OCR03482 - *YES* Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword "Fi, Emissary of the Goddess"

[Emunator]

RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp

http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game: Skyward Sword
Song's Remixed: Fi's Farewell/Fi's Theme
Song Title: "Fi, Emissary of the Goddess"

 

Sources:

 

[Emunator]

First impression - really gorgeous, ethereal arrangement, and lovely source tune. Feels very airy and free-floating... I'd love to hear more of a solid arrangement/dynamic curve, but the ambient structure is pretty fascinating. Excellent percussion and instrument tone, the choir is the main point where the sequencing seems a little unrealistic to me.

 

I'm digging this but I need to mull it over - structure is unorthodox but I think it works, and I don't really feel like the choir is a dealbreaker. I'll check back on this later.

[Chimpazilla]

That choir is unfortunate, especially when it hits the highest notes, oof.  But I feel like it is working well enough.  There is a low whistle at certain points in the mix that sounds discordant and also really needs to have the lows eq'd out of it, it seems to just be adding some low-end rumble; gotta be careful because low-end rumble will stop you from being able to master your track to the optimal level.  That said, this mix transports me to a mystical place and I'm finding it lovely.  Plenty of source, too.  Works for me.

 

YES

[Emunator]

A little less celtic, a little more ethereal… I love how you stripped down the source to its bones and reconstructed it into a more nebulous, ambient piece that feels complete despite not having a very clearly defined structure. Very pretty textures and production make this a pleasure to listen to. Your sequencing still has room for improvement… It’s unfortunate that the flute lead in your track isn’t as expressive as the one in the source, the harp arpeggios get somewhat mechanical, and although it’s clear you put a lot of effort into humanizing the choir, it still stands out as a little dry and obviously-fake when it hits the higher registers.

That said, this is a dramatic improvement over most of your previous submissions and I think this is over the bar. More than anything, it makes me incredibly excited for your future submissions, you’ve obviously stepped up your game and I can't wait to see where you go from here!

YES

[Sir_NutS]

Very beautiful soundscape.  The piano and choir could've used more humanization, and the harp felt mechanical at times, but they don't take away too much from the enjoyment of this track.  The arrangement is good, weaving both sources into a new arrangement that feels natural and ethereal.  There are production issues regarding the performance of the instruments but overall I think this is over the bar.

YES

[DaMonz]

This is gorgeous! Although I agree about the humanization issues on the piano, choir and harp, this is definitely a beautiful expansion of both sources with a lot of awesome personalizing touches throughout. I really like the melodic and harmonic explorations, the arrangement is great and easily makes up for the humanization problems.

Easy pass for me! I'm looking forward to hear more from you!

YES

[Liontamer]

Pretty sweet! There were a couple of brief moments where the note movements of the choir were blocky and exposed, but they were minor enough that I didn't feel the need to timestamp it. I'll just note for anyone that cares about the difference that the arrangement is mostly "Fi's Lament/Gratitude," but refers to the original variation of "Fi's Theme" from 2:03-2:59, which is apparent from the wind lead and steadier rhythm of the notes.

Beautiful work from Rebecca here!

YES

EDIT (5/18): djp caught issues that OA agreed on as dealbreakers. I didn't agree that it pulled this down to NO, but wanted to elaborate on them:

:38 - there's a very brief, but off piano note; not a huge deal
:33-:42 - it's faint, so a listener could miss it, but there's a low & quiet droning note that resonates in the background that sounds off-key
1:22-1:25 - it's again faint, but there's a second low & quiet droning note that resonates in the background that sounds off-key

[OceansAndrew]

I think the arrangement ideas are great, and the soundscape is pretty nice, but there are a few areas of pretty strong dissonance that seem to be a rather large mistake, rather than an arrangement choice.  

The pedal point starting around :34 is off key for around 5 seconds, and the run mixed with the same instrument at 1:22-1:24 is really harsh and kills the mood completely. 

Clean those tonal sections up, and this is good to go.

No, please resubmit