opinion is that this is solidly above the bar but could have been a grand slam with some more effort. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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