*NO* Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages 'Waltz Under the Sea'

[DragonAvenger]

 

RebeccaETripp
Rebecca Tripp
http://www.crystalechosound.com/
ID: 48262
Game: Legend of Zelda, Oracle of Ages
Song's Remixed: 
Song Title: Waltz Under the Sea

 

I attached the song for you.  You can also hear it here: 

 

I hope you guys aren't getting sick of me. 

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Edited June 28, 2016 by Liontamer
closed decision

[DragonAvenger]

Not a source you hear often, and it's a pretty fun one! This sub is suffering from a lot of the same issues as your others; the parts are very mechanical, and the instruments themselves are not very realistic. The balance is a little muddy at times, with all the parts going on around the same volume, rather than highlighting the main parts.

The arrangement is also an orchestral cover of the original, with a repeat in the middle. More expansion is definitely needed here for our standards. I do definitely appreciate that you pick songs that are inspiring to you and are also off the beaten path, and hope to hear more from you as you improve!

NO

[Gario]

Ooo, an unusual source, and a decent approach to it - the whole 'Egyptian' feel to it works wonders. The arrangement takes it in an acceptable direction - there are no real direct repeats of the source, and while the arrangement has a sort of 'variations' feel to it as far as structure, it seems to shape nicely into a beginning, middle and end. The orchestration is clever enough, though the lack of instruments for the last thirty seconds seemed like a bit much. I'm afraid I respectfully disagree with Deia on the arrangement aspect - I think it takes enough liberties with the source material in the orchestration, and it has a nice middle section that plays a neat variation of the source to break it up.

The instruments are pretty mechanical in this, though. The dynamics stay pretty static throughout the track. In the case of the instruments that play with the dynamics (like the ostinato strings), the shifts in dynamics sound like they're copy/pasted. The mixing throughout is pretty odd, too. While most of the time the melody is easy to hear, the background elements sound like they're all at the same quiet level, so it's difficult to pick out the rest of the orchestration.

Not much else to say, I think - the instruments are mechanical, the dynamics are static and the mixing doesn't allow for the listener to hear the background elements clearly enough. While I think the arrangement is alright, those other elements still take this down below the bar. It's always great to hear someone attack a relatively unknown source, though, and you certainly did it some justice.

NO

[Sir_NutS]

This sounds very movie-soundtrack-like.  Gotta agree with the other Js on production and arrangement comments, the performances need more work and the arrangement is fairly conservative and straightforward, with some additions and variations.  Although I think the arrangement could be passable, the production is not, with the previously mentioned humanization issues and some mix balance issues as well.  I think the reverb could be toned down overall, as it's contributing to the muddiness, and the instruments could be eq'd better because right now it sounds slightly mid-range focused, and the busy sections clump the instruments together in a very unnatural and messy-sounding way.

I've heard other mixes by Rebecca and she uses this conservative approach on other songs, but I think your arrangements could benefit from more exploration, and from a more dynamic approach to structure and I believe you have the skills necessary to do it.  Not that this is my reason to reject this particular track, but something I would like to hear.

NO