Liontamer Posted August 1, 2006 Share Posted August 1, 2006 ReMixer name: Orkaloop Real name: Aaron Warren Email address: orkaloop@inbox.com Name of game ReMixed: Earthwork Jim Name of individual song ReMixed: What The Heck!? I've always been a great big fan of Earthworm Jim. He was so quirky and the whole premise of the game was surreal to begin with. I figured that the "What The Heack!?" level would be a fun one to try. I'm not big on elevator music however so I decided (for better or for worse) to liven up the track a little bit with some out of controll percussion and some very happy sounding piano. I do hope everyone enjoys. I had fun putting it together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcos Posted August 10, 2006 Share Posted August 10, 2006 Intro was kinda meh, but I suppose that was the point, in order to provide a contrast to the hectic drumbeats that come in later on. I did like this, but thought that the drums were placed too loudly in the mix. The instrumental texture isn't that thick, and apart from the drums it would sound very thin indeed. The ending is unsatisfying, although that could be down to personal taste. This is an unrefined style in it's concept, but even keeping that in mind, this still needs some refinement. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 12, 2006 Author Share Posted August 12, 2006 http://snesmusic.org/v2/download.php?spcNow=ewj - "What the Heck?" (ewj-02.spc) What a strange theme. One of the most odd experiences I've ever had listening to a video game soundtrack. It opened up with some MIDI-level orchestration, only to move over into the elevator music with completely non sequitur screams. How you were going to go after this one, I dunno. Probably only Mazedude or Shnabubula could arrange this with a method to their madness. Intro was a light sonic improvement over the original, and pretty much a purposeful throwback like Malcos also saw. Moves over at :34 into some breakbeats and a very simple piano part (the countermelody by itself until the lead eventually comes in). Rather than presenting that part in such a straightforward way, that was your opportunity to build upon it and interpret it by changing the rhythms, adding ornamentation/grace notes, and just integrating your own ideas to present a more personalized approach. The beats sounded a bit lo-fi like the piano part had merely been stuck over the top, plus the drums were indeed too loud. The drums' loudness doesn't cover up the fact that the other instrumentation was very synthetic sounding and very sparse. Malcos hit the nail on the head. I love it when we hit the same core issues independent of each other. The patterns changed up a little bit, but the overall feel was too samey the whole way through. Dunno if you were simply using various drumloops, but that's not at the heart of the issue. You're going for some dynamic contrast based on the intensity of the beatwork from section to section, but the dynamics could be more pronounced regardless. My main issue was the lack of interpretation with the melodic content coupled with the thin and artificial texture of the instruments outside of the drums. You really gotta flesh those sounds out and get the arrangement side more interpretive. Do those things, then scale back the drums to let the other instruments stand out better, and you'd be a lot closer to a winner. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted August 24, 2006 Share Posted August 24, 2006 I like the percussion here a lot, and - dare I say - the groove is pretty catchy past the introduction. However, Larry is right that there's not enough of an interpretive factor when it comes to the arrangement (the notes themselves and their rhythm). In addition, the structure of the mix is a little aimless. After the introduction, which transitions abruptly, you just have a breakbeat part with a few elements being layered and nothing else. There's no dynamic contrast and the theme isn't developed. Essentially, there are no major changes of any kind after the introduction ends, and for the mix to be able to stand alone it needs to have more of that. A real ending wouldn't hurt either. Larry is right that the original is a tough tune to mix. Don't be disappointed or frustrated if you can't think of any ideas; to be honest I would have trouble thinking of any for this one myself. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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