Gario Posted March 10, 2017 Share Posted March 10, 2017 (edited) Dear all, This is my first submission. I apologise if I mess something up. Link to submission: Contact Information: Remixer name: Zak Rahman Real Name: Zak Rahman Email Address: Website: http://zakrahman.com/ UserID: 34233 Submission Information: Name of Game arranged: One Must Fall 2097 Name of Arrangement: Preparation Name of individual piece arranged: Main Menu Additional Information: Original Composer: Kenny Chow Link to original piece: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pdVnKYcYi3g Remixer's Comments: Although I have stuck fairly faithfully to the original piece in terms of melody and progression, I feel like I have embellished enough and added enough elements to warrant this being a remix worth considering on it's own value. The drums are the element that has been altered the most - although not to the point that it is a different genre or unrecognisable. They were changed mainly to respect the groove and feel set by the bassline and indeed the original genre. Instrumentation is once again fairly faithful, the largest change comes in the change of the lead synth to an electric guitar. Edited May 12, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted March 16, 2017 Share Posted March 16, 2017 True, it's pretty conservative, but there are some switch-ups and some embellishments that make this interpretive enough, in my opinion. Pretty generic synth-rock, but it gets the job done. It is, however, pretty repetitive.1:03-2:17 is closely repeated at 2:18-3:33; there are some small differences in a few places but it's very similar even when it's not identical. That's over 1/3 of the arrangement being duplicate material, which is quite a bit. And then it just ends at the end of the second loop, with no real ending to speak of. It also gets really shrill, loud, and busy in the climax (2:03-2:17 and its repetition). The guitar and the synth arp are fighting for exactly the same space, and they end up distorting each other. I think if they were separated a bit, that would also help with the peaky volume issue. I don't think it would take too much to get this posted. Just go back to 2:18 or even 2:47 and go somewhere else with it from there. Get creative! There's plenty of source material here already, so you can afford to throw in a slick guitar solo of your own invention, for instance. Then clean up that one busy section and I think you'll have a real winner here. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 10, 2017 Share Posted May 10, 2017 My brother played this game, so this is a tiny blast from the past. Obviously this was the coolest game because it was in 2097 (the future!) and featured robots battling to the death! I think you're on the right track here. I think there's a good deal of interpretation to the original source without being too close, and the instrumentation works pretty well together. I'm going to agree with MW that there are some issues here, the biggest being the second half of the mix. It definitely feels very close to what you had already presented earlier, and I think it could stand to be varied up a little more. The ending is also abrupt, and while it isn't the worst way to end the track, I think you could come up with a far stronger ending. MW also brings up that the synth and guitar are fighting for space, and I am definitely hearing that towards the end of the track especially. You might be able to use some subtle panning to help that issue out. This is on the right track, but needs a bit more to get it where it needs to be. Hope to hear this again after some revisions! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 Whatever that lead was at :17 sounded really rigid with its attacks. At :33, I'm not sure why the warbling synths were louder than the pad-style lead. This kind of imbalance pervaids the whole track, because the beats were the loudest instrument except during the verses with the guitar in play. Yeah, I can already tell I'm not feeling the execution on this. The guitar performance sounded expressive, and the bassline had presence, but most of the other sounds were anemic, e.g. the pad-like synth handling the melody, the boom-tss percussion, and the synth quietly doubling the melody. And beats/kicks at 1:03 had volume but a flimsy tone, even though the beats were at the foundation of the track and too often pushed as the loudest element. I dunno what was up with the panning choices here either, but it's seems too wide overall as I'm listening on headphones, with an imbalance to the right side; had to listen to some control tracks on my comp just to be sure my headphone connection wasn't jacked. EQ-wise, you sometimes have a lot of instruments fighting for the same space in the soundscape (e.g. 2:03-2:18). The source is one of PC gaming's catchiest, and I liked the additive writing of the guitar, which was easily the track's highlight. The rest of this sounded sloppy with the mixing/balance issues. MindWanderer pointed out the repetition as well as the lack of a developed ending/resolution, so don't overlook that. Keep developing/varying the arrangement further and re-examine the mixing, Zak; post this in the Workshop area if you haven't already done so, and badger for production advice to rehab this. Right now you have a decent cover with some expansive guitar work added in, but the production lacks polish. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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