Gario Posted March 25, 2017 Share Posted March 25, 2017 Hello! Dana from Pixel Noise here. We are looong time OCremix followers, but have never really been active in the community, other than as avid listeners. I'll front-load all of the necessary info, and discuss after: (The track is attached, but here is a link to the track on our Soundcloud, for easier listening) Contact info Remixer name: Pixel Noise Email: Website: https://soundcloud.com/pixel-noise Real names: Dana Difilippantonio and Michael Dooley Submission info Name of game: Secret of Mana Name of Arrangement: Mana's Requiem Track(s) arranged: "I Won't Forget" Mix comments: This is an orchestral style arrangement of "I Won't Forget". We wanted to really try to vary the arrangement, rather than just re-hashing the primary melody over and over. The opening phrase states the melody outright with solo harp; in the second statement, strings and a flute counter-melody enter, slightly masking the main melody. The third phrase drops the melody entirely, in favor of string material based loosely on the melody. From there, the arrangement takes a surprising turn, as classical guitar enters and begins to drive the track in a different direction. A guitar cadenza then follows, which outlines and expands on the melody. The track ends with a final statement of the melody on guitar, accompanied by soft strings and bells. We hope you like it, and certainly welcome any feedback you have, as we plan on doing at least a few more of these, to provide a full Suite of SoM orchestral arrangements! Best, Dana @ Pixel Noise Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted March 31, 2017 Share Posted March 31, 2017 Nice arrangement, beautiful soundscape. I definitely like the approach. The guitar work is great, and the original writing works perfectly with the source. Both the lead and backing strings are pretty mechanical. It's most noticeable in the attack of the lead strings in the quicker sections, where they consistently can't quite keep up. Otherwise, I don't have a whole lot to criticize. I can see the strings being a concern, but they're not in the forefront for very long and I think the strengths of the arrangement outweigh that issue. Very nice job overall. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 This is a very calming arrangement. There's a lot of care that was taken in this arrangement to vary the source, but even at it's most varied it's easy to connect it to the source material. There are some odd places in the arrangement where it sounds like it's stop-and-go (namely, at 2:00 - 2:04 and 2:49-2:51), but it's not quite so extreme as to sound like a new piece is starting or anything so I can let it slide. It's still strange enough that I need to point it out, though. The performances are nice, though I agree that the strings are mechanical. It's not too noticeable for the background swells, but the lead holds a strange vibrato consistently throughout. Vibrato is designed to give life to longer sections without change, not to everything the violin plays, so it sounds strange when it's applied wholesale like that. The production is very quiet - applying a basic amplifier on Audacity on the master track gets me about 4.5 dB overall. It's a pretty significant amount of headroom just pushing the track down, so if this passes I'll need an amplified version sent this way. It's quiet, but there was care taken to keep the track interesting. I'm all for the track getting posted, as long as we have an amplified revision on it. YES (CONDITIONAL) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 Good original string writing added in from :59-1:25 to supplement the source tune, followed by the acoustic coming in over the source's chord progression. See? Arrangement's not so hard. Just do your thing with it. I thought the classical guitar introduced at 1:25 sounded OK; it was stiff, BUT expressive enough. The original writing in the middle help lift an otherwise conservative arrangement, so it pays around here to supplement things with your own ideas. I wouldn't mind a volume bump as well, but it's not a dealbreaker issue for me, so no conditional's needed. YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted May 12, 2017 Share Posted May 12, 2017 What a lovely arrangement! I really enjoyed the counterpoint and the overall soundscape fits really well for what you are going for here. Definitely going to agree that the strings sound a bit mechanical in the overall. That was my biggest complaint, but I think it only brings my vote to borderline here. Nice work! YES (borderline) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jivemaster Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 Felt the emptiness on the left channel during the intro a little off putting, thankfully things begin to fill out over the next minute or so, but the left always tends to feel less active than the right. You have some nice writing here, and I enjoy the orchestral instruments you have chosen, there is a particular sweetness to them. Your originally across the arrangement is noticed and much appreciated, I feel you've done a good job melding original progressions and licks with the original material. Duration is fitting. Your production is fairly decent, everything is audible (a given considering the minimal nature of the track), instruments have a good level of body to them EQ wise. I don't think there are any major issues here holding this one back. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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