Chimpazilla Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 (edited) Remixer: Martin H (Woohoo Chant) I hope you guys like it Edited August 29, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 I love Lavender Town with it's odd, eerie and unsettling harmonies. It has so much potential for many different types of remixes. The intro and outro synth is piercing. The synths used throughout the mix are quite vanilla sounding with minimal processing or effects for added interest. The motif is played many times verbatim. The main thing I hear in this mix is the potential for a cool trap beat, but it never appears. The beats here are very plain 4x4 kick pattern, the percussion samples are weak. The drop at 1:26 could be so huge and powerful, with some killer trap kick patterns and pitched 808 snare. I'd love to hear it this way! I suggest you look into it, you've already got a good sub bass going in that section. Anyway, I think it's a good start, the arrangement structure is solid enough, but as it stands the mix is just too plain, in writing and timbres used. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Lavender town is always an interesting source to hear arrangements for - so creepy and dark, especially considering it's from Pokemon. The overall feel is similar to the source in this arrangement, but the track does some pretty daring things with the source in the middle and end that pay off, for the most part. The changeup at 1:27, for example, takes it in a new, more ethereal direction, and the new harmonies at 2:56 actually work well with the source. Those new harmonies would've served better had they been introduced earlier in the piece, though - they just sort of hit you, then the song ends. As a rule of thumb, introducing new elements at the very end of a track is disorienting, and it always sounds out of the blue and out of place. If you want to do something like end the piece with those chords, get the listener familiar with those chords first earlier in the arrangement. The production and mixing in this is questionable, at best. The drums from 0:00 to 0:35 sound like they're without any bottom end EQ. It sounds intentional, but with the other instruments having their normal EQ range, it just sounds... strange. Once the bass EQ returns to the drums, the bass drum sidechaining used throughout is incredibly distracting, as it affects every instrument equally. When sidechaining, be sure to only affect instruments that really conflict with the frequency range the bass utilizes. The synths used throughout seem to fight one another for priority in the mix - everything tries to be loud, so it's difficult to hear anything in particular. The arpeggio synth in the beginning is incredibly piercing in the range it's used (though it sounds alright when it drops an octave). I'd suggest lowering the volume of that synth in the beginning, so it doesn't pierce one's ears as much when listening to the arrangement. The production of this is pretty brutal - it will need some work. The balance of the instruments should make wach part clear (bringing out the important parts, subdueing the background elements, while allowing everything to still be heard). The drum EQ sounds offputting in the beginning; either drop the bottom for all the instruments (so it sounds intentional) or let the bass through a little more in that beginning area (perhaps simply dropping the bass drum altogether instead, if you want to hold something back for the 0:35 moment). As far as the arrangement goes, I suggest incorporating some of your ending chords into the piece earlier so they don't sound so out of place at the end. Hopefully some of this helps! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted August 29, 2016 Share Posted August 29, 2016 Yipes. I get that the opening keyboard/organ lead's supposed to sound odd, but it's so thin that the way the sound slurs just sounds beginner-ish. Despite the attempt being there to thicken up the textures and vary up the sounds, Chimpazilla mentioned how all of the sounds are vanilla with minimal or uncreative processing, and that's definitely what does this in. The sequencing's always pretty rigid, but it's hard to get more stilted and robotic-sounding than the lead from 1:04-1:26. The saw that came in for the final section 2:55-3:32 was atonal. There's no fullness to these sounds, and the instrumentation is so plain, thin, and mechanically-timed. I like the effort to make the arrangement creative, Martin, but production's nearly as important as arrangement here, and this is far from where it needs to be; there needs to be more sophistication to how these sounds are used. Try our Workshop forums to ask production questions and get further feedback on your tracks.NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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