Gario Posted January 23, 2017 Share Posted January 23, 2017 (edited) Remixer name: Zoned Real name: Hans-Kristian Arntzen Email: Website: themaister.net User ID: 27745 Remix Title: Inspector Bawz Game: Final Fantasy VI (III US) Source: Strago's Theme Comments: So this is a very, very different track to "Silence Before Repentance", a track I made which starts to feel like ages ago. I used to make EDM way back, moved on more piano-heavy music, but I've tried to back into the same creative loop I was in back in those days, because I had a lot of fun with it. While jamming I "accidentally" found Strago's theme, but after messing around with it, I found that it kinda works with a dancy groove after making the first bass line, so I had to make a fun dance tune out of it. I tried to keep it fresh by mixing up the rhythms. I wasn't quite sure if I should submit this as there's more EDM remixes of FF already than you can shake your stick at, but I think the source material choice should make this an interesting listen. Cheers, Hans-Kristian Edited January 27, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 Strangely enough, we don't seem to have any remixes of Strago's theme that don't also use another source, although one of them also makes the Inspector Gadget connection. The arrangement goes to some pretty interesting places, but only the leads. The rest of the instrumentation is pretty paint-by-numbers, with some very generic bass and percussion synths. The delayed saw in particular gets old pretty quickly. The percussion is arranged very statically, with just a few loops that aren't varied very much. And even the leads, there's only two of them, which take turns more and more rapidly until the end. There are a few breaks where one or more instruments drop out, but that's it, and it's not enough to reduce fatigue. I think the general direction and pace of this is just fine, but you need to explore the sonic space a little more. Check out remixes by Gario, WillRock, Neblix, and zircon for some examples of how to take a lead treatment like this and back it up in more engaging ways. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted January 27, 2017 Author Share Posted January 27, 2017 Oh shit, a name drop. Can't say that doesn't swell my ego at least a little. ANYHOO! Going to concur on the static nature of the arrangement. What is happening in the soundscape isn't necessarily bad (though the synths are a bit plain, especially the delay'd saw synth), it simply doesn't change very much. 0:44 - 3:25 has virtually all of the instruments doing all of the same things, save for the drums dropping out periodically (which helped, by the way). Drop out instruments, bring in a fresh synth, use a synth in a different manner, etc.; anything to shift the soundscape around, the better, as it gets tiring listening to the whole track. The arrangement is fine - it covers the source well enough, but it has a nice build-up, and overall the sound design is pretty different from the source. The production is adequate, though the lead at 1:19 sounds pretty hollow. It could use some layering or distortion to give it a more complex EQ range (and therefore some more presence). A few other instruments are pretty plain (like the other lead and saw synth, as mentioned before), but in addressing the static arrangement issue you can make what you have work. It's not bad - I enjoyed it quite a bit. It's just not there yet. Hopefully you'll find the advice helpful - good luck! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted January 27, 2017 Share Posted January 27, 2017 The opening melodic lead is pretty lonely. That backing synth (:00-:41) sounded very nice, but should have been bumped up in volume and filled up the soundfield more. Oof, super generic synth lead at :41 that sounded very static. Same at 1:29, pretty weak melodic synth with some default effects that doesn't have much character. The beats at 1:58 were very thin overall, despite the kick being loud. You're going for dynamic contrast with how the backing instrumentation changes up, but because nothing had power or complexity, and the beatwork just plods along, the dynamic curve sounds a lot flatter than the writing means for it to be. Well, the arrangement approach is creative, but the synth design's generic in a lot of places, and everything sounds very barebones. Without even reading the other two votes first, I had the same issues with how static and empty this sounded. Good start here, Hans-Kristian, but hit our Workshop forums for advice on this one; the synth design needs to sound more sophisticated and your textures needs to be more varied and fleshed out. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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