Liontamer Posted October 23, 2006 Share Posted October 23, 2006 As soon as I got Super Mario DS I grooved on the music. A Delightful mix of old and new school just like the game itself. The arrangement I am sending you guys hopefuly will give off that same impression. More than anything I just realy had fun with it . I don't know if this is up to par with your high standards but I hope at the very least you'll enjoy it. It's a mix of the first level, undergound, and the invincible theme, and a few original parts. The link is in the subject Jredd- ------------------------------------------------------ New Super Mario Bros. (Game Rip) - 04 "Walking the Plains", 09 "In the Underground" & 45 "Starman" Good opening, though a bit lossy-sounding for some reason. Looks like the initial beatwork was sampled; sounded like you took the beats from Q-Tip's "Breathe and Stop" from :09-:28, leaving the melody more in the background. Push the melody up a bit there. Perhaps don't use the sampled beats and fashion your own instead. Segued into some NES style st00f at :33 with some tasteful work done to ensure it wasn't just a transposing of the melody. The chiptune work there was pretty thorough, albeit brief. Transition into the Underground BGM at :57 wasn't as good, but wasn't awful. Write something that switches sections a bit more smoothly. Rhythms changed up at 1:07, and later gave way to a muddier take on things from 1:21-1:35 thanks to the faux electric guitar. Nice original section intro at 1:36. Nice bassline work starting at 1:45 along with that new faux guitar synth. The "Invincible BGM" dropped into the background at 2:04, but it wasn't a focal point of that portion of the arrangement, leaving things too liberal. 2:23-2:52 (where's the meat on the drums?) got a little more interpretive in terms of dealing with the additional parts of the Invincible theme (most familiar with Mario 64's Wing Cap theme, basically the same in New SMB), but ultimately still sounded too liberal and straying very, very far from the inspiration. Same with 2:52-3:02, it was loosely derived from the Invincible BGM, but take it out of the context of the original and I wouldn't be able to draw a connection. Good ending section from 3:02 with what I believe is original writing (can't be sure), before wrapping it up with the stage completion jingle at 3:26. The production's noticeably rough. The overall atmosphere sounded a bit lossy. Not a big deal, all things considered. I'm pretty on the fence with this one, because I liked all of the variations of the source tunes here. But the "Invincible BGM"-inspired section took up almost half the track though and strayed way too far into liberal territory. You gotta rein that back in to the land of recognizability, then I'll likely give you the YES. Good energy, good ideas overall; you're noticeably improving. Best of luck on the rest of the vote. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I still have and listen to one of JRedd's submissions that didn't make it on the site. Let me tell you, that's a rare occurrance. He strikes me as a talented artist with a unique creativity, if a somewhat rough execution. This track falls into that category. There are a ton of really interesting ideas presented, and lots of great textures that make for a track that really grabs the listener's attention. While the production is a tad rough, looking at the big picture, this is a really solid and creative track. YES you've got me regretting voting no on "Dire Dire Consequences," and wanting a resub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcos Posted November 27, 2006 Share Posted November 27, 2006 I agree with what has already been said, lots and lots of textures here, and lots of original elements, minus that drum beat at the beginning ("breathe and stop, for real, and gimme what ya got!"), which did take away from the original stuff (and lots of it) that were presented later on in the mix. I didn't think that drum loop was a good idea, as it initially gave me a bad impression. The varied arrangement is constantly evolving, and while it does sound rough at times, it is definitely passible in and of itself imo, and with that arrangement, this can only be a YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zircon Posted November 30, 2006 Share Posted November 30, 2006 Wow, this is pretty creative, sonically. I can appreciate a lot of the production ideas here. The execution, however, was kinda weak. Generally speaking, the EQ could have been a lot better across the board to give more sonic space to the individual parts. For example, at 2:05, things felt too low-end heavy and muddy. There was a lack of brightness throughout the mix, and the drums always sounded like they didn't quite fit (even though I liked the rhythms). The stereo field was sometimes not very wide, and other times quite wide - didn't seem like there was a lot of consistency. Overall, the production aspect just needs more polish. It's not quite up to our standards yet in its current form. However... the arrangement was really good. I have no problems with it. It was engaging the whole time. Each section was fresh and it never felt like you were just recycling ideas. The themes were well-interpreted, to say the least. You probably could have done another two minutes of material in this format and I doubt I would have been tired of it. Major props there. The problem, though, is that I don't think the strength of arrangement quite makes up for the production weaknesses. It's not that the samples or sounds are bland, it's just that when you use a lot of changing textures to keep things interesting, they have gotta be polished. I think if you worked on this for maybe an hour more with a critical ear tuned to EQ/mixing you could nail it. Resub, please! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jillian Aversa Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 As soon as I got Super Mario DS I grooved on the music. A Delightful mix of old and new school just like the game itself. The arrangement I am sending you guys hopefuly will give off that same impression. Indeed, it does! This is fantastic. I understand and respect zircon's production criticisms here, but to me it just sounds like you were going for a gritty sort of vintage style. Whether or not that was your actual intent, don't matta to me! You do have the whole record fuzz thing going on, though... Was that just a ruse? Working the pipe transport sound effect into that intro, and even in pitch and rhythm, was so very clever! And then you've got the little blips doing the same thing later on. So cool... Seriously! I dig the changeup at 1:36, and all the nifty pitch bends throughout that section. This arrangement demonstrates a lot of sophistication, despite its goofiness. So much instrumental variation, and excellent solos and FX. I'm loving every second! YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zykO Posted December 2, 2006 Share Posted December 2, 2006 yumm, this is very scrumptious it possesses so many different textures to it; i love that! you are gritty and grimy for a stretch, then you drop into a very spacey urban groove. very mario and very not... all at once: you've effectively done what vg arranging is all about i'm not gonna disagree on the production issues zircon is having with it. at times, it gets too muddy because you have so much shit goin on that individual parts get mushed up together. then there's how it opens up into the spacious section around 1.35 still, the arrangement and work here is far too sophisticated and entertaining to overlook. this really is great. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big giant circles Posted December 4, 2006 Share Posted December 4, 2006 Awfully addictive. This one grew on me further and further into the track. Terribly fun to listen to. I have no qualms that would hinder me from passing this. Fun fun fun stuff. Soitenly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted December 9, 2006 Share Posted December 9, 2006 Soitenly Soylent Green? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts