Chimpazilla Posted April 11, 2016 Share Posted April 11, 2016 ReMixer - RoeTaKa Name - Alex Roe Email - UserID - 9374 Games Arranged - Terranigma Arrangement Name - Home Songs Arranged - Crysta (Town) Comments: Terranigma turned 20 on October 20th 2015 and I thought it would be a great time to return to one of my favourite games and song from a game. For a number of years now I actually had ideas of making an entire arrangement album of Terranigma on my own, but I think it would probably go beneath people's radar. So for now this single remix will have to do. I've already remixed this song twice and they were both rejected (and rightly so! Haha). The first time, 11 years ago I had been writing music for about 6 months and thought I was really cool with soundfonts at the time. I remember sending Darkesword a PM about the remix, I can't actually remember what he said haha. The second time, about 6 months after the prior remix, I had my first proper VST - SampleTank 2. At this point I thought I was for sure making an amazing remix! Again it wasn't, plagued with dissonance it was sure to fail. I saw the judges comments and Shnabubula was quite thorough with his analysis, I decided to message him on AIM and we still talk today so I am thankful I made that remix. Coming back to this song reminds me of my time over the years writing music and the bonds that formed from it. If I were an old man this song would trigger so many memories. If I had amnesia it might save me! I wanted to just do a really pleasing arrangement of this song that pays homage to the original but deviates here and there just so the song can be enjoyed more. I think that's very much what mv did with his remix of this song, his is pretty much the definitive Crysta remix and one of my favourite remixes of all time...so I can only hope mine can be enjoyed as much as his. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted April 11, 2016 Author Share Posted April 11, 2016 This is very pretty! The lead acoustic guitar is a bit low-heavy. I'm not a fan of hard panning so I wish the backing guitar wasn't so far right, especially in the intro when the soundscape is fairly empty. When the piano starts on the left it doesn't quite balance things for me, but this is my opinion and other Js may feel differently. At 1:00 when the sitar comes in, the sitar doesn't carry the lead writing as well as it could and it's drowning in reverb. The violin sounds quite nice when it comes in. When the guitar lead returns at 3:01, the guitar and violin are competing for attention as the lead, and the guitar again has too much lows. At 3:29, the transition writing is quite awkward, oof. The ending feels rushed. The arrangement is extremely conservative. The vibe of the remix is the same although the sampled instruments sound much better than the source. I layered the remix and source together, and it seems to be a direct midi-rip up until 1:00, with the remix being pitched up 4 semitones from the source. After 1:00 the structure of the remix is different, but not by terribly much, as the writing is still the same as the source but stretched out into a longer arrangement. I think the remix does enough to set it apart from the original, but I remain concerned about the conservative nature of this arrangement. I'd like to see some other opinions on this arrangement before I vote. I will likely vote yes on this mix even with my production crits, but I need to think a bit more about this arrangement and see some other opinions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 I'm going to disagree with Kris about the panning; I was listening on headphones and thought it was fine. I do agree that later there are some instruments that seem to be occupying the same space, like the piano and guitar, though overall I didn't find it to be a deal breaker. The arrangement is definitely conservative, but it's dripping with emotion and personality. I'd say this definitely takes the track to a new level. I really enjoyed the attention to detail on the performances here. I can see this one being close, but I feel like it's there. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted May 23, 2016 Share Posted May 23, 2016 I liked reading your story about this mix. I can relate about songs that take so many years to get right. I also think it's great to see a departure from the usual orchestral submissions (although those are great, no doubt). I found the guitar a bit too resonant and wet, but since it's raining in the mix's ambiance, wet isn't that bad :). I would've liked it if it was dryer, with less reverb. I think the song hits its stride with the introduction of the violin at 02:04, excellent handling of the performance, very expressive and interesting articulations. In general the production was full of little details, like the hand percussion touches, which morph into the soft battery drumming towards the song's climax near the end. The raining ambiance comes and goes depending on the mood, and I liked that it wasn't ever-present. The arrangement, although fairly conservative, is well executed and shows great appreciation for the original theme, I think this arrangement is building up on the original rather than being transformative, but since the elements and variations are woven so naturally, and the structure is adjusted to fit a song form instead of the original loop form, this approach works very well for me. Solid work as is now usual from Mr. Roe.YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 A nice light hearted piece here, suits the theme quite well. Being from Australia, we were one of the few lucky countries who got this title, and I remember the music being great. Solid arrangement, great instrumentation and good attention to detail here with your mixing. Main crit I have is with sound quality at 1:00 when the electric guitar comes in - the frequencies are quite piercing, there is a lot of untamed high end there. A simple LPF and/or a small dip in the highs would tone this back to acceptable levels. Otherwise everything else sounds good to me. A bit of a safe don't take too many risks mix for this source, but whatever gets the job done. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 25, 2016 Share Posted May 25, 2016 Nice job giving this a more pensive feel for the introduction. The move into light electric guitar was unexpected and arguably not the greatest combination with the woodwind stuff, but it clicks enough. Also, props on improving your guitar sequencing and articulations for this piece, which aren't perfect, but were a major, major hole in your game for some of your very old submissions. I wasn't bothered by the panning on headphones at all. Mixing-wise, this wasn't the clearest piece, but the individual elements were discernible and the overall balance was pleasant. With the arrangement, I'm glad Chimpa analyzed things so closely. I wasn't put off by the structural closeness, and thought Alex did a great job with transposing the theme, changing the instrumentation, and adding in comfortably fitting accent instrumentation to change the overall flavor of the theme. Nothing set off any red flags here. Nice interpretation, Alex, and awesome to see another side of your arrangements. Let's go! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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