Emunator Posted April 25, 2015 Share Posted April 25, 2015 (edited) Remixer: Burningsticks Name: Tobias Löfkvist Email: Game: Guild Wars 2 Arr: Sunny Balalaika Original track: Sunny Glade ( ) I used an old balalaika I found to record this track, therefore the name! thank you! Edited July 14, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted April 25, 2015 Author Share Posted April 25, 2015 I had to do a double-take to make sure that this source tune was actually from Guild Wars. Pretty cool backstory behind how a song like this made it into a game like that Anyway, this track started off pretty deceptively and shifted through a couple different styles before settling into a fidgety electro house style. Pretty creative approach here to adapting the source, the mix of acoustic and electronic sounds is actually very interesting and produces some unique textures that I haven't heard in a mix before. Pretty engaging beatwork and cool modulation on your synths leaves a lot to like here. I've got a couple of gripes with the track though. After :51, you pretty much settle into a mode that doesn't change up or break down until the end of the song, and uses a lot of wholesale repetition of parts (for example, the section that begins at :51 repeats several times throughout the track with very little variation.) Maybe I'm missing some of the more subtle changes throughout the remix, but my initial impression is that this is a very conservative with too much direct repetition. Production-wise, things are pretty abrasive and overcompressed, I would recommend easing up on your volume levels just a bit so this isn't so harsh on the ears... not too much, because loudness can definitely work in your favor for an aggressive electronic track, but I think you overdid it just a bit. Arrangement is the big point that needs to be addressed here, along with some additional finesse to the production, I think this has some potential but it's not quite ready yet. NO (resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted June 2, 2015 Share Posted June 2, 2015 Really interesting approach, I haven't heard a lot of songs that marry traditional instruments and synth instruments and techniques so directly, let alone remixes. It's a combination that works here, suits the cute melody of the original. I can hear what Emu is saying about repetition though. Some of the patterns here get a lot of use, too much perhaps. Yet still, I listened to it twice in a row and never felt bored. There's enough subtle effects and additions to prevent outright repetition and keep it an interesting listen. Call me a YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 17, 2015 Share Posted June 17, 2015 Was about to be on board with this, because the arrangement's creative and fun, but I see why there was a NO on this. Lots of clutter due to compression, from :31-:43 & 2:02-2:17 in particular. The heavy beats/kicks (e.g. :51-59) are probably the weakest part of this in terms of the writing; they're so upfront yet pretty bland, and you end up repeating those patterns too much. Also, the main problem, this suffers from essentially cut-and-paste repetition once the ideas were established, so the track just repeats itself after the 2-minute mark. Compare: 1:06-1:22 vs. 2:05-2:21 1:22-1:34 vs. 2:21-2:33 1:34-1:50 vs. 2:33-2:49 :51-1:06 vs. 1:50-2:05 vs. 2:49-3:04 All of :51-2:05 is basically repeated wholesale from 2:05-3:04. You should employ more variations here instead of coasting in order to keep the track fresh. Having read Emunator's vote just now, we're saying exactly the same thing. You had good ideas, but then stopped developing the track, so it quickly felt too samey for the second half. Use things like different instrumentation, beat patterns or gating, rhythmic alterations, or similar effects done at different times; anything like that could add subtle differences that prevent the track from being too repetitive without evolving. Really cool stuff. If you can declutter/decompress this a bit per Emu's suggestions, and most importantly vary and develop the arrangement further, this would be good to go and better realize the potential here. You have a great first 2 minutes, but let's not just end the ideas there if you're going to let the track go another minute and a half. Awesome start though; we definitely need this piece on the site on some form, Tobias, this is close. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 20, 2015 Share Posted June 20, 2015 An interesting take on the original source. Things start out fairly clear, but seem to break down a bit once your distorted drums come in. There are a few things here that I think need some attention. -A lot of the elements of your track step on each other and the mid range is quite crowded, particularly when things get full with multiple melodies running concurrently. Consider using using some EQ to separate things and play with your individual track levels to make the important parts more prominent. -Your drums are a bit too distorted, and take up a large chunk of your sound space. Consider easing off the crunch. -The transitions between the different sections occur quite abruptly. This works on some occasions like before your thumping drop hits, but not so much for the others. Consider easing into each part more. -Everything in this track feels likes its hitting a bit too hard, lots of hard compression going on. You can have something hit hard while keeping some dynamics. I would recommend easing off the compressors across the track so it can breathe more. -I also agree with Larry that it sounds like the track repeats at the mid point. There may be some subtle changes there but it wasn’t enough for me to work. Please consider working on the approve to strengthen the mix. It's not quite there yet. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted July 14, 2015 Share Posted July 14, 2015 Whoa, this is cool, so many awesome ideas here! I love the mixture of styles and instrumentation and the glitch effects. I don't have as big a problem with compression as the other judges are mentioning, it does have some crunch, might be good to tame that just a little bit. Yeah possibly the drums are over-crunchified. The overall track is ok volume-wise, but a little less crispy-crunch would be good. As the other Js have mentioned, repetition is the dealbreaker here. You came up with several killer ideas but they aren't that long, so you repeated them, and that won't work. Take the cut/pasted sections and make something different, vary the writing or some instrumentation there, or do some filtering effects or just something so we don't hear exactly the same thing over and over. I really want to hear this one back though! I like it! NO (please resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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