DragonAvenger Posted August 10, 2017 Share Posted August 10, 2017 (edited) Ribbit ^__^ it's me, Guifrog! Sim, foi um big hiatus and a pseudo-depression, and I haven't been making music ever since. But I'm back to it, and I just completed this thing for Malik's Shonen Jump ReMix album. If approved, please put it on hold until album release. I decided to do this because One Piece is the only anime I've been watching for years. Although I've never either played the games nor heard their tunes, it still made sense for me to express myself through music made for a game that evokes nostalgia, adventure, risks, rich experiences, and all of those things that I ironically keep inside my thoughts while locked inside my bedroom-dome. So yeah, I'm a One Piece otaku who will totally claim to feel deep connections with the Straw Hats as if they were my family, BECAUSE THAT'S TRUE and because I live alone most of the time, by choice Game arranged: One Piece Grand Adventure Song arranged:Skypiea (Angel Beach) Name of arrangement: Sky Treasure Link to arrangement: New e-mail address: New websites: Official home: https://guifrogmusic.weebly.com/ Jamendo: https://www.jamendo.com/artist/501264/guifrog Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/guifrogarts Instagram: @guifrog - go check my illustrations! P.s.: "Sky Treasure" because I believe we all have a ginormous treasure/microcosmos and my intention is to feel and use it for whatever I want. By making music, by never giving up, by improving my skills on something, by learning Japanese, by KABOOOOOOOM and so on! And One Piece is all about that (just like Saint Seiya, which I used to watch as well :P) Edited August 11, 2017 by Liontamer closed decision Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonAvenger Posted August 10, 2017 Author Share Posted August 10, 2017 Listening to the source I can definitely see this being your style of song, let's see what you've got! I like the sound choices overall, the soundscape is expansive and the Japanese percussion works well here. Nice use of the backing xylo part in the original to tie things together here. It took me a couple of listens to make out the melody, but once I heard it things made more sense. I do think the source is a little hard to make out at times, and overall I feel like the track is a bit source-light overall. Part of the issue is that the melodies aren't coming through a bit stronger than the rest of the backing parts. They don't feel highlighted, and it's easy to dismiss those parts as more of the backing while looking for the main melody to come through. Some balance changes there would help, or possibly picking some different melody instruments/synths that cut through more. There's also a lot of clunkiness in the parts, and some humanization would go a long way here. The piano and sitar (I think?) are the biggest offenders here, along with the flute at times. A little extra note that the sparkle effect at 1:33 sounds out of key and feels weird because of it. I do have some issues with the track overall. One of my bigger concerns is that the second half of the track feels like it's a transitional section for the main melody to come back in, but it never does. 2:00 on, even with the source use in the strings, feels like it's a build-up for the main melody to come in. Then when 2:40 hits where I expect a big melody, is more chords and some noodling source between instruments. Then the song ends. Because of this, the second half of the track feels like it has no impact. I think this is close, but the combination of issues is bringing it down. Hope you look at this again! NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MindWanderer Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 The first thing that strikes me is that there seems to be a low pass filter applied to the whole thing. The highs are substantially muted and need to be brightened up a bit. The kettle drum section (2:00-2:38) in particular seems muffled. Probably because of that lack of highs, there were some areas with EQ conflict in the mids and mid-lows. 1:45-1:58 is perhaps the clearest example, with several instruments stepping all over each other, but it's an issue throughout, especially with the piano, and again with that kettle drum. I didn't have a problem with source usage. The source itself plays fast and loose with what's melody and what's accompaniment, and given that, the remix is just fine IMO. I didn't have a problem with the structure, either; I see what Deia meant about the second half lacking impact, but that's a common structure for new age. Her comments about humanizing the piano and flute are well-made, though. I'd add the harp to that list as well, though I thought the sitar was acceptable. I think this is close, it mostly just needs another EQ pass to clean and brighten, and a fresh stab at humanization. NO (resubmit) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gario Posted August 11, 2017 Share Posted August 11, 2017 Deia and MindWanderer are spot on with the humanization of the harp, piano and flute, and I've got to second the concerns with the meandering nature of this track, as well. The arrangement sounds like it works toward a goal, but it never reaches anything that ultimately satisfies this, which is an issue. The lack of highs is also a concern, though it doesn't concern me as much as the other two issues do. Yeah, I actually think the sound design choices in this were great, and the track really fills out well with some good production, to boot. I'm not sold on a lot of the background textures and how they harmonize, but listening to the source it seems to have similar issues, as well. I still think this could be harmonized better anyway (and definitely should), but I acknowledge that it's not entirely your fault, either. Not too much more to add on my part. Cool track, there are some things to fix in the arrangement and humanization before we can post this up. Best of luck! NO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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