Liontamer Posted November 16, 2006 Share Posted November 16, 2006 Link to remix : Remixer: ilp0 Real name: Ilari Nieminen E-mail: ilari.nieminen@cs.helsinki.fi Website: www.cs.helsinki.fi/u/isniemin/Musiikki Game: Final Fantasy IX Song: Crossing Those Hills (Overworld theme) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Orichalcon Posted November 17, 2006 Share Posted November 17, 2006 This mix has a christmas feel to it to start with, but then goes sort of scooby-doo-circus. I like your arrangement ideas, this is very creative. Playing around with time signature switching in the one piece is always creative, and a switch to 5/4 was pulled off very well here. Even given the switch, it's almost a direct transcription of the melody, a few small changes in the melody would be welcome to give it that remix feel. Finishing the mix on a repeat of the first third of the mix wasn't a good idea. Fashion a proper ending please. Now, the major issue is in the production and the mix tone. You have conflicting ideas all over the place. Your drumkit sounds like you intended this to be a grunge mix, but the background sounds more as I said to be a christmas carol. Define your sound and stick to it. I'm not saying genre merges aren't welcome, it's just not working here. Some sections (1:10-1:26) felt kind of cluttered given the general dirty feeling of the kit and the flat sound of your guitar. Might pay to EQ things a bit clearer there. I'd really like to pass this one. The 5/4 section was creative and enjoyable, and the general ideas behind the arrangement are clever and can be pulled off properly. If this was touched up in time, it might even make a good chrissy remix. But for now, there are too many problems for a pass. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liontamer Posted November 24, 2006 Author Share Posted November 24, 2006 http://www.tzone.org/~llin/psf/packs2/FF9_psf.rar - 125 "Crossing Those Hills" Man, do I love the original. It's definitely a favorite of mine from when I first heard it while a friend played FF9 many years ago. In all honestly, unless someone used similar sounds to the original, it'd be hard for me to like an arrangement of it more than the real deal. Not that it factors into my judgement, but I just like the original that much. Interesting beginning. Definitely has that X-mas feel like Lee mentioned. Yeah, those drums at :31 didn't fit well at all here, and the source melody was pretty straightforward. Also an interesting changeup at :57, though I wasn't sure what was going on from 1:04-1:05. The energy level went up at 1:11 with the original section due to more going on, but yeah, the drums still didn't fit, and the guitar stuff up until 1:25 felt flat. Didn't seem to work as a good transition into the piano-driven section; I think it you had all the elements fade down instead of just that sweeping sound, it would have made the transition smoother. The piano stuff in 5/4 was definitely sweet. Conservative, but a better personalized section of the arrangement as compared to the beginning. Not sure what was up with the production at 2:08. That vocal part sounded millions of miles away and didn't really contribute anything. It just sounded like mud stuck in the middle of the soundfield. Too bad though, I liked how the vocals sounded during the fadeout at 2:30 when you could hear them more. Make 'em a bit cleaner and punch 'em up for that section. Transitions back at 2:37 to the X-mas style arrangement again, before ratcheting back up at 2:59 with original writing similar to 1:11's section before abruptly ending at 3:42. Thematically, there feels like too much disconnect from section to section; for someone listening to this for the first time, it's pretty damn jarring. Same with the drum tone not fitting. I got more adjusted to those issues with repeated listens, enough where I felt it wasn't enough of a problem to reject. Just reviewing this, there were so many spots where something could be touched up and improved (drums, vox production, flow, ending), but overall things felt competent and above the bar. Quirky choices, but not offsetting in the big picture. Give this a number of listens and see how well it holds up. YES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vig Posted November 29, 2006 Share Posted November 29, 2006 There are a lot of great ideas in this mix that are executed without full effect. The beginning is incredibly lame, but then the dark transition section kicks ass. On the whole, the drums lacked punch, and that slowed the mix down. Is it just me, or are all the best sections pretty much original material? With a little work this could be really great. NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DarkeSword Posted December 15, 2006 Share Posted December 15, 2006 I agree with Vig. Tons of awesome ideas, but they sort of get lost with the messy drums and odd balance choices. I'd have to say that those drums really need to be fixed up; they're the main detriment to this mix. Too sharp, too strong of a sound. They should not dominate the upper frequencies like that. Voices are likewise lost in the mix. I'm sure that they add a lot to the mix, but the problem is that I can't hear them. That ending sucks too. NO, but rework and resub. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcos Posted December 26, 2006 Share Posted December 26, 2006 I agree with all that has already been said here. For me, the drums didn't blend with the rest of the instruments and really spoiled the feel of it. I really enjoyed the arrangement though. I will say no and ask for a resub because I think that only a small adjustment to the drums would have a big effect on the feel of the mix overall. NO (please resub) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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