*NO* Mega Man 7 'Orchestrance in A'

[Chimpazilla]

Contact Information

ReMixer name - Senn
real name - Kirk Moore
email address - 
website - http://www.raisingwaves.com/
userid - 22804

Submission Information

Name of game(s) arranged - Mega Man 7
Name of arrangement - Orchestrance in A
Name of individual song(s) arranged - Freeze Man

Mix comments

This mix started as an 8-bar part of a relay arrangement of the same tune by Relay Bros (that relay is here: https://soundcloud.com/relaybros/freeze-man ). At the time of arranging the initial 8 bar piece, I couldn't decide whether I wanted to go for orchestral or trance - two of my favourite styles to produce music in. So of course, I went nuts and did both.

The Relay Bros group chose Freeze Man out of a shortlist of ice-themed pieces for the 2015 Christmas relay release. Any relay I'm involved in, I have the habit of finishing the arrangement to produce a proper full-length track. Can't just leave them at 8 bars now, can I?
 

Thanks for listening!

Kirk
raisingwaves.com

 

 

Edited June 7, 2016 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Chimpazilla]

What an interesting concept!

In the orchestral sections, the strings and/or brass being used to play the melody line have no impact because of slow attacks.  What about layering an electronic sound over the orchestral melody parts?  That might help bridge the sections together a little better, making it sound a little more natural when the electro parts start up.  The electro soundscape is so much louder than the orchestral, so the transitions are jarring.  At 2:20 again the strings playing lead melody are much too weak by themselves due to the slow attacks.  

I agree with Sir_Nuts about the drums and the bass, they are on autopilot the whole time they are playing.  He has some really good suggestions for improving the writing of drums and bass and making them flow more naturally.  Gario has also given some fine advice.  I really do love this concept but the execution isn't quite there yet.  Keep at it!  Then let's hear it again.

NO (resubmit)

[Sir_NutS]

hmm, very interesting indeed.  I see a few things that could be worked on before this can get a pass though.  First, the string melodies playing the quick notes have too long of an envelope to sound natural, we can hear this at sections like 0:22.  I get your idea of fusing orchestral, ambient and trance elements (hence the name) but the blending is not quite as natural as it needs to be, and the transitions are very abrupt.  0:50 comes out of nowhere with a full-on trance beat then goes away only to come back again at the next measure.  I think the blending needed to be subtler here, with a slower and less exposed introduction of elements until the meat of the trance section hits at 1:15.  

Some sections don't sit well in the mix and clash with the arrangement for both genres quite a bit, such as the sections at 2:22 and 3:57.  I also feel the trance drums and bass are on autopilot for the most part, and sometimes don't follow the flow of the rest of the mix well, such is the case towards the end around 4:35 when the song setting up its exit, the drums still keep going hard, and the kick even keeps going for an extra measure at 4:54.  

I think your arrangement would be better served by making your drums fit the pace that your sections are going at.  In sections such as towards the end you may want to go half time on your drums to match the slowing pace and transition to more orchestral elements, or even getting rid of the 4 on the floor kick and slowly introducing orchestral percussion.  As it stands now the contrast is very jarring.

Overall, an interesting concept that requires further development and fine tuning to work IMO.  I also think the repetition of the same motifs can get a bit tiresome.  I can see this passing with a more natural fusion of the different elements and better structure plus less repetition, for now though:

NO (resubmit)

[Gario]

Mmm, I love the blending of electronic and orchestra as an idea - it's something that I like to try from time to time, myself. Good idea, and pretty good implementation.

The percussion in the orchestra is spot on - great use of the tympani and glockenspiel. The strings, as mentioned above, have too much swell in their attacks. To make them sound human, only use a little swell on the first note that they play a phrase on, and make the other notes have much less attack. This idea also applies to the brass and woodwinds the you have playing in the background, as well. The piano sounds dry - you got to incorporate a little sustain pedal in there, and play with the dynamics more. It's not called a Forte-piano for nothin'.

When the trance section comes in at 0:48, I find the absolute sudden, no-warning approach to be surprisingly effective - it just hits you, in your face, and it gets the listener's attention very quickly. However, this only works once - the sudden cuts and transitions that happen after just sound needlessly abrupt. The drums leading in at 0:54 are helpful; if you incorporate a little more at that transition, and make the trance-to-orchestra transition moments earlier smoother it would make it less disorienting for the listener.

As far as the trance portions go, I love that arpeggiation, and the drums have some nice meat to them. The vanilla sounds start to wear on you after a short time, though. When they're blending with the orchestra later, it's effective, but you have long enough stretches of time where you leave the listener wanting some variety in the synths. Consider either blending the orchestra a little more, or incorporating a little more variety in the electronic instruments.

The drums, while meaty, lack variety. You do drop the hats and snare from time to time, but it's otherwise the same pattern for most of the track. Spice those drums up, possibly changing the bass beat, hat pattern, etc. The portion of the source that you focus on also seems to be repeated a bit too much. It's a great section, but don't be afraid to branch out, blend other parts of the theme, etc., as the arrangement sounds a bit too repetitive, at the moment.

The ending doesn't really sound like it ends... I'd suggest ending it on the tonic, or something, as the ending doesn't quite work, as it stands.

I think the idea is really great, and the production isn't bad. The humanization of the orchestra, though, as well as the variety in electronic sounds and drum patterns, do take this one down a bit. The repetitive nature of the arrangement also gets in the way, and the cutoffs past 0:49 are distracting. If you fix those up, this would be a kick ass arrangement. It's not quite there, but I'd love to hear this sent back with those improvements.

NO/RESUB