DragonAvenger Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 (edited) Hello, I hope I'm doing this right! Here's the requested information: Link to listen / download submission MP3: Track Info: Name of Game: FTL: Faster Than Light Name of Arrangement: Spaced Name of Individual Song: Space Cruise (Title) Original Composer: Ben Prunty Original Soundtrack: https://benprunty.bandcamp.com/album/ftl Notes on ReMix: This started as an attempt to create synths as close as possible to the wonderful retro sounds that Ben Prunty used in the FTL soundtrack. After lots of experimentation with both similar and quite different virtual instrumentation, I ended up layering a full arrangement of the title track, Space Cruise. Everything was performed and arranged in Ableton, other than the famous "Jump" sound effect at the end, which is pulled straight from the game. Artist Info: My ReMixer name: insomnis Real name: Matt Panay E-mail: Website: www.soundcloud.com/insomnis Twitter: @panaysayer UserID: 33424 (I believe this is correct, it appears before my userID in profile URL) I think that's everything! Thanks very much for your time and consideration! Best, Matt Panay / insomnis Edited July 1, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 This stays fairly close to the original in terms of structure, but there's a lot of melodic changes in regards to key signature which gives this a fairly unique feel. The instrumentation, as mentioned, is reminiscent of the original, but again has a lot of it's own flair. The detuned bells at the beginning were a nice touch in particular. The arrangement doesn't really feel like a builds very much, and I felt like the end was a bit abrupt as a result, but it wasn't a huge cut off or anything major. Samples overall are pretty good and work well together, though there's a lot of bleed from the instruments that can get a bit cluttered over time. Would have loved this to be a little cleaner on the instrument decay, but again it's not a huge deal and adds a bit to the soundscape in it's own way. Overall it's a nice tribute to the original with a lot of personal touches, nice work -- EDIT: Went back and relistened after reading the other votes and i think I have to agree. The repetition doesn't bother me as much as the others, but i definitely agree that it is a bit much for the length of the track. The bigger issue is the lack of bass and the weakness of the percussion. I think there's a really solid base here and I hope you fix this one up! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Very space-y. This evokes a very other-worldly sound, even moreso than the source does. Nice synth choices on this one, as they really add flavor to the overall track. This does feel pretty close to the source, but I do hear some variation in the chord choices and such - it's conservative, but it has enough interpretation in it to distinguish it from the source. The drums are pretty weak in this. They don't have to be booming, but the garage band style of drums seems to clash with the overall mood of the track. I can't fault you too much for that - that could very well be personal taste - but the bass drum in this is nearly non-existent. It definitely needs some more presence in this, as I almost can't hear it, as it is now. Overall, the track seems to be lacking in the bass EQ levels. It's not too extreme of an issue, as the overall ethereal affect the track has compensates for this a little bit, but it does make the track feel like something is missing. The bass you have now is a quickly decaying FM synth that doesn't really carry any weight, and the bass drum has virtually no presence, so the bass frequency range is noteably lacking. For such a short track, there is an excessive amount of repeating, which wears on the listener pretty quickly. The primary portion of the track starting at 0:29 is alright, as it introduces a new element at 0:51 to break it up a little bit, but when it comes back at 1:28 it's virtually unchanged, and it repeats four times, to boot. It feels like padding, at that point, rather than expanding the music in any meaningful way. If you want to organize the music like this, you'll need to make the 1:28 section really stand out as something different from the 0:51 section. Considering how much of the mix these parts actually are (~1:30 min of a 2:30 min piece), this is a pretty big deal. The style is good, and the overall atmosphere is great, but I'm not feeling this one. The bass drum is weak, the bass range is lacking, and most important of all the song relies too much on straight repetition to pad it past the two minute mark. Introduce something more to the sections mentioned above to really differentiate the sections from one another (like you do between the sections from 0:29 and 0:51) - variety is the spice of life, after all. EDIT: I forgot to mention the levels of the volume - it's needlessly quiet. Without any other processing, I can raise this by nearly two decibels without clipping. No need to make something this quiet, but that's an easy fix. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 I know this soundtrack by heart, as it's one of my favorites. The production on this one isn't bad, though I felt the drums were a bit upfront and dry compared to the other elements, and the song overall was a bit on the quiet side. I have one issue with the bass, it's only present for a couple notes and for the most part the track lacks any low end. This is not a problem in the original as it was mostly an ambient track, but in this remix there's less of an ambient approach and the drums are much emphasized so the lack of bass or low end in the pads makes the otherwise busy soundscape seem like it's missing something. Production aside, my issues with this mix are mostly with the arrangement, as it feels very static and repetitive, mostly because the usage of the same underlying base throughout the song. Sections like 1:30-2:08 don't show any progress and seem to just repeat without any feeling of progression. Most of the lead instruments and motifs are centered around the initial arpeggio notes in the first half of the original song, but there are portions of the original that have been largely ignored, i.e. the lead melody that plays near the end, that could've been used effectively to break the monotony, but we mostly get variations over the same riff. I would like to hear changes in the structure so it feels more dynamic and more representation of the entirety of the source. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Very much nodding my head at Gario's vote. The rough, distorted acoustic drums feel out of place against the clean, reverbed synths to the point of them feeling a bit tacked on. Production isn't bad overall, though DA makes a good point about things getting cluttered when more elements kick in. May want to cut back on the reverb/delay a bit and/or look at the panned synth (see below). As mentioned, the structure is similar, but theres quite a bit of creative writing and additive elements here. The aesthetic is also of the same vein as the original (a soundtrack which I loved). I'm gonna also say the biggest issue for me is the amount of repetition in a track this length. There's definitely room to expand here with more ideas and fleshing things out further. Minor point, the rapid panning on the delayed synth is distracting on headphones. Finally, the lack of bass presence here is also hurting this one. The short, occasional bass synth stabs just aren't doing the job of pinning down the low-end of the mix. Good start for sure, but not yet to the bar IMO. NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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