Chimpazilla Posted May 21, 2016 Share Posted May 21, 2016 Tomo Club www.rvgsymphony.com OverClocked Remix forum id=50319 This is our arrangement of You're Not Alone, from Final Fantasy IX. We remain very inspired by the tango of Astor Piazzolla and the general musical landscape of small acoustic groups. Tomo Club plays a lot of live shows, and we try to capture a living energy in the studio. This tune is one of our favorites to play. Ben, Jessica, Shaolin, Liz, Sara, and I have different musical tastes but this tune seems to fall home for all of us. Final Fantasy IX You're Not Alone "Não está sozinho" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sx_Qqzs4cfk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 31, 2016 Share Posted May 31, 2016 I love it when we get some live playing in. Definitely a great tune to pick as well, it works pretty well in your setup. I'm a bit concerned that the melody stays pretty straightforward to the source at first, but things definitely pick up later in the arrangement! I feel like the first 1/3 of the arrangement is a bit too slow and plodding compared to the rest of the mix. Maybe bringing the tempo up a few BPM there to get the track moving a little more might help, though I do understand the desire for a contrast to the rest of the arrangement. The cello has some noticeable intonation issues when it is a little more prominent. Also at 1:20 there are some strange arrangement choices that aren't working to me. Not sure if it was just a note flub or the arrangement itself, but it sounds cluttered with some off notes. Similarly, I can't say I'm feeling the ending itself, but I do put that down to personal choice and the artist/arranger decision. To me it feels a bit too anti-climatic after such an energetic section before it. Once things pick up the arrangement is pretty fresh and has a lot of great harmonies and countermelodies. The pizzicato section feels a little overpowered by the flute, but aside from that the energy is really great and I enjoyed it quite a bit. I do think the second 2/3 of the mix really make up for the criticisms I mentioned earlier, and the track overall is really fun. Hope to hear more from you guys in the future! YES (Borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 1, 2016 Share Posted June 1, 2016 I've got to agree with Deia on the two thirds being great, the first third being questionable. The intonation issues in the beginning are quite significant, while later in the piece the performances improve dramatically. The pacing in the beginning could work alright, but it sounds like you're getting comfortable playing the music together before things really snap together at past the 2 minute mark. The mistakes sound like you're getting warmed up before really getting into the meat of it. I really like the arrangement, and I like both the slower and more upbeat aspects of it. However, the intonation issues last for more than a fifth of the piece (the cello, violin solos, and their duets, in particular). Everything after that part is awesome, but I feel the intonation issues last long enough to take the performance a bit under the bar. It honestly sounds like you have the chops to blow this out of the water, based on the rest of the track, so rather than give specifics on what you should do, instead I suggest running through the arrangement a few times with the group, recording each time, and picking the best out of each recording, as far as intonation, feel, etc. I like it, but I think the intonation of some of your slower solo moments need improvement before this can pass. Great arrangement, though, filled with energy. I do hope your group resubmits it with the intonation fixed! -- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 I can hear the Piazzola influences here from songs like Libertango and Adios nonino. I don't think we get many subs inspired by latin american genres, which I'm more familiar with, so I'm happy you guys decided to give us your tango-influenced remix. I wil have to echo the Js sentiments regarding the performances. I think the pacing works just fine, but the intonation goes off more than I'd like. Some pretty noticeable such as around the first minute mark and 1:20. I didn't mind the bends and those worked well for me to add character. The arrangement is pretty damn solid. It repeats the motif quite a few times but it is also being expanded and explored in different ways, and the supporting harmonies are always evolving. I would easily pass this if the tuning was tighter in the first section, but I'm afraid I find it too distracting and takes away too much from the arrangement. Please consider a resubmit.NO (Resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted June 2, 2016 Share Posted June 2, 2016 Issues first. The minor guitar mistakes in the back from :25-:27's are a bummer, but quiet and easily glossed over. Same with the brief bow movement that sounded off for a moment at 1:00. Was waiting for that flute from 1:18-1:26 to resolve in a satisfying way before the chorus, and it certainly didn't; odd notes there at 1:21, and unfortunately mixed in a way where all one could do was focus on the flute sounding off vs. the rest of the music. But again, it's in and it's out just as quickly. After that, there were no other major issues I heard, and if there's something else to be criticized by others, it wasn't anything that stood out or detracted for me. That said, those were relatively minor issues for brief moments; yes, they may bother people a lot, especially when the overall performance is good, making the mistakes stand out all the more. But it's not a big deal in the big picture. With the arrangement criticisms on tempo, that feels totally subjective and a "nice-to-have" adjustment rather than something that should have dinged it. That said, I'm a warts-and-all kind of guy regarding minor issues. As long as what works about the arrangement creativity, and production & performance markedly outweigh the negatives on the metaphorical seesaw, I'm down. With this, there were three brief and, frankly, minor stumbles to start, but the final 4 minutes of a 5 minute piece were strong and creative, and the first minute wasn't poor by any means. I won't be mad at all if this is rejected, because those issues were unfortunate and draw attention, but I don't feel enough is wrong with this to reject it. It's making a mountain out of a molehill on some minor performance flubs. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djpretzel Posted June 3, 2016 Share Posted June 3, 2016 I'd really like to at least ask if a revision is possible... it's a great arrangement, largely great performances, and a very unique style that I'd LOVE to see on OCR... all of the truly problematic stuff is in the first 1'30" and is basically intonation... if a multi-track recording exists, it could conceivably even be melodyned into form... If no revision can or will be provided, then I agree that Larry's "warts and all" approval makes sense, and I second it... YES (borderline) (let's ask the artist!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Def a borderline track for me too, as most votes here have gone. The arrangement is solid, and I mostly enjoy the performances. Certainly hearing a few odd notes here and there in this piece - some of these are slightly off-putting, while others just emphasise the character of the overall mix. Odd notes aside, I'm enjoying this, especially when the mix picks up in the second half, which feels a lot tighter than the first half. The quality of the recording is not too bad - some of the highs hit some piercing frequencies that could be ironed out easily, but they aren't constant or too distracting. Everything is mostly audible though the background elements are regulated too far to the back IMO (the guitar in particular). Very much an ok but improvements could be made mix. I'm unsure how much control you have over the recording, with the parts likely bleeding into each other, it would be difficult to make edits. On those grounds, I think I can borderline pass this, though the mix would be so much stronger with some tweaks. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted June 24, 2016 Share Posted June 24, 2016 The arrangement is fun and has a interesting progression, and it's nice to have live performances. Although, the performances on the violin and cello in the first part of the arrangement broke the deal for me. The articulations often seemed unnatural to me, but what really distracted me were the off-pitch notes, especially on the cello. The cello run around 1:00 sounded very off-pitch and completely threw me off. That combined with the unnatural articulations, and the violin having a bit of those issues as well, are too much for me to pass this, I'm sorry. I also agree with Deia that the ending felt a bit too anti-climactic, but that's not a deal-breaker. I hope I'm not being too harsh. I'd recommend practicing the first section some more, and I'd love to hear this again with improved performances. Best of luck! NO (resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Palpable Posted July 3, 2016 Share Posted July 3, 2016 I think we're all hearing the same tuning issues here, but the severity of it is the only debate. I am a bit more lenient on live recordings, and everything that was off was constrained to the first 1:30. I think I fall most in line with Larry, that there's so much good here to outweigh the mistakes. I also agree with Dave that Melodyne might be the only thing needed to fix this if it's a multitrack setup. The 2:36 section is something that only works in live recording, something so simple that it banks on the charm and nuance of live instruments to keep the listener's attention. It's exactly moments like that that make me want to pass this. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 18, 2016 Share Posted July 18, 2016 Got a reply back from Kevin on 7/16 after asking about potential revisions: Quote Thanks for sending the rundown. It's always nice to see behind the curtain at the Judge's thoughts. Unfortunately, we recorded everything in one take a year ago in a single performance album. We have always been more 'cowboy storytellers' than 'tuxedo virtuosos'. If we can turn a few VGM fans toward the much more refined work of the artists we have been inspired by, that would be pretty peachy Continue voting as is. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Hmm. Well, it is what it is. If they can't do any sort of touching up on it (which I had some suspicion was the case), then it's worth it to see if the issues are absolutely crushing, rather than just something that was more an ideal to fix. They're a problem, but it really would be a shame to drop this entirely due to some intonation in the beginning. Going through it a few more times, it's acceptable. Would've been better with the tighter tuning, but I think a 'warts and all' approach is a valid one, in this case - there's too much good in this to reject it entirely based on a few intonation errors. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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