OCR03901 - *YES* Skies of Arcadia "Il buono, il brutto, il pirata dell'aria" *PROJECT*

[Gario]

To be honest, I actually consider this to easily be a DP, except for pending opinions on slight 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' references (including in the title... just caught that, lol). I think they're so minimal as to not affect the mix's standing, but I thought it could use a run by the other judges really quick on that point.

- Gario

This track is going to be part of the Skies of Arcadia album.

 

Hey there,

 

Remixer name: Jorito
Real name: Jorrith Schaap
Email: 

forum id: 3899

 

ReMixer name: Furilas
Real name: Mac Hunter
e-mail: 
forum id: 17903

 

ReMixer name: Aster
Real name: ? (he seems to have disappeared?)

e-mail: ? (he seems to have disappeared?)

forum id: 24637

 

ReMixer name: Lauren the Flute

Real name: Lauren Liebowitz

e-mail: 

 

Website(s): 

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/selie22flute

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LaurentheFlute

Twitter: https://twitter.com/laurentheflute

Website: http://the-returners.com

 

Name of Game(s) Remixed: Skies of Arcadia
Name of Arrangement: Il buono, il brutto e il pirata dell'aria

Names of songs arranged: Eastern Air Pirates (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-hmKkEHi6FE), Yafutoma Dawn (Skies of Arcadia OST-Yafutoma Dawn)

 

Link to the remix: 

 

(This is my own mastered version, not the one that might happen for the album release. Whenever that mastered version gets done, I might send an updated link)

 

Comments about the mix:

 

Full cast:

 

Arrangement, whistling, production: Jorito

Lead guitar: Aster

Harmonica: Furilas

Vocals: Lauren the Flute

 

Jorito:

 

When I discovered the Skies of Arcadia album project, I was thrilled. I have a lot of good memories of the game from my Dreamcast days and since the album is for an RPG I actually played and enjoyed a lot I couldn't not write a track. Browsing through the OST I stumbled, I stumbled upon the Eastern Air Pirates track, which instantly gave me an Ennio Morricone vibe. Since I've always wanted to create a spaghetti western style track, it was too good to pass up. Of course that means using all the classic Morricone sounds like the twangy guitar (courtesy of Aster), the harmonica (courtesy of Furilas), the soaring soprano vocals (courtesy of Lauren the Flute) and of course the whistling (courtesy of yours truly). 

 

Creating the spaghetti western vibe came so easy that it felt like cheating, but the flow of the track, the incorporation of Yafutoma Dawn and overall production took considerably more work. Still, I am very happy with (and proud of) the end result and am very grateful to my collaborators that made the Western vibe come really alive and made the track great. Thanks a lot guys, onwards we ride. Yeehaa!

 

Furilas:

 

I'm gracious for any chance I get to dust off my harps these days, even if Jorito insists on authenticity and I'm doomed to wearing a poncho and spurs in midsummer sessions. Well, like they said at the remix battle of Silver City in 1862, "never let heat stroke get in the way of a good take!"

 

Lauren the Flute:

 

I was lucky enough to grow up with both Sega and Nintendo consoles, and I've always loved RPGs the most. Naturally, that means my sister and I put a lot of time — like, a lot of time — into Skies of Arcadia on the Dreamcast. I've also been obsessed with Ennio Morricone's music since long before I knew the composer's name. Therefore, when Jorito approached me to see if I'd be willing to sing on this track, I immediately said yes because it's a combination of several things near and dear to my heart! I can't say I quite captured the feel of Morricone-style operatic singing, but I did my best to do this track justice and I'm proud to have been part of it. Thank you!

 

Source breakdown:

 

00:00-00:32 - intro (original)

00:32-00:48 - eastern air pirates part a

00:48-01:05 - original build/horn part

01:05-01:37 - eastern air pirates part a (0:00-0:36 from source)

01:37-01:53 - eastern air pirates part b (0:36-0:51 from source)

01:53-02:10 - eap / yafutoma dawn transition

02:10-02:26 - yafutoma dawn melody (0:59 from source)

02:26-03:15 - original break

03:15-03:31 - eastern air pirates part a in the background strings / horns

03:31-03:47 - original build

03:47-04:20 - eastern air pirates

04:20-04:36 - yafutoma dawn melody (0:59 from source)

04:36-04:50 - rest of outro

 

Cheers,

Jorrito

 

[Gario]

I've been listening to this track for months, but surprisingly I didn't really listen to the sources until now - on its own it's just that good. I find it very interesting in the breaks that there is a LOT of original material which could've led to you using too much 'Good, Bad, and Ugly', but it's really just that - original material. I hear some of the infamous guitar arpeggio from that movie from time to time (like at 4:20), but surprisingly the direct references are very few and far between. That's good, because I'd REALLY hate to reject this due to breaking site rules on that.

The source breakdown helps quite a bit, and it shows that while there IS a lot of original material, it still has about a 56% connection to the sources, which is within acceptable ranges. The seamless blending of bridging material and the two sources in the style of 'The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly' really works wonders for this, and the production values are top notch  - I'm looking forward to this being on the front page (when the album is released)!

YES

[MindWanderer]

I didn't feel like the references to "The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly" were even noticeable unless one was specifically looking for them, and even then they're subtle.  Despite how iconic that theme is, I had to specifically look it up to listen for the tie-ins.

The strings were a little mechanical, but there wasn't much of them.  The vocals coming in halfway through were a little surprising--that works better in Morricone's work where the vocals are much more in the background--but that's a minor issue.  The arrangement does get a little hot and busy in the climax (3:48-4:20, especially 4:04 on), but that's my only major concern.

Otherwise, really good stuff, absolutely accomplishes what it sets out to do, and definitely should be part of the album's mixflood.

YES

[Liontamer]

I'd say the stated source connection from 3:15-3:31 was very weak due to the strings and horns being so pushed to the back, but the overall source usage was strong and otherwise timed out as stated in the submission letter, so thanks to Jorrith for being helpful there. Nothing else to say but great job. The usage of the them from "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" was very fleeting, so no big deal there. There was some soft clicking at 2:14 that I noticed, but could be easily overlooked as it wasn't that loud.

Other than that, nice work! Without actively verifying the source tune usage in the arrangement, I wouldn't have been able to tell which sections were source vs. original writing, so great job weaving those sections together seamlessly.

Y'all come back now, ya hear?

YES

[Chimpazilla]

I don't know these sources and I see that my fellow judges have gone over them in great detail, and I thought it would be fun to listen to the track in isolation before listening to the sources at all.  What a cool track this is!  Totally immersive.  The mixing is just right for what it is trying to achieve, every element has it's place and nothing overstates itself.  The arrangement is dynamite.  Completely enjoyable track, great work!

YES