Gario Posted January 16, 2017 Share Posted January 16, 2017 (edited) CONTACT INFORMATION ReMixer name: Slamrarn Real name: Sixten Machado Website: https://soundcloud.com/slamrarn Userid: 33785 SUBMISSION INFORMATION Game arranged: Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Chaos theory Name of arrangement: Deafened, Blinded Names of individual songs arranged: Ruthless, Ruthless (Reprise) Systems: PS2, Xbox, Gamecube, PC Link to missing source (Ruthless): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFs1DcYP7ZY Comments: One of my first thoughts after deciding to use Ruthless as my source was that I couldn’t compete with Amon Tobin in creating beats, so I instead focused on competing with his sound design through synthesisers. One of the things that stuck with me the most from Chaos Theory was the guard’s panic, when they can’t see or hear anything but know that the threat is there, and the player’s panic when they are discovered and all the slow, thought through sneaking turns into a mad scramble to escape and recollect your thoughts (or reload a quicksave if you’re a wimp). I tried to capture the ears ringing, vision blurring, blood rushing stress of both in my arrangement, and I’m pretty happy with how it turned out. And here’s the ReMix: Edited June 14, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted January 24, 2017 Share Posted January 24, 2017 Holy hell, what a source. It's so musically minimalist I'm not entirely sure what to make of it. It does have a consistent bass line, and this remix does make use of that throughout most of the arrangement, as well as a few other similar elements, so I'm going to go ahead and say it's fine on that front. It also captures much of the feel of the original without actually retreading almost any of its sounds, so it seems sufficiently original as well. From a production standpoint, it's deliberately strange, but little seems objectively off to me. Everything can be heard distinctly, and I don't hear any distortion that isn't intentional. My one big concern is that both the staccato and the legato strings are extremely mechanical, and especially in such a chaotic mix, making them sound more organic would definitely be an improvement. However, I don't think that's enough to bring the mix down as a whole. I don't think it will be to many peoples' liking, but overall I think this is a success. Edit (04/14): On closer inspection, the remix doesn't actually use the source's bass. I had thought that the high-pitched synth that starts at 0:39 used it, pitched a few octaves higher, but, while very similar, it's not quite the same. And the source's bells don't quite have the same pattern either. All three use the same simple pattern of nothing but evenly-spaced notes of only two different pitches, but the pattern of all three is different. And Sixten already admitted that he didn't attempt to replicate the drum lines of the source. I don't hear anything extra in Ruthless (Reprise) that made its way into the remix, either. So while the remix is definitely evocative of the source--with some production tweaks I could easily see it being part of the same soundtrack--it doesn't actually remix any of the music. I'd vote in its favor if the patterns of those instruments were a match, though, which could be a fairly simple change, so I'd definitely like to see this back on the panel. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted January 25, 2017 Author Share Posted January 25, 2017 Definitely with MindWanderer on this one - strange source, but it's definitely there. Some of the strings are mechanical; the attack swell on it is unrealistic. Probably not for everyone, but definitely a pass in my book - It gets some real mileage with the abstract source. I personally like it, though - kind of reminds me of NIN, for some strange reason. Great work! -- EDIT (04/14): Hmm... Okay, looking at this again with an open mind after Sir_nutS mentioned it in chat, I'm really having a really tough time identifying the source on this. The bells in the background seem to be a clear source connection (0:00 - 0:16), but the additional material does not seem to connect to the source in a meaningful way. I think I was caught up with those bells connecting with the source and didn't vet the sources properly. If anyone else can find the source connections I'll flip my vote right back, but I can't justify my initial YES on this upon a closer look (even looking at the OTHER source, which I neglected to include). It's a shame, because I really enjoy this track on it's own merits. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted March 30, 2017 Share Posted March 30, 2017 Gonna third MW here, it's a strange source, but you did a neat job of making it sound a lot more creepy. It actually reminds me of the final boss music of Majora's Mask with the repetitive percussion, but that's just because of slightly similar sounds. I do agree that the strings are a little mechanical, but I think it fits the sound design fine and really doesn't detract from the mix. Pretty neat interpretation here, nice work. YES EDIT 6/6 Listened to this again, and I think I'm going to have to agree that the connection isn't there as much as I originally thought. I do feel the bells to mimic the original enough that I could count that, but that being the only connection isn't quite enough on it's own. Sorry to have to switch on you! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Omg this source tho. Wow, I love music that makes you feel, especially when it makes you feel raw and shredded, I don't know why but I prefer that over "happy" music any day of the week. Ok on to the remix. Ah yes I can hear the NIN connection Gario mentioned, it's the bassline. I am loving this interpretation, this isn't an easy one to interpret but you managed to add a ton of creep factor into an already creepy source. I think the staccato strings are fine. I kind of wish the bass was a little louder, otherwise I really like this. Why does the ending cut off like that though, it sounds like your rendering range wasn't long enough to capture the final note or it's tail. Still, YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted April 5, 2017 Author Share Posted April 5, 2017 Quick sanity check on this - Sir_nutS said he couldn't quite make out the source connection on this, and on closer inspection I'm personally having some trouble making direct links to it. I'll definitely come to it at some point to try again, but if someone else can give a breakdown of sorts before I do that would be pretty sweet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir_NutS Posted April 18, 2017 Share Posted April 18, 2017 4/18: I started writing my vote on this around february but I stopped after listening to this track several times and being unable to make a connection to the source. I left it and came back around March and did the same, but still couldn't make the connection, at which point I brought the discussion to the other Js to see if I was just completely deaf. Turns out, there's really not much connection other than the mood here. The bassline in the original is a simple repeated note that hits on every beat, with a single accent, and I don't think you can base a remix on that, since such a simple sequence of notes could really be anything at all, and even then, it's not present in the remix. The bells in the original offered an opportunity to connect both tracks but again, I failed to hear a concrete connection between the two. It could be argued that the drumlines are similar, but not enough in my opinion. The Remix evokes the original's mood and feel, but it could be said that it could work as another track in the same soundtrack, not as a re-interpretation of this. Unless someone can clarify how both of this tracks connect in a concrete way I'm afraid I have to vote against it. NO Below is my (incomplete) vote I started on february (hooray for IPS saving these even months after the fact!) huh, interesting. Remixing this ambient/dnb source is definitely not easy, not much melodic content to work with as the original's focus is more on setting up ambiance rather than weaving harmonies and melodies. The remix feels on the same page however I'm having a hard time making this connection. The production is great for the most part and the industrial elements are pretty evident. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 3, 2017 Share Posted June 3, 2017 The source is an interesting one, with the original's melodic content largely hinging on a bass line and specific percussive elements/patterns. Having trouble with this one as well, drawing a true connection between this and the original. When remixing a source track which is atmospheric, minimal and percussive, you'd need to capture the vibe (melodic, rhythmic material) of the original and return there at various times to remind people of the connection. For this mix you've taken the bass line progression and moved it to a new instrument, which ties it back somewhat. However the melody here feels more background regulated, and everything else is completely original. This isn't a bad thing in isolation - the instrument palette is great and you've done a good job at arranging something that could fit alongside these original tracks, but for me it feels too little of a connection over the duration. I think it would've helped massively if the departure from the original was dialled back a bit to make things more obvious in some sections, perhaps to the extent of imitating some of the percussive progressions - this would really help bridging that divide between the original source and your own material. Sound wise I enjoy your mix, but my initial impressions are it doesn't sound enough like the original. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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