Gario Posted April 4, 2017 Share Posted April 4, 2017 (edited) Contact Information Remixer Username: Furorezu Real Name: Daniel Florez Preferred E-mail: User ID: 33297 Name of games arranged: Xenoblade Chronicles Name of arrangement: Surfing with Zanza Name of individual songs: Xanthe Source materials: Xanthe Comments: "Xanthe" was actually the very first song that I got serious about remixing and I've had rough drafts of it for possibly more than a year, some even on my SoundCloud. I had the idea of turning it into a surf song while I was on a cruise with my family in late 2015 because I was starting to get on a "make everything surf!" bender and I wanted to learn more about actually recording music rather than just spend my life noodling on the guitar but doing nothing with it so this is actually where I got my start. I found the melody very easy to work into a heavier surf sound that's more along the lines of Daikaiju's tone, particularly Double Fist Attack, which has a more overdriven tone and emphasis on power chords than traditional surf music like Dick Dale. and translating the piano bridges to guitar actually worked much better than I expected in my opinion. It only took me this long because I really wanted this song to sound better than my overly rushed first foray into surf remix, Hyrule's Deadly Palaces, and also because I have a special attachment to this mix being my first full-fledged composition back in the day as well as to celebrate the announcement of the upcoming Xenoblade Chronicles 2 for the Nintendo Switch. Hope you enjoy! Edited April 7, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted April 4, 2017 Author Share Posted April 4, 2017 Damn, Daniel! Back at it again with the surf mixes! Old memes aside, there's quite a bit of refinement in the performances in this one compared to the last submission (that was recently posted - nice work!). The guitar work is on point, here, and the arrangement works pretty well with the source that was given. There are some issues with the balance of the mixing and EQ levels, though. Throughout the track, there is virtually no bass presence. The guitar sounds crisp (save for stylistic distortion), but the bass is very difficult to hear. There's a lot of activity in the bass, which is really cool, but you can't hear it. Bring the bass up in the mix so it has more presence. The drums (specifically the kick, ride and snare to a lesser extent) are also similarly mixed very far behind the mix, so mix them more to the front, as well. Stylistically, I understand that there's supposed to be distortion when the lead gets higher in the range. Be careful with the lead at 1:46 - 2:17, though - the busy writing makes it sound like a bunch of clipping rather than tasteful distortion. The reason it works in other surf music is because the slower pacing doesn't let the distortion stack. Adding arps to the lead and repeating notes gets that distortion stacking, which clutters the track with too much. I get the sound you're going for, but make the section less busy. 2:53 - 3:27 really sounds like it could be half as long. Four repetitions of a similar line with the same texture is more than enough - eight repetitions (with the addition of the ride being the only notable difference) is too much of a good thing. Some trimming of the longer, more repetitive elements of this arrangement would help make it a tighter, more enjoyable experience. I like the style, and I think the performances are getting better overall. Fix up the mixing, bass EQ and production aspects of this and I think you'll have a sweet submission with this. Give it some TLC and send it our way again! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chimpazilla Posted April 5, 2017 Share Posted April 5, 2017 Xenoblade Chronicles... one of my very favorite games... I tried to start remixes of some of these sources several times and always gave up because the OST is too good to do justice to it... I'm much closer to a YES on this remix than Gario is, if it passes as-is, I'll be fine with it. I love what you did with this source! The guitar performances and soloing are excellent. Source is well represented. I agree with Gario about the lack of bass presence, and the drums are underwhelming also. I think the drums are less about volume and more about mixing, the entire kit sounds like it has a lowpass filter on it so the life and sparkle are taken out of it. So I'll be sending this back for some very minor mixing fixes. I agree with Gario about the repetitive nature of that final passage, but I find it ok, no need to re-record the song with that part shortened. I think it will be fine once the mixing is spiffed up just a tad, this will be even more of a pleasure to listen to. Nice work, please make the subtle changes and send this back to us quickly. NO (borderline, minor mixing fixes and please resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted April 6, 2017 Share Posted April 6, 2017 I'm more in agreement with Gario here. The low-fi, mid-heavy EQ to pretend to be an old garage band recording is a cute gimmick, but it can be overdone, and it is so here. And that last section really does feel long and drawn out: with over a minute and a half of basically the same thing it feels very stale. The performance and concept are great, though, so please do send this back in! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts