Donkey Kong Country 2 Stickerbrush Symphony Remix

[Kamui]

Hey guys, I know this remix doesn't really deviate far enough from the original material to be a substantial remix, but it's my first stab at remixing so I just wanted some feedback on which components I should be mindful of in the future. Thanks a lot.

 

[Rozovian]

Welcome to the remixing subforum. Yeah, this sounds like a "first remix", but that's cool. We all start somewhere. I've certainly heard worse. I've made worse.

Some cool sound choices. For a more developed sound, think about which instruments should be in the background and which ones should be in the foreground, and use the track level, EQ, reverb, and instrument filter and envelopes to push the background-intended stuff further back. You usually don't need to work with all of these, but they're almost the entire toolset for this. Use what you need.

You have some variations in the drums, which is nice. I don't remember the drums of the original, so I don't know what's yours and what's from source. For good drum writing, consider fills before changes in the track, and consider calming the drums down during some parts and raising their intensity in others. You can do this with a combination of note velocities, and the drum writing itself (adding, moving, or removing notes). A good drum groove is found in both note timing and note velocity, so look into the swing/shuffle feature of your software, and think about which note you want to hit a little harder.

As for leads, think of it like creating something that sounds like a performance. Make little changes, emphasize some melody lines more than others. Too much deviation becomes showy, too little becomes boring. Find the sweet spot. Coming up with your own take on the melodies also helps, but it's not necessary. People are listening to hear your take on the source, so having the source lead melody verbatim is fine. It's usually the other stuff you mess around with; the structure, the rhythm, the backing, the mood, the instrumentation. And when those things lead you to change the lead melody, it'll feel more natural.

I think that's plenty of pointers for now. It'll be interesting to hear how you develop. Have fun.

[Kamui]

Thanks a lot for the tips! I'll keep them in mind for the next one. I've definitely been avoiding mastering much because it seemed a bit intimidating to learn, but I'll mess with it more next time.

[Rozovian]

Well, none of that is mastering. Mastering is adjusting an already mixed and otherwise finished track for a particular format, eg mastering for CD, radio; or for fitting into a context or compilation, eg mastering an album.

With time, you'll get your terminology straight. I have a remixing guide in my sig that might help some.

[GXAPlayer]

Anything that has the words "Remix" and "Stickerbrush Symphony" gets extra points on my book. I have tried (Oh so many times) remixing this atmospheric masterpiece by David Wise, and never could achieve such mastery over the simple but catchy drum beat, chill inducing synths and the sheer wonder it gives to the human ear.

I did enjoy the remix and like some of the cool sounds in there. Just try to experiment a bit with tools like EQ, reverb and filters next time.

Overall You, sir, have a lot of potential as a remixer. Far more than I ever had when I started.

6 hours ago, Rozovian said:

Yeah, this sounds like a "first remix", but that's cool. We all start somewhere. I've certainly heard worse. I've made worse.

 

I agree. Heck, I've used to make really crappy songs that sound like bootleg chiptunes .

 

[Kamui]

Thanks for the feedback. I felt that song was hard to remix also because the original is so good that I already know whatever I make will just sound worse, so I just decided to do it just to learn from the experience. 

[Glejs]

Love this tune (who doesn't)! Great chord stabs, nice overall selection of sounds. Drums could have been more interesting, the open hihat appeared a bit too frequently in my humble opinion. Nice break and build up. All in all, I enjoyed listening to this. Keep up the good work!

[Kamui]

Thanks a lot for listening and the feedback, appreciate it. 

[Light_of_Aether]

If this is your first remix, I can't wait to hear what you do in the future! It's a bit rough in places, but overall it's a very enjoyable listen.

[Kamui]

Thanks a lot, I'm currently thinking about trying my hand at a remix of this song from Jewel Master.