Liontamer Posted September 28, 2006 Share Posted September 28, 2006 Hey Dave, It's been a while since I've submitted, mainly because I've been in the moving process the last few months and all my gear was stored away. But I'm back in business now and hopefully you'll see more of me. This one is from the Voices of the Lifestream project. It's a remix of "The Great Northern Cave", the music that plays on the overworld after meteor has been summoned. It's fairly liberal, I understand, so I wouldn't be surprised if some of the judges don't like it. URL: Game: Final Fantasy 7 Song: The Great Northern Cave Hope you enjoy it. -Darangen Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Before I start, this ReMix might be for the project I'm running, but I think I can still look at it objectively. It's true that the arrangement is somewhat liberal here, but that's understandable because of how basic the original is. The melodic variations were welcome, as were the changes to the underlying chords, the original intro and harmony parts, etc. The additive stuff fits in nicely without being too disconnected; riffs like the one at 1:09 lock it into the source so it's never far off. Towards the end, I thought there were some structural choices that were somewhat off, like the section at 3:07. The notes there don't really seem to work with the other parts, and the synth playing the riff is rather bland. But, the section is short enough that it doesn't kill the whole arrangement. My only other complaint in this area is the fadeout at the end, which is a bit too abrupt. Production is strong overall, being pretty similar to "Atonement" in terms of mixing. The weakest thing here would be the drums, I think, which have a sort of weird frequency and stereo balance. They just don't seem to fit quite right in the mix, even though they're sequenced well and sound relatively realistic. Also, the crash is a little too loud and could be toned down. I like the sinister pad at the beginning as well as the sinewave-style synth and the lower, hard sync synth. Good job on sound design choices. On a side note, the Winamp frequency readout for this mix is somewhat odd, showing almost no mid to higher end frequencies and heavy low end, with one band being weaker than the others. I don't know why that's happening here, but I don't HEAR any problems, so... maybe it's just some weird dithering or something. Whatev. Strong stuff, a few minor complaints aside. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillian Aversa Posted October 2, 2006 Share Posted October 2, 2006 Oooooh... nice, slow buildup. Love the way you introduce all those crunchy synths and FX in contrast to the lead sinewav; good expansion on the original. This is a great remix for brooding. I'll be sure to listen to it on my next period. XD I also like the way you've intertwined the minor version of the main theme with The Great Northern Cave. That source tune wasn't much to work from originally, so I'm glad you tied in that extra element to remind us that this is Final Fantasy 7. (Yes, as if we didn't have enough already! ) The instruments are all well recorded, and you have some thoughtful little touches here and there. I see zircon's point about the stereo balance of the drums, but whatev, no biggie. This'll make a nice addition to Daragen's Greatest Hits I. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 2, 2006 Author Share Posted October 2, 2006 You can't even trust these fages to vote fair since they're on the project. Mike and them probably worked out some sort of side deal. A lil' cash for pirated samples. You know the seedy dealings here. You gotta grease the pockets to get a mix posted. Lemme vote fairly, to counterweight this corruption. http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 321 "The Great Northern Cave" Weird intro, but I mean that in a good way. Very creative sounds and texture there. Drums y geetars pop in at :57 for a nice change in intensity. For me though, there's something about the texture of :57-1:09 that really didn't work at all, IMO. From :57-1:09, but also through the rest of the track, the overall volume and tone of the drumkit just doesn't seem to be on the same page with the wailing energy of the guitar or the oddness of the background synths. It undercuts the whole melancholy (pixietricks: "brooding/period") vibe. The writing on the percussion is solid though, but the sound doesn't gel at all. In any case, everything else is on point. If the drums took more of a background role here in terms of the placement, the overall balance would have been better, IMO. Props for taking a really bland theme and giving it a lot more energy and memorability. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted October 3, 2006 Share Posted October 3, 2006 reveeeeeeeeerrrrrrrrrrrbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb the mixing is very wet, almost to a distracting level. that's what sticks out to me most. other than that, solid arranging, solid playing, and pretty good production. this sounds like music that would run during the credits of a late 90's made-for-tv action movie. does that make any sense? no? well, anyway YES EDIT: I can't believe you didn't even MENTION that you took that opening riff from the David Crowder Band. That's poor form. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted October 9, 2007 Share Posted October 9, 2007 Well, upon the revote, I guess I'll be the first person to lay down a NO I don't think you meant to be *sneaky* or try to "slip one by us" with the Dave Crowder thing, but Jon's right--it absolutely is poor form to not mention anything about it, OR publicly credit them. On to the mix itself, there's continual and constant usage of the DCB-Collision sine riff. I'm not sure that's something we're about here. It can easily be disputed, but for me, all I'm going to say is that being more than a quick cameo, it gets more into the highly-contestable territory. Other than that, I guess I don't have any qualms with the arrangement of the piece. Your production though leaves a few things to address. Primarily the reverb and final mixdown. I remember in your "Take me Away" DKC mix you had a similar problem. The guitar and drums were completely soaked in reverb. You need to lay off that stuff a little, bro. A little goes a long way. I've said that before, I'm sure. Your drums end up sounding way too muffled and far back--like they're being played in the shower or something. Also, your guitar is a little too far over on the right side, and it throws the track off-balance. Stereo separation and automation needs some work. Sorry, for the tough luck from me, bro. Nothing personal, but what can you do but chalk it up to experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 Just noting that, though I heard it, I didn't mind the track balance at all. http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF7_psf.rar - 321 "The Great Northern Cave" David Crowder Band - (13) "Do Not Move" [A Collision] I just don't see why you weren't upfront with the tribute, Mike, when involving this track on the FF7 project or submitting it here, as the arrangement title from the album title makes the David Crowder Band tribute pretty apparent as is. Whatever the case, there was 0 reason not to be informed of the DCB usage. Purposeful or unpurposeful, just a bad call. It was lame hearing about this from a fan way WAY after the fact: Quick Question: Disc 4 Track 2 - Collision. Is this meant to be a tribute to David Crowder Band? Because it's VERY VERY similar to the song 'Do Not Move' from the album... 'A Collision'. Far too similar to be a coincidence I got a few ideas from that song, yes. I believe I changed enough for it to be considered a new song, but some of the intro stuff I did get from that song. Still props for also paying homage to such a kickass song. Wouldn't have heard of it without this track. The usage of the DCB portions fit pretty seamlessly into the arrangement. Regardless though... Please ensure that submissions are primarily composed of arranged game music created by you plus your own original additions. Any incorporation of non-game music (mainstream' date=' classical, etc.) should be very limited and should never carry significant portions of the mix. For example, a Mega Man mix that used Beethoven's 9th symphony for its chorus, where 15-25% of the mix was not from the game itself, would likely be rejected.[/quote']Compositional elements from "Do Not Move" are arranged or applied near-verbatim for an extended period of time throughout the track. Aside from the constant usage of the Do Not Move sinewave, all of :08-1:08 & 3:17-3:53 are "Do Not Move" exclusively. No dice. I'm not mad, but I just feel like the whole thing was needlessly shady. Love the track though Mike, it's just outside of the standards we're going for to place the major majority of focus on VGM arrangement. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JJT Posted October 10, 2007 Share Posted October 10, 2007 I'm not mad, but I just feel like the whole thing was needlessly shady. Why would you be mad anyway? I don't get it. Anyway, I love this track and think it accomplishes what it sets out to do. However, my hands are tied by the segment of the submissions standards that Larry quoted. Friggin guidelines. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted October 11, 2007 Author Share Posted October 11, 2007 Why would you be mad anyway? I don't get it. Only the potential of having the relevant info here withheld on purpose. I'm assuming the best though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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