djpretzel Posted November 22, 2015 Share Posted November 22, 2015 (edited) Link to submission: Contact Information ReMixer name: Jack Vaine Real name: Aleksander Ottesen Email address: Website: www.jackvaine.com UserID: 53980 Submission Information Name of game arranged: Banjo-Kazooie Name of arrangement: Gruntilda Victorious Name of individual song arranged: Gruntilda's Lair Additional information about game: N64, developed by Rare, Published by Nintendo in 1998. Composer: Grant Kirkhope Link to original soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FWhKyk-4j6I My own comments about the mix: I really, really, really... Really, really love Banjo-Kazooie. A large portion of my childhood was consumed in front of the TV-screen playing that game. I think was nine or ten when I got it, and the entire melodic theme throughout the game had a huge part in me becoming interested in music in the first place. It seemed only fitting that I would try to remix the very theme that followed Banjo through most of his adventure, as it certainly has followed me through mine Edited December 9, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OceansAndrew Posted December 1, 2015 Share Posted December 1, 2015 The soundscape is pretty nice, but there needs to be more interpretation in your mix. You have a nice start, but right now it is basically the same song with new instruments, and no real melodic , harmonic, or rhythmic variation from the source. I think adding one, or preferably more of those is the minimum you'll need to do to have a more expansive arrangement. There is a lot that you can do as well to make this track your own, with changing the tempo, or adding countermelodies, or even writing your own section that suits the feel of the original source. I recommend making some additions to your song, then bringing it to the WIP forums and getting some feedback. You have a good foundation build, now you need to start decorating your new building No, please resubmit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 I love me some Banjo-Kazooie - I was hooked on this game as a kid as well, and the entire soundtrack has been permanently burned into my brain Hmmm... I actually am hearing some level of interpretation on the original (mostly within the first minute of your arrangement but at a few other points later on in the track) that has some merit. I thought the synth riff introduced at 1:07, for example, was a great modification to the original source that injected some original personality into your track. Overall though, I agree with OA that this hews pretty closely to the source tune and could definitely benefit from his suggestions. Additionally, at nearly 6-minutes long, this arrangement tends to drag at times without any significant variations in your beat or instrumentation, and a lot of sections being repeated several times throughout the duration of the track. My bigger concern with this mix is the actual production quality, which just sounds wonky to me. The balance is all over the place, in some sections your lead instrument is barely audible over the drums/bass, and due to the way you've mixed the track, everything feels very washed out and lacking in clarity. A lot of this will come with experience - keep practicing and hit up our Workshop forums, as OA suggested, and continue to hone your craft. Unfortunately, right now I think you've got a long way to go in terms of improving your production game before you're ready for OCR primetime. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clem Posted December 5, 2015 Share Posted December 5, 2015 Mix definitely has a lot of dirty and over compressed parts. Other Js criticisms ring true. These production crits are subtle, but significant. There are many well done stylistic flourishes and synth tones that open up the conservative arrangement, but production in particular pulls this one down for me. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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