*NO* Final Fantasy 10 'The Mountain's Roar'

[djpretzel]

Seemed solid on first listen. -djp

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Hello, I would be very grateful if you would consider my song for evaluation. I have attached a file and have a download link, just in case.

Download Link: 

Remixer name: Soaralot
Real name: Nick Howard
Email address: 
website: https://www.youtube.com/user/SoaralotMusic
user id: 33428

Song information:
Length: 6:52
Game Arranged: Final Fantasy X
Name of Arrangement: The Mountain's Roar
Name of Individual song(s) arranged: People of the North Pole (A.k.a. Mt. Gagazet's Theme)

Thank you for your time and consideration.

 

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Gario]

Mmm, got some nice power behind this arrangement. Drums drive the whole thing forward, and you got some great synth wankery going down in the middle, there. The production seems decent, too, so you've got a lot going for you on this.

The harmonies used are literally used throughout the track, without change. They get very stale, after a while. I mean, they're a great chord progression, but it leaves the listener wanting something different after nearly seven minutes of the arrangement. There are other chord patterns used in the source, even - please change it up even a little bit, from time to time.

The harmonies that are used throughout are linked to the source, but since they never change it just washes over the listener, becoming difficult connect them as the source after a while. Aside from that, there's one melodic hook that keeps this connected to the source. From my count, that theme is playing in some form or another from 0:00 - 1:33, 3:58 - 4:19 and 4:41 - 6:07. In a 6:52 track, that equates to 48.5%. Technically, the harmonies are related to the source, but since they never change it really doesn't take me back to the source; I'm going to make a judgment call and say this is a little too liberal for OCR, as it stands.

I hear the fadeout on this, and normally I'd suggest giving it a proper ending, but I'm going to argue that it works alright, in this case. I like the new material that it fades into - it seems appropriate for this track.

It's close, in my mind, but I think this is a little too liberal, as it stands, and the chord usage is pretty repetitive, to boot. Change up the chords, hell, even consider using the other chord patterns in the source - doing that even for one section would help a lot. Incorporate a little more source into this (there's a LOT of source that you can draw from), possibly even incorporating it better into the solo-ing portions of the track. Doing that will be enough to switch my vote in your favor, as it's a pretty slick arrangement otherwise.

NO

[Liontamer]

Opens up pretty similar in mood/tone to the original song, only starting with the chorus, then showing its electronic hand at :21. Beats arrive at :42, and I'm not disliking anything so far, but haven't heard anything too remarkable or creative with the synth design.

Hmm... when the build arrives at 1:04, something's not right about these textures. I'm hearing a lot of high-end sizzle from the cymbals, but the actual beats felt too flimsy, and the rest of the elements aside from the lead seem to just mush together without detail, undermining the energy intended in the writing.

I thought the cymbal hits, bass kicks, and overall energy level from 1:04-3:56 dragged on after a while. Varying up not just the writing of the backing beats, but the sounds as well would help vary this up even if you weren't going for pronounced dropoffs or changes.

The dropoff at 3:57 was very welcome though; not saying this track has to be cut down, but it may have been even more effective to get here a minute earlier and allow some dynamic contrast to surface earlier.

Not diggin' that lead at 6:06, as it has a very robotic sound, but it's not a huge deal.

My main issues, Nick, were the track feeling repetitive for nearly 3 minutes due to the beats and needing to create a sharper-sounding soundscape, but this one is well in the right direction. Definitely come back to this one and improve it with some of these criticisms in mind.

NO (resubmit)

Edit (9/16): It's not often we get two distinct versions of a mix submitted to us a month apart. Checking out the shortened 5:02 version from April, the opening build was more interesting and creative. Once the track kicked in at 1:11, the same dealbreaking production criticisms applied with the sizzling cymbals, overall lack of clarity in the textures, and flat dynamic curve of the arrangement until 3:19.

I agreed with Chimpazilla on making sure the middle of the track doesn't stray too far from the source tune; it's not necessarily enough to place original writing on top of a generalized chord progression, so just be careful there. Ensure that the majority of the piece has explicit ties to writing from the original source tune.

3:21 changed things up with a more creative dropoff than in the longer version. The lead writing there was the same, but there was more dynamic contrast than the longer version by dropping out most of the instrumentation from 3:21-3:45 and using the section as a breakdown & rebuild instead. I wouldn't have went back to the same intensity and writing until 4:07-4:28. The sequencing of the lead from 4:06 sounded very stilted and robotic; make sure the timing doesn't sound so stiff. Good close at 4:28.

To me, both versions shared the same general issues, but both were very promising and demonstrated that Nick has a fairly good handle on making music. Now he just needs to refine his production so that nearly everything can be heard clearly during the densest sections, and tweak the arrangement to have more ties to the source tune as well as more variation & dynamic contrast.

[Chimpazilla]

ReMixer name: Soaralot

Real Name: Nick Howard

email address: 

Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/SoaralotMusic

Forum User ID: 33428

 

Song Information:

Length: 5:02

Game Arranged: Final Fantasy X

Name of Arrangement: The Mountain's Roar

Name of Individual song(s) arranged: People of the North Pole (A.k.a. Mt. Gagazet's Theme)

Original Composer: Nobuo Uematsu

System: Sony Playstation 2

Link to Original Soundtrack: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UrqIZS3jVuw

 

My Comments:

This song has been in the making for nearly 2 months now. I have worked away at it and I feel I have finally got it to a standard that I am very pleased with. Final Fantasy X is one of my all-time favourite games so it's easy to see where the inspiration came from. This section of the game holds so much meaning, and it's all about the home of the Ronso Tribe and their strife as a race. I tried to get this across in my arrangement as best as I could, feelings of hopelessness yet the fierce will to carry on. I made it in a Liquid Drum & Bass style (on FL Studio 11) which is the genre I feel most at home with. 

 

Thank you for your consideration.
 

 

Edited September 16, 2016 by Liontamer
closed decision

[Chimpazilla]

This vote is based on the version of this song that was submitted on April 21:

Great concept, making this source into liquid DnB.  This is a very chill track, although I lose track of the source after 1:38, it seems to be an original track after that point.  The arp that plays throughout the remainder of the track does not match the arp in the source closely enough for me to count it.  Other Js, have I missed something? 

The mixing is a problem right out of the gate.  Your intro pad has some dc offset action going on (rumble below 40Hz).  When the kicks enter, the track sounds very overcompressed and remains so throughout the track.  All the instruments are competing for frequency space and everything is drowning in reverb.  Reverb is necessary for this genre, but so many reverbs are overlapping here, and they can all stand to be low-cut at 300Hz minimum as you don't want any low reverb as it only contributes to low end dc offsets which steal mastering headroom.  The drums sound very boxy and the high end sounds crushed and sizzly.  The leads that play throughout the track are quite loud and prominent compared to everything else and the bass is hard to hear.

My feeling is this track would need a mixing and mastering overhaul as well as more connection to the source material after 1:38 to pass.

edit (same day):  I did not realize that there was already a version of this track on the panel.  Listening to the prior version, the longer version, my production criticisms stand, the track is overcompressed, too pumpy, too sizzly.  I like the arrangement a bit better in the longer version, the extended breakdown is nice.  I am really not hearing much source at all after 1:35 or so, other than the chord progression which in my mind is too vague to be a good source connection.  In the longer version though, the source melody is brought back in the breakdown and outro which is good, although I don't care for fadeout endings.  I'm afraid that both versions are no-go for me, but the longer version is closer to a pass for me, if the mixing is addressed, more source connections added in the bulk of the track, and preferably with a proper ending and not a fadeout.

NO

[Gario]

Is this a resub? We have an active version of it still on the panel, but it's a different length here - might be a version 2 that he submit later.

[Chimpazilla]

Oh my goodness.  Well it isn't a resub, I believe it just must be a version #2 as you said.  The submit dates are March 14 and April 21.  What do, @Liontamer?

[Liontamer]

1 hour ago, Chimpazilla said:

Oh my goodness.  Well it isn't a resub, I believe it just must be a version #2 as you said.  The submit dates are March 14 and April 21.  What do, @Liontamer?

Comment on each version together in one vote; try to find out the differences; I assume they aren't major. Then we can combine the two threads into one and have 3 NO votes.

[Chimpazilla]

1 hour ago, Liontamer said:

Comment on each version together in one vote; try to find out the differences; I assume they aren't major. Then we can combine the two threads into one and have 3 NO votes.

Perfect, I knew you'd have the right answer.  Will do shortly.  Thank you!

edit:  Done, above vote amended.  Would you mind consolidating the threads, @Liontamer?

another edit:  The tracks were a bit different, arrangement-wise:  https://www.dropbox.com/s/izzuuycairs5l3o/mountains roar.jpg?dl=0