djpretzel Posted June 26, 2016 Share Posted June 26, 2016 (edited) Well, this is certainly different... there are parts, like the intro, that don't inspire confidence, but then there are some pretty cool percussive things going on further in... see what you think. -djp --- Contact Information Remixer name : VisiOn Real name : Charles Rheault Website : https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBseldaXOVqBa-S7pQFLzbg Name of the game :Donkey Kong Country Name of the remix: Nueva Selva Name of the original Song: Aquatic Ambiance Additional information about game including composer, system, etc. : David Wise is the original composer of most of the Donkey Kong series soundtrack and joined Rare in 1985. He quit the company in 2009 since he said he didn't see any more opportunities to make memorable video game music like he did in the past. He is known for his atmospheric style which can be heard in titles such as Aquatic Ambiance from DKC or even Mine Theme from DKC 2 (Donkey Kong Country 2). Rare was the video game company that released Donkey Kong Coyntry on the SNES inNovember 20, 1995. Link to the original soundtrack, Aquatic Ambiance: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPpVplHiD I've always been a DonkeyKong fan: I would the game characters and I had the game on my Game Boy Advance SP. I remember I always loved the music of the levels, I remember having goosebumps as I was jumping over a Zinger (the bees) and listening to the epic Donkey Kong OST. The DK series have always inspired me to discover new passions and to go on adventures. Behind the name: Nueva Selva, It means New Jungle in spanish, I was just look for another way to say ''New Jungle'' since that wasn't original. So my friend google translate helped me for that. If you look at the Music Video I made for this song, you will see that Donkey Kong is on a quest to bring back life to his jungle and to find a new place to live. Donkey Kong is the guardian of the light and the life and this is why the jungle is in black and white while he is slowly becoming colored again. Also, Nueva Selva makes me think of an adventure where there is a new place to discover and the Donkey Kong games are all a big adventure. Why remixing video game music? Video game music is such an amazing thing; when you play a videogame, you're living a virtual reality and that new reality is given a sountrack. Real life dosen't have a musical soundtrack and that's what makes the virtual reality of a game like DKcountry an upgrade from our reality. Imagine if everywhere you went, there was not only a physical world to feel, to see, an olfactory world to smell, a sonic world to hear the noises of nature, but also a musical world where every location has it's own music. This song is an orchestral ambient song was made in Fl studio with Kontakt, Battery and synthesized sounds I made myself as well as a few sound effects I designed. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wAPpVplHiD Edited July 5, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 27, 2016 Share Posted June 27, 2016 Nice percussion on this one - it's easy to hear what's showcased in this track, and what plays more of a supporting role. Overall, the arrangement sounds like a way to showcase that percussion. The arrangement is pretty out there. I'm not sure I follow the structure of this, as it just seems to meander from idea to idea. Many of those ideas are good on their own, but they don't seem to make up a cohesive song, as a whole. I can't fault it for source usage, as it's clearly there, but I will drop the red flag on the arrangement not being cohesive. The strings are interesting - I hear how you're trying to humanize them (with the volume), but there are other elements that make them seem mechanical still. The instrument itself sounds too bright, and the swelling attack is overused in some of the notes, which makes some of your lines sound jerky. This sounds intentional, fortunately, so having that attack that sweeps in the middle of lines should be easy to fix, or at least reduce the affect as the sudden drops caused by this break the music up in a distracting way. The production could use some work, too. While there is no clipping in this, it sounds like the instruments start hitting the limiter hard when the strings and percussion are playing at once, causing distortion that way instead. When limiting, make sure your track isn't clipping without that limiter first; otherwise, the clipping that would've been there will come out as unintended distortion from the limiter, instead. The whole track seems to be lacking any bassline. This could really use some bass love in this, as it sounds hollow and incomplete, without it. Some great ideas, but the arrangement doesn't quite bring this together. The lack of bass, limiting distortion and slightly inhuman strings ultimately made me vote as I did. The percussion is awesome, though, and the guitar & synths are pretty good. You just need to create arrangements a bit more coherent of a direction, for the next time. NO EDIT: Sir_nutS brings up a very good point on the video production; the production sounds a LOT better in the Youtube link than it did as an Mp3. Honestly, the production sounded very good in the video, so my points on the overuse of limiting don't need to be addressed - just render it like you did for the youtube video and the production will pass just fine. My other points on the strings, bass and structure still stand in my judgment, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emunator Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 Gario nailed it. This is an ambitious attempt and I actually love a lot of the elements of the track in a vaccuum. The strings sound like the start of a really cool orchestral arrangement, the synth patches are really moody, and the drums go through a lot of cool motions, but I think you're having some trouble getting them to gel together. Many of the sections feel like disparate concepts that don't transition properly together. To be frank, I can't really find much structure with the arrangement - just as it sounds like you're about to swell up to a really big climax around 3:15, the track tapers off and ends. The lack of a bassline, as Greg pointed out, may play a role in this. To start with, the production is pumping super-hard against your limiter, which is giving your whole track a very boxy sound. Ease up on the volume of some of your elements and lower the overall compression so your track has a bit more breathing room, and I think this will sound a lot better already. I love seeing such an ambitious take on a very commonly-remixed theme, and I think you could get these ideas to work, but the concept doesn't feel fully realized at this point. Good luck if you choose to pursue this track further! NO (resubmit!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted July 4, 2016 Share Posted July 4, 2016 I would quote both Wes and Gario on this one but that would make this vote longer than it should. Basically, they pretty much said everything that needed to be said. I have to put emphasis in Wes' point about lack of a coherent structure and the whole mix feeling like a mix of different ideas loosely tied together, and Gario's point about the production, since I feel that in an arrangement done in this style you want subtlety to be of paramount importance yet that is lost by the smashed down dynamics. Like I said at the start the other Js made great points so you can check their assessment. EDIT: This is very weird, I checked the video provided by the artist and the production sounds MUCH nicer, maybe he submitted the wrong file? EDIT2: Confirmed that the song used in the video is a cleaner render, I will ask for a resub of the clean version, but my points (and the other J's) about structure still stand, so if that could be worked on a bit that'd be great as well. NO (Resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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