Chimpazilla Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) For the FF3 project ReMixer: OA I took a peaceful and serene song and made it a bit more mysterious and languid. The light warriors have been through a lot, and just want to take a little break. They discovered that you can postpone the end of the world indefinitely, as long as you don't speak to the right NPC, and are just going to chill on their boat for a bit before continuing their mission. Edited July 9, 2016 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 (edited) The pace was pretty deliberate -- I'd argue plodding -- to start, but we'll see where it goes, as the level of interpretation of the source theme sounds fine. But at nearly 3:30-long at this tempo, it may be a long haul. About 1:30-in, we're a third of the way through, and I'm wondering where this is going, if anywhere. Despite the occasional texture changes, the dynamic curve feels very flat. From 1:58-2:26, some of the higher sustained string articulations strained credibility, IMO; the strings aren't horrible by any means, but there's a flatness in their delivery. 2:32 essentially sounded like a cut-and-paste of :06, just with some (good) string accents underneath. I understand this is meant to fall within a limited dynamic range to begin with, but something's missing here in terms of the energy and dynamics. I'll withhold a vote for some other opinions and see if a musician J is either better able to articulate the potential issues I'm hearing or poised to call me an out-of-touch old man.EDIT (7/8): I'm old. But not that old. I'm not worried about Andrew being able to work something out, but I'm agreed with Chimpa and Gario on their calls.NO Edited July 9, 2016 by Liontamer updated vote to NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 I see what you did thar with the title, Oceans Azure, OA, I get it! Agreed with Larry about the plodding pace, very deliberate sounding. The snare sounds like a louder/sharper copy of the kick, so it just feels like an accented kick note instead of a snare. The melody feels very stiff due to this rigid pacing with the drums. I'm feeling like this drum groove doesn't really accent this writing or soundscape as well as it could. The writing and sounds seem to suggest a more flowing/natural drum groove, with softer and more fitting drum timbres, instead of this rigid, heavy 4x4 kick/snare pattern. The instrument writing (leads, strings, piano) also feels quite rigid and grid-snapped. There are some areas in the mix where the harmonies are awkward, for example at 0:58 the piano goes off key or something, at 1:21 the strings sound off and again at 1:36. From 1:36-2:20 there isn't much of interest going on, no leadwork at all (or is it the strings, or piano?), and the harmonies are all over the place with many instances of things being off here and there, and the drums continue to plod. The synth lead throughout this track has a strange volume envelope making some attacks much too sharp and others too slow. Sorry to come down so hard on this. Perhaps make some changes and resub? I'd love to hear it with a revised drum groove, something more mellow. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Larry, you're an out of touch old man, but that's beside the point. Overall, the track doesn't seem to have very much focus. It follows the source, sure, but since the general dynamic and texture is very similar throughout there's really no build up, climax, etc., that gives the listener any sense of direction. It's just all... the same-ish. I'll acknowledge 2:20 as really dropping down and changing it up, but it's not enough to mitigate the overall lack of diversity throughout the track. The drum pattern really drives this issue home, though - it's pretty close to four-to-the-floor throughout the entire song, but instead of driving the track forward (like that style often does), the slow pacing of this makes it sound plodding and uninteresting. While the production is clean, at 1:36 the theme is held in a light, quiet pad, while everything else is mixed closer to the front, making that part sound odd. The background arpeggio at the moments mentioned by Chimp indeed have notes that are sour. At 0:58, 1:21 and 1:36 the arpeggio part in the background plays notes that directly conflict with the chord being outlined by the melody and pads. Those notes need to be corrected. Overall, the mix feels like it's lacking both in the low end and high end of the EQ spectrum, which gives the entire track a dull, suppressed feel. For the most part, it's simply that the instruments used primarily take up the midrange, so the far ends of the spectrum is just missing from the arrangement, altogether. Yeah, I'm with Chimp and Larry on this, it does feel like a lot of things are off. Hopefully some of the things we're saying here is helpful, though. NO Sir_NutS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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