mod reveiw Lavender Town- Marowak's Revenge

[YoshiBlade]

"Then the babysitter saw the hook on the car door, behind the clown statue, cause the hitchhiker had died 20 years ago that night and the calls were coming from inside the HOUSE!!!....oh and also some bullshit about Lavender Town's music...."

There....there's my Creepy-pasta Magnum Opus

 

Yeah, I know another lavender town remix, but com'on....Nobody has done it as a Dup-Step version yet.....right? Ok, so not much else to write, bonus points if you can identify the Pokemon calls. Whoo....alright, back to..back to...back upstairs.

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yn53bj1la8biyce/lavendar.mp3?dl=0

 

[timaeus222]

This probably counts.

The intro feels a little random. The 303 arp at 1:11 adds more clutter to what's becoming pretty muddy. By 1:32, I'm not sure this has a focus to it; it sounds almost like a sound design experiment with Lavender Town pasted on top. Finally, at 2:24, what you grab from Lavender Town changes up melodically, but I honestly think it took a bit long to get there, and it only stayed for like, 30 seconds. Nothing wrong necessarily with using one part of the source for most of the mix, but to me it felt imbalanced.

Overall, it's a good idea that can have a more focused execution and cleaner mixing and arrangement decisions in the low-midrange. Right now it's a bit too esoteric for me, and I normally love sound design.

[Smooth4lyfe1987]

I like what u tried to do here.

I would use a different kick.

This is definitely in the "Experimental" genre of music, seems like sounds are just being added randomly.

I would also try and follow the melody of the original song, not just that beep beep beep beep

[Gario]

EVAL

Very interesting, eerie arrangement. I think you can sell a lot of people on making something that's more atmospheric than melodic, especially with a track that's as naturally haunting as this one. I really enjoyed the direction that this took.

That being said, there are a few things that hold it back from realizing it's full potential. First, a few nitty-gritty details: the synth that comes in at 0:40 is very piercing, to the point where it kind of hurts to hear. The highs in that instrument need to be decreased (which, for an instrument like that, equates to a straight volume decrease). The drums that come in at 1:31 are awesome, but they don't have a very strong presence. They should be mixed a bit more to the front of the mix.

Overall (and especially toward the second half of the track) this track seems to deal with clutter. Moments like 2:26 - 2:38 and 3:00 are affected by individual instruments that just get too overpoweringly loud, which creates a muddy, unfocused moment in the track. Mixing too-loud elements down a bit would help clear the mud.

I think there's an argument to be made about the unfocused nature of the track, but there are some harmonies that sound out of place. 2:55 - 3:00 doesn't seem to fit harmonically, and it's the only time that harmony comes in, making it stand out that much more. While you don't have to use the same harmonies that you do throughout, that particular combination didn't seem to mesh well.

I like it, but I don't think it'll pass the panel quite yet. Make sure there isn't nearly as much clutter in the second half of the track, and take another look at the harmonization at 2:55 - 3:00. Hopefully this helps, as I do think this is a really cool idea.

[YoshiBlade]

Update: Just a copy'npaste from the compos, beefed up the drums...its funny how when you feel like you taken something as far as it can go, you take a break from it, then go back and listen and it just makes sense what to do next...wait feedback, I got feedback. I'm not gonna stop typing, cause I just realized I got feedback, that's what made me go back and make it better, so I'm leaving this stream of consciousness text here and stop typing....ok now

 

https://www.dropbox.com/s/yxx2tnbjoe9i7tk/lavendar 2.mp3?dl=0

 

[Slimy]

I like the cleaned up soundscape in the updated version, but... is the opening supposed to be funny? If not, then that's my only criticism of this. It's the helium voice speaking gibberish that gets me, everything else about the intro is fine. Although I guess if Pokemon were real, and Marowak's ghost started talking to me like that, I'd be pretty scared. Maybe you could just try making it more subtle? And wait a bit before it plays so that we have time to get immersed.

[Rozovian]

Quick comment, not eval:

If we strip away the non-source stuff, there wouldn't be much left, and what would be left wouldn't be very interesting. I think this is a mix built out of adding things on top of the source, rather than changing and adapting the source to a new context. My guess is a no, but I haven't studied this approach in posted mixes to see if there are any, and what makes those mixes work and not others. I think I'd need to do that before I can eval this properly. And even then, my assessment might be that it wouldn't work on ocr. But it's difficult to say.

Also, creepy twisted friggin' voice clips. It's successfully creepy, for sure.

[Gario]

Well, to be fair, if you strip an arrangement down and take off the elements that make it different from the source, very often you get something that is... well, not interesting and too conservative. That's probably why YoshiBlade added all of those cool, interesting elements on top of the arrangement.  

There are mixes that change up the form of the track, but that's not a requirement for a track to be posted - it just can't be a straight cover with nothing added to it to make it really stand out as his own. As far as I can tell, it's not against site or submission policy to have a mix that stacks a whole lot of other elements over a relatively straight arrangement, as long as the source isn't straight sample'd from the game itself throughout (which isn't the case here). In this track, all of those extra elements, the gating of the theme, etc., add a lot of extra atmosphere. Changing the atmosphere of a track (or making it so much more intensely "that atmosphere", like in this track) does count as change, as far as following OCR standards is concerned, and adding elements on top of a straight source certainly counts as "adding a personal touch", as well.

This is a good example of a track that's extremely conservative that got posted (along with the judge decision that lead to it being YES'd) - very conservative, as far as arrangement goes, but it adds so much flavor in how it presents the material, in the little bits added on top, that it got a pretty solid pass from the J's. Following the form of a source isn't an issue as long as you do something to it to really make it your own. On that front, anyway, I think YoshiBlade would fare alright.

[Slimy]

8 hours ago, Gario said:

*snip*

I'm glad OCR's "your arrangement must be substantial and original" rule hasn't been taken to an extreme.

[timaeus222]

huh, I feel like the smiley was changed. Or maybe it's just because of a different computer. Anyways:

Yeah, I definitely agree with Gario that having just textural additions on top of relatively conservative source isn't inherently insufficient. There may be more merit in changing the form of the music, or not, depending on what the textural additions actually are.

I don't mind that it's basically textural and production-based changes happening around the source arpeggio; but I would have considered: does it make sense, and does it make a large enough improvement to the original that it counts as a separate interpretation? In this case, I think the production would have to be pretty solid to carry the composition. That's my take on it anyhow.

I don't inherently mind the textures chosen (they make sense to me). I don't have my good headphones with me right now, but I think the production's still a bit rough, with a few muddy (EX: 1:11 - 1:32) or resonant spots (EX: 2:16). I think you also have some sub frequencies (check your kick and bass, and maybe your sidechaining) that are adding some overcompression in spots with drums.

In terms of a reference mix for an (IMO) esoteric track like this, maybe this is suitable, since it has some fairly abrasive textures, and unusual processing.

[Rozovian]

It's not about improving the original, it's about putting your own spin on the source. And there's a difference between that, and making something new _on top of_ a source. I'm just not sure where to draw that line. There's a fair amount of playing with the lead melody, so I think this is in the clear. Sorry to make a good portion of your feedback thread about this, YB.

Also, the ostinato is annoying. Not sure if that's on purpose.

[YoshiBlade]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/33qblk6f9g3ptfn/lavendar 3.wav?dl=0

 

 Lavender Town is really built on that repeating intro IMO and I fiddled with trying to cut out parts but it just made it feel less Lavender Town, more Lilac Town... if you will, but I split up some of the repetition, juuuuussssttttt enough to maybe reduce the cyclic nature of the more identifiable source tune, yet retain original elements. I like how much more glitchy its become, adding that personalized touch to an oft re-imagined source.

[Gario]

EVAL

Haunting. The atmosphere is dark and easy to get absorbed into. The arpeggio sounds relentless and menacing, while the rest of the sounds above it really add to the creepy atmosphere. The drums coming in at 1:32 are dirty and driven, without losing the fragmented aspect that the track held before.

The only thing that might ding you in the panel is the relative lack of upper-midrange and highs in the general EQ. When you have an instrument that utilizes that range it sounds fine, but in general you save that space for special instruments (like the one that comes in at 0:33). It's a nitpick, but overall you could've filled that space better with the instruments present here - the piece otherwise sounds a little dulled.

There's a good deal of silence at the end of the track. It's minor, but I think you could cut everything after 4:45 in order to clean up the track a bit.

Those are small complaints, though; overall I think this track will pass the panel, as it stands. I say send it off, after cutting the track at 4:45 - it's a pretty slick track that I can easily see passing. Good luck!