DragonAvenger Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 (edited) Remixer-Montr3uil (Laurent Montreuil)54365 Sub. info Game: BattleBlock Theater Arrangement name: Cats on the menu Original songs: Main Menu theme by Analogik https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y0u9Hs5fgzE&list=PLpdX7Z2i6JnSfMuy5KRIjUWWNEqiRovak and... Boss stage by Nicolas Hodge https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KFPwmPuiSSY&list=PLpdX7Z2i6JnSfMuy5KRIjUWWNEqiRovak&index=13 Game featured on Xbox 360, Windows. Edited March 21, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 Pretty cute sources you've used, and the usage between the two is fairly seamless. The arrangement overall sticks fairly close to the original melodies and backings. There is some personalization in the instrument choice and your performances, but overall I feel like it could be more arranged overall. The soundscape overall is pretty empty, and the balance is kinda strange. The guitar is way up front, along with the piano, but the drums sound pretty distant and weak overall. I'd like a shift to get the parts to work together better. Along with that, the soundscape overall is pretty empty, and there's a ton of space that could be filled up. A lot of the parts feel pretty mechanical, like the piano, the epiano, and the bells. The drums have some variation, but they still feel like they're on autopilot for a parts of the mix. I think it's a decent start, but I'd like to hear a bit more in regards to the arrangement and some reconfiguration of the soundscape and production. Good luck! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted March 16, 2016 Share Posted March 16, 2016 Interesting choices. I think you did a good job marrying the two sources together, but the overall execution of the mix is flawed. I felt the overall empty soundspace didn't act in favor of the remix, some elements such as the distorted guitar are oddly mixed in, the synths are really lacking character and presence, sound very muffled. There's variation in the drums, but some beats don't add a good groove to the song and just feel aimless (1:55). The piano feels dry and overly mechanical at times. The lack of a natural-sounding performance on the piano is very exposed at 2:27. I see that Deia saw pretty much the same issues, so I agree with everything in the previous post. To add to those, some of the transitions are not well set up (1:22, 1:55). Underneath the bad mix there could be an interesting arrangement, as I hear sections like 3:32 that show a lot of promise. But for now you must get your mix levels to make more sense and to fill the stage better. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted March 21, 2016 Share Posted March 21, 2016 First of all, I have to agree there's little interpretation in your arrangement. The structure, the melodies, the backing elements, the mood, the textures... They pretty much all resemble those of the original tracks. There are some personalizing factors, like the guitar playing, and some subtle elements in the writing. The transition between both sources is also good, and flows quite well. Although, I really think more interpretation would be needed overall. I also thought there were some very weird timings with the drums and guitar, especially around 0:25, 0:29 and 0:39, which I think definitely should be addressed. Furthermore, I think the drum writing generally lacked energy and had very little sense of flow, which I think contributes to giving an awkward feel to the overall arrangement. I think you should look into reworking your drum grooves to try to make them feel more natural. I recommend spending some time on drummerworld.com if you'd like to have some solid references for writing drum parts. The production quality was also quite lacking. The soundscape is generally quite empty, and doesn't work with the current mixing in my opinion. Like the others said, I think the balance should be reworked, especially concerning the piano, lead guitars and drums. On the other hand, 2:27-2:45 and 3:34-3:53 were definitely the highlight of your track, and are a step in the right direction to building a fuller soundscape for your track, although the balance still isn't quite there even in those parts. Bottom line: your track needs more interpretation, and the mixing is off-putting. The drum writing should also be reworked. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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