Chimpazilla Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Contact InformationReMixer name: N4L4 Real Name: Orica Okinaka website: https://soundcloud.com/n4l4 User ID: NNNN (Awaiting Approval) --------------------------------------- Submission Information Name of game: Super Mario World Name of arrangement: The Moon Of Bowser Name of song: Sub Castle My own comments to my arrangement: "Sub Castle" in SMW was one of my favourite song at the time when I met the game in 1990s. So in doing arrangement of "Sub Castle", I didn't want to change a lot, but I tried to make it more orchestral and rock sound. Simple and gorgeous, enjoy my arrangement. Regards N4L4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 No one ever arranges this one... Good stuff with the opening adding some original string accents to compliment the good orchestration. Nice use of the mallet percussion at :32 to simulate stomping on a Dry Bones in the game. Nice transition at 1:03 with SFX to add a little tension. Some of it sounded kind of tacked on, but it integrated well-enough overall. Good original brass writing from 1:34-1:44 as well. I'm both surprised and glad that the instrumentation took some drastic turns at 1:44 to present another side of interpretation and put this on very firm ground with the creativity of the arrangement approach. Sounds like those light electric guitar chugs at 2:38 were influenced by the (Larry-named) "Monstrous Turtles!" The fadeout ending was a little weak, but on the plus side, it was introducing some new concepts even during the fade instead of retreading previous material. It's a disappointing thing in the sense that it's clear you hadn't run out of ideas yet, but what's here with this arrangement was more than adequately developed. Great stuff that's been like some other successful "Sub Castle BGM" mixes lately, i.e. starting out pretty conservative and dampening expectations, only to then fire up with very interpretive instrumentation and textures. Nice job, Orica, and welcome aboard! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted May 19, 2016 Share Posted May 19, 2016 Slow and haunting in the beginning, builds to something big. This works very well - excellent wind writing (woodwinds sound fabulous in this - they're not easy to work with). Brass is powerful, and the piano really gives the rest something great to build off of. As far as orchestration goes, this is absolutely great. I giggled at the Xylophone at 0:32 - effective, yet subtle. That guitar is the weakest link in this arrangement. It doesn't seem to serve much purpose, and the tone is very bland. It's mixed so far into the background that I feel you could literally remove it completely and lose nothing in the piece. I would consider doing so, but it's not too important - it doesn't add much, but it doesn't detract too much, either. The arrangement is on the conservative side, but there are some really great parts that you write that builds off of what you have earlier (original trumpet writing at 1:36, chilling vibraphone at 2:14). The strings have some really nice part writing that's hidden behind the steady staccato in the beginning, too. Conservative, but has just enough interpretation to pass. Good thing, too, because I really like this one. The fade-out ending leaves me wanting more, and is a little bit disappointing considering how well it's built up. I really feel it makes the song sound incomplete, but I suppose it's better to leave the listener wanting more than it is to overstay your welcome. It's not good, but it doesn't ruin the experience too much. Yeah, it's great, despite the guitar and ending. Send it off, I say! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted May 20, 2016 Share Posted May 20, 2016 Really liking the orchestration work here. Writing is a bit coverish in the beginning, but branches out over time. The xylo run at :32 was a nice touch. Overall, the instruments sound a bit hollow EQ-wise without a lot of mid-low/mid range body. This was more apparent in the first half prior to the bigger, more powerful instruments coming in. Guitar has a pretty thin tone overall and felt like it could use some more body in the mid/low-mid as well. Kick sounds really subby to my ears and could've used more presence in other registers. 1:55 felt like it was starting to get cluttered with everything going on at once at full blast. Pulling back some less important parts here would help. Fadeout isn't my favorite ending approach, but not a big deal there. A few areas to improve, but overall a strong track and a fun listen. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted May 24, 2016 Share Posted May 24, 2016 This is one of my favorite super mario songs, and I'm always happy to see people hitting it from new angles. Some things of note when it comes to issues: the hard orchestral hits around 0:55 were a bit resonant, as well as other sections where the strings go into the very high registers. 02:14 sounds very busy and bordering on bringing the mix down. The guitars weren't the most real sounding, ending up very thin and anemic, as well as the brass instruments. Also I hate fadeouts. Sounds like a lot of not-so-great stuff up there, but the creativity in the arrangement adds a hefty counterweight to the production issues. The arrangement starts conservative, as is an usual choice for artists tackling this theme, but evolves into its own piece by piece, and we're treated to several elements and blending of styles that you would think wouldn't fit in a primarly orchestral arrangement, but they feel natural here. There's a lot to like, and all of it is very varied so most people will find out something to latch on to here. Those looking for a creative arrangement of this beloved theme and are willing to look away from a few production quirks will find this one to be quite satisfactory.YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts