Chimpazilla Posted September 15, 2016 Share Posted September 15, 2016 Game Arranged: The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker Name of arrangement: Bird Men of Dragon's Roost Individual song remixed: Dragon's Roost Island Remixer name: akalink My real name: Garrett McPherson My email: Ry website: mcphersonsound.com User id: 32745 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted September 15, 2016 Author Share Posted September 15, 2016 This is a well performed cover of Dragon Roost, although I strongly dislike the synth lead that starts at 0:35, the vibrato is out of control and this timbre doesn't fit the soundscape at all. The rest of the soundscape is good although the castanet groove gets repetitive. The arrangement is a straight cover of Dragon Roost, despite the modulation at 2:31, the arrangement does not vary from the source writing until 3:12 at which point I finally hear SOMETHING different. The smooth bassline and piano groove that follow are a breath of fresh air but it is so short lived. The final piano rendition of the theme is lovely, but again, too little too late. I think there is a lot of potential here if the arrangement could be interpreted away from the source somewhat in the first 75% of the track, but I do insist that those wonky synth leads be replaced by something much less wonky. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted October 7, 2016 Share Posted October 7, 2016 Interesting approach on this - take a whole bunch of instruments and have them build up over time to something magnificent. While it doesn't do much to stray from the source or incorporate too much original writing, the orchestration and overall approach feels different enough from the source for me to accept it on arrangement grounds. The mixing is pretty solid, the orchestration is pretty on point, and I was generally impressed with the humanization of the orchestral elements. The solo violin has one or two things that bug me - the panning was too far to the left on it, for me on headphones. Also, while humanization was generally good, be careful not to let the attack swell too much on faster runs - moments like 0:19 - 0:21 had the instrument nearly dropping out with faster runs, due to the attack on the sample. The snare and bass drum samples used in the middle/end of the track are quite dry, as well, in comparison to the rest of the instruments. They should at least match the other instruments that you have playing in this. It was quite a shock to start hearing synths in the track, and the first one that hit (at 0:35) was quite jarring, especially considering the rest of the piece prior. I think you're using something like a flanger on it... and it just makes it sound strange against the cool, clean orchestral elements. What's even stranger is that overall that doesn't really come back after the first two minutes - it just comes in, disorients, and before the listener can adjust it never comes again. If you're going to take the listener out of the soundscape that you created, always have a good reason for doing so; that instrument just sounded out of place, there. Overall, I think it's an interesting track. It doesn't take too many risks, but it DOES build off of itself quite effectively. There are a few small issues with this track, but I don't agree that it adds up to a rejection. There's more than enough to love about the track that keeps me interested. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Sweet instrumentation, love the inflection and modulation of some of the lead instruments, it's a piece that doesn't need to sound entirely realistic, which is why I didn't feel the synths' inclusion was jarring, but the detailing introduced in the performances is very appreciated. My only gripe with this rendition is how close to the source it is. The first section of the song up to 2:30 can be considered cover material, and after that there's a slight change in tone the same motifs prevail almost verbatim; that is, until the last section with the piano is introduced, which proved to be interesting but somewhat short and empty. I loved the soundscape, but the drums seemed very dry near the end at the start of the piano section. The mix was ok so I don't have many production qualms. I think that if the source was somehow expanded upon after the first introduction, instead of having it repeat several times before we're treated with minor variations of it, this could pass, as of now, I'm borderline on whether the interpretation is sufficient, and I think I'm leaning towards not. NO (borderline/resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nutritious Posted October 13, 2016 Share Posted October 13, 2016 Good points made by Chimp above, which I find basically agreeing with here. I will add a few other thoughts: Liking the various instruments being used here. Violin lead at the start has a thin tone and is panned pretty far left. Centering it up and trying to get a bit more body to it would help. It doesn't have the most realistic attack between each note, but I think it can work. I will agree the synths sound out of place among the very organic background track. Not to say that lead synths can't work in this context, but I'd agree that replacing it with something less flang-y/warbly and more straightforward could help. Would like to hear more development on the arrangement side as this follows closely with both melodic writing and with similar backing instrumentation as the original. Cool atmosphere here and I like the approach. This doesn't feel too far away. NO resubmit, please Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaMonz Posted October 19, 2016 Share Posted October 19, 2016 First thing that I noticed listening to this is that I feel like this arrangement lacks energy. There are a few elements trying to keep the energy up, like the quick hi-hats and castanets, but most of the elements (the guitar, the synth leads, backing elements, eventually the snare and bass drums) sound very weak/low-energy to me. I feel like the intent isn't really cohesive throughout the different instruments, and it's really my biggest personal problem with the track. Also, specifically for the synth leads, I'm 100% with Chimp. Their current implementation really doesn't blend well with the rest of the instrumentation. The sound is way too wet to be able to pierce through and have a strong effect (the phaser effect on the some of the leads, and the vibrato on all of them, are both particularly applied way too heavily). I also agree that more interpretation would be really great, and that this feels like a cover for a big part of the track. This combined with the lack of energy drop this below the bar for me. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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