Emunator Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 (edited) REMIXER NAME: JeffMatthews REAL NAME: Jeffrey Matthews EMAIL: WEBSITE: www.soundcloud.com/jeffmatthews USER ID: 52559 GAME ARRANGED: Super Mario Bros. NAME OF ARRANGEMENT: "The Mario Scissorhands Suite - Part 1" SONG ARRANGED: "Swimming BGM" COMPOSER: Koji Kondo COMMENTS: I made this remix in Logic Pro with mostly East West instruments. This music presented an interesting challenge in that it modulates into different keys several times, my favorite being the last loud section which is B lydian to A dorian to C minor (I think). I plan on making part 2 in the next couple weeks. I don't really know what else to say about this except that I haven't felt like this much of a happy little kid since I first played the game when I was 5 years old. Thank you for listening. Source: Edited November 30, 2015 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted November 25, 2015 Author Share Posted November 25, 2015 First off, really cool concept! You have a nice grasp of music theory that gives this remix a strong backbone. I think this arrangement has a lot of potential. Your track has very drastic dynamic changes, which makes your quiet sections hard to hear at a normal listening volume. For almost a minute from 1:09 - 2:00, everything is so quiet. I'm definitely not suggesting that you bring that breakdown up to the same volume level as the preceding sections, but I need to be able to hear that part much better. Same deal with the piano outro. Production-wise, the samples are okay but the strings are kind of a weak link. They sound somewhat dry and unrealistically-sequenced, especially on the tremelo parts and legato runs, which breaks the illusion of realism that you really need with such an exposed, minimalist arrangement like this. Sorry to say but the string quality just isn't quite cutting it for me - I would pay special attention to your articulations on the lead string parts... it won't solve all of the issues I'm seeing, but it's a good place to start. The arrangement is also rather short - I don't think it's a dealbreaker for me, but because almost a whole minute of the track is so quiet and subdued, it would be nice to hear a little more meat and substance to your arrangement - 2:00 - 2:15 seems like it leaves a lot up in the air and doesn't totally resolve. I would love to hear more to this arrangement. Great concept, but not totally there for me yet. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted November 25, 2015 Share Posted November 25, 2015 I read Wes's vote and I have to say "what he said." He covered the issues perfectly. Wow, what a concept. I love the chord structures here. Unhumanized strings are a bummer since they are so exposed. For a short mix, having nearly a minute of it be that quiet just doesn't make for a nice flow. What about adding some sfx there, or some kind of padding or filler? It doesn't have to be as loud as the rest of the track, just louder than it is now, for at least a portion of that minute-long section. As Wes said, great concept but not there for me yet, either. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted November 30, 2015 Share Posted November 30, 2015 I enjoyed your take on this track, very original. The production displayed here is decent enough. The main faults are shared between the arrangement and mixing. The portion that begins around 1:08 is quite low in volume, which I understand is purposeful, but it goes on a bit too long at that volume. Things don't pick up much at all before the change around 2:04, where things soon get quiet again. I think this mix has a lot going for it, given the concept and the execution. If half the track wasn't based off overly quiet sections I would've been mostly inclined to passing this, despite some of slightly rigid orchestral sequencing. I think you just need to work on the arrangement here a little more, and use the silent sections more sparingly, which would consequently give them more impact. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts