Shovel Knight (Strike the Earth & An Underlying Problem)

[Byproduct]

Edit: new link:

Hi!

A bit late to the bandwagon, just got Shovel Knight and it's amazing soundtrack a few weeks back.

Here's a bass-heavy electronic remix combining the tracks "Strike the Earth!" and "An Underlying Problem".

Sources:

https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/strike-the-earth-plains-of-passage

https://virt.bandcamp.com/track/an-underlying-problem-the-lost-city

If anyone has any comments, I'd love to hear them. I'll put the final version out on Monday evening (going on a holiday). I can take any feedback into consideration before that.

(Not going to submit as an OCRemix - the structure is probably a bit too odd for that, and it follows the original melodies pretty closely.)

Edited March 2, 2015 by Byproduct

[timaeus222]

The main thing that completely throws me off is that... pause at 1:05 - 1:15. The tempo change just doesn't really make sense to me. The slowdown at 2:05 - 2:28 felt odd too.

[Byproduct]

Thanks for listening!

The tempo change is because the two remixed tracks have very different tempos, but I wanted to use elements from both songs also simultaneously. It's meant to throw the listener off, just like the (numerous) sudden deaths in the game do.

As for the slowdown, that's an illusion! There is no BPM change besides that one sudden jump. Interestingly, some people perceive that part as slowing down, and some don't (based on what few comments I've managed to probe out of listeners). Presumably not a good thing for the "flow" of the song, but I guess I'll keep it anyway, you know, for science.

Did anyone have any thoughts on the mixing (instrument balance, eq, etc) that I should be aware of?

Edited March 1, 2015 by Byproduct

[timaeus222]

I don't hear any major mixing issues, actually. Maybe you could bring up the fundamental frequency of your snare a little more (~200Hz) to strengthen it, and the same with your kick (but at ~140Hz).

The main thing for me is just those tempo oddities and the structure overall; it sounds too similar in too many spots that the track as a whole feels repetitive. I hardly hear any lower energy sections that let the instruments breathe some more before continuing on again.

[Eino Keskitalo]

It's certainly a lot of fun to hear these themes in this different sound! The drop in the middle was strange, I get what you went for when I read about it, but on it's own I didn't feel like it was really a musical representation of a sudden death in the game, if that makes sense. I guess I agree with timaeus222 about the lack of structural dynamics after reading his comment too. As it is, I definitely enjoyed listening to this, but I'm not sure if this would stick on the playlist quite yet.

[Byproduct]

Thanks again.

I made a couple of small tweaks according to timaeus222 and a few other small fixes, and released it as a video. There's a download link there too of course.

[zykO]

Thanks again.

I made a couple of small tweaks according to timaeus222 and a few other small fixes, and released it as a video. There's a download link there too of course.

i thought the interesting thing about the criticism above is that what made the break awkward for me is that the whole second part of the tune didn't jive with me the way the first part did, making all that more jarring. i think the break, on its own and as its own compositional device, works and works well if only it sequed into something that was, at least in my opinion, as engaging and entertaining as the first part of the tune.

now the second part stands better on its own, to be fair as i walked away from this tune, came back a while later and played only the second part and found it a different experience.

all in all, this is actually pretty nice and right on with that!