Gario Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 Remixer name: Ryo Name: Ryan Schlussler Email: Website: https://www.youtube.com/user/staticlexx UserID: 34185 Game: Chrono Cross Arrangement: Other World Original Song: Dream of the Shore Near Another World Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 It's a pretty little soundscape, but it's a one-trick pony. The piano and strings take turns as the lead, but all the other instruments are static throughout the whole thing, save the lack of percussion in the intro. It's also very repetitive: 1:11 sounds like a loop back to 0:12, and then 2:10 would have been the start of a third loop but it then fades out. There's also a lack of humanization in the strings at least, with the same articulation used for each note. There are some nice ideas here, but at the very least those ideas need to be developed into something more. I'd start again from 1:11 with some new instrumentation, a different take on arranging the source, etc. You can revisit the original style later on but it needs to be broken up a little. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 26, 2017 Share Posted April 26, 2017 On 3/9/2017 at 8:48 PM, MindWanderer said: It's a pretty little soundscape, but it's a one-trick pony. The piano and strings take turns as the lead, but all the other instruments are static throughout the whole thing, save the lack of percussion in the intro. It's also very repetitive: 1:11 sounds like a loop back to 0:12, and then 2:10 would have been the start of a third loop but it then fades out. There's also a lack of humanization in the strings at least, with the same articulation used for each note. There are some nice ideas here, but at the very least those ideas need to be developed into something more. I'd start again from 1:11 with some new instrumentation, a different take on arranging the source, etc. You can revisit the original style later on but it needs to be broken up a little. Quoted for truth/emphasis. I was worried the arrangement would sound too conservative because much of the instrumentation has a similar tone to the source tune, especially at the very start, but the arrangement approach does move in the right direction for the Standards here as far as including expansive new part-writing. I'd argue that it's not quite interpretive enough, but it's at least in the right direction. That said, this arrangement is just too repetitive/looped and underdeveloped once the initial ideas are established. I'd also add that the percussion added into the picture was too loud and that the string work added a lot of mud to the piece. Meanwhile, the bassline was very thin and obscured. I did like the bubbly line that came in around :36, but because the mixing was so muddy, its lovely sound didn't really cut through. Hopefully a musician J can give you some insight for how to address the muddiness of the track. You have a fine starting point for a relatively conservative arrangement with more involved percussion, Ryan, but the arrangement needs other writing/arrangement ideas beyond the first minute, and you need to clean up the soundscape. Good start though, and I hope we hear more from you. Even if you're not able to revise this into something we could post, you have the raw potential and it's clear you're trying to add your own spin to the source tune.NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted April 27, 2017 Author Share Posted April 27, 2017 The two judges above are absolutely correct on their concerns - repetitive and static writing is a concern. I will add that the mixing and EQ balance are issues as well - the EQ mids are excessive at the cost of a decent bass and any upper EQ, which makes the track sound muffled and lacking any base. The mix itself tends to lose the themes and melodic hooks behind the textures and (especially) the drums. Despite these issues I still enjoy what you have going here. The beat really does bring a new light to the source, and the part writing is nice, but there are too many issues with the track overall for us to take. Revisit this with our comments in mind and I think you can produce something great, but right now it isn't there yet. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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