Just Coffee Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 (edited) Track has been submitted Original Post: "Yeah, it's another Vampire Killer remix. But I can't help it." Finally pushed through the block I had and got this out of it. It's another retrowave remix. This time I've take ideas from 80s cop movie themes and a bit of Michael Jackson. The initial idea was to essentially recreate the prologue as an old horror movie trailer and then Vampire Killer as a pop-ish/dance-ish cop theme. And then "Thriller" got mixed in there. It's the cheesy chip sfx break. The toms, I might redo a few parts. It doesn't sound like it's intrusive I think so I might not. But let me know if you think it is. I've made the hand-off synth during the chorus to be a more whispy/flute-like sound because I felt like was clashing with the main synth a lot. I might change it again. Let me know what you guys think. Feedback away! v2 -lowered sample levels so they just sort of sit in the background instead of being prominent during the break -replaced hand-off synth -took away some highs from main synth for warmness v3 I felt that the track needed some escalation of some kind during the second pass. Just a little to give it more variation. So I added a keytar to just play around on the side and I think I might have given the song a slightly different flavor now. I mean, I like it. But I'm not entirely sure about how to mix it in place too so I'm on the fence about whether I should keep it or not. Thoughts anyone? unmastered v1 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6MyiCdTp6ojN0MzdjZlNVRnNGs unmastered v2 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6MyiCdTp6ojUF9LRkJfUEM1b28 unmastered v3 https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B6MyiCdTp6ojQTAyMHJSUEtKcE0 Source: Edited May 4, 2016 by Just Coffee Submitted Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSound Posted April 28, 2016 Share Posted April 28, 2016 You had me with the cowbell lol =D A bit too much sampling going on for my tastes but otherwise I enjoyed the warm electronic soundscape that clearly harks back to 80's analog gear, but still comes across as modern so if you were going for more authenticity, you might need to de-modernize it a bit. Not that it's needed though, the song's pretty charming as is, even if it doesn't have huge amounts of dynamics. ps. are you actually the mastermind behind ayssntittays? that video is a work of genius. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngelCityOutlaw Posted April 29, 2016 Share Posted April 29, 2016 Your 80s remixes are absolutely the best Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Coffee Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 10 hours ago, RiverSound said: You had me with the cowbell lol =D A bit too much sampling going on for my tastes but otherwise I enjoyed the warm electronic soundscape that clearly harks back to 80's analog gear, but still comes across as modern so if you were going for more authenticity, you might need to de-modernize it a bit. Not that it's needed though, the song's pretty charming as is, even if it doesn't have huge amounts of dynamics. ps. are you actually the mastermind behind ayssntittays? that video is a work of genius. The sampling was my way of making it feel cheesy. I might de-modernize a bit more but I'm not really going for full authenticity. When you say "doesn't have huge amounts of dynamics", what do you mean? PS. Yeah, I am. Thank you! I wouldn't say I'm particularly proud of that one but people seem to like it a lot. Haha! 6 hours ago, AngelCityOutlaw said: Your 80s remixes are absolutely the best Thank you! Would you say this one is a bit too fast for it's style? I'm thinking of slowing it down just a tad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasfen Posted April 30, 2016 Share Posted April 30, 2016 I really like the arrangement, but it almost sounds more deconstructed than the original. It's almost like you wrote the source tune for the source tune, if that makes sense. If you want to give it a real 80s feel, I would suggest using realistic samples for instruments like bass, guitar, and some drums (toms, snare), because those were certainly available then, but keeping the 80s synth and sound effects. I find it's that wacky contrast of organic and artificial that defines 80s music, especially pop like MJ. The lead synths at 1:00 and 1:30 seem a little off, though. Not sure if that has anything to do with what RiverSound said about being too modern (and it might be one of the synths you meant to change anyway). Are you sure you can't reference the Super Mario World castle theme at about 0:20? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Coffee Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 On 4/30/2016 at 11:11 AM, glasfen said: I really like the arrangement, but it almost sounds more deconstructed than the original. It's almost like you wrote the source tune for the source tune, if that makes sense. If you want to give it a real 80s feel, I would suggest using realistic samples for instruments like bass, guitar, and some drums (toms, snare), because those were certainly available then, but keeping the 80s synth and sound effects. I find it's that wacky contrast of organic and artificial that defines 80s music, especially pop like MJ. The lead synths at 1:00 and 1:30 seem a little off, though. Not sure if that has anything to do with what RiverSound said about being too modern (and it might be one of the synths you meant to change anyway). Are you sure you can't reference the Super Mario World castle theme at about 0:20? Thanks! If you mean it's not as close to the source, then that's fine. I'm not really aiming for full 80s authenticity. It's more like I'm trying to capture the feel of 80s music if they had been recorded in the quality that we have now. That's actually the prologue theme before stage 1 slowed down to half. I probably should add that to the post. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Coffee Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 Added version 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasfen Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 5 hours ago, Just Coffee said: Thanks! If you mean it's not as close to the source, then that's fine. I'm not really aiming for full 80s authenticity. It's more like I'm trying to capture the feel of 80s music if they had been recorded in the quality that we have now. That's actually the prologue theme before stage 1 slowed down to half. I probably should add that to the post. Ah, now I understand the vision. Sort of like a Castlevania Redux. Reminds me of what they did with the Ducktales re-release: same aesthetic, but modern resolution and samples. The second version sounds much more cohesive (sweeping synth "whooshes" help with this) and balanced. I love the Konami pause sound halfway through, by the way. Punchy percussion near the end is excellent. You could submit this now and be a shoe-in. Great work! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorgMan Posted May 1, 2016 Share Posted May 1, 2016 I'm loving the 80's vibe. I'm having this here banner in my sig? /shamelessplug Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Coffee Posted May 1, 2016 Author Share Posted May 1, 2016 1 hour ago, BorgMan said: I'm loving the 80's vibe. I'm having this here banner in my sig? /shamelessplug They're very nice banners. And the timing is uncanny. I'm just about finished with this one and was looking for my next project. Just an hour ago, I was listening to a Sonic track of a game that I've never played before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSound Posted May 3, 2016 Share Posted May 3, 2016 Yea I figured right off the bat you weren't trying to make it sound like it was made in the 80's, just imitate the style&analog sound. And it works =) This track is just great fun. I first listened to it with a bad pair of headphones so the song felt a little flat, hence the unnecessary comment about dynamics... The new version sounds really really good, you took it in exactly the right direction with added warmth and the samples sat better in the background. The evil chortle that closes the song out is awesome and embodies the wacky spirit of the song nicely. Take it to mastering and... maybe submit? The production is solid as hell so no problem there but I'm not sure whether the old geezers of the panel have gripes with overt sound effect sampling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Just Coffee Posted May 3, 2016 Author Share Posted May 3, 2016 Added version 3 5 hours ago, RiverSound said: Yea I figured right off the bat you weren't trying to make it sound like it was made in the 80's, just imitate the style&analog sound. And it works =) This track is just great fun. I first listened to it with a bad pair of headphones so the song felt a little flat, hence the unnecessary comment about dynamics... The new version sounds really really good, you took it in exactly the right direction with added warmth and the samples sat better in the background. The evil chortle that closes the song out is awesome and embodies the wacky spirit of the song nicely. Take it to mastering and... maybe submit? The production is solid as hell so no problem there but I'm not sure whether the old geezers of the panel have gripes with overt sound effect sampling. I think the sampled phrase is short enough and in a good spot to make the transition. So I'm not too worried about that. I am on the fence on whether I should go with v2 or v3. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glasfen Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 By the Count's pointy dentures! Please, please keep the second half of v3! Everything after the Konami pause sound is gold. Before that, I prefer v2 (v3 seems a little more crowded and... technical? = less fun). Adding the guitar and additional sfx after 2:18 was genius. IMO, blend the two and submit this bloodthirsty masterpiece! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timaeus222 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 This is a pretty cool arrangement! I've yet to hear this kind of interpretation. Two things I would have said are that there could have been maybe one more lead to diversify the textures more, and the guitar solo lead should have been louder, but this is some fun stuff. Hope it passes! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RiverSound Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Please tell me you kept the new elements from v3 in the submitted version? It kicked some serious ass. I just forgot to comment on it but better late than never. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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